So. I m trying to get familiar with libvirt and friends. To this end, I ve set up a Lucid virtual machine booting from PXE into an initrd environment which does a pivot_root to an AoE block device.
The #virt channel on irc.oftc.net told me that in order to have libvirt provide PXE capability, I would have to install a recent version of libvirt. I built version 0.7.5-3 from sid on my karmic laptop and it seems to be working okay.
I decided to set up the pxe root directoy in /var/lib/tftproot just because that s what the
example code had in it.
I had to manually configure a virtual network. Here is the XML config file:
$ sudo virsh net-dumpxml netboot
<network>
<name>netboot</name>
<uuid>81ff0d90-c91e-6742-64da-4a736edb9a9b</uuid>
<forward mode='nat'/>
<bridge name='virbr1' stp='off' delay='1' />
<domain name='example.com'/>
<ip address='192.168.123.1' netmask='255.255.255.0'>
<tftp root='/var/lib/tftproot' />
<dhcp>
<range start='192.168.123.2' end='192.168.123.254' />
<bootp file='pxelinux.0' />
</dhcp>
</ip>
</network>
This, of course, depends on the pxelinux.0 file. Luckily, this is packaged up in syslinux and can be installed with a simple
$ sudo apt-get install syslinux
$ sudo mkdir /var/lib/tftproot
$ sudo cp /usr/lib/syslinux/pxelinux.0 /var/lib/tftproot
I had to create a pxelinux config file for the virtual machine (indexed by mac address). Note that I put a console=ttyS0,115200 argument on the kernel command line so that I can attach to the serial port from the host system for copy/paste debugging. Also of importance is the root=/dev/etherd/e0.1p1 argument, specifying which block device we ll be doing the pivot_root to eventually.
$ mkdir /var/lib/tftproot/pxelinux.cfg/
$ cat /var/lib/tftproot/pxelinux.cfg/01-52-54-00-44-34-67
DEFAULT linux
LABEL linux
SAY Now booting the kernel from PXELINUX...
KERNEL vmlinuz-lucid0
APPEND ro root=/dev/etherd/e0.1p1 console=ttyS0,115200 initrd=initrd.img-lucid0
I decided to use the karmic kernel for lucid initially. I ll eventually switch over to the lucid kernel ;)
$ sudo cp /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-17-generic /var/lib/tftproot/vmlinuz-lucid0
I copied /etc/initramfs-tools to ~/tmp/lucid so that I didn t mess up the system initrd scripts:
$ mkdir -p ~/tmp/lucid && cp -r /etc/initramfs-tools ~/tmp/lucid/
Since mkinitramfs doesn t currently have a system for AoE root, I had to do a bit of fiddling. I copied the NFS root boot script and made a couple of modifications.
$ diff -u /usr/share/initramfs-tools/scripts/nfs ~/tmp/lucid/initramfs-tools/scripts/aoe
--- /usr/share/initramfs-tools/scripts/nfs 2008-06-23 23:10:21.000000000 -0700
+++ /home/cjac/tmp/lucid/initramfs-tools/scripts/aoe 2010-01-15 14:56:28.098298027 -0800
@@ -5,59 +5,25 @@
retry_nr=0
# parse nfs bootargs and mount nfs
-do_nfsmount()
+do_aoemount()
-
configure_networking
- # get nfs root from dhcp
- if [ "x$ NFSROOT " = "xauto" ]; then
- # check if server ip is part of dhcp root-path
- if [ "$ ROOTPATH#*: " = "$ ROOTPATH " ]; then
- NFSROOT=$ ROOTSERVER :$ ROOTPATH
- else
- NFSROOT=$ ROOTPATH
- fi
-
- # nfsroot=[<server-ip>:]<root-dir>[,<nfs-options>]
- elif [ -n "$ NFSROOT " ]; then
- # nfs options are an optional arg
- if [ "$ NFSROOT#*, " != "$ NFSROOT " ]; then
- NFSOPTS="-o $ NFSROOT#*, "
- fi
- NFSROOT=$ NFSROOT%%,*
- if [ "$ NFSROOT#*: " = "$NFSROOT" ]; then
- NFSROOT=$ ROOTSERVER :$ NFSROOT
- fi
- fi
+ ip link set up dev eth0
- if [ -z "$ NFSOPTS " ]; then
- NFSOPTS="-o retrans=10"
- fi
+ ls /dev/etherd/
- [ "$quiet" != "y" ] && log_begin_msg "Running /scripts/nfs-premount"
- run_scripts /scripts/nfs-premount
- [ "$quiet" != "y" ] && log_end_msg
+ echo > /dev/etherd/discover
- if [ $ readonly = y ]; then
- roflag="-o ro"
- else
- roflag="-o rw"
- fi
+ ls /dev/etherd/
- nfsmount -o nolock $ roflag $ NFSOPTS $ NFSROOT $ rootmnt
+ mount $ ROOT $ rootmnt
-# NFS root mounting
+# AoE root mounting
mountroot()
- [ "$quiet" != "y" ] && log_begin_msg "Running /scripts/nfs-top"
- run_scripts /scripts/nfs-top
- [ "$quiet" != "y" ] && log_end_msg
-
- modprobe nfs
- # For DHCP
- modprobe af_packet
+ modprobe aoe
# Default delay is around 180s
# FIXME: add usplash_write info
@@ -67,17 +33,13 @@
delay=$ ROOTDELAY
fi
- # loop until nfsmount succeds
+ # loop until aoemount succeds
while [ $ retry_nr -lt $ delay ] && [ ! -e $ rootmnt $ init ]; do
[ $ retry_nr -gt 0 ] && \
- [ "$quiet" != "y" ] && log_begin_msg "Retrying nfs mount"
- do_nfsmount
+ [ "$quiet" != "y" ] && log_begin_msg "Retrying AoE mount"
+ do_aoemount
retry_nr=$(( $ retry_nr + 1 ))
[ ! -e $ rootmnt $ init ] && /bin/sleep 1
[ $ retry_nr -gt 0 ] && [ "$quiet" != "y" ] && log_end_msg
done
-
- [ "$quiet" != "y" ] && log_begin_msg "Running /scripts/nfs-bottom"
- run_scripts /scripts/nfs-bottom
- [ "$quiet" != "y" ] && log_end_msg
(below is the full file in case udiff is less convenient)
$ cat ~/tmp/lucid/initramfs-tools/scripts/aoe
# NFS filesystem mounting -*- shell-script -*-
# FIXME This needs error checking
retry_nr=0
# parse nfs bootargs and mount nfs
do_aoemount()
configure_networking
ip link set up dev eth0
ls /dev/etherd/
echo > /dev/etherd/discover
ls /dev/etherd/
mount $ ROOT $ rootmnt
# AoE root mounting
mountroot()
modprobe aoe
# Default delay is around 180s
# FIXME: add usplash_write info
if [ -z "$ ROOTDELAY " ]; then
delay=180
else
delay=$ ROOTDELAY
fi
# loop until aoemount succeds
while [ $ retry_nr -lt $ delay ] && [ ! -e $ rootmnt $ init ]; do
[ $ retry_nr -gt 0 ] && \
[ "$quiet" != "y" ] && log_begin_msg "Retrying AoE mount"
do_aoemount
retry_nr=$(( $ retry_nr + 1 ))
[ ! -e $ rootmnt $ init ] && /bin/sleep 1
[ $ retry_nr -gt 0 ] && [ "$quiet" != "y" ] && log_end_msg
done
There was also a small modification to the initramfs.conf file:
$ diff -u /etc/initramfs-tools/initramfs.conf ~/tmp/lucid/initramfs-tools/initramfs.conf
--- /etc/initramfs-tools/initramfs.conf 2008-07-08 18:37:42.000000000 -0700
+++ /home/cjac/tmp/lucid/initramfs-tools/initramfs.conf 2010-01-15 14:33:38.088295207 -0800
@@ -47,14 +47,16 @@
#
#
-# BOOT: [ local nfs ]
+# BOOT: [ local nfs aoe]
#
# local - Boot off of local media (harddrive, USB stick).
#
# nfs - Boot using an NFS drive as the root of the drive.
#
+# aoe - Boot using an AoE drive as the root of the drive.
+#
-BOOT=local
+BOOT=aoe
#
# DEVICE: ...
I also needed to add aoe to the list of modules included in the initramfs:
$ echo aoe >> ~/tmp/lucid/initramfs-tools/modules
In order to generate the initrd.img file from this new config, I ran the following:
$ sudo mkinitramfs -d ~/tmp/lucid/initramfs-tools/ -o /var/lib/tftproot/initrd.img-lucid0
I created a lucid VM by installing from the desktop install disk. You can grab the ISO here:
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/daily-live/current/
I ll leave the creation of the virtual machine and installation as an exercise for the reader. I put the filesystem on an lvm volume group called vg0 in a logical volume called lucid0 (ie, /dev/vg0/lucid0).
At this point, I created a new virtual machine called lucid0. Here is the xml for the domain:
$ sudo virsh dumpxml lucid0
<domain type='kvm' id='1'>
<name>lucid0</name>
<uuid>96fbad21-4f25-5700-ddd8-1a565c7170ee</uuid>
<memory>524288</memory>
<currentMemory>524288</currentMemory>
<vcpu>1</vcpu>
<os>
<type arch='x86_64' machine='pc-0.11'>hvm</type>
<boot dev='network'/>
</os>
<features>
<pae/>
</features>
<clock offset='localtime'/>
<on_poweroff>destroy</on_poweroff>
<on_reboot>restart</on_reboot>
<on_crash>restart</on_crash>
<devices>
<emulator>/usr/bin/kvm</emulator>
<interface type='network'>
<mac address='52:54:00:44:34:67'/>
<source network='netboot'/>
<target dev='vnet0'/>
</interface>
<serial type='pty'>
<source path='/dev/pts/4'/>
<target port='0'/>
</serial>
<console type='pty' tty='/dev/pts/4'>
<source path='/dev/pts/4'/>
<target port='0'/>
</console>
<input type='tablet' bus='usb'/>
<input type='mouse' bus='ps2'/>
<graphics type='vnc' port='5901' autoport='yes' listen='127.0.0.1' keymap='en-us'/>
<sound model='es1370'/>
<video>
<model type='cirrus' vram='9216' heads='1'/>
</video>
</devices>
</domain>
Now we re ready to start the AoE target and launch the virtual machine. If you don t have vblade installed, do so now:
$ sudo apt-get install vblade
Start the target up with the following command:
$ sudo vbladed 0 1 virbr1 /dev/vg0/lucid0
Now, if all goes well, you should be able to watch the virtual machine boot up and do its thing like so:
$ sudo virsh start lucid0 && sudo screen -S lucid0 sudo virsh ttyconsole lucid0 115200
If you get errors about /dev/etherd/e0.1p1 not existing (these might look like this):
Begin: Retrying AoE mount ...
err discover interfaces revalidate flush
err discover interfaces revalidate flush
mount: mounting /dev/etherd/e0.1p1 on /root failed: No such file or directory
Done.
then you might want to try restarting vbladed like this:
$ sudo kill -9 ps auwx grep vblade grep -v grep awk ' print $2 ' && sudo vbladed 0 1 virbr1 /dev/vg0/lucid0
So. Now you should have a lucid gdm in your virt-manager console. Any questions? #virt on irc.oftc.net
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Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! Yeah, it's that time of year again, I am writing a blog post 
. As some of you have probably already noticed I managed to get Smuxi 0.7 released a few days ago. Almost all of my Xmas vacation I was hacking on Smuxi. This is the best Smuxi release ever (guaranteed!). The most notable features I implemented in the 0.7 release are: Twitter support, handling for high latency networks (UTMS, WLAN, busy DSL) and an improved IRC experience through tweaks such as splitting oversized messages and new context menus. This release also contains very nice contributions from David Paleino [2] and Cl ment Bourgeois. Both joined the hackfest during my Xmas vacation and made the hacking sessions on Smuxi even more fun. Thanks for that guys! Here you can find a full list of changes.
As everbody likes screenshots and as screenshots say a thousand words, here they are:
Quick Connect
Twitter
User Menu
Which direction will Smuxi head in after the 0.7 release? For the 0.8 release, I plan to focus on making the IRC support feature complete. That means we will get DCC, SSL, IPv6 and logging support. Nothing of that sounds very special but I am already investigating how Smuxi can be integrated with the promising new Zeitgeist project. I interviewed one of the developers for potential communication between Smuxi and Zeitgeist.
Last but not least, I want to announce that I will be attending FOSDEM 2010 in Brussels. I also will give a talk about Smuxi there, scheduled on 2010-02-07 at 16:30. If you want to have a chat, a beer, do some GPG keysigning, or ask me any questions, I am available 
Dear lazyweb, I bought a Dell Mini 10 and am curious on how and if you use it for some sort of Debian development.
Two weeks ago I filed #
My mutt said this last night:
I've talked before about the minimal way in which I've been using a lot of the available automation tools. I tend to use them to carry out only a few operations:
It seems that I m not blogging as often as I was some months ago. The main reason is 
News is slow this month on the FusionForge development front. We're
all busy gathering all the things that we want to go into the next
release, but there's no big news from the code. However, there is
something of interest.
You may have heard about the Coclico project, which is an initiative
aiming at collaboration and convergence between several forge engines,
most notably FusionForge, Codendi and Novaforge. That project was
started last October, and it holds regular meetings with its members.
The next meeting is scheduled for the 2nd of February in Paris, and we
thought we could host an open meeting on the 3rd for non-Coclico
members, a bit like the forge meeting we had last year (which is when
FusionForge was officially born), but with an emphasis on what Coclico
did so far. Since most of the FusionForge hackers are in Western
Europe, and several are in Paris (especially if we add those who go to
Paris for the Coclico meeting), we thought it would also be a good
opportunity to gather for a technical and social meeting.
It seems the Coclico open session didn't generate much interest this
time (at least, it hasn't so far), so I proposed to hijack the room
for this FusionForge meeting, and I didn't hear any objections. I
have several themes I'd like to discuss with people, and possibly
start implementing during that day:
It has been quite some time since my last post. I have been involved in quite a few things and the last part of 2009 which left no time for anything else. At the begining of 2010, just to set things on a good tone from the new year, I went on a snowboarding vacation to Austria to Kitzb hel.
It tooks me one week, this time after