Dileep Kumar's Weblog

If you run into issues when following my previous blog then you may running into problem with sysevent daemon.
If that happens here is what you need to do:
once done installing all the package and rebooting with the Sun xVM server option in the boot menu from the dom0 issues the following command.

Cut and paste everything in between ---- this line to your terminal and hit return and then you should be able to proceed with domU creation.

The error is like as:

bash-3.2# xm create -c install.py

Using config file "./install.py".
bash-3.2# Error: Device 0 (vif) could not be connected. Hotplug scripts not working.

-------------------------

BASEDIR=${BASEDIR:-/}

/usr/sbin/syseventadm list -R $BASEDIR -c EC_xendev > /dev/null 2>&1
if [ $? -ne 0 ]
then
/usr/sbin/syseventadm add -R $BASEDIR -c EC_xendev \
/usr/lib/xen/scripts/xpvd-event 'action=$subclass' \
'domain=$domain' 'vdev=$vdev' 'device=$device' \
'devclass=$devclass' 'febe=$fob'
fi

/usr/sbin/syseventadm list -R $BASEDIR -c EC_xpvsys > /dev/null 2>&1
if [ $? -ne 0 ]
then
/usr/sbin/syseventadm add -R $BASEDIR -c EC_xpvsys \
/usr/lib/xen/scripts/xpvsys-event 'subclass=$subclass' \
'shutdown=$shutdown'
fi

# restart daemon if the package is being added to the running system
if [ "$BASEDIR" = "/" -a $? -eq 0 ]
then
/usr/sbin/syseventadm restart
fi

---------------------

In this blog I will walk you through the steps of creating a domU within your OpenSolaris 2008.05 installation.
To accomplish this task you must have done your OpenSolaris 2008.05 install and I assume you are familiar with this if not please refer to OpenSolaris web-site.

Once you done installing this you need to use IPS(Image Packaging System) so that your system will have the packages related to xen. Make sure your pkg authority is set right and you are able to download the packages.
If this is set right i.e. if you haven't changed anything then it should look like this:

-bash-3.2# pkg authority
AUTHORITY URL
opensolaris.org (preferred) http://pkg.opensolaris.org:80/

Now you will need to add the following packages(you can cut and paste these commands to your terminal):

pkg install SUNWvirtinst
pkg install SUNWurlgrabber
pkg install SUNWlibvirt
pkg install SUNWxvmhvm
pkg install SUNWxvmdom
pkg install SUNWxvm
pkg install SUNWgccruntime
pkg install SUNWgnutls
pkg install SUNWlibsdl
pkg install FSWxwpft
pkg install FSWxwrtl

Once done doing this now you have all the necessary packages. Now you need to modify you GRUB BOOT Loader so that you have the option to load xVM when you system boots. This can be achieved by doing this:

Open the file "/rpool/boot/grub/menu.lst" in vi and add the following entry:
----
title Solaris xVM
bootfs rpool/ROOT/opensolaris
kernel$ /boot/$ISADIR/xen.gz
module$ /platform/i86xpv/kernel/$ISADIR/unix /platform/i86xpv/kernel/$ISADIR/unix -B $ZFS-BOOTFS
module$ /platform/i86pc/$ISADIR/boot_archive
----
Save your changes and exit out of the editor.
Now reboot your system and when you get to the grub loader select the "Solaris xVM" so that you will have the xVM related modules loaded.

Once the boot is complete you will need to start some of the services to enable you to use the xen management command. The services need to be enabled are as:

svcadm enable svc:/system/xvm/store:default
svcadm enable svc:/system/xvm/xend:default

svcadm enable svc:/system/xvm/console:default

Note: Enabling the console is really necessary otherwise when you run your xm commands you will get into error like following:
/usr/lib/xen/bin/xenconsole: Could not open tty `/dev/pts/7': No such file or directory

Once you have done this follow the instruction listed in MJR's blog.
http://blogs.sun.com/mrj/entry/installing_opensolaris_on

Which will have your domU up and running.

As many of you might have got the news by now about the planet's best Operating System has been made available on one of the most scalable Compute Cloud named Amazon EC2(Elastic Compute Cloud).
This brings you the best of the both worlds which includes the Amazon Web-Services and OpenSolaris code base. If you haven't checked how cool OpenSolaris is I would suggest to get a copy of OpenSolaris and check for your self. Once you get this just get your hand dirty on xVM and try to play with the virtualization it offers. There are may more things that has been included with this OpenSolaris and some of them are as:
. Developed under Open Source community.
. New subscription support.
. Various tools needed for development eg. Sun Studio, Netbeans and the SAMP stack.
. Different virtualization technology
. ZFS and DTRACE.
. Fast and easy installation with a single click and simply add software via the new Image Packaging System (IPS).

Combining Amazon EC2 on demand compute capacity with their integrated storage and running OpenSolaris on top of that gives you unparalleled env to run your application in secure, reliable and easily scalable.
OpenSolaris makes it possible to run your application on EC2 while taking or retaining the differentiating features of the Solaris Operating system and they include:

1. DTrace - You continue to do the same Dynamic Tracing over EC2.
2. Binary and Backward Compatibility - As with Solaris 10 you continue to run your application unmodified on OpenSolaris. So you can run your oldest code unmodified without breaking a thing.
3. Open Source - OpenSolaris is developed under OpenSolaris community with participation from thousands of developer worldwide. It has more predictable life cycle and support service so you can plan and upgrade your system when needed.
4. Easy to use - If you have given a try to install OpenSolaris you would know how easy it is.

So how does the whole thing work ?
Here is the what needed to be done to have your own OpenSolaris running on Amazon EC2:
You must have an account with Amazon WebSerives
Register for OpenSolaris AMI
Sun gets back to you with the details
Use the AMI/API tool to get your env.
Install/Update or simply customize your env by installing software or customizing your system.

For more details don't forget to check here.