Xen devel - Jun 2011 - Xen4.1.0 and Fedora15 Block device bug?

Hi guys,

I''m an administrator for a small cluster running
ganeti2.3.1/xen4.1.0/drbd83
on centos5.6, with predominantly fedora14 instances. We''ve been running
the
fedora 14 images pretty well, not many issues. However, I''ve noticed
that in
an attempt to install fedora 15, the virtualized block devices are
unrecognized by anaconda. has anyone else seen this or is this a known
issue?

-Corasian


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On Thu, Jun 30, 2011 at 02:45:42PM -0400, Travis wrote:
> Hi guys,
> 
> I''m an administrator for a small cluster running
ganeti2.3.1/xen4.1.0/drbd83
> on centos5.6, with predominantly fedora14 instances. We''ve been
running the
> fedora 14 images pretty well, not many issues. However, I''ve
noticed that in
> an attempt to install fedora 15, the virtualized block devices are
> unrecognized by anaconda. has anyone else seen this or is this a known
Uh, I hadn''t tried to install it. How did you install Fedora Core 14 in
the past?

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I have a PXE-installer environment that i use for the installation of the
Ganeti instances. For both versions of Fedora, i''ve used the
kernel/initrd
provided in their images/pxeboot/ folder as the pxe target. They both catch
and load anaconda, but it errors out at the storage device configuration of
the install process, saying it can''t find any usable storage devices.

I''ve just finished testing it on a vanilla centos 5.6 w/ virtualization
package, which runs xen 3.1; doing both cdrom/iso and pxe boot installs. the
same issue. I used lv-based storage for virtual block devices in both
contexts, and although fedora14 would complain about an un-initialized
drive, it would initialize the device and treat it as an ide block device.
Fedora 15 (or the included version of disk druid) doesn''t seem to know
how
to initialize a block device.

To examine disk initialization may be a red herring, however, as the issue
persists even after otherwise initializing the disk. (using fdisk on the
logvol or installing 14/centos then reinstalling w/ 15)

I''ve also tried to use raw and vmdk file formats as file-based block
devices. same issue.

However, it works perfectly using virtualbox or qemu+kvm.

I know that xen dom0 support, though intended for a return in 15 was pushed
back to the next release, but i''ve not read anything regarding a xen
domU
support regression; Though in HVM I would expect that to be a non-issue.


On Thu, Jun 30, 2011 at 6:05 PM, Konrad Rzeszutek Wilk <
konrad.wilk@oracle.com> wrote:
> On Thu, Jun 30, 2011 at 02:45:42PM -0400, Travis wrote:
> > Hi guys,
> >
> > I''m an administrator for a small cluster running
> ganeti2.3.1/xen4.1.0/drbd83
> > on centos5.6, with predominantly fedora14 instances. We''ve
been running
> the
> > fedora 14 images pretty well, not many issues. However, I''ve
noticed that
> in
> > an attempt to install fedora 15, the virtualized block devices are
> > unrecognized by anaconda. has anyone else seen this or is this a known
>
> Uh, I hadn''t tried to install it. How did you install Fedora Core
14 in the
> past?
>


-- 
"Eating and sleeping are the only activities that should be allowed
to interrupt a man''s enjoyment of his cigar." - Mark Twain


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On Fri, Jul 1, 2011 at 12:29 PM, Travis <corasian@gmail.com>
wrote:
> I have a PXE-installer environment that i use for the installation of the
> Ganeti instances. For both versions of Fedora, i''ve used the
kernel/initrd
> provided in their images/pxeboot/ folder as the pxe target. They both catch
> and load anaconda, but it errors out at the storage device configuration of
> the install process, saying it can''t find any usable storage
devices.
> I''ve just finished testing it on a vanilla centos 5.6 w/
virtualization
> package, which runs xen 3.1; doing both cdrom/iso and pxe boot installs.
the
> same issue. I used lv-based storage for virtual block devices in both
> contexts, and although fedora14 would complain about an un-initialized
> drive, it would initialize the device and treat it as an ide block device.
> Fedora 15 (or the included version of disk druid) doesn''t seem to
know how
> to initialize a block device.
> To examine disk initialization may be a red herring, however, as the issue
> persists even after otherwise initializing the disk. (using fdisk on the
> logvol or installing 14/centos then reinstalling w/ 15)
> I''ve also tried to use raw and vmdk file formats as file-based
block
> devices. same issue.
> However, it works perfectly using virtualbox or qemu+kvm.
> I know that xen dom0 support, though intended for a return in 15 was pushed
> back to the next release, but i''ve not read anything regarding a
xen domU
> support regression; Though in HVM I would expect that to be a non-issue.
Are you using HVM or PV? Are you able to access the shell? What does
"cat /proc/partitions" and "lsmod" show?

If it''s HVM, I suspect it''s the similar thing I experienced
with
Ubuntu, in that xen-blkfront is loaded, and that it caused emulated
devices to be unplugged, but the PV-on-HVM block device is unusable
because xen-platform-pci is not loaded.

-- 
Fajar

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I''m using HVM, and I''ve attached screenshots from the
requested output
(+lspci). No other OS is giving me this problem, and i''m consistently
able
to reproduce it. What''s your take?


On Fri, Jul 1, 2011 at 2:15 AM, Fajar A. Nugraha <list@fajar.net> wrote:
> On Fri, Jul 1, 2011 at 12:29 PM, Travis <corasian@gmail.com> wrote:
> > I have a PXE-installer environment that i use for the installation of
the
> > Ganeti instances. For both versions of Fedora, i''ve used the
> kernel/initrd
> > provided in their images/pxeboot/ folder as the pxe target. They both
> catch
> > and load anaconda, but it errors out at the storage device
configuration
> of
> > the install process, saying it can''t find any usable storage
devices.
> > I''ve just finished testing it on a vanilla centos 5.6 w/
virtualization
> > package, which runs xen 3.1; doing both cdrom/iso and pxe boot
installs.
> the
> > same issue. I used lv-based storage for virtual block devices in both
> > contexts, and although fedora14 would complain about an un-initialized
> > drive, it would initialize the device and treat it as an ide block
> device.
> > Fedora 15 (or the included version of disk druid) doesn''t
seem to know
> how
> > to initialize a block device.
> > To examine disk initialization may be a red herring, however, as the
> issue
> > persists even after otherwise initializing the disk. (using fdisk on
the
> > logvol or installing 14/centos then reinstalling w/ 15)
> > I''ve also tried to use raw and vmdk file formats as
file-based block
> > devices. same issue.
> > However, it works perfectly using virtualbox or qemu+kvm.
> > I know that xen dom0 support, though intended for a return in 15 was
> pushed
> > back to the next release, but i''ve not read anything
regarding a xen domU
> > support regression; Though in HVM I would expect that to be a
non-issue.
>
> Are you using HVM or PV? Are you able to access the shell? What does
> "cat /proc/partitions" and "lsmod" show?
>
> If it''s HVM, I suspect it''s the similar thing I
experienced with
> Ubuntu, in that xen-blkfront is loaded, and that it caused emulated
> devices to be unplugged, but the PV-on-HVM block device is unusable
> because xen-platform-pci is not loaded.
>
> --
> Fajar
>


-- 
"Eating and sleeping are the only activities that should be allowed
to interrupt a man''s enjoyment of his cigar." - Mark Twain





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On Sat, Jul 2, 2011 at 10:50 AM, Travis <corasian@gmail.com>
wrote:
> I''m using HVM, and I''ve attached screenshots from the
requested output
> (+lspci). No other OS is giving me this problem, and
i''m consistently able
> to reproduce it. What''s your take?
So no block device detected, and no xen-related module loaded. That''s
weird.

Two parts of this problem.

The first part is why would the emulated block device be missing. It
should still be there if PV drivers was not loaded.
Are you using the same dom0 (xen and dom0 kernel) and domU config file
for both the working F14 and F15? If yes, try:
- "xen_emul_unplug=never" on kernel command line. See
http://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/kernel-parameters.txt
- make sure you use "hda" on domU config file

Second part, F15''s boot/config-2.6.38.6-26.rc1.fc15.x86_64 has these
entries:
CONFIG_XEN_PLATFORM_PCI=m
CONFIG_XEN_BLKDEV_FRONTEND=m

So if you could add xen-platform-pci.ko and xen-blkfront.ko to the
install initrd, you should be able to use PV drivers directly. Not
sure what''s the easiest way to do it though (maybe unpack initrd, add
some files, and repack it).

-- 
Fajar

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On Sat, Jul 2, 2011 at 12:15 AM, Fajar A. Nugraha <list@fajar.net> wrote:
> On Sat, Jul 2, 2011 at 10:50 AM, Travis <corasian@gmail.com> wrote:
> > I''m using HVM, and I''ve attached screenshots from
the requested output
> > (+lspci). No other OS is giving me this problem, and
> i''m consistently able
> > to reproduce it. What''s your take?
>
> So no block device detected, and no xen-related module loaded.
That''s
> weird.
>
> Two parts of this problem.
>
> The first part is why would the emulated block device be missing. It
> should still be there if PV drivers was not loaded.
> Are you using the same dom0 (xen and dom0 kernel) and domU config file
> for both the working F14 and F15? If yes, try:
> - "xen_emul_unplug=never" on kernel command line. See
> http://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/kernel-parameters.txt
> - make sure you use "hda" on domU config file
>
> Awesome, the "xen_emul_unplug=never" arg fixed it. I tossed it in
and it
booted up and installed just fine. Thanks!!! And the doc you linked
is definitely going in my sysadmin toolbox. Sweet!


> Second part, F15''s boot/config-2.6.38.6-26.rc1.fc15.x86_64 has
these
> entries:
> CONFIG_XEN_PLATFORM_PCI=m
> CONFIG_XEN_BLKDEV_FRONTEND=m
>
> So if you could add xen-platform-pci.ko and xen-blkfront.ko to the
> install initrd, you should be able to use PV drivers directly. Not
> sure what''s the easiest way to do it though (maybe unpack initrd,
add
> some files, and repack it).
>
I had tried the fed15 rawhide version from fedora''s
virtualization-xendomu
test day (april) last night, and it includes the support (it reads the v
disk as a xen device, even) so hopefully it will be polished up (it was
quite a bit rough looking still) and pushed out in the next release/update.

>
> --
> Fajar
>

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On Sat, 2011-07-02 at 05:15 +0100, Fajar A. Nugraha
wrote:
> 
> Second part, F15''s boot/config-2.6.38.6-26.rc1.fc15.x86_64 has
these
> entries:
> CONFIG_XEN_PLATFORM_PCI=m
> CONFIG_XEN_BLKDEV_FRONTEND=m
> 
> So if you could add xen-platform-pci.ko and xen-blkfront.ko to the
> install initrd, you should be able to use PV drivers directly. Not
> sure what''s the easiest way to do it though (maybe unpack initrd,
add
> some files, and repack it). 
Has somebody reported this as a bug against F15? Either the initrd tool
(drakut?) should understand when xen-platform-pci is needed or it should
be =y. It''s a very small amount of code so building it in is not
unreasonable.

Ian.


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On Sat, Jul 2, 2011 at 2:02 AM, Ian Campbell
<Ian.Campbell@citrix.com>wrote:
> On Sat, 2011-07-02 at 05:15 +0100, Fajar A. Nugraha wrote:
> >
> > Second part, F15''s boot/config-2.6.38.6-26.rc1.fc15.x86_64
has these
> > entries:
> > CONFIG_XEN_PLATFORM_PCI=m
> > CONFIG_XEN_BLKDEV_FRONTEND=m
> >
> > So if you could add xen-platform-pci.ko and xen-blkfront.ko to the
> > install initrd, you should be able to use PV drivers directly. Not
> > sure what''s the easiest way to do it though (maybe unpack
initrd, add
> > some files, and repack it).
>
> Has somebody reported this as a bug against F15? Either the initrd tool
> (drakut?) should understand when xen-platform-pci is needed or it should
> be =y. It''s a very small amount of code so building it in is not
> unreasonable.
>
> Ian.
>
> I''m filing one now.

-- 
"Eating and sleeping are the only activities that should be allowed
to interrupt a man''s enjoyment of his cigar." - Mark Twain


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On Sat, Jul 2, 2011 at 2:07 AM, Travis <corasian@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> On Sat, Jul 2, 2011 at 2:02 AM, Ian Campbell
<Ian.Campbell@citrix.com>wrote:
>
>> On Sat, 2011-07-02 at 05:15 +0100, Fajar A. Nugraha wrote:
>> >
>> > Second part, F15''s
boot/config-2.6.38.6-26.rc1.fc15.x86_64 has these
>> > entries:
>> > CONFIG_XEN_PLATFORM_PCI=m
>> > CONFIG_XEN_BLKDEV_FRONTEND=m
>> >
>> > So if you could add xen-platform-pci.ko and xen-blkfront.ko to the
>> > install initrd, you should be able to use PV drivers directly. Not
>> > sure what''s the easiest way to do it though (maybe unpack
initrd, add
>> > some files, and repack it).
>>
>> Has somebody reported this as a bug against F15? Either the initrd tool
>> (drakut?) should understand when xen-platform-pci is needed or it
should
>> be =y. It''s a very small amount of code so building it in is
not
>> unreasonable.
>>
>> Ian.
>>
>> I''m filing one now.
>
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=718382


>
>
> --
> "Eating and sleeping are the only activities that should be allowed
> to interrupt a man''s enjoyment of his cigar." - Mark Twain
>


-- 
"Eating and sleeping are the only activities that should be allowed
to interrupt a man''s enjoyment of his cigar." - Mark Twain


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On Sat, Jul 02, 2011 at 03:05:59AM -0400, Travis wrote:
> On Sat, Jul 2, 2011 at 2:07 AM, Travis <corasian@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> >
> >
> > On Sat, Jul 2, 2011 at 2:02 AM, Ian Campbell
<Ian.Campbell@citrix.com>wrote:
> >
> >> On Sat, 2011-07-02 at 05:15 +0100, Fajar A. Nugraha wrote:
> >> >
> >> > Second part, F15''s
boot/config-2.6.38.6-26.rc1.fc15.x86_64 has these
> >> > entries:
> >> > CONFIG_XEN_PLATFORM_PCI=m
> >> > CONFIG_XEN_BLKDEV_FRONTEND=m
> >> >
> >> > So if you could add xen-platform-pci.ko and xen-blkfront.ko
to the
> >> > install initrd, you should be able to use PV drivers
directly. Not
> >> > sure what''s the easiest way to do it though (maybe
unpack initrd, add
> >> > some files, and repack it).
> >>
> >> Has somebody reported this as a bug against F15? Either the initrd
tool
> >> (drakut?) should understand when xen-platform-pci is needed or it
should
> >> be =y. It''s a very small amount of code so building it in
is not
> >> unreasonable.
> >>
> >> Ian.
> >>
> >> I''m filing one now.
> >
> 
> https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=718382
Anybody have some patches for it? They can be posted on the dracut mailing list?
Did loading those two modules in the install initrd fix the installation?

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On Jul 5, 2011 9:53 AM, "Konrad Rzeszutek Wilk"
<konrad.wilk@oracle.com>
wrote:
>
> On Sat, Jul 02, 2011 at 03:05:59AM -0400, Travis wrote:
> > On Sat, Jul 2, 2011 at 2:07 AM, Travis <corasian@gmail.com>
wrote:
> >
> > >
> > >
> > > On Sat, Jul 2, 2011 at 2:02 AM, Ian Campbell
<Ian.Campbell@citrix.com
>wrote:
> > >
> > >> On Sat, 2011-07-02 at 05:15 +0100, Fajar A. Nugraha wrote:
> > >> >
> > >> > Second part, F15''s
boot/config-2.6.38.6-26.rc1.fc15.x86_64 has
these
> > >> > entries:
> > >> > CONFIG_XEN_PLATFORM_PCI=m
> > >> > CONFIG_XEN_BLKDEV_FRONTEND=m
> > >> >
> > >> > So if you could add xen-platform-pci.ko and
xen-blkfront.ko to the
> > >> > install initrd, you should be able to use PV drivers
directly. Not
> > >> > sure what''s the easiest way to do it though
(maybe unpack initrd,
add
> > >> > some files, and repack it).
> > >>
> > >> Has somebody reported this as a bug against F15? Either the
initrd
tool
> > >> (drakut?) should understand when xen-platform-pci is needed
or it
should
> > >> be =y. It''s a very small amount of code so building
it in is not
> > >> unreasonable.
> > >>
> > >> Ian.
> > >>
> > >> I''m filing one now.
> > >
> >
> > https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=718382
>
> Anybody have some patches for it? They can be posted on the dracut mailing
list?
> Did loading those two modules in the install initrd fix the installation?
The aforementioned ''xen_emul_unplug=never'' kernel arg has
worked well enough
for me. I''ve pasted it into my kickstart files and my vms have been
installing and running fine.


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> > > https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=718382
> >
> > Anybody have some patches for it? They can be posted on the dracut
mailing
> list?
> > Did loading those two modules in the install initrd fix the
installation?
> 
> The aforementioned ''xen_emul_unplug=never'' kernel arg has
worked well enough
> for me. I''ve pasted it into my kickstart files and my vms have
been
> installing and running fine.
Ok, but with HVM drivers instead of the PV - at least during installation.
Is the ''xen_emul_unplug=never'' option also present in your VM
when it is running?

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On Wed, Jul 06, 2011 at 09:32:50AM -0400, Konrad Rzeszutek Wilk
wrote:
> > > > https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=718382
> > >
> > > Anybody have some patches for it? They can be posted on the
dracut mailing
> > list?
> > > Did loading those two modules in the install initrd fix the
installation?
> > 
> > The aforementioned ''xen_emul_unplug=never'' kernel
arg has worked well enough
> > for me. I''ve pasted it into my kickstart files and my vms
have been
> > installing and running fine.
> 
> Ok, but with HVM drivers instead of the PV - at least during installation.
> Is the ''xen_emul_unplug=never'' option also present in
your VM when it is running?
So I didn''t even attempt to install it under HVM. I put this in my
config file:

kernel = "/mnt/tftpboot/f15-x86_64/images/pxeboot/vmlinuz"
ramdisk="//mnt/tftpboot/f15-x86_64/images/pxeboot/initrd.img"
extra="console=hvc0 debug earlyprintk=xenboot askmethod vnc"
memory = 1024
name = "Fedora"
vcpus=2
vif = [ ''mac=00:0F:4B:00:00:63,bridge=switch'' ]
disk = [ ''phy:/dev/vg_guest_1/FC15,xvda,w'' ]
boot = "dnc"
vnc=1
videoram=8
vnclisten="0.0.0.0"
vncpasswd=''''
stdvga=0
serial=''pty''

And was able to install it.

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On Fri, Jul 8, 2011 at 3:58 AM, Konrad Rzeszutek Wilk
<konrad.wilk@oracle.com> wrote:
> On Wed, Jul 06, 2011 at 09:32:50AM -0400, Konrad Rzeszutek Wilk wrote:
>> > > > https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=718382
>> > >
>> > > Anybody have some patches for it? They can be posted on the
dracut mailing
>> > list?
>> > > Did loading those two modules in the install initrd fix the
installation?
>> >
>> > The aforementioned ''xen_emul_unplug=never''
kernel arg has worked well enough
>> > for me. I''ve pasted it into my kickstart files and my vms
have been
>> > installing and running fine.
>>
>> Ok, but with HVM drivers instead of the PV - at least during
installation.
>> Is the ''xen_emul_unplug=never'' option also present in
your VM when it is running?
>
> So I didn''t even attempt to install it under HVM. I put this in my
config file:
>
> kernel = "/mnt/tftpboot/f15-x86_64/images/pxeboot/vmlinuz"
> ramdisk="//mnt/tftpboot/f15-x86_64/images/pxeboot/initrd.img"
That''s PV isn''t it? It shouldn''t be a problem since
PV guests don''t
need xen-platform-pci
> extra="console=hvc0 debug earlyprintk=xenboot askmethod vnc"
> memory = 1024
> name = "Fedora"
> vcpus=2
> vif = [ ''mac=00:0F:4B:00:00:63,bridge=switch'' ]
> disk = [ ''phy:/dev/vg_guest_1/FC15,xvda,w'' ]
> boot = "dnc"
> vnc=1
> videoram=8
> vnclisten="0.0.0.0"
> vncpasswd=''''
> stdvga=0
> serial=''pty''
>
> And was able to install it.
>
So after some test on HVM domU (read: adding xen-platform-pci.ko to
initrd.img, and running "insmod ./xen-platform-pci.ko" just before
anaconda detects disk), I was able to get the installer to proceed.

One thing that puzzles me though, when booting using installer''s
kernel, the module xen-platform-pci and xen-blkfront was not loaded
(not until I ran "insmod". However the kernel prints

[    0.000000] Hypervisor detected: Xen HVM
[    0.000000] Xen version 4.1.
[    0.000000] Netfront and the Xen platform PCI driver have been
compiled for this kernel: unplug emulated NICs.
[    0.000000] Blkfront and the Xen platform PCI driver have been
compiled for this kernel: unplug emulated disks.
[    0.000000] You might have to change the root device
[    0.000000] from /dev/hd[a-d] to /dev/xvd[a-d]
[    0.000000] in your root= kernel command line option

shouldn''t the unplug only happen if the drivers are actually loaded?

-- 
Fajar

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