This section documents how to set up and use openSUSE as a virtual machine host. For the latest Novell virtualization documentation, see http://www.novell.com/documentation/vmserver/.
The following sections list the system and software requirements for running virtualization.
In most cases, the hardware requirements for the virtual machine host are the same as those for the openSUSE system, but additional CPU, disk, memory, and network resources should be added to accommodate the resource demands of all planned virtual machines.
HINT: Remember that virtual machines, just like a physical machines, perform better when they run on faster processors and have access to more system memory.
The following table lists the minimum hardware requirements for running openSUSE with a Linux virtual machine.
Table 9-1 Hardware Requirements
The virtual machine host requires the following software packages and their dependencies to be installed:
kernel-xen
xen
xen-tools
xen-tools-ioemu (required for full-virtualization mode)
kernel-xenpae (used instead of kernel-xen, this package is required to enable a 32-bit virtual machine host to access memory over 3 GB)
yast2-vm
Updates are available through your update channel. Make sure to update to the most recent packages available.
The Xen virtualization software can be installed during the initial installation of openSUSE or added to a computer already running an operating system.
Remember, for best performance, only those applications and processes required for virtualization should be installed on the virtual machine host.
During installation of openSUSE, select the software pattern
.Select or remove additional software to meet your specific configuration requirements.
It is recommended that you select only the software and system tasks required for the virtualization environment. Running additional services, such as Web servers, mail servers, or print servers directly in the management domain (domain 0) affects the performance of all hosted virtual machines.
For best performance, deselect all but the following items:
Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation program.
The Xen software is now installed on the computer. Continue to Section 9.2.3, Starting the Virtual Machine Host.
If you are already running openSUSE, use one of the following methods from the desktop or command line interface to install the virtualization software.
From the desktop, run
. Complete the on-screen instructions and restart the computer.From a command line interface, enter yast2 xen. Complete the on-screen instructions and restart the computer.
If virtualization software is correctly installed, the computer boots to display the GRUB boot loader with a Xen option on the menu. Select this option to start the virtual machine host.
You can manually edit the boot loader to select the Xen option by default.
Log in as the root user.
In YaST, click
.Change the default boot to the
label, then click .Click
.Reboot the system by clicking
. Then click and enter the root password.If the GRUB boot loader does not display or the Xen option is not on the menu, review the steps for installation and verify that the GRUB boot loader has been updated.
After booting, the management virtual machine starts and displays its graphical desktop environment. If you did not install a graphical desktop, the command line environment appears.
For more information about managing virtual machines, see Section 9.4, Managing a Virtualization Environment.