Jeff Dickens wrote:
John Nielsen wrote:
On Tuesday 03 October 2006 12:58, Jeff Dickens wrote:
I have some Freebsd systems that are running as VMware guests. I'd
like
to configure their kernels so as to minimize the overhead on the VMware
host system. After reading and partially digesting the white paper on
timekeeping in VMware virtual machines
(http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vmware_timekeeping.pdf) it appears that I
might want to make some changes.
Has anyone addressed this issue?
I haven't read the white paper (yet; thanks for the link), but I've
had good results with recent -STABLE VM's running under ESX server 3.
Some thoughts:
As I do on most of my installs, I trimmed down GENERIC to include
just the drivers I use. In this case that was mpt for the disk and le
for the network (although I suspect forcing the VM to present e1000
hardware and then using the em driver would work as well if not better).
The VMware tools package that comes with ESX server does a poor job
of getting itself to run, but it can be made to work without too much
difficulty. Don't use the port, run the included install script to
install the files, ignore the custom network driver and compile the
memory management module from source (included). If using X.org, use
the built-in vmware display driver, and copy the vmmouse driver .o
file from the VMware tools dist to the appropriate dir under
/usr/X11. Even though the included file is for X.org 6.8, it works
fine with 6.9/7.0 (X.org 7.1 should include the vmmouse driver.) Run
the VMware tools config script from a non-X terminal (and you can
ignore the warning about running it remotely if you're using SSH), so
it won't mess with your X display (it doesn't do anything not
accomplished above). Then run the rc.d script to start the VMware tools.
I haven't noticed any timekeeping issues so far.
JN
_______________________________________________
What is the advantage of using the "e1000 hardware", and is this
documented somewhere? I got the vxn network driver working without
issues; I just had to edit the .vxn file manually: I'm using the free
VMware server V1 rather than the ESX server.
ethernet0.virtualDev="vmxnet"
I've got timekeeping running stably on these. I turn on time sync via
vmware tools in the .vmx file:
tools.syncTime = "TRUE"
and in the guest file's rc.conf start ntpd with flags "-Aqgx &" so it
just syncs once at boot and exits.
I'm not using X on these. They're supposed to be clean & lean systems
to run such things as djbdns and qmail. And they do work well.
My main goal is to reduce the background load on the VMware host
system so that it isn't spending more time than it has to simulating
interrupt controllers for the guests. I'm wondering about the
"disable ACPI" boot option. I suppose I first should figure out how
to even roughly measure the effect of any changes I might make.
Well, I've done some pseudo-scientific measurement on this. I currently
have five freebsd virtual systems running, and one Centos 4 (linux
2.6), This command give some info on the background cpu usage:
(The host is a Centos 3 system, linux 2.4)
[EMAIL PROTECTED] root]# ps auxww | head -1
USER PID %CPU %MEM VSZ RSS TTY STAT START TIME COMMAND
[EMAIL PROTECTED] root]# ps auxww | grep vmx
root 18031 12.7 1.5 175440 39916 ? S< Oct09 345:50
/usr/lib/vmware/bin/vmware-vmx -C /var/lib/vmware/Virtual
Machines/Goose/freebsd-6.1-i386.vmx -@ ""
root 18058 12.9 1.4 174772 36916 ? S< Oct09 351:01
/usr/lib/vmware/bin/vmware-vmx -C /var/lib/vmware/Virtual
Machines/Duck/freebsd-6.1-i386.vmx -@ ""
root 18072 16.2 5.5 246372 141776 ? S< Oct09 440:16
/usr/lib/vmware/bin/vmware-vmx -C /var/lib/vmware/Virtual
Machines/BlueJay/freebsd-6.1-i386.vmx -@ ""
root 18086 12.9 1.4 174688 38464 ? S< Oct09 351:47
/usr/lib/vmware/bin/vmware-vmx -C /var/lib/vmware/Virtual
Machines/Heron/freebsd-6.1-i386.vmx -@ ""
root 18100 9.4 4.1 385712 107348 ? S< Oct09 256:25
/usr/lib/vmware/bin/vmware-vmx -C /var/lib/vmware/Virtual
Machines/Newt/freebsd-6.1-i386.vmx -@ ""
root 18139 12.2 2.5 299388 65132 ? S< Oct09 330:35
/usr/lib/vmware/bin/vmware-vmx -C /var/lib/vmware/Virtual
Machines/Centos4/Centos4.vmx -@ ""
root 28930 0.0 0.0 3680 672 pts/3 S 14:08 0:00 grep vmx
[EMAIL PROTECTED] root]#
As one can see the one called "Newt" is consistently lower in the "%CPU"
column. Curiously enough, this *is* the one I built a custom kernel for.
The config file I used is posted below: Besides commenting out devices
I wasn't using & NFS, etc, I commented out the apic and pctimer
devices. Do you think I'm on the right track for reducing interrupt
frequency?
Also, if I were to want to move this kernel to other FreeBSD systems,
how much has to move, the whole /boot/kernel directory?
Finally I did have to re-run the vmware-config-tools.pl script after
rebuilding the kernel.
newt# cat VMWARE1
#
# GENERIC -- Generic kernel configuration file for FreeBSD/i386
#
# For more information on this file, please read the handbook section on
# Kernel Configuration Files:
#
#
http://www.FreeBSD.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/kernelconfig-config.html
#
# The handbook is also available locally in /usr/share/doc/handbook
# if you've installed the doc distribution, otherwise always see the
# FreeBSD World Wide Web server (http://www.FreeBSD.org/) for the
# latest information.
#
# An exhaustive list of options and more detailed explanations of the
# device lines is also present in the ../../conf/NOTES and NOTES files.
# If you are in doubt as to the purpose or necessity of a line, check first
# in NOTES.
#
# $FreeBSD: src/sys/i386/conf/GENERIC,v 1.429.2.7.2.2 2006/05/01
00:15:12 scottl Exp $
machine i386
cpu I686_CPU
ident VMWARE1
# To statically compile in device wiring instead of /boot/device.hints
#hints "GENERIC.hints" # Default places to look for
devices.
makeoptions DEBUG=-g # Build kernel with gdb(1) debug
symbols
#options SCHED_ULE # ULE scheduler
options SCHED_4BSD # 4BSD scheduler
options PREEMPTION # Enable kernel thread preemption
options INET # InterNETworking
#options INET6 # IPv6 communications protocols
options FFS # Berkeley Fast Filesystem
options SOFTUPDATES # Enable FFS soft updates support
options UFS_ACL # Support for access control lists
options UFS_DIRHASH # Improve performance on big
directories
options MD_ROOT # MD is a potential root device
#options NFSCLIENT # Network Filesystem Client
#options NFSSERVER # Network Filesystem Server
#options NFS_ROOT # NFS usable as /, requires
NFSCLIENT
#options MSDOSFS # MSDOS Filesystem
options CD9660 # ISO 9660 Filesystem
options PROCFS # Process filesystem (requires
PSEUDOFS)
options PSEUDOFS # Pseudo-filesystem framework
options GEOM_GPT # GUID Partition Tables.
options COMPAT_43 # Compatible with BSD 4.3 [KEEP
THIS!]
options COMPAT_FREEBSD4 # Compatible with FreeBSD4
options COMPAT_FREEBSD5 # Compatible with FreeBSD5
options SCSI_DELAY=5000 # Delay (in ms) before probing SCSI
options KTRACE # ktrace(1) support
options SYSVSHM # SYSV-style shared memory
options SYSVMSG # SYSV-style message queues
options SYSVSEM # SYSV-style semaphores
options _KPOSIX_PRIORITY_SCHEDULING # POSIX P1003_1B real-time
extensions
options KBD_INSTALL_CDEV # install a CDEV entry in /dev
options AHC_REG_PRETTY_PRINT # Print register bitfields in debug
# output. Adds ~128k to driver.
options AHD_REG_PRETTY_PRINT # Print register bitfields in debug
# output. Adds ~215k to driver.
options ADAPTIVE_GIANT # Giant mutex is adaptive.
#device apic # I/O APIC
# Bus support.
#device eisa
device pci
# Floppy drives
#device fdc
# ATA and ATAPI devices
device ata
device atadisk # ATA disk drives
#device ataraid # ATA RAID drives
device atapicd # ATAPI CDROM drives
#device atapifd # ATAPI floppy drives
#device atapist # ATAPI tape drives
options ATA_STATIC_ID # Static device numbering
# SCSI Controllers
#device ahb # EISA AHA1742 family
#device ahc # AHA2940 and onboard AIC7xxx devices
#device ahd # AHA39320/29320 and onboard AIC79xx devices
#device amd # AMD 53C974 (Tekram DC-390(T))
#device isp # Qlogic family
##device ispfw # Firmware for QLogic HBAs- normally a
module
#device mpt # LSI-Logic MPT-Fusion
##device ncr # NCR/Symbios Logic
#device sym # NCR/Symbios Logic (newer chipsets +
those of `ncr')
#device trm # Tekram DC395U/UW/F DC315U adapters
#device adv # Advansys SCSI adapters
#device adw # Advansys wide SCSI adapters
#device aha # Adaptec 154x SCSI adapters
#device aic # Adaptec 15[012]x SCSI adapters,
AIC-6[23]60.
#device bt # Buslogic/Mylex MultiMaster SCSI adapters
#device ncv # NCR 53C500
#device nsp # Workbit Ninja SCSI-3
#device stg # TMC 18C30/18C50
# SCSI peripherals
#device scbus # SCSI bus (required for SCSI)
#device ch # SCSI media changers
#device da # Direct Access (disks)
#device sa # Sequential Access (tape etc)
#device cd # CD
#device pass # Passthrough device (direct SCSI access)
#device ses # SCSI Environmental Services (and SAF-TE)
# RAID controllers interfaced to the SCSI subsystem
#device amr # AMI MegaRAID
#device arcmsr # Areca SATA II RAID
#device asr # DPT SmartRAID V, VI and Adaptec SCSI RAID
#device ciss # Compaq Smart RAID 5*
#device dpt # DPT Smartcache III, IV - See NOTES for
options
#device hptmv # Highpoint RocketRAID 182x
#device rr232x # Highpoint RocketRAID 232x
#device iir # Intel Integrated RAID
#device ips # IBM (Adaptec) ServeRAID
#device mly # Mylex AcceleRAID/eXtremeRAID
#device twa # 3ware 9000 series PATA/SATA RAID
# RAID controllers
#device aac # Adaptec FSA RAID
#device aacp # SCSI passthrough for aac (requires CAM)
#device ida # Compaq Smart RAID
#device mfi # LSI MegaRAID SAS
#device mlx # Mylex DAC960 family
#device pst # Promise Supertrak SX6000
#device twe # 3ware ATA RAID
# atkbdc0 controls both the keyboard and the PS/2 mouse
device atkbdc # AT keyboard controller
device atkbd # AT keyboard
device psm # PS/2 mouse
device kbdmux # keyboard multiplexer
device vga # VGA video card driver
device splash # Splash screen and screen saver support
# syscons is the default console driver, resembling an SCO console
device sc
# Enable this for the pcvt (VT220 compatible) console driver
#device vt
#options XSERVER # support for X server on a vt console
#options FAT_CURSOR # start with block cursor
#device agp # support several AGP chipsets
# Power management support (see NOTES for more options)
#device apm
# Add suspend/resume support for the i8254.
#device pmtimer
# PCCARD (PCMCIA) support
# PCMCIA and cardbus bridge support
#device cbb # cardbus (yenta) bridge
#device pccard # PC Card (16-bit) bus
#device cardbus # CardBus (32-bit) bus
# Serial (COM) ports
#device sio # 8250, 16[45]50 based serial ports
# Parallel port
#device ppc
#device ppbus # Parallel port bus (required)
#device lpt # Printer
#device plip # TCP/IP over parallel
#device ppi # Parallel port interface device
##device vpo # Requires scbus and da
# If you've got a "dumb" serial or parallel PCI card that is
# supported by the puc(4) glue driver, uncomment the following
# line to enable it (connects to the sio and/or ppc drivers):
#device puc
# PCI Ethernet NICs.
#device de # DEC/Intel DC21x4x (``Tulip'')
#device em # Intel PRO/1000 adapter Gigabit
Ethernet Card
#device ixgb # Intel PRO/10GbE Ethernet Card
#device txp # 3Com 3cR990 (``Typhoon'')
device vx # 3Com 3c590, 3c595 (``Vortex'')
# PCI Ethernet NICs that use the common MII bus controller code.
# NOTE: Be sure to keep the 'device miibus' line in order to use these NICs!
device miibus # MII bus support
#device bce # Broadcom BCM5706/BCM5708 Gigabit Ethernet
#device bfe # Broadcom BCM440x 10/100 Ethernet
#device bge # Broadcom BCM570xx Gigabit Ethernet
#device dc # DEC/Intel 21143 and various workalikes
#device fxp # Intel EtherExpress PRO/100B (82557, 82558)
#device lge # Level 1 LXT1001 gigabit Ethernet
#device nge # NatSemi DP83820 gigabit Ethernet
#device nve # nVidia nForce MCP on-board Ethernet
Networking
#device pcn # AMD Am79C97x PCI 10/100(precedence
over 'lnc')
#device re # RealTek 8139C+/8169/8169S/8110S
#device rl # RealTek 8129/8139
#device sf # Adaptec AIC-6915 (``Starfire'')
#device sis # Silicon Integrated Systems SiS 900/SiS
7016
#device sk # SysKonnect SK-984x & SK-982x gigabit
Ethernet
#device ste # Sundance ST201 (D-Link DFE-550TX)
#device ti # Alteon Networks Tigon I/II gigabit
Ethernet
#device tl # Texas Instruments ThunderLAN
#device tx # SMC EtherPower II (83c170 ``EPIC'')
#device vge # VIA VT612x gigabit Ethernet
#device vr # VIA Rhine, Rhine II
#device wb # Winbond W89C840F
#device xl # 3Com 3c90x (``Boomerang'', ``Cyclone'')
# ISA Ethernet NICs. pccard NICs included.
#device cs # Crystal Semiconductor CS89x0 NIC
# 'device ed' requires 'device miibus'
#device ed # NE[12]000, SMC Ultra, 3c503, DS8390 cards
#device ex # Intel EtherExpress Pro/10 and Pro/10+
#device ep # Etherlink III based cards
#device fe # Fujitsu MB8696x based cards
#device ie # EtherExpress 8/16, 3C507, StarLAN 10 etc.
device lnc # NE2100, NE32-VL Lance Ethernet cards
#device sn # SMC's 9000 series of Ethernet chips
#device xe # Xircom pccard Ethernet
# Wireless NIC cards
#device wlan # 802.11 support
#device an # Aironet 4500/4800 802.11 wireless NICs.
#device awi # BayStack 660 and others
#device ral # Ralink Technology RT2500 wireless NICs.
#device wi # WaveLAN/Intersil/Symbol 802.11
wireless NICs.
##device wl # Older non 802.11 Wavelan
wireless NIC.
# Pseudo devices.
device loop # Network loopback
device random # Entropy device
device ether # Ethernet support
#device sl # Kernel SLIP
#device ppp # Kernel PPP
#device tun # Packet tunnel.
device pty # Pseudo-ttys (telnet etc)
device md # Memory "disks"
#device gif # IPv6 and IPv4 tunneling
#device faith # IPv6-to-IPv4 relaying (translation)
# The `bpf' device enables the Berkeley Packet Filter.
# Be aware of the administrative consequences of enabling this!
# Note that 'bpf' is required for DHCP.
device bpf # Berkeley packet filter
# USB support
#device uhci # UHCI PCI->USB interface
#device ohci # OHCI PCI->USB interface
#device ehci # EHCI PCI->USB interface (USB 2.0)
#device usb # USB Bus (required)
##device udbp # USB Double Bulk Pipe devices
#device ugen # Generic
#device uhid # "Human Interface Devices"
#device ukbd # Keyboard
#device ulpt # Printer
#device umass # Disks/Mass storage - Requires scbus and da
#device ums # Mouse
#device ural # Ralink Technology RT2500USB wireless NICs
#device urio # Diamond Rio 500 MP3 player
#device uscanner # Scanners
# USB Ethernet, requires miibus
#device aue # ADMtek USB Ethernet
#device axe # ASIX Electronics USB Ethernet
#device cdce # Generic USB over Ethernet
#device cue # CATC USB Ethernet
#device kue # Kawasaki LSI USB Ethernet
#device rue # RealTek RTL8150 USB Ethernet
# FireWire support
#device firewire # FireWire bus code
#device sbp # SCSI over FireWire (Requires scbus and da)
#device fwe # Ethernet over FireWire (non-standard!)
newt#
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