HP just release new Monitoring Agents for XenServer 5.5

Version 8.2.5 is working with XenServer 5.5

Get it here: http://budurl.com/yc3m

Cheers

Danny

THIS IS OFFICIALLY NOT SUPPORTED FROM CITRIX!!

It's just for testing and development!

It requres modifications to DOM0 and therefore Citrix can not support it!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-    rpm -hiv net-snmp-libs-5.3.1-24.el5_2.2.i386.rpm
-    rpm -hiv apcupsd-3.14.5-1.el5.i386.rpm
-    /etc/apcupsd/apcupsd.conf   // modify
UPSCABLE ether
UPSTYPE pcnet
DEVICE 10.1.1.7:apc:*******    passphrase has to have 15 characters
BATTERYLEVEL 15
MINUTES 10
-    chkconfig -level 12345 apcupsd on
-    Modify Firewall
/sbin/iptables-save >/tmp/iptables.old
cp /tmp/iptables.old /tmp/iptables.new

Replace:
-A RH-Firewall-1-INPUT -p udp -m state --state NEW -m udp --dport 694 -j ACCEPT
with:
-A RH-Firewall-1-INPUT -p udp -m state --state NEW -m udp -j ACCEPT

/sbin/iptables-restore </tmp/iptables.new
/etc/init.d/iptables save
-    /etc/init.d/apcupsd start      //  start Daemon
-    /etc/init.d/apcupsd status    //    Check Status
/etc/apcupsd/apccontrol  // modify

Hi.

I'm currently preparing a couple of technical videos about xenserver. The goal of the videos is to cover short technical topics in 5-10minute videos. 

Like:

How to assign a dedicated NIC for iSCSI Storage

How to create a vm via CLI

How to troubleshoot IP issues

I would like to know what videos you would like to see.

Please take a look at:

http://budurl.com/mncd

And enter / vote for the topics you are interested in most.

Thanks in advance

Danny

Hi.

A long time SNMP Agents were only available for the HP Oem Edition. That has changed now.

XenServer customers can download certified and tested HP Agents for XenServer Retail Versions:

XenServer SNMP Agents for HP 

Danny

Installing XenServer on a USB Drive.

I wanted to be able to use my Lenovo T61 to run XenServer but I did not want to give up on my Vista OS since XenServer won't allow you to partition your hard drive.
So I figured I could use my USB drive to boot from, and then have XenServer installed on it. The good news is that it works, but there are some caveats.
If you want to run XenServer from a laptop while preserving your original O.S., this is what you need to do:
1) Find out if your Laptop (or PC) supports Booting from a USB device. Change the order to have your ATAPI CD first, your USB HDD second and your ATA/SATA HDD third
2) Find out if your Laptop (or PC) supports Virtualization Technology (e.g.: on T61 press F1 for BIOS utility, Config, CPU, and hit Enter under Virtualization Technology to enable it.
3) Because USB support is not preloaded by the mkinitrd image, some steps are required prior to installing XenServer. To get XenServer to boot from a USB drive, follow the steps described on this article written by Chris Wolf, Virtualization Review magazine's "Virtual Advisor". I disabled my Internal hard drive prior to doing these steps to ensure that I did not accidentally wiped off its contents

Installing and Running XenServer 4.1 on an External USB Drive
May 9, 2008 - by Chris Wolf
Source: http://virtualizationreview.com/columns/article.aspx?editorialsid=2618

"I often get asked about running hypervisors from portable storage devices and in this column, I'd like to talk about a method for installing and running XenServer 4.1 from a portable USB hard drive. This is useful if you are testing multiple hypervisor solutions and do not want to multi-boot the hypervisors on local server storage. Since XenServer Express Edition is free, you can evaluate the product for as long as you like and eventually upgrade the license if you want to unlock the product's enterprise-class features.
Of course, the physical host server is going to need to meet XenServer 4.1's system requirements. Servers with support for hardware-assisted virtualization (one of XenServer's hardware requirements) should also support USB device boot. Many USB flash drives offer enough storage space for a XenServer installation (16GB is required per the official requirements). Note that the actual software installation will only consume about 2GB. However, keep in mind that USB flash drives perform considerably slower than traditional hard disks. So if performance is a consideration, I highly recommend using a 2.5" external USB drive. In preparation for this article, I used a Seagate external USB 2.0 40 GB hard disk.
While not required, I disabled all internal hard disks in the test server's BIOS so that the XenServer installation would only see the external USB drive. This prevents accidentally installing XenServer on an internal server hard disk.
At this point, you should be ready to install XenServer 4.1. You can do so by following the installations steps documented in the XenServer 4.1 Installation Guide. Note that you will only be prompted to select the installation drive if the system can see multiple attached drives. If you take the cautionary step to disable all locally attached physical drives, you will not see this option. If multiple drives are present, you will also be prompted to select the drive for virtual storage, which again should be the external USB drive.
Once the XenServer installation completes, you will be prompted to hit Enter to reboot the server. This is where the trouble will begin. USB support is not preloaded by the mkinitrd image, by default, which will eventually cause a kernel panic and automatic reboot when XenServer starts. Note that if you are not seeing XenServer boot, that's probably because the USB drive was listed farther down in the boot order than another system drive. You can select to boot from the USB drive by clicking the hotkey to access the boot options menu and selecting to boot from the USB drive at that point. For example, the boot options menu on many Dell servers is accessed by hitting the F11 key when the server boots.
To get XenServer to successfully boot on an external USB drive, follow these steps:
1. When the server boots, hit the hotkey for the boot options menu.
2. Ensure that the XenServer installation CD is in the CD-ROM drive.
3. In the boot options menu, select the option to boot from the CD-ROM.
4. As soon as the Welcome to XenServer setup screen loads, immediately press the F2 key to view the advanced setup options.
5. Now type shell and hit Enter.
6. When the system finishes booting, run the following command to create a temporary folder where you will mount the external USB drive:

mkdir /tmp/sda
7. You will now mount the USB drive to the temporary location. Note that I'm assuming the USB drive is the only drive attached to the system and therefore is mounted as /dev/sda. To mount the first partition of sda to the /tmp/sda folder, run this command:

mount -t ext3 /dev/sda1 /tmp/sda
8. You will now need to copy the sys/block drivers from the setup environment to the USB drive. However, you will first need to change the driver file permissions prior to the copy. To do this, run this command:

chmod -R 664 /sys/block
9. You can now copy the contents of /sys/block to the USB drive. To do this, run this command:

cp -R /sys/block/ /tmp/sda/sys/block/

Note: Disregard the resultant "Input/Output error" message. The file copy will complete successfully.
10. Next you need to change the root location to /tmp/sda. You can do this by running the command:

chroot /tmp/sda
11. Now let's change to the /boot folder on the USB drive. To do this, run the command:

cd /boot
12. Now we will rename the original primary initrd image file because the new image file will have the same name as the original file for ease of configuration. To rename the primary initrd image file, run this command:

mv initrd-2.6.18-53.1.13.el5.xs4.1.0.254.273xen.img initrd-2.6.18-53.1.13.el5.xs4.1.0.254.273xen.img.old
13. Next, we'll create a new initrd image that includes the USB driver. To do this, run this command:

mkinitrd --with-usb initrd-2.6.18-53.1.13.el5.xs4.1.0.254.273xen.img 2.6.18-53.1.13.el5.xs4.1.0.254.273xen
14. At this point, you will now be able to successfully boot XenServer from an external USB drive. To reboot, the server, type exit and hit Enter and then type reboot and press Enter. Remember to select the external USB drive from the boot options menu when the server boots.
When the XenServer system successfully boots, you should see that the post installation script that XenServer attempts to run will fail. The post install script will try and configure the third partition created during the XenServer installation as a data store for VM files, but will fail in the process. Since the script fails to add a local data store, you'll just need to do this manually. Note that this assumes that you have enough additional storage on the external USB drive for VM storage.
If you plan to use local storage for VMs, follow these steps:
1. Login to the XenServer console using the root account and the root account password you specified when you installed XenServer.
2. Run fdisk -l to view the available partitions on the attached USB drive. The command execution and output is shown below:
[root@xensrv1 ~]# fdisk -l

Disk /dev/sda: 40.0 GB, 40007761920 bytes
64 heads, 32 sectors/track, 38154 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 2048 * 512 = 1048576 bytes

   Device Boot  Start   End   Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1    *      1  3907  4000752 83 Linux
/dev/sda2        3908  7814  4000768 83 Linux
/dev/sda3        7815 38154 31068160 83 Linux
3. As you can see, most of the drive's storage blocks are allocated to /dev/sda3. This is the partition you will configure as a local data store for VM files. Next, you need to query the host universal unique identifier (UUID) which is generated when XenServer is installed. To do this, run this command:

cat /etc/xensource-inventory

The command execution and its output is shown here:

[root@xensrv1 /]# cat /etc/xensource-inventory
PRODUCT_BRAND='XenServer'
PRODUCT_NAME='xenenterprise'
PRODUCT_VERSION='4.1.0'
BUILD_NUMBER='7843p'
KERNEL_VERSION='2.6.18-53.1.13.el5.xs4.1.0.254.273xen'
XEN_VERSION='3.1.0'
INSTALLATION_DATE='2008-05-05 17:44:15.745293'
PRIMARY_DISK='/dev/sda'
BACKUP_PARTITION='/dev/sda2'
INSTALLATION_UUID='d3e7e1e6-80f3-4241-a6cf-3bf83971c0e6'
CONTROL_DOMAIN_UUID='3e5b935a-c14e-4059-aae5-45bb87b8b864'
DEFAULT_SR_PHYSDEVS='/dev/sda3'
DOM0_MEM='752'
MANAGEMENT_INTERFACE='xenbr0'
4. Note the INSTALLATION_UUID value listed in the cat command's output. You will need it to create the new local storage repository. You can now add the local storage repository by using the xe sr-create command with the following syntax:

xe sr-create content-type="localSR" host-uuid=<INSTALLATION_UUID> type=ext device-config-device=<disk partition> shared=false name-label "<friendly label>"
On my test system, the following values were used:
INSTALLATION_UUID: d3e7e1e6-80f3-4241-a6cf-3bf83971c0e6
Disk partition: /dev/sda3
Friendly label: "Local USB Storage"
The full command used to configure the local storage repository in my test environment is shown below:
[root@xensrv1 /]# xe sr-create content-type="localSR" host-uuid=d3e7e1e6-80f3-4241-a6cf-3bf83971c0e6 type=ext device-config-device=/dev/sda3 shared=false name-label "Local USB Storage"
The remaining configuration can be performed with the XenCenter management server, which can be installed on any Windows system in your environment. XenCenter is the GUI-based central administration tool for XenServer environments. You can get more information on XenCenter on the Citrix XenServer page.
You should now be able to login to XenCenter and manage the new XenServer with its available local USB storage. At this point, you are ready to install a VM on the local storage. Of course, if you do not have additional room on the local disk, you can configure network storage (i.e. NFS, iSCSI, Fibre Channel) and store VM files on the network storage array.
Now you can create a new VM by clicking the "New VM" object in the XenCenter toolbar and entering the required information in the New VM wizard.
When you're done testing, just shut down any running VMs and shut down the XenServer. If you disabled any local hard disks in the system BIOS, just re-enable them and your test server is returned to its original configuration. "
May 9, 2008 - by Chris Wolf
Source: http://virtualizationreview.com/columns/article.aspx?editorialsid=2618

Getting started with XenServer Enterprise Edition:
http://www.xenserver5.com/videos/Getting_Started_with_XenServer/Getting_Started_with_XenServer.htm

XenServer Platinum Edition Workload Streaming:
http://www.xenserver5.com/videos/Provisioning/Provisioning.htm

Hi.

 A new version of our XenConvert Utility has been released to Web. Should be available very soon in the download section.

What's New in This Release

Converting from Microsoft Virtual Server 2005

Convert a single VHD or an entire virtual machine to a XVA or XenServer:
•"VHD to XVA"
Convert a single Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) to a XVA.
•"VHD to XenServer"
Convert from a single VHD to a XenServer.
•"VMC to XVA"
Convert an entire virtual machine to a XVA.
•"VMC to XenServer"
Convert an entire virtual machine to a XenServer.
A source VHD can be of the fixed or dynamic type.

Additional Physical Conversions

Physical conversion enhancements include converting a physical source machine without any ATA devices (pure SCSI machine, such as a blade system).

Upgrading
Run the XenConvert installer to upgrade XenConvert. It is no longer necessary to remove the previous version.

Consolidation of XenConvert Documentation
The Release Notes, Installation Guide, and Help documents were consolidated into a single document to create this guide. This consolidation increases usability by making it easier to locate and search for XenConvert information.

Stay tuned for an update mid of January...

Thanks a lot to Roger Klorese for publishing the new V2XVA Utility:

http://forums.citrix.com/servlet/JiveServlet/download/511-153746-1345958-25735/v2xva-1.3.1.zip

Hi.

You can download the latest XenAppPrep Utility here:
http://community.citrix.com/display/xa/XenAppPrep+Tool

 Please backup your servers / environment before using a utility.

 Questions? Concerns? Send any feedback for this tool to
supporttools@citrix.com

Hi Guys,

 to busy during the last weeks to really work on the Blog.

During a lot of partner / customer meetings people are asking if virtualisation of XenApp is the way to go.
One of the arguments against it is to use the Windows PAE switch to allow Windows to use more memory.

Well this will prevent you from using all the great features of virtualisation. But it's also completely wrong from technical perspective.

PAE is an Intel-provided memory address extension that enables support of greater than 4 GB of physical memory for most 32-bit (IA-32) Intel Pentium Pro and later platforms. This article provides information to help device driver developers implement Windows drivers that support PAE.

Microsoft supports Physical Address Extension (PAE) memory in Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 products:

* Total physical address space is limited to 4 GB on these versions of Windows.

PAE is supported only on 32-bit versions of the Windows operating system. 64-bit versions of Windows do not support PAE. For information about device driver and system requirements for 64-bit versions of Windows, see 64-bit System Design.Although support for PAE memory is typically associated with support for more than 4 GB of RAM, PAE can be enabled on Windows XP SP2, Windows Server 2003, and later 32-bit versions of Windows to support hardware enforced Data Execution Prevention (DEP).
Operating System Support. The PAE kernel is not enabled by default for systems that can support more than 4 GB of RAM.

To boot the system and utilize PAE memory, the /PAE switch must be added to the corresponding entry in the Boot.ini file. If a problem should arise, Safe Mode may be used, which causes the system to boot using the normal kernel (support for only 4 GB of RAM) even if the /PAE switch is part of the Boot.ini file.

The PAE mode kernel requires an Intel Architecture processor, Pentium Pro or later, more than 4 GB of RAM, and Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003.

The PAE kernel can be enabled automatically without the /PAE switch present in the boot entry if the system has DEP enabled (/NOEXECUTE switch is present) or the system processor supports hardware-enforced DEP. Presence of the /NOEXECUTE switch on a system with a processor that supports hardware-enforced DEP implies the /PAE switch. If the system processor is capable of hardware-enforced DEP and the /NOEXECUTE switch is not present in the boot entry, Windows assumes /NOEXECUTE=optin by default and enables PAE mode. For more information, see the topic "Boot Options in a Boot.ini File" in the Windows DDK.
Link:  http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/platform/server/PAE/PAEdrv.mspx

Never ever use this command to shutdown a vm!!!

The command should only be used if a xenserver crashes and a VM is still shown as running after the reboot!
The only thing the command does is deleting the VM running state entry
from the database.

You have to ensure that the VM is offline when you run the command!

For more information's please take a look at the manual:
http://docs.xensource.com/XenServer/4.1.0/1.0/en_gb/reference.html#cli-xe-commands_vm-reset-powerstate

Hi.

 If you are using the OpenFiler software as a iSCSI Server for Citrix XenServer, you will run into an issue.
XenServer is not able to reconnect to the LUN after you reboot the OpenFiler Server.

There is a problem of activation Xen VG's within the Openfiler LV.
To resolve the issue you have to change the configuration on your openfiler server:

So, to fix the issue in OpenFiler 2.3 and stop VG activation on the system startup comment the following lines (333-337) in /etc/rc.sysinit

#       if [ -x /sbin/lvm.static ]; then
#               if /sbin/lvm.static vgscan --mknodes --ignorelockingfailure > /dev/null 2>&1 ; then
#                    action $"Setting up Logical Volume Management:" /sbin/lvm.static vgchange -a y -ignorelockingfailure
#               fi
#       fi

 You can find more details in the OpenFiler Forum at:

https://forums.openfiler.com/viewtopic.php?id=2280

 Danny

A lot of partners and customer ask about adding drivers to Dom0
Our Dom0 is using Centos 5 and has all XenServers drivers already built-in.

We only support hardware from our HCL, drivers we deliver with the product and Citrix Ready certified partner solutions.

If you add other drivers to your XenServer host its NOT supported!

The main reason for adding drivers to DOM0 is the request to use cheaper hardware or additional devices like a SCSI Backup drive or a ISDN capi controller.

There is one important thing you should know:

If you get the device up and running in DOM0 doesn't mean that your virtual machine can communicate with the device! 

For example: It's possible to install a Linux driver for a ISDN capi card. So the card is available in DOM0, but there is no Xen driver for the guest to communicate with the card in DOM0. 

Also if it works (maybe for Network or I/O cards) you could run into trouble because our high steep PV drivers are not tested with the driver in DOM0 and that could result in problems or slow performance. 

We think, that the time to get it "up and running" is more expensive than buying supported hardware.

 If you want to compile drivers for xenserver you should follow the official way.
Checkout our SDK and DDK documnetation at:
www.citrix.com/xenserver

 Danny

Hello.

 To make the Blog mor usefull we will switch the language to english. 

Danny

Viele der Fragen die zu unserem Produkt aufkommen werden in unserem 4.1 FAQ Dokument beantwortet.

 Unter folgendem Link können sie das Dokument herunterladen:

<DOWNLOAD>

Mein Name ist Danny Wannagat,

 als Lead Systems Engineer betreue ich das Thema Server Virtualisierung in Central Europa.

Dazu gehören die Produkte:
XenServer
Provisioning Server DataCenter Edition

 In diesem Blog versuche ich sie über die aktuelle Technology und Neuigkeiten auf dem Laufenden zu halten.

Viele Grüße
Danny Wannagat