Archived/Xen 4.2 RC2 test instructions

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Revision as of 13:11, 2 August 2012 by Dunlapg (talk | contribs)

What needs to be tested

The most important feature we need tested is the new toolstack, xl. Xen 4.2 is the first version where xl is meant to be a complete replacement for xend/xm.

Other things that need to be tested are:

  • Making sure that Xen 4.2 compiles and installs properly on different software configurations; particularly on distros
  • Making sure that Xen 4.2, along with appropriately up-to-date kernels, work on different hardware.

In general, if you try to test xl on whatever software / hardware configuration you have, that will accomplish the other two as a by-product.

As is probably obvious, this is still un-released software; it may contain bugs that will crash, or even corrupt your system. Don't use it on systems you can't afford to lose.

Test instructions

  • Remove any old versions of Xen toolstack binaries (including qemu).
  • Download and install the most recent Xen 4.2 RC. Make sure to check the README for changes in required development libraries and procedures. Some particular things to note:
    • Xen 4.2 now uses autoconf, so after downloading, you will need to run "./configure" before running "make".
    • Xen 4.2 now provides a "make deb" target as a convenience to those building from source on debian systems. The resulting .deb doesn't do any set-up or check any dependencies; it is simply a convenient way to keep track of installed files and allow them to be removed or upgraded easily.
  • Read the xl wiki page to understand what xl is, and what differences are expected between xm and xl.
    • In particular, xend typically did network setup (i.e., bridging, &c), while xl does not. So you wil need to set up your networking through the standard distro tools.
    • For less common commands, check the xl man page to make sure names or argument conventions haven't changed.
  • Try to use xl for things that you used to use xm for.