Lab46 Wiki

This page is read only. You can view the source, but not change it. Ask your administrator if you think this is wrong.
=====Creating Virtual Machines=====
This project will have you setting up virtual machines that can be used for experimentation and other projects.
====Prerequisites====
To do this project, you will need to have successfully completed:

  * [[spring2011/hpc0/projects/vm_server_install|Linux VM Server Install]]

====Ingredients====
You will need:

  * available VMserver that can host your virtual machine
  * an allocated VM that nobody else has claimed
====Background====

Following your setup of a VM server, the next logical step is to do something with it; creating and running virtual machines allows you to have network-accessible machines that you can set up various services, just as if they were a real machine.

  Host names: vm##.student.lab  (01-32)
  MAC address: 00:16:3e:2e:c0:##
  
  For vm01, ## would be "01"
  For vm10, ## would be "0a" (they're in hex).
  For vm32, ## would be "20" (0x20 = 32).
====Allocating the VM====

  * Log into the VM server (as root)
  * Check number of running virtual machines: xm list (if there are already 8 VMs running, use a different VM server)
  * Reference [[lab46>notes:hpc0]] and claim an open VM (edit the table and put in your information)

====Creating the VM====

  * Create the VM (on the vmserver)

<WRAP round important>Be sure to substitute to your VM's two digit number in place of ## below.</WRAP>

<cli>
vmserver:~# xen-create-image --hostname=vm## --mac=00:16:3e:2e:c0:## --role=udev
</cli>

If you have no errors in your /etc/xen/xend-config.sxp and /etc/xen-tools/xen-tools.conf files, it should appear to proceed (watch for warnings).

====Launching your VM====
If your VM was created successfully (watch for errors), you can now "boot" it.

The config file for your VM is located in /xen/conf/vm##.cfg, cat it and see how it is structured.

When ready to boot your VM, do the following:

<cli>
vmserver:~# xm create -c /xen/conf/vm##.cfg
</cli>

This will boot the VM and automatically attach you to the console of the VM. If you just want it to boot without viewing it, leave off the "-c".

When the machine is booted, you can detach from the virtual machine and return to the VMserver's prompt. To do this, hit: **CTRL-]** (control, close-square-bracket).
====Care and feeding of your VM====
Once the VM is running (assuming it was properly configured), it should have received an IP address, and should be reachable at the following address:

<WRAP round box muchbigger>vm##.student.lab</WRAP>

Go ahead and try connecting to your VM via ssh (you can do this from lab46):

<WRAP bgblack fgwhite box bigger>
lab46:~$ ssh root@vm##.student.lab
</WRAP>

On the VM server, you can use the **xm** tool to manage your running VMs. Run "xm help" to get a list of actions you can take.

In general, once you get your VMs up and running, you won't need to directly interact with the VM server.

Enjoy!
Lab46 Wiki

User Tools

Site Tools

Page Tools
