Homepage:
http://www.xen-tools.org/software/xen-tools
Git Repository:
http://gitorious.org/xen-tools
Mailing Lists:
http://xen-tools.org/software/xen-tools/lists.html
xen-tools
---------
The xen-tools package contains a collection of Perl scripts for
working with Xen guest images under Debian GNU/Linux.
Using this software, you can easily create new Xen guests configured
to be accessible over your local network and complete with an installed
copy of OpenSSH.
xen-tools currently has scripts to install most releases of Debian
(starting with 3.1 "Sarge") and Ubuntu (starting with 6.06 LTS
"Dapper") and some RPM-based distributions.
However currently only Debian and Ubuntu releases are tested and
known to work, i.e.:
Debian:
* Sarge 3.1 (i386 only)
* Etch 4.0
* Lenny 5.0
* Squeeze 6.0
* Sid (works at least at the moment of writing :-)
Ubuntu:
* Dapper Drake 6.06
* Edgy Eft 6.10
* Feisty Fawn 7.04
* Gutsy Gibbon 7.10
* Hardy Heron 8.04 (see [1])
* Interpid Ibex 8.10
* Jaunty Jackaplope 9.04
* Karmic Koala 9.10
* Lucid Lynx 10.04 (see [2])
* Maverick Meerkat 10.10 (works at least at the moment of writing :-)
[1] There is an issue with debootstrap on hardy not installing ksyslogd
This can be fixed by chrooting into the newly installed system
and removing the startup scripts. See:
http://www.linux-vserver.org/Installing_Ubuntu_8.04_Hardy_as_guest
[2] As of writing this 24.04.10, there is an issue with tar on
Lucid with kernels < 2.6.22 this should however be patched right
after release. See:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/tar/+bug/539814
Older versions of ubuntu may work, however you will have to have to find
a mirror that still hosts them. Currently the oldest Ubuntu Distribution
on Canonical's archive.ubuntu.com is Hardy Heron.
Requirements
------------
To use these tools you'll need the following software:
* debootstrap
* Perl
* The Perl module "Text::Template"
* The Perl module "Config::IniFiles"
- Both of these modules are available as Debian packages,
or direct from http://www.cpan.org/ for non-Debian distributions.
* Make, if you are not installing through a package manager
You can try to install RPM-based distributions such as CentOS, or
Fedora Core you will need a correctly installed and configured
"rinse" package. This is currently not supported.
If you wish to create new Xen instances which may be controlled by
users via a login shell you should also install the xen-shell package
which is available from:
http://xen-tools.org/software/xen-shell/
The Scripts
-----------
There now follows a brief description of each included script,
for more thorough documentation please consult the appropriate
manpage.
xen-create-image
----------------
This script is designed to create new images which may be used
with the Xen hypervisor.
The virtual images will have their networking settings created and,
you may optionally cause the new instance to boot once it has
been created.
This script performs the initial setup, then delegates the real
work to a collection of helper scripts:
* xt-install-image
Installs a distribution into a directory.
* xt-customize-image
Run a collection of hook scripts to configure the freshly
installed system.
* xt-create-xen-config
Create a configuration file in /etc/xen such that Xen can
boot the newly created machine.
xen-create-nfs
--------------
This script is similar in spirit to xen-create-image, but much
less complex. It allows the creation of Xen guests which are
diskless, mounting their root filesystem over a remote NFS-share.
There are not many options to tweak, but still a useful addition
to the suite.
xen-delete-image
----------------
This script will allow you to completely remove Xen instances
which have previously been created by xen-create-image, this
includes removing the storage block devices from the system,
and deleting the Xen configuration file.
xen-list-images
---------------
List all the created images beneath a given root directory along
with a brief overview of their setup details.
xen-update-image
----------------
This script runs "apt-get update; apt-get upgrade" for a given
Xen image.
NOTES:
* The image should not be running or corruption will occur!
* The script should only be used for Xen instances of Debian or
a Debian-derived distribution.
Steve
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