Cary Bielenberg wrote: > My references to it being a pig to install is borne out of frustration, > I didn't articulate my feelings well! What I was trying to say is that > unless you are dedicated to learning the intricacies of the software it > is a struggle to grasp & install.
Again, I can't see where the problem lies. Installing the "python-virtinst" package gives you the "virt-install" command. Run it, and it starts a simple wizard prompting you for the name of your virtual machine, how much RAM and disk you want to give it, where the boot/install device lives (typically a CDROM or ISO for a Windows install), and whether you want GUI capabilities or not (necessary for Windows and Linux GUI installs). Answer these simple questions, and it creates your virtual machine and config files for you, booting into the system to do the initial install and reboot to live system. Said config files are plain text, and very easily modified if you want to change things like adding extra disks, changing how many CPUs the VM can access, etc. No, it's not a point and click GUI. But GUIs don't necessarily make things easier by virtue of being graphical (try using some of the GUI SAN management tools or 3D modelling programs out there and you'll see what I mean). A 10 line text config file generate by a wizard is what you get, and starting/stopping the virtual machines are one-line commands. Dead simple stuff. At my previous job myself and another sysadmin consolidated two server rooms full of physical servers down to 6 physical boxes running Xen/QEmu. We both left the role within a month of each other (long story, which I won't go into here), but I was charged with training the existing helpdesk staff on how to use the virtualisation systems before I left. I took two helpdesk-level staff there, and gave them a two hour lesson on the complete ins and outs of how to use the system, and that was enough for them to maintain the existing infrastructure and create new systems as needed. Six months later the both of them are still maintaining and extending the system without problems. If you are still finding frustration, I suggest reading a few articles here: http://www.virtuatopia.com VirtuaTopia is one of the better virtualisation communities, and their articles are simple, no-BS walkthroughs on how to build and maintain VMs under various virtualisation systems. They cover a variety of distro-specific examples and methods of installation (either via the virt-install commands, or by manual installation via dpkg/debbootstrap/rpm, which is what I prefer). They also cover a few of the gotchas inherent in all virtualisation systems, and tips and tricks on how to maximise performance and resource allocation on heavily utilised systems. -Dan -- ubuntu-au mailing list [email protected] https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-au
