Re: [Xen-users] setting up private networking between dom0 and domU?

[Mark Williamson <mark.williamson@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> > dom0 3D drivers are certainly easier (these should also work in a domU
> > that has access to PCI graphics card, once PCI-passthrough is working
> > again - someone will have to figure out how to make X behave correctly,
> > tho).
>
> Ooh, that sounds promising! Theoretically, if PCI-passthrough could be
> enabled and disabled on-the-fly... Does PCI-express still has enough
> backward-compatibility to direct PCI-passthrough to it?

Whether you can do PCI passthrough on-the-fly is sticky.  The specs don't 
necessary allow us to juggle PCI cards between domains...  I see this as more 
useful for someone who wants to install two graphics cards and use one for 
dom0, and one for a Windows domU (*maybe*, if certain issues can be sorted 
out).

> > I'm not sure the patches to the ATI driver to make it behave itself under
> > Xen have been upstreamed yet.  Once Xen is in the mainline kernel and its
> > popularity becomes apparent, hopefully both manufacturers will decide its
> > worth testing under Xen.
>
> ... though anyway the patched driver is Linux only. So it will help to
> run Linux as host, and even, probably, to run Linux as guest, but to
> run Windows utilizing all video features, the only way is to write
> something generic - and the efforts of manufacturer driver developers
> won't much help here (as it helps with dom0), cause the solution
> should be at XEN level - right?

Right.

> > I'd imagine that's reasonably easy to make work for VT guests.  Paravirt
> > guests need to use network sound daemons at the moment, (artsd, esoundd,
> > or use FreeNX if you can make it work).
>
> Well, with Linux-as-guest it should be possible - but I think neither
> of those network sound daemons can help with Windows-as-guest, right?

For VT guests, it should be *reasonably* straightforward to make the SB16 
emulation from QEmu run as part of the HVM userspace device model under Xen.

> >> distribute Windows files over LVM?
> >
> > You'd want something like my XenFS for this.  It'll be quite a long time
> > before a XenFS client for Windows is available, it'll be Linux-only to
> > start with.
>
> Well, but ntldr won't boot from it, I guess. So well, let's stick to
> disk images.

IIRC, it is *possible* to get Windows to boot from "weird" non-disk root 
filesystems, but I can't remember how.  Filesystem sharing would much more 
likely want to be done for subtrees containing homedirs and apps, rather than 
the boot device.  CIFS/SMB sharing will be more practical for the forseeable 
future, anyhow.

Cheers,
Mark

-- 
Dave: Just a question. What use is a unicyle with no seat?  And no pedals!
Mark: To answer a question with a question: What use is a skateboard?
Dave: Skateboards have wheels.
Mark: My wheel has a wheel!

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