Hi Tim, I did not even notice that you were an evangelist from Citrix. I believe that must be cool ;).
I hope that I have not said anything stupid. Sometimes I feel like I am the only one using XCP with CS, so far it has been pretty stable and we have not had many problems. Beside the normal bugs and problems that almost everybody has already ran into. Well, if the CS uses some python and scripts/utilities that might come with Xenserver, I believe that they come with XCP too. In our environment everything runs just fine. I just found one weird bug, I think that code is not needed and I intend to remove it soon. The code I am referring is this method, com.cloud.hypervisor.xen.resource.XcpOssResource.createPatchVbd(Connection, String, VM), There are already one or two threads I have created a while ago, but I did not get much attention. In my humble option, there is no reason why the systems VMs should use the local storage in XCP environments, besides that the code I referred does not even look at the system.vm.use.local.storage parameter. Looking at class com.cloud.hypervisor.xen.resource.XcpOssResource, it seems that it is basically using the structure and commands from com.cloud.hypervisor.xen.resource.CitrixResourceBase. Therefore, I believe that it is not using much specific commands and scripts to Xenserver. Out of curiosity, why not use the “xe” command from XAPI directly? On Fri, Apr 17, 2015 at 7:12 PM, Tim Mackey <tmac...@gmail.com> wrote: > Thanks Rafael. > > I'll check to see what the maintenance status is for xcp-xapi with Debian > when I get back to the office on Monday. I do recall there being issues > raised last summer. > > One of the reasons the question I've asked is so important has to do with > CloudStack assumptions in a XenServer environment. For example, it doesn't > directly issue xe commands, but uses both the Java and Python xapi > bindings, and has a number of supporting scripts which assume package > versions which match those of specific XenServer releases. > > btw, by way of disclosure, I'm the XenServer community manager and have > acquired a pretty decent level of expertise with things Xen, XCP, XAPI and > XenServer since joining the team in 2008. Here's a google search for me: > > https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=tim%20mackey%20xenserver > > > Oh, and I'm grinning as I write this since I suspect some colleagues will > kid me over you educating me. No harm, and no offense. I guess I'm not as > well known as I thought ;) > > -tim > > > > On Fri, Apr 17, 2015 at 5:21 PM, Rafael Weingartner < > rafaelweingart...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > UPDATE: > > you can find more on Xenserver and XCP here: > > http://pt.slideshare.net/xen_com_mgr/xpus13-pavlicek > > > > On Fri, Apr 17, 2015 at 4:12 PM, Rafael Weingartner < > > rafaelweingart...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > > Dear Tim Mackey, > > > > > > I have a production environment using XCP (XAPI). As far as I know, the > > > difference between the use of XAPI and Xenserver is that Xenserver is > an > > OS > > > bundled altogether with a version of Xen hypervisor, XAPI and some > > > management tools. While, XAPI is just the API used to consolidate > > workloads > > > and interact with the Xen hypervisor hosts. > > > > > > At the end, Xenserver environments are using the Xen hypervisor and > XAPI > > > toolstack. The difference is that it comes pre-built with an OS > > (CentOS?). > > > > > > When Cloudstack sends some command to start or stop a VM, it will send > > > something like “xe vm-start uuid=<uidVM>” or “xe vm-shutdown > > uuid=<uidVM>”, > > > these are XAPI commands. Therefore, even if you are using Xenserver > > > environments, those are the commands that are going to be used; hence, > > > Xenserver encapsulates the XAPI and Xen hypervisor. > > > > > > To my knowledge, now that Xenserver was open by Citrix, there should > not > > > be any difference on capabilities between the XAPI that we get from > here: > > > http://www.xenproject.org/developers/teams/xapi.html > > > > > > And the one that we get when we install the Xenserver directly. > > > > > > > > > > > > Now answering your questions: > > > > > > 1. What OS/version are you using for dom0 and with what hypervisor > > version? > > > > > > We are using Debian 7.4.0, we first tried Ubuntu server, but it was not > > > stable enough for a production environments. The Ubuntu had some bugs > and > > > missing dependencies that had to be worked around. > > > > > > 2. How did you deploy XCP (from pre-compiled ISO, built from source, > > > package source i.e yum/apt-get, xenserver-core packages, something > else) > > > > > > We installed the XCP (XAPI) using the apt repository. > > > We first installed the xen hypervisor: > > > > > > # apt-get install xen-hypervisor-amd64 > > > > > > then the XAPI packages: > > > > > > # apt-get install xcp-xapi > > > > > > Of course, is not as simple as just running those commands, we also had > > to > > > configure the networking and tuned the xen hypervisor, XAPI, storage > and > > > etc. > > > > > > > > > 3. How are you handling updates to the XCP/Xen/XAPI components, > > > particularly those of a security nature? > > > > > > If any patch is created and we find that it has to be applied in our > > > environment, we first look if it is already in apt-get repository, if > it > > is > > > there, we just upgrade that package. If the upgrade is not in the > > official > > > repository, we get and apply it manually. > > > > > > > > > I am curious, what are the assumptions you make for Xenserver > > environments? > > > > > > On Fri, Apr 17, 2015 at 11:23 AM, Tim Mackey <tmac...@gmail.com> > wrote: > > > > > >> A little bit ago there was a thread started on the dev list about XCP > > and > > >> CloudStack. I've had a bit of a think about this if you're using XCP > I > > >> would like to understand better how XCP, and by extension the XAPI > > >> toolstack when *not* part of XenServer, is deployed in your > > environments. > > >> If XCP/XAPI users can answer these three questions, it would help in > > >> understanding how to best handle XCP moving forward. > > >> > > >> 1. What OS/version are you using for dom0 and with what hypervisor > > >> version? > > >> > > >> 2. How did you deploy XCP (from pre-compiled ISO, built from source, > > >> package source i.e yum/apt-get, xenserver-core packages, something > else) > > >> > > >> 3. How are you handling updates to the XCP/Xen/XAPI components, > > >> particularly those of a security nature? > > >> > > >> While the XAPI toolstack as part of XenServer receives significant > > >> development and QA attention, the same can't be said for legacy XCP > and > > >> pure XAPI. There are also assumptions made for XenServer which aren't > > >> always valid in a legacy XCP or general XAPI installation. What I'm > > >> trying > > >> to figure out is if we need to address any issues, and if so what the > > >> impact might be. > > >> > > >> Thanks > > >> > > >> -tim > > >> > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > > Rafael Weingärtner > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > Rafael Weingärtner > > > -- Rafael Weingärtner
