let domUs automatically switch to PV after install
Bascially, we love 3 things:
1. Easy install, looking just like a native one (PXE without fuss) using an ISO. Thats something HVM knows how to do. Ideally autodetect nic typ so you don't end up stuck on emulated drivers.
2. The High Performance from running a 100% PV domU. Nothing beats that. No matter if you need to run dozens or hundreds of domUs on a host, or if you want to enjoy battery-conserving zero-idle-overhead virtualization on a laptop.
3. The great feeling if you converted a HV domU after install and see it fly.
Now, question:
Can't we make it switch to PV automatically if a PVops / FullPV kernel is found?
This splits into two problems as far as I can tell:
1. the automagic to find out this domU would be OK to run as PV
2. something that lets Xen change the config at reboot. Something meaning not the manual editing of the config + destroy.
Ideally, we'd have a new "builder" that has this flexibility. Otherwise you'll still run into some big questions once you want to re-install.
Anyway, this is the thing I've been really missing for long times, and yes, that would be a very simple thing to use in the end.
Florian Heigl
shared this idea
4 comments
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Florian Heigl
commented
That would be fun...
I guess in the long run PVHVM will also be a solution for this, albeit with more overhead for a "simple" goal. -
Actually, at least in the 4.3 development branch, there's already a way to have the VM get new config file info after reboot. Let me see if there's a simple way to do what you describe with the tools at hand.
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Florian Heigl
commented
Yes, in theory it's always easy :)
That has not a good track record of changing reality though, doing it is the hard part.
Making it highly stable is the harder part. -
Anonymous
commented
This could be easily scripted by passing some data back from your VM and modifying your launch tools.
