Xen and Mdadm?
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@biggen said:
Just so I'm clear on that link that Dustin provided (but looks like Scott wrote), I can install XenServer on a USB stick, put my VM's on a RAID 1 SSD datastore and my actual media for my NAS on a separate RAID 1 winchester?
Mdadm can manage both arrays like this?
I know that guide was for RAID 10 but I can adjust it pretty easily for twin RAID 1 arrays.
Dustin wrote most of it. I polished it and posted it for him.
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@biggen said:
Not being familiar with XenServer the last command "xe sr-create" is new to me.
Once XenServer is installed and I create my desired MD RAID devices via the CLI, can I not use a GUI to add them to XenServer as datastores?
When you are creating the datastores they will automatically be added within XenCenter.
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@DustinB3403 said:
@biggen said:
Not being familiar with XenServer the last command "xe sr-create" is new to me.
Once XenServer is installed and I create my desired MD RAID devices via the CLI, can I not use a GUI to add them to XenServer as datastores?
When you are creating the datastores they will automatically be added within XenCenter.
But that's only after you add them as datastores in XS, right?
I think the answer to biggen's question is no, you can't add raw storage to XS as a datastore through a GUI unless XO supports that. XenCenter does not support this.
it's not as clean/single interface for everything GUI-wise like ESXi is.
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Yes you have to create a Storage Repository (SR) first with the "xe sr-create <details>" command which automatically adds it into XenCenter (visually) and Xen on the back end.
Otherwise it would be like putting a hard drive into a system and telling the system to do nothing with it.
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@DustinB3403 said:
Yes you have to create a Storage Repository (SR) first with the "xe sr-create <details>" command which automatically adds it into XenCenter (visually) and Xen on the back end.
Otherwise it would be like putting a hard drive into a system and telling the system to do nothing with it.
@biggen said:
Not being familiar with XenServer the last command "xe sr-create" is new to me.
Once XenServer is installed and I create my desired MD RAID devices via the CLI, can I not use a GUI to add them to XenServer as datastores?
So he specifically asked if he can use a GUI to add them. You can in ESXi and Hyper-V, but apparently no, you can not use the GUI to do this in XS.
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Well you could run the commands from XenCenter using the Console of the Xen installation to do this.
But it's not a "point and click" function
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@Dashrender said:
So he specifically asked if he can use a GUI to add them. You can in ESXi and Hyper-V, but apparently no, you can not use the GUI to do this in XS.
Not quite fair as VMware can't do this at all. So you can't do it from there at all, CLI or GUI.
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Xen... XenServer... Xen server... Something I haven't looked into is the pricing. Xen is open source & free at the same time, that I have gathered. XenServer is something that Citrix has created, and charges for (open source, but not free... Red Hat in the same fashion. Open source, but not free). Xen server, any Xen server (can be open source and free, or can be XenServer... It's just a vague term). Anyone have any input? I'm always looking at new options for cost effective deployment in the right environment.
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@BBigford said:
Xen... XenServer... Xen server... Something I haven't looked into is the pricing. Xen is open source & free at the same time, that I have gathered. XenServer is something that Citrix has created, and charges for (open source, but not free... Red Hat in the same fashion. Open source, but not free). Xen server, any Xen server (can be open source and free, or can be XenServer... It's just a vague term). Anyone have any input?
XenServer is open source and free. Just like Redhat if you want to pay for support you can. Even with XenServer you get all the updates for free. XenServer was "created" by Citrix, but they have since GPL'd (I think) the code and have given the code base to the Linux foundation. There is no obligation to pay for it.
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@BBigford said:
Xen... XenServer... Xen server... Something I haven't looked into is the pricing. Xen is open source & free at the same time, that I have gathered. XenServer is something that Citrix has created, and charges for (open source, but not free... Red Hat in the same fashion. Open source, but not free). Xen server, any Xen server (can be open source and free, or can be XenServer... It's just a vague term). Anyone have any input? I'm always looking at new options for cost effective deployment in the right environment.
It's all open and all free. XenServer has no way to not be free because the license protects you. Citrix didn't create XenServer, it's built from Linux' Xen project and CentOS. Citrix just bundled it and sold support. And even that is in the past. Xen, XenServer are both part of the Linux Foundation, are both GPL and that means free.
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@coliver said:
@BBigford said:
Xen... XenServer... Xen server... Something I haven't looked into is the pricing. Xen is open source & free at the same time, that I have gathered. XenServer is something that Citrix has created, and charges for (open source, but not free... Red Hat in the same fashion. Open source, but not free). Xen server, any Xen server (can be open source and free, or can be XenServer... It's just a vague term). Anyone have any input?
XenServer is open source and free. Just like Redhat if you want to pay for support you can. Even with XenServer you get all the updates for free. XenServer was "created" by Citrix, but they have since GPL'd (I think) the code and have given the code base to the Linux foundation. There is no obligation to pay for it.
But if you DO want to pay for it, I can sell it to you.
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@scottalanmiller said:
@coliver said:
@BBigford said:
Xen... XenServer... Xen server... Something I haven't looked into is the pricing. Xen is open source & free at the same time, that I have gathered. XenServer is something that Citrix has created, and charges for (open source, but not free... Red Hat in the same fashion. Open source, but not free). Xen server, any Xen server (can be open source and free, or can be XenServer... It's just a vague term). Anyone have any input?
XenServer is open source and free. Just like Redhat if you want to pay for support you can. Even with XenServer you get all the updates for free. XenServer was "created" by Citrix, but they have since GPL'd (I think) the code and have given the code base to the Linux foundation. There is no obligation to pay for it.
But if you DO want to pay for it, I can sell it to you.
Yep, I'll burn a DVD and ship it to you for 200$. That being said some 3rd parties probably are a better avenue for support then Citrix would be.
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@coliver said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@coliver said:
@BBigford said:
Xen... XenServer... Xen server... Something I haven't looked into is the pricing. Xen is open source & free at the same time, that I have gathered. XenServer is something that Citrix has created, and charges for (open source, but not free... Red Hat in the same fashion. Open source, but not free). Xen server, any Xen server (can be open source and free, or can be XenServer... It's just a vague term). Anyone have any input?
XenServer is open source and free. Just like Redhat if you want to pay for support you can. Even with XenServer you get all the updates for free. XenServer was "created" by Citrix, but they have since GPL'd (I think) the code and have given the code base to the Linux foundation. There is no obligation to pay for it.
But if you DO want to pay for it, I can sell it to you.
Yep, I'll burn a DVD and ship it to you for 200$. That being said some 3rd parties probably are a better avenue for support then Citrix would be.
Oh I wasn't offering support, I'll just sell XenServer.
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$20 for XenServer via download, for an extra $5 I'll ship you a DVD of it! Right to your door.
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I appreciate the help guys. I'll start experimenting with XenServer and see what I can break on a perfectly working system...
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@scottalanmiller said:
@BBigford said:
Xen... XenServer... Xen server... Something I haven't looked into is the pricing. Xen is open source & free at the same time, that I have gathered. XenServer is something that Citrix has created, and charges for (open source, but not free... Red Hat in the same fashion. Open source, but not free). Xen server, any Xen server (can be open source and free, or can be XenServer... It's just a vague term). Anyone have any input? I'm always looking at new options for cost effective deployment in the right environment.
It's all open and all free. XenServer has no way to not be free because the license protects you. Citrix didn't create XenServer, it's built from Linux' Xen project and CentOS. Citrix just bundled it and sold support. And even that is in the past. Xen, XenServer are both part of the Linux Foundation, are both GPL and that means free.
Ok, I'm seeing it more clearly now. What Citrix was selling, was basically just support (bundled with the software of course, but they aren't technically selling the software, because they can't).
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@BBigford said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@BBigford said:
Xen... XenServer... Xen server... Something I haven't looked into is the pricing. Xen is open source & free at the same time, that I have gathered. XenServer is something that Citrix has created, and charges for (open source, but not free... Red Hat in the same fashion. Open source, but not free). Xen server, any Xen server (can be open source and free, or can be XenServer... It's just a vague term). Anyone have any input? I'm always looking at new options for cost effective deployment in the right environment.
It's all open and all free. XenServer has no way to not be free because the license protects you. Citrix didn't create XenServer, it's built from Linux' Xen project and CentOS. Citrix just bundled it and sold support. And even that is in the past. Xen, XenServer are both part of the Linux Foundation, are both GPL and that means free.
Ok, I'm seeing it more clearly now. What Citrix was selling, was basically just support (bundled with the software of course, but they aren't technically selling the software, because they can't).
Almost right. They WERE selling the software, but it is also free. The GPL license that they are under allows EVERYONE to resell anything. So Xen, KVM, XenServer, CentOS, Ubuntu, etc. They are all under the GPL. You are allowed to give them away for free, the source is open. You are ALSO allowed to charge for them. You meaning EVERYONE. I can legally sell you Ubuntu, CentOS, XenServer, etc. So can Citrix. We are just... selling you something free. Does that make sense? I can charge you $1,000 for it, but you can turn around and give it away free or sell it yourself.
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@scottalanmiller said:
@BBigford said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@BBigford said:
Xen... XenServer... Xen server... Something I haven't looked into is the pricing. Xen is open source & free at the same time, that I have gathered. XenServer is something that Citrix has created, and charges for (open source, but not free... Red Hat in the same fashion. Open source, but not free). Xen server, any Xen server (can be open source and free, or can be XenServer... It's just a vague term). Anyone have any input? I'm always looking at new options for cost effective deployment in the right environment.
It's all open and all free. XenServer has no way to not be free because the license protects you. Citrix didn't create XenServer, it's built from Linux' Xen project and CentOS. Citrix just bundled it and sold support. And even that is in the past. Xen, XenServer are both part of the Linux Foundation, are both GPL and that means free.
Ok, I'm seeing it more clearly now. What Citrix was selling, was basically just support (bundled with the software of course, but they aren't technically selling the software, because they can't).
Almost right. They WERE selling the software, but it is also free. The GPL license that they are under allows EVERYONE to resell anything. So Xen, KVM, XenServer, CentOS, Ubuntu, etc. They are all under the GPL. You are allowed to give them away for free, the source is open. You are ALSO allowed to charge for them. You meaning EVERYONE. I can legally sell you Ubuntu, CentOS, XenServer, etc. So can Citrix. We are just... selling you something free. Does that make sense? I can charge you $1,000 for it, but you can turn around and give it away free or sell it yourself.
Okay, so Citrix didn't create XenServer (like taking Xen and making a distro specific to what they wanted to do with it). XenServer is essentially just a distro of Xen, that the Xen team created. Is that right? I'm trying to step back and see this clearly. If Xen is to Linux, I'm guessing XenServer is to Red Hat, or Ubuntu? It's just a distro of Xen? I've been looking at Xen wiki and The Xen Project. But I haven't found anything that says "here is the history of all things Xen so as not to confuse any parts of Xen itself."
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@BBigford said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@BBigford said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@BBigford said:
Xen... XenServer... Xen server... Something I haven't looked into is the pricing. Xen is open source & free at the same time, that I have gathered. XenServer is something that Citrix has created, and charges for (open source, but not free... Red Hat in the same fashion. Open source, but not free). Xen server, any Xen server (can be open source and free, or can be XenServer... It's just a vague term). Anyone have any input? I'm always looking at new options for cost effective deployment in the right environment.
It's all open and all free. XenServer has no way to not be free because the license protects you. Citrix didn't create XenServer, it's built from Linux' Xen project and CentOS. Citrix just bundled it and sold support. And even that is in the past. Xen, XenServer are both part of the Linux Foundation, are both GPL and that means free.
Ok, I'm seeing it more clearly now. What Citrix was selling, was basically just support (bundled with the software of course, but they aren't technically selling the software, because they can't).
Almost right. They WERE selling the software, but it is also free. The GPL license that they are under allows EVERYONE to resell anything. So Xen, KVM, XenServer, CentOS, Ubuntu, etc. They are all under the GPL. You are allowed to give them away for free, the source is open. You are ALSO allowed to charge for them. You meaning EVERYONE. I can legally sell you Ubuntu, CentOS, XenServer, etc. So can Citrix. We are just... selling you something free. Does that make sense? I can charge you $1,000 for it, but you can turn around and give it away free or sell it yourself.
Okay, so Citrix didn't create XenServer (like taking Xen and making a distro specific to what they wanted to do with it). XenServer is essentially just a distro of Xen, that the Xen team created. Is that right? I'm trying to step back and see this clearly. If Xen is to Linux, I'm guessing XenServer is to Red Hat, or Ubuntu? It's just a distro of Xen? I've been looking at Xen wiki and The Xen Project. But I haven't found anything that says "here is the history of all things Xen so as not to confuse any parts of Xen itself."
Correct. Xen is the hypervisor and goes way back, it is nearly as old as VMware. Both of them predate hardware assistance on the CPU! Xen is the only one that has retained this heritage in its current design, it is the only hypervisor left that has a means of running without hardware assistance.
Xen is to Linux as XenServer is to RHEL. The CentOS version of XenServer is XCP. Identical, but without the Citrix branding. XenServer and XCP are a distro of Xen. Xen does nothing on its own, just like Linux.
Competing with XenServer / XCP are the native RHEL / CentOS, Ubuntu and Suse Xen stacks. You can do Xen from any of them (we were Suse/Xen for a long time) and this used to be popular because they were so much more up to date than XenServer. XS has fixed that for the most part and now that XenServer / XCP is a reference implementation of a Xen distro directly from the Xen team at the Linux Foundation there isn't much call for other versions.
Oracle VM is a head to head distro competitor with XenServer.
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@scottalanmiller said:
@BBigford said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@BBigford said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@BBigford said:
Xen... XenServer... Xen server... Something I haven't looked into is the pricing. Xen is open source & free at the same time, that I have gathered. XenServer is something that Citrix has created, and charges for (open source, but not free... Red Hat in the same fashion. Open source, but not free). Xen server, any Xen server (can be open source and free, or can be XenServer... It's just a vague term). Anyone have any input? I'm always looking at new options for cost effective deployment in the right environment.
It's all open and all free. XenServer has no way to not be free because the license protects you. Citrix didn't create XenServer, it's built from Linux' Xen project and CentOS. Citrix just bundled it and sold support. And even that is in the past. Xen, XenServer are both part of the Linux Foundation, are both GPL and that means free.
Ok, I'm seeing it more clearly now. What Citrix was selling, was basically just support (bundled with the software of course, but they aren't technically selling the software, because they can't).
Almost right. They WERE selling the software, but it is also free. The GPL license that they are under allows EVERYONE to resell anything. So Xen, KVM, XenServer, CentOS, Ubuntu, etc. They are all under the GPL. You are allowed to give them away for free, the source is open. You are ALSO allowed to charge for them. You meaning EVERYONE. I can legally sell you Ubuntu, CentOS, XenServer, etc. So can Citrix. We are just... selling you something free. Does that make sense? I can charge you $1,000 for it, but you can turn around and give it away free or sell it yourself.
Okay, so Citrix didn't create XenServer (like taking Xen and making a distro specific to what they wanted to do with it). XenServer is essentially just a distro of Xen, that the Xen team created. Is that right? I'm trying to step back and see this clearly. If Xen is to Linux, I'm guessing XenServer is to Red Hat, or Ubuntu? It's just a distro of Xen? I've been looking at Xen wiki and The Xen Project. But I haven't found anything that says "here is the history of all things Xen so as not to confuse any parts of Xen itself."
Correct. Xen is the hypervisor and goes way back, it is nearly as old as VMware. Both of them predate hardware assistance on the CPU! Xen is the only one that has retained this heritage in its current design, it is the only hypervisor left that has a means of running without hardware assistance.
Xen is to Linux as XenServer is to RHEL. The CentOS version of XenServer is XCP. Identical, but without the Citrix branding. XenServer and XCP are a distro of Xen. Xen does nothing on its own, just like Linux.
Competing with XenServer / XCP are the native RHEL / CentOS, Ubuntu and Suse Xen stacks. You can do Xen from any of them (we were Suse/Xen for a long time) and this used to be popular because they were so much more up to date than XenServer. XS has fixed that for the most part and now that XenServer / XCP is a reference implementation of a Xen distro directly from the Xen team at the Linux Foundation there isn't much call for other versions.
Oracle VM is a head to head distro competitor with XenServer.
Ok, that makes a lot more sense. So if you want XenServer, you have to go to Citrix and pay for it, right? I did a proof of concept with XenServer in the past, and went to Citrix for the software & licensing. What I'm understanding, is that Citrix designed XenServer, and it is a paid for solution (like RHEL requires payment, and service is an optional/additional payment).
Thanks for taking the time to explain this by the way.
