On 01/04/2016 05:13 PM, Steven Haigh wrote:
> On 2016-01-05 04:04, Pat Riehecky wrote:
>> On 01/04/2016 10:58 AM, Pat Riehecky wrote:
>>> On 01/04/2016 10:30 AM, Steven Haigh wrote:
>>>> On 05/01/16 03:27, Pat Riehecky wrote:
>>>>> On 01/02/2016 12:49 AM, Steven Haigh wrote:
>>>>>> Hi guys,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Just wondering if it is possible to create an updates.img that 
>>>>>> includes
>>>>>> the following kernel modules for the PXE boot install images:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> CONFIG_XEN_FBDEV_FRONTEND=m
>>>>>> CONFIG_HVC_XEN=m
>>>>>> CONFIG_HVC_XEN_FRONTEND=m
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The SL7 kernels used on the anaconda installer don't have these 
>>>>>> options
>>>>>> set - so there is no VNC graphical output to the Xen system. This 
>>>>>> means
>>>>>> that unless you use the 'console' (xl console command), then you 
>>>>>> can't
>>>>>> see what's going on with the DomU install.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> It seems SL6 behaves properly for this - and it may well be seen to
>>>>>> stray from the path too much to include in the base PXE image 
>>>>>> kernel -
>>>>>> which means having an updates.img would be a nice compromise - ie 
>>>>>> its
>>>>>> optional and doesn't require modification of the core install 
>>>>>> images.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> There is an updates.img currently in the PXE directory of 
>>>>>> 7rolling, but
>>>>>> that seems to cause a whole heap of problems if its used...
>>>>>>
>>>>> Hi Steven,
>>>>>
>>>>> I've not got a lot of experience working with Xen, but I'll look into
>>>>> what this would take.
>>>> Thanks Pat,
>>>>
>>>> I know absolutely nothing about anaconda and the build process for
>>>> images. I'd be more than happy to test whatever I can though.
>>>>
>>>> I run Xen just about everywhere - and also run http://xen.crc.id.au 
>>>> - so
>>>> if you have any Xen questions, I'd be more than happy to help out.
>>>>
>>> I'm showing:
>>>
>>> $ grep CONFIG_HVC_XEN .config
>>> CONFIG_HVC_XEN=y
>>> CONFIG_HVC_XEN_FRONTEND=y
>>>
>>> for the 3.10.0-327 series kernels.
>>
>> Searching around upstream bugzilla, I'm not seeing any requests to get
>> CONFIG_XEN_FBDEV_FRONTEND=m (or =y for that matter).
>>
>> Steven, can I have you file a bug upstream and put me on the CC list
>> so we can get some forward motion on a long term solution?
>
> Hi Pat,
>
> I don't believe there is anything open in the RH BZ. The kernel config 
> has been the same through the EL7 betas up until current day - so I 
> believe putting a BZ report in would get a CLOSED WONTFIX.
>
> I'll quote a little bit of Konrad from CentOS fame from the EL7 betas:
> ----- START QUOTE -----
> You can boot an RHEL7 guest as PV, but there are issues:
>
>
>   1). The FB driver has been unset (CONFIG_XEN_FBDEV_FRONTEND) that 
> means you can
>       still do a text-console (in theory).
>
>
>   2). The Xorg fb seems to suffer from some bug - which is why the Xen 
> FB has
>       be turned off.
>
>
>   3). There are also some systemd and udev things missing.
>
>
> I understand that folks are interested in getting this fixed, but I was
> wondering what the protocol is for getting said patches in the respective
> RPMS (xorg-some-server, udev, systemd, kernel)?
>
>
> Naturally this needs to be fixed upstream first, but once that has been
> completed it should be fairly easy to backport it.
> ----- END QUOTE -----
>
> From my experimentation, most of the above seems to be fixed. The one 
> problem is that because CONFIG_XEN_FBDEV_FRONTEND is not set for the 
> installer kernel, no FBDEV is initialised on installation - meaning 
> that if you use vncviewer to do the installation, you only get a 
> message saying "GUEST HAS NOT YET INITIALISED GRAPHICS".
>
> The text console is ONLY available by ssh'ing into the Xen Host and 
> using the 'xl console <guest name>' command. The vncviewer obviously 
> has the advantage that because its available over a network, no access 
> to the host is required to run the installer.
>
> I build a custom kernel for EL6 & EL7 that fixes this:
>         http://xen.crc.id.au/git/?p=kernel-xen;a=summary
>
> It works perfectly for a both the Xen Guest (DomU) and Xen Host (Dom0) 
> - however trying to get this working on the installer is a bit of a 
> task beyond me.
>
> The thoughts behind specifically putting at least 
> CONFIG_XEN_FBDEV_FRONTEND as a module - then in an update image to be 
> provided to the installer via a kickstart wouldn't change any of the 
> current installer / code paths or vary from upstream.
>

Hmmmm......

I'll see what it takes to get a kmod built for that config option. 
Probably no progress for the BETA 7.2, as that is coming very soon.

Pat