I''ve done a short study on the current VT options: http://stateless.geek.nz/2006/09/11/current-virtualisation-hardware/ I''ve got a few issues I''m still trying to determine. It seems that only the Intel Core Duo 2 desktop chipset that supports VT is the Q965/963. Has anyone seen support for VT on any of the other 965 chipsets? Do any of the non-Intel chipsets (nForce 500?) support VT? Conversely it seems that all AM2 (desktop) socket systems support Pacifica. How good is the AMD Athlon 64 X2 CPU is at supporting HVM? What about the AM2 motherboards. Is there generic out of the box HVM support for all motherboards? Are some AM2 motherboards better? PS: http://wiki.xensource.com/xenwiki/HVM_Compatible_Processors should be updated with the new Opteron''s<http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/0,,30_118_8796_14309,00.html> . However it seems the Xeon 5100s are 15% faster than the Opteron 2000s. Nicholas _______________________________________________ Xen-users mailing list Xen-users@lists.xensource.com http://lists.xensource.com/xen-users
> However it seems the Xeon 5100s are 15% faster than the Opteron 2000s. > > NicholasIt depends on your application. Dont forget to look at residual cost of owning a Xeon 5100. I believe that it requires fully buffered dimms each pulling 9 to 14 Watt compared to non-fully buffered dimms for the new Opterons that support DDR2 which I think draw 2-3 watts per dimm. Plus even though the Xeon requires less power for the chip itself they dont take into account the fact that the Opterons have an on die memory controller. The Xeons have a separate memory controller which I believe draws another 2 Watts. Kind of went on a tangent there ... but really it does depend on the type of applications you are running. I seem to remember the Xeons whop up on the Opterons in single threaded applications, however I think the reverse is true when you start using threaded applications. Personally I prefer Opterons however they are not the best in every situation. I think in general you get better performance/watt out of them. _______________________________________________ Xen-users mailing list Xen-users@lists.xensource.com http://lists.xensource.com/xen-users
On 9/11/06, Nick Anderson <nick@anders0n.net> wrote:> > Personally I prefer Opterons however they are not the best in every > situation. > I think in general you get better performance/watt out of them.I completely agree with you. However, as opposed to previously where the Opteron''s where the clear choice, the new Intel processors are definitely shaking the tree. PS: If you don''t mind I might borrow some of your comment for my blog entry. Nicholas _______________________________________________ Xen-users mailing list Xen-users@lists.xensource.com http://lists.xensource.com/xen-users
> PS: If you don''t mind I might borrow some of your comment for my blog > entry. > > NicholasI don''t mind. whats the link? _______________________________________________ Xen-users mailing list Xen-users@lists.xensource.com http://lists.xensource.com/xen-users
Hi, I''ve been struggling to get VT working on my new HP d4600y. Up till this point I assumed the problem was that I was doing something wrong. But your email makes me wonder whether I just have an incompatible chipset. Windows'' MyComputer/Hardware/Device Manager listing shows: Intel(R) P965/G965 Processor to I/O Controller - 29A0 Does that mean that I should give up on VT? (If so, I feel rather cheated -- I bought the computer specifically for use with VT under XEN, and if it doesn''t work, I''ve wasted a whole lot of money!) In general, how do you KNOW if your system is VT-capable? If it doesn''t seem to work, how do you know it''s the chipset causing the problem? And how will I make a better informed choice, if I have to buy a different system to replace this expensive paperweight! Thanks, Derek. On 9/10/06, Nicholas Lee <emptysands@gmail.com> wrote:> > I''ve done a short study on the current VT options: > http://stateless.geek.nz/2006/09/11/current-virtualisation-hardware/ > > I''ve got a few issues I''m still trying to determine. > > It seems that only the Intel Core Duo 2 desktop chipset that supports VT > is the Q965/963. > > Has anyone seen support for VT on any of the other 965 chipsets? > Do any of the non-Intel chipsets (nForce 500?) support VT? > > > Conversely it seems that all AM2 (desktop) socket systems support > Pacifica. > > How good is the AMD Athlon 64 X2 CPU is at supporting HVM? > What about the AM2 motherboards. Is there generic out of the box HVM > support for all motherboards? Are some AM2 motherboards better? > > > PS: http://wiki.xensource.com/xenwiki/HVM_Compatible_Processors should be > updated with the new Opteron''s<http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/0,,30_118_8796_14309,00.html> > . > However it seems the Xeon 5100s are 15% faster than the Opteron 2000s. > > > Nicholas > > _______________________________________________ > Xen-users mailing list > Xen-users@lists.xensource.com > http://lists.xensource.com/xen-users > >_______________________________________________ Xen-users mailing list Xen-users@lists.xensource.com http://lists.xensource.com/xen-users
Anymore detailed information? Also are there any options on BIOS to enable vt? Thanks Yunhong Jiang>-----Original Message----- >From: xen-users-bounces@lists.xensource.com >[mailto:xen-users-bounces@lists.xensource.com] On Behalf Of >Derek Sherlock >Sent: 2006年9月11日 8:18 >To: xen ml >Subject: Re: [Xen-users] HVM systems review > >Hi, > >I''ve been struggling to get VT working on my new HP d4600y. >Up till this point I assumed the problem was that I was doing >something wrong. But your email makes me wonder whether I >just have an incompatible chipset. Windows'' >MyComputer/Hardware/Device Manager listing shows: > > Intel(R) P965/G965 Processor to I/O Controller - 29A0 > >Does that mean that I should give up on VT? (If so, I feel >rather cheated -- I bought the computer specifically for use >with VT under XEN, and if it doesn''t work, I''ve wasted a whole >lot of money!) > >In general, how do you KNOW if your system is VT-capable? If >it doesn''t seem to work, how do you know it''s the chipset >causing the problem? And how will I make a better informed >choice, if I have to buy a different system to replace this >expensive paperweight! > >Thanks, >Derek. > >On 9/10/06, Nicholas Lee <emptysands@gmail.com> wrote: > > I''ve done a short study on the current VT options: >http://stateless.geek.nz/2006/09/11/current-virtualisation-hardware/ > > I''ve got a few issues I''m still trying to determine. > > It seems that only the Intel Core Duo 2 desktop chipset >that supports VT is the Q965/963. > > Has anyone seen support for VT on any of the other 965 >chipsets? > Do any of the non-Intel chipsets (nForce 500?) support VT? > > > Conversely it seems that all AM2 (desktop) socket >systems support Pacifica. > > How good is the AMD Athlon 64 X2 CPU is at supporting HVM? > What about the AM2 motherboards. Is there generic out >of the box HVM support for all motherboards? Are some AM2 >motherboards better? > > > PS: >http://wiki.xensource.com/xenwiki/HVM_Compatible_Processors >should be updated with the new Opteron''s ><http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/0,,30_1 >18_8796_14309,00.html> . > However it seems the Xeon 5100s are 15% faster than the >Opteron 2000s. > > > Nicholas > > > _______________________________________________ > Xen-users mailing list > Xen-users@lists.xensource.com ><mailto:Xen-users@lists.xensource.com> > http://lists.xensource.com/xen-users > > > > >_______________________________________________ Xen-users mailing list Xen-users@lists.xensource.com http://lists.xensource.com/xen-users
On 9/12/06, Derek Sherlock <derek@sherlockmail.com> wrote:> > Intel(R) P965/G965 Processor to I/O Controller - 29A0 > > Does that mean that I should give up on VT? (If so, I feel rather cheated > -- I bought the computer specifically for use with VT under XEN, and if it > doesn''t work, I''ve wasted a whole lot of money!) >You could replace it with a Q965 motherboard. Probably not as expensive as replacing the whole system.> In general, how do you KNOW if your system is VT-capable? If it doesn''t > seem to work, how do you know it''s the chipset causing the problem? And how > will I make a better informed choice, if I have to buy a different system to > replace this expensive paperweight! >The only clear way I''ve discovered to check for VT is by knowing both the processor and motherboard support it. For the 965 motherboards, I''ve checked: http://www.intel.com/products/motherboard/index.htm?iid=HMPAGE+Header_2_Product_MB http://www.digital-daily.com/motherboard/intel_96x_overview/index02.htm The only chipset that explicitly says it supports VT is the Q965/963.In fact these seem to be the only chipsets that explicit state they support VT. Maybe an Intel person can confirm this. Even with the AM2 case, I''m not completely clear if ALL AM2 chipsets support AMD-V. It seems to be the case as there is no information to the contra. However the only thing I can promise is HVM works with my NForce 590SLI gigabyte motherboard. Nicholas _______________________________________________ Xen-users mailing list Xen-users@lists.xensource.com http://lists.xensource.com/xen-users
On 9/14/06, Jiang, Yunhong <yunhong.jiang@intel.com> wrote:> > Anymore detailed information? Also are there any options on BIOS to enable > vt? > > Thanks > Yunhong JiangMy system has no BIOS options that mention VT in any way at all. I''ve heard of some systems with VT disabled in firmware, and on these systems there''s a telltale message from XEN as it boots up. Something about VT being disabled by CSR settings. I don''t see any such message on my system, so I _assumed_ (wrongly perhaps) that my CPU and BIOS both support VT. I didn''t even think that the chipset could be a limiter. Can anyone tell me what part the chipset plays in VT virtualization? Thanks, Derek. _______________________________________________ Xen-users mailing list Xen-users@lists.xensource.com http://lists.xensource.com/xen-users
> You could replace it with a Q965 motherboard. Probably not as > expensive as replacing the whole system.If I have to, I''ll do that. What a pain. But, before I do it, I want to know for sure that the motherboard is really to blame for my lack of success with VT. Unless I really know for sure that P965 _can''t_ do VT, it could be that I''m doing something dumb in my setup. And, of course, the Intel literature is decidedly vague on whether the P965 allows VT.> In general, how do you KNOW if your system is VT-capable? If it doesn''t > > seem to work, how do you know it''s the chipset causing the problem? And how > > will I make a better informed choice, if I have to buy a different system to > > replace this expensive paperweight! > > > > The only clear way I''ve discovered to check for VT is by knowing both the > processor and motherboard support it. >But that doesn''t help. The only way to know is to know! What if you don''t know, and the data sheets are silent on the subject? You can _assume_ the answer is no because the datasheet doesn''t explicitly say it''s yes. But I really want to be more certain before I spend any more money on replacing expensive hardware. Oh, for a simple self-contained stand-alone program that tests the VT capability of a system. Derek. _______________________________________________ Xen-users mailing list Xen-users@lists.xensource.com http://lists.xensource.com/xen-users
________________________________ From: xen-users-bounces@lists.xensource.com [mailto:xen-users-bounces@lists.xensource.com] On Behalf Of Derek Sherlock Sent: 14 September 2006 22:55 To: xen ml Subject: Re: [Xen-users] HVM systems review > You could replace it with a Q965 motherboard. Probably not as > expensive as replacing the whole system. If I have to, I''ll do that. What a pain. But, before I do it, I want to know for sure that the motherboard is really to blame for my lack of success with VT. Unless I really know for sure that P965 _can''t_ do VT, it could be that I''m doing something dumb in my setup. And, of course, the Intel literature is decidedly vague on whether the P965 allows VT. In general, how do you KNOW if your system is VT-capable? If it doesn''t seem to work, how do you know it''s the chipset causing the problem? And how will I make a better informed choice, if I have to buy a different system to replace this expensive paperweight! The only clear way I''ve discovered to check for VT is by knowing both the processor and motherboard support it. But that doesn''t help. The only way to know is to know! What if you don''t know, and the data sheets are silent on the subject? You can _assume_ the answer is no because the datasheet doesn''t explicitly say it''s yes. But I really want to be more certain before I spend any more money on replacing expensive hardware. Oh, for a simple self-contained stand-alone program that tests the VT capability of a system. if it''s running Linux (and has a recent kernel) you can use "cat /proc/cpuinfo|grep vmx" (or ...grep svm on AMD system). If you get no ouptut, then you haven''t got VT (or SVM) feature. -- Mats Derek. _______________________________________________ Xen-users mailing list Xen-users@lists.xensource.com http://lists.xensource.com/xen-users
Hi, > Oh, for a simple self-contained stand-alone program that tests the VT > capability of a system. If your processor is a Intel EM64T (x86_64) then there is an application (Processor Check for 64-Bit Compatibility) at the VMWare site which should tell you whether it is VT-capable or not (http://www.vmware.com/download/ws/drivers_tools.html). I have only tried it in a system which is non VT-capable, so I''m not sure how well it works. Actually I''m more or less on the same boat as you. I want to buy a Dell Precision 390 (Intel Core2 Duo, E6600), and the processor is supposedly VT-capable, but I don''t seem to be able to find on their website exactly which motherboard or chipset is coming with it, so I''m just keeping my fingers crossed until it arrives at my door... Cheers, Angel de Vicente -- ---------------------------------- http://www.iac.es/galeria/angelv/ PostDoc Software Support Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias _______________________________________________ Xen-users mailing list Xen-users@lists.xensource.com http://lists.xensource.com/xen-users
On 9/15/06, Derek Sherlock <derek@sherlockmail.com> wrote:> > > But, before I do it, I want to know for sure that the motherboard is > really to blame for my lack of success with VT. Unless I really know for > sure that P965 _can''t_ do VT, it could be that I''m doing something dumb in > my setup. And, of course, the Intel literature is decidedly vague on > whether the P965 allows VT. >Friend of mine just got a P965 m/b with a Duo 2. He says it has a VT option in the bios. I''ve asked him to try Xenoppix when he has a chance. We''ll see if works. Nicholas _______________________________________________ Xen-users mailing list Xen-users@lists.xensource.com http://lists.xensource.com/xen-users