Re: apt-get install xen-tools recursion

[David Hill <davehill@xxxxxxxxx>]

On 2025-04-14 2:37 p.m., Paul Leiber wrote:
> Hi Frank,
>
> Am 12.04.2025 um 20:52 schrieb Frank Eskesen:
> > Hi,
> >
> > I should have mentioned that I'm testing the installation procedure 
> > using a VirtualBox virtual machine.
> > This problem has nothing to do with apt-get install but is instead 
> > somehow related to the bridged adapter update earlier in the Wiki. 
> > Reverting that change to /etc/network/interfaces removes the problem 
> > (and also makes apt-get run a lot faster.)
> some more information is required. What are the two versions (o.k., 
> not o.k.) of /etc/network/interfaces? What does ip a show in either 
> case? Did you test connectivity (e.g. ping, DNS, etc.)?
> > --------------------------------------
> > Earlier message:
> > Hi,
> >
> > (I'm not really a Xen user yet, I'm just going through the beginner's 
> > installation guide on the Wiki: https://wiki.xenproject.org/wiki/ 
> > Xen_Project_Beginners_Guide)
> That was my starting point too. :-)
>
> > I can't install Debian xen-tools because it doesn't complete, it just 
> > starts over again. I suspect that's because the last entry in the 
> > list of packages to be installed is xen-tools.
> Here as well, some more information is required. What command are you 
> using to install xen-tools? What is the output of the command?
> > I think that it's possible to get around the problem by installing 
> > the xen-tools packages individually, but haven't done this yet.
> I don't understand this. As far as I know, xen-tools isn't a meta 
> package, so how would you install the content of xen-tools individually?
> Paul
Hi Frank,

I echo Paul`s questions, but would also just ask you to confirm whether 
I understand your setup and exactly what the problem is.
First, am I right to think you`re trying to set up a complete xen 
environment, including dom0 (i.e. the hypervisor itself - the 
virtualization host) within a VirtualBox virtual machine? So it`s 
virtualization within virtualization?
If so, I haven't tried it but conceptually I wonder whether it would be 
possible. Xen is a bare metal hypervisor. I think it may expect to be 
working with bare metal. I'm sure there are others more knowledgeable 
than me on this list who could say more definitively.
Assuming it might be possible though, I get the sense you've installed a 
Linux environment (Debian if you're following the instructions) and are 
now trying to edit /etc/network/interfaces to match the text in the 
Beginner's Guide - i.e. to set up a bridge. When you do and then 
restart  networking it no longer works - is that right? If you revert to 
the original interfaces file networking is fine?
If that's it, I can see that the virtualized network card presented by 
VirtualBox may not mimic a hardware NIC completely enough to support the 
bridge.
If so, it`s conceivable that there's a way around it using an 
alternative to the bridge like NAT, but it would be helpful if you would 
confirm whether the above does describe the problem. Even then, in the 
best case it may only get a network connection going, not the rest of xen.
If I've misunderstood something, then maybe the answers to Paul's 
questions will help clarify.
David