epoch1970;571170 Wrote: > So I am running linux (debian mostly), and kvm these days. Before that I > was using linux and Virtualbox. > On the linux host I use a package called something like bridge-utils. > The command that does it all is brctl. > > Let's say we have a debian host with a working plain network > configuration:> Code: -------------------- > > auto eth0 > iface eth0 inet static > address 172.31.0.10 > netmask 255.255.0.0 > network 172.31.0.0 > broadcast 172.31.255.255 > gateway 172.31.0.1 > -------------------- > > > Then you can install bridge-utils and change the configuration to > this:> Code: -------------------- > > auto br0 > iface br0 inet static > address 172.31.0.10 > netmask 255.255.0.0 > network 172.31.0.0 > broadcast 172.31.255.255 > gateway 172.31.0.1 > bridge_ports eth0 > bridge_stp on > bridge_maxwait 0 > -------------------- > > > A bridge is like a virtual switch, it resembles the "managed" kind of > switches which get an IP on the network. Here, a virtual switch is > added on the 172.31.0.0 network, which goes through interface eth0. > The "bridge ports eth0" stanza you see here is the equivalent of > running the brctl command: 'brctl addif br0 eth0' and plugs the host > NIC into the virtual switch. > - All virtual machines with interfaces plugged into the switch will > be able to use the eth0 route to reach the physical network (provided > they know how to use the 172.31.0.0 network, of course.) > - The host computer is still reachable at address 172.31.0.10 > > Under VBox or kvm or whatever else I guess, if you create a VM with > an interface plugged into the "br0 native host device", then both the > host and the guest can be on the same network. DHCP requests work and > all. > > Create a VM with SBS, give it an ethernet card and you'll get your > players to talk to your virtual SBS server as easily as if SBS was > running on the physical host. > Note that the MAC address used by the SBS server will be a MAC > address generated by the VM manager when creating the virtual > machine: you need to reconnect your squeezeboxen properly to this > server, the first time. > > I've had this work for a few years in Virtualbox (linux and mac > hosts), easily if not extremely reliably. This summer I upgraded my > main server and switched to using kvm, which is libre and offers much > more performance and reliability. Ease of use is a bit on the > downside. I can't speak of other options. > > Being fast and reliable, KVM opens to much more convoluted > configurations. > The one I use is to have multiple networks of physical and virtual > machines, routed/filtered by a virtual machine. Only some portions of > the server host are accessible to some machines/networks, according to > the firewall configuration, yet it runs everything. > A virtualized network is extremely flexible, and a router/firewall VM > can be fast, because usually it lives in the belly of a whale, > compared to common routers. > > Using a recent linux (2.6.32) on a host that has VT cpu extensions (a > PowerEdge circa 2006), I started running a Vyatta router as a kvm > virtual machine with great success. Vyatta is linux-based and uses > the Virtio drivers. I currently route between 5 different networks, > balkanization looms :) > I can go further on this virtual router scheme, but between bridging, > bonding, VLANs, routing, the subject is a bit numbing. Let me know. > > One last word. I replaced the fast SAS 10k rpm system drive in my > server with an Intel SATA SSD. It did absolutely nothing to the feel > of the server from a workstation, as the network is the bottleneck. > But the SSD transfigured the responsiveness of my virtual machines > beyond all expectations.
I'll need a bit to digest all this good info. It echoes my the pending dominance of kvm I've seen online. Thanks and I will let you know. p'ski -- pski real stereo makes the lights dim on the bass notes. (this means your amp could also use it's own circuit.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ pski's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=15574 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=81341 _______________________________________________ discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/discuss
