Bug 118059

Summary: [feature-request] Please make Xen VM easily configurable
Product: [openSUSE] SUSE Linux 10.1 Reporter: Alexey Eremenko <al4321>
Component: YaST2Assignee: Ladislav Slezák <lslezak>
Status: RESOLVED WONTFIX QA Contact: Klaus Kämpf <kkaempf>
Severity: Enhancement    
Priority: P5 - None    
Version: unspecified   
Target Milestone: ---   
Hardware: PC   
OS: All   
Whiteboard:
Found By: Third Party Developer/Partner Services Priority:
Business Priority: Blocker: ---
Marketing QA Status: --- IT Deployment: ---

Description Alexey Eremenko 2005-09-20 16:18:33 UTC 
Yast's Xen GUI is not very useful for new users/Microsoft Virtual PC users,
because it's only semi-automatic. Lot's of stuff needs to be manually
configured, which requires Linux skills.

In SuSE 10.1 this must be changed - Xen VM must be available to all noobs alike,
wiothout Linux skills.

Let's go more specific:

yast2 Xen module:
1) Must automatically install SuSE-xen kernel, 

2) Automatically suggest newbie users how much RAM each machine will have
(with ability to *graphically* chnage defaults)

3) Must automatically assign xen- domains for VMs & host kernel.

4) //TODO: you add here ideas :)

In total: Yast Xen module must allow totally new to Linux user start a VM,
*without* configuring anything in KDE konsole, otherwise SuSE's Yast CC Xen
module missing a main target...
Comment 1 Michael Gross 2005-09-21 09:01:14 UTC 
Please note that the XEN-support in 10.0 is called a `technical review' of a new
(upcoming) technology, so the support is limited to a basic level yet. I think
something like XEN does adress more professional users rather than newbies.
Moreover, finetuning at a certain level will always be a thing of expertise.

I'll reassign it to the yast2-vm-module maintainer ;)
Comment 2 Ladislav Slezák 2005-11-21 17:26:11 UTC 
1) is already in bug #117215

2) RAM proposal configuration can be changed, we may add a slider to graphically change RAM size or try to reuse resizing widget used in the partitioner.

3) I don't understant it. Could you describe it in more details or in a different way?
Comment 3 Alexey Eremenko 2005-11-21 19:41:16 UTC 
2) Some systems are low-powered, and therefore needs some more options to configure RAM, such as 128 MB. + I want the Xen-wizard in Yast to automatically suggest RAM for the VM based on the total RAM in the host system.
I suggest to default the VM's RAM to one-quarter of the Host RAM.
i.e. for 512 MB Systems, make the VMs default to 128 MB RAM.

3) In order to run Xen, each virtual machine must be in different Xen domain, while the host machine must be in Xen domain 0.
Currently the process of assigning Xen domains to Virtual machines is only semi-automatic. It must be fully automated.
Comment 4 Stanislav Visnovsky 2005-11-29 14:15:01 UTC 
OK, the memory requirement is clear. But what do you mean by semi-automatic?
Comment 5 Ladislav Slezák 2005-11-29 14:43:51 UTC 
ad 2) It's very hard to propose reasonable RAM size. It depends on total RAM size, number of other virtual machines, purpose of the VM, OS inside, how much memory you want to leave for domain0...

You can also dynamically change memory sizes of all domains. So user must set the amount which should be used by the VM manually. There is no simple rule how to propose the memory size... (1/4 might be too much on 4GB system or too low on 256MB)

ad 3) Xen virtual machine is called domain. Domain0 (host domain) is the first domain created after boot and you cannot change that. I don't understand your comment. Please, what should be fully automated? Could you write an example how it should work?
Comment 6 Ladislav Slezák 2006-03-08 13:44:41 UTC 
No feedback, resolving as WONTFIX

In 10.1 domain0 is automatically resized if there is not enough free memory available (of course, there is minimum size of dom0).