On 06/12/2014 05:17 PM, lee wrote: > I knew before I started that network setup would be a PITA because years > ago, I set up a VM for someone who didn't have a 64bit system to compile > a 64bit version of some software. The network setup being so > ridiculously difficult has kept me from touching VMs ever again for > years. It's just too difficult and not worth the effort unless you're > really forced to do it. Networking can be confusing until it "clicks" then it all seems to fall into place, there is a certain amount of understanding of the overall picture of how bridge networking (or other types of networking) works that once you get that understanding it becomes a lot simpler. One thing that probably confuses you is that there are certain parts of the networking that are done by the dom0 distro, certain parts are done by Xen scripts and front and backend drivers, and some parts are done by the domu operating system. Understanding how those parts fit together and how different distros do the same thing but perhaps with different configs helps a lot to getting a grasp on the whole. Obviously better documentation would help with this, but like anything of this nature there is a learning curve that you simply have to get over before you can really become proficient. > As a user, I'm used to get an ISO of an installer or of a life system, > put that into a DVD drive or write it to an USB stick and to boot from > that to do the installation. Why can't I do that with xen? You can do that with Xen, KVM, and most other types of virtualization. The idea is that you need to block-attach the disk (or ISO file if you prefer not to use a physical disk) to the VM and then it can be mounted and used as install media (or any other type of media for that matter). This can be done from teh domain config file or from the xm (or xl) command line. Another quick note specifically for you. I have noticed in past messages that you seem to be having some confusion with xm vs xl commands and some explanation about that is probably in order to clear up that confusion. xm and xl are nearly identical commands to use, but xm is the "old" way and xl the "new" way. Basically put, xm interfaces with a daemon running in the dom0 (xend) which in turn interfaces with the hypervisor, while xl uses libraries to interface directly with the hypervisor and so eliminates the need for xend. You will see documentation refer to one or the other, sometimes almost interchangeably, because the two tools have almost identical usage, but what you should be aware of is that you really need to pick one and stick with it, Xen does not work well if you try to use xm for some commands and xl for others. Since you're new I would recommend xl because xm is deprecated in newer versions of Xen, so if you want to future-proof your knowledge xl is the way to go. Also if you're using xl then you should not be running the xend daemon, this is easily accomplished by using chkconfig and service to turn xend off. Peter