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. -- Steven Haigh Email: [log in to unmask] Web: https://www.crc.id.au Phone: (03) 9001 6090 - 0412 935 897