RE: [Xen-users] Need clarifications: Xen and winXP HVM: pci direct access, USB, desktop resolution

["Petersson, Mats" <Mats.Petersson@xxxxxxx>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: kadafax [mailto:kadafax@xxxxxxxxx] 
> Sent: 24 November 2006 16:31
> To: Petersson, Mats
> Cc: xen-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [Xen-users] Need clarifications: Xen and winXP 
> HVM: pci direct access, USB, desktop resolution
> 
> Petersson, Mats wrote:
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: xen-users-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
> >> [mailto:xen-users-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of kadafax
> >> Sent: 24 November 2006 15:34
> >> To: xen-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >> Subject: [Xen-users] Need clarifications: Xen and winXP HVM: 
> >> pci direct access, USB, desktop resolution
> >>
> >> Hi list,
> >> I'm totally new at xen and apologize for my ignorance. What 
> >> I'm trying 
> >> to do is the following:
> >> I've got a laptop with core 2 duo cpu.
> >> Dom0: Fedora Core 6.
> >> Dom1: WinXP HVM
> >>
> >> I want to give the Dom1 full access to the wifi card, and the 
> >> possibility to use USB pen drive. So I've hidden the pci address 
> >> (according to lspci output) in the kernel's line:
> >> kernel /xen.gz-2.6.18-1.2849.fc6 pciback.permissive 
> >> pciback.hide=(0c:00.0)
> >>
> >> and added the following in the dom1's config file:
> >> pci=['0c,00,0']
> >>
> >>
> >> The result when I 'xm create windows':
> >>
> >> Error: pci: failed to locate device and parse it's resources 
> >> - [Errno 2] No such file or directory: 
> >> '/sys/bus/pci/devices/0000:0c:00.0/driver'
> >>     
> >
> > PCI can't be accesed from HVM domains, because the HVM domain isn't
> > aware that it's being virtualized. To make this work 
> without modifying
> > the driver to understand virtualization, the hardware (and Xen) will
> > have to support IOMMU, which isn't available today. 
> >
> > I don't know why you get that particular error message, but it's not
> > really important WHAT error message you get, as it's not 
> going to work
> > anywyas. 
> >   
> >> I've tried the same with a USB controller to the HVM with the same 
> >> result. But it wasn't a missing files problem:
> >>
> >> Error: pci: PCI Backend does not own device 0000:00:1d.0
> >> See the pciback.hide kernel command-line parameter or
> >> bind your slot/device to the PCI backend using sysfs
> >>     
> >
> > I don't know what the difference is, but it's still not 
> going to work. 
> >
> > You may be able to attach the device to your guest as a 
> "hard-disk", but
> > my guess is that you're not really wanting to do that. 
> >   
> >> So it's here that I need some clarifications, because I've 
> seen some 
> >> posts wheres people were talking about successfully 
> attaching a usb 
> >> printer and some telling that it was impossible in a HVM to 
> >> give direct 
> >> access to hardware (fully virtualized so there is a need to 
> >> develop none 
> >> open source drivers etc...).
> >>
> >>
> >> My second problem is surely independent from the above. It 
> is that I 
> >> want a bigger desktop resolution in winXP and that the cirrus 
> >> emulated 
> >> card only show to the os 4mb of VRAM. I've tried the 
> stdvga=1 in the 
> >> config file but then the HVM wont boot (blank screen after bios 
> >> informations).
> >>     
> >
> > It's probably possible to increase the VRAM measure. Using 
> stdvga will
> > not solve anything, as that will not allow a higher resolution (more
> > likely LESS resolution). Although it SHOULD work - I don't 
> know why it's
> > not working... Most likely because most people use the CIRRUS logic
> > version of the device-model, and it's just got broken... :-(
> >
> >   
> >> I must be totally wrong somewhere...
> >>     
> >
> > I don't think so, you're just trying to do things that 
> aren't supported
> > by Xen at the moment. 
> >
> > --
> > Mats
> >   
> >> Thanks for any input.
> >> Regards,
> >> kfx
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> Xen-users mailing list
> >> Xen-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >> http://lists.xensource.com/xen-users
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>     
> >
> >
> >   
> Thanks Mats, so I have to wait new versions before 
> considering Xen as an 
> open-source alternative to VMware's like tools. But will it still be 
> Open Source ?

As far as I'm aware, there's no plans to "close" xen's source-code - but
I'm not owning a big crystal ball... 

I would also like to say that for a large proportion of use-cases, Xen
is perfectly adequate. 

--
Mats
> 
> Regards,
> kfx
> 
> 
> 



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