Synopses & Reviews
Xen, the open source virtualization tool, is a system administrator's dream. Xen is a free, high-performance virtual machine monitor that lets you consolidate your hardware and finally put those unused cycles to use—without sacrificing reliability, performance, or scalability.
The Book of Xen explains everything you need to know in order to use Xen effectively, including installation, networking, memory management, and virtualized storage. You'll also learn how to use Xen and standard Linux tools to take snapshot backups, perform QoS operations on network traffic, and limit over-aggressive disk users.
Authors Chris Takemura and Luke S. Crawford show you how to:
- Provide virtual hosting for dozens of users, each with their own individual needs
- Install and manage multiple guests, including various flavors of Linux, NetBSD, Solaris, and Windows
- Choose the right virtual storage options for your needs
- Migrate your systems seamlessly and create new images
- Tune and benchmark your systems to make them as fast as possible
- Troubleshoot Xen's most common problems like network and memory management
Expert advice is priceless when it comes to running a complicated open source virtualization technology like Xen. You'll get the advice you need in The Book of Xen.
Synopsis
Xen allows administrators to run many virtual operating systems on one physical server, including Linux, BSD, OpenSolaris, and Microsoft Windows. In the process, users save money on hardware, maintenance, and electricity. Not only is Xen open source, the Xen hypervisor (the virtual machine monitor) is the best-performing hypervisor available.
The Book of Xen explains everything a sysadmin needs to know to use this powerful technology, with coverage of installation, networking, virtualized storage, and managing guest and host operating systems. Written for administrators who have worked with *NIX before but who may be new to virtualization, The Book of Xen covers both the basics and the trickier aspects of Xen administration, like profiling and benchmarks, migration, XenSource administration, and hardware assisted virtualization (HVM).
Synopsis
Xen allows administrators to run many virtual operating systems on one physical server, including Linux, BSD, OpenSolaris, and Microsoft Windows. This text explains how to use this powerful technology, with coverage of installation, networking, virtualized storage, and managing guest and host operating systems.
About the Author
Chris Takemura is a recent graduate, occasional Xen consultant, and itinerant writer. He is currently working on a Xen hosting venture at prgmr.com and biking about the Bay Area.
Luke S. Crawford has been working with virtualization since before it was cool, selling virtual servers based on FreeBSD jails before diving headfirst into Xen. He is currently a Xen consultant, working on corporate server consolidation in a Fortune 100 corporate environment and works on a Xen hosting venture at prgmr.com.
Table of Contents
FOREWORD; ACKNOWLEDGMENTS; INTRODUCTION; Virtualization: A Brief History; So What's Xen Again? (And Why Should I Use It?); Overview of the Book; But I Am Impatient!; Chapter 1: XEN: A HIGH-LEVEL OVERVIEW; 1.1 Virtualization Principles; 1.2 Virtualization Techniques: Full Virtualization; 1.3 Virtualization Techniques: OS Virtualization; 1.4 Paravirtualization: Xen's Approach; 1.5 Xen's Underpinnings: The Gory Details; 1.6 Putting It Together; Chapter 2: GETTING STARTED; 2.1 Hardware Compatibility; 2.2 Installing CentOS; 2.3 Getting Familiar with Your Xen System; 2.4 Making a DomU; 2.5 Configuring the DomU; 2.6 You're Finished. Have a Cookie.; Chapter 3: PROVISIONING DOMUS; 3.1 A Basic DomU Configuration; 3.2 Selecting a Kernel; 3.3 Quick-and-Dirty Install via tar; 3.4 Using the Package Management System with an Alternate Root; 3.5 QEMU Install; 3.6 virt-install--Red Hat's One-Step DomU Installer; 3.7 Converting VMware Disk Images; 3.8 Mass Deployment; 3.9 And Then...; Chapter 4: STORAGE WITH XEN; 4.1 Storage: The Basics; 4.2 Varying Types of Storage; 4.3 Basic Setup: Files; 4.4 Enlarge Your Disk; 4.5 Copy-on-Write and Snapshots; 4.6 LVM and Snapshots; 4.7 Storage and Migration; 4.8 Closing Suggestions; Chapter 5: NETWORKING; 5.1 Xen's Network Setup Process; 5.2 Defining Virtual Interfaces; 5.3 Manipulating vifs with xm; 5.4 Securing Xen's Virtual Network; 5.5 Networking with network-route; 5.6 Networking with network-bridge; 5.7 Networking with network-nat; 5.8 Configuration Variables; 5.9 Custom Network Scripts; 5.10 Further Thoughts; Chapter 6: DOMU MANAGEMENT: TOOLS AND FRONTENDS; 6.1 Tools for the VM Provider; 6.2 Administering the Virtualized Data Center; 6.3 Administration for the VM Customer; Chapter 7: HOSTING UNTRUSTED USERS UNDER XEN: LESSONS FROM THE TRENCHES; 7.1 Advantages for the Users; 7.2 Shared Resources and Protecting Them from the Users; 7.3 Storage in a Shared Hosting Environment; 7.4 Remote Access to the DomU; 7.5 PyGRUB, a Bootloader for DomUs; 7.6 Wrap-Up; Chapter 8: BEYOND LINUX: USING XEN WITH OTHER UNIX-LIKE OSS; 8.1 Solaris; 8.2 NetBSD; 8.3 Beyond Paravirtualization: HVM; Chapter 9: XEN MIGRATION; 9.1 Migration for Troglodytes; 9.2 Migration with xm save and xm restore; 9.3 Cold Migration; 9.4 Live Migration; 9.5 Migrating Storage; 9.6 Quo Peregrinatur Grex; Chapter 10: PROFILING AND BENCHMARKING UNDER XEN; 10.1 A Benchmarking Overview; 10.2 Application Benchmarks; 10.3 Profiling with Xen; 10.4 Conclusion; Chapter 11: CITRIX XENSERVER: XEN FOR THE ENTERPRISE; 11.1 Citrix's Xen Products; 11.2 The Benefits of Using Citrix XenServer; 11.3 The Disadvantages of Using Citrix XenServer; 11.4 Getting Started; 11.5 Citrix's Xen GUI: XenCenter; 11.6 Administering VMs with the XenCenter; 11.7 Installing DomU Images; 11.8 XenServer Resource Pools; 11.9 Citrix XenServer: A Brief Review; Chapter 12: HVM: BEYOND PARAVIRTUALIZATION; 12.1 Principles of HVM; 12.2 Xen HVM vs. KVM; 12.3 Working with HVM; 12.4 Creating an HVM Domain; 12.5 HVM Devices; 12.6 And, for Our Next Trick...; Chapter 13: XEN AND WINDOWS; 13.1 Why Run Windows Under Xen?; 13.2 Windows on Xen: Prerequisites; 13.3 Windows on Xen: Installation; 13.4 Windows with the Virtual Framebuffer; 13.5 Et Voil