XenServer and FreeBSD
-
I have installed pfsense on a xen server and added a few virtual network to it. It is running as a HVM. Its quite fast and the only thing I ran into after installation was acpi. Had to add it to the vm config file so that it runs acpi without problems. Since my machine has only one physical network dont know if its good enough to handle all my other vm's. I have a VoIP server, Web, Email, FTP, Zoneminder and two windows server running. The machine is a :-
1] 8GB DDR II 800 Mhz
2] 500GB x 2 linux RAID 1
3] Phenom II 920 x4 cpu
4] Telephony 4 port card
5] 4 port capture cardThe speed is not bad but the network is a bit clogged i think and may have to add additioanl pci-e lan cards to eliviate the traffic not sure as I am a bit cloudy in this area. But otherwise the system is quite smooth. Also I changed to pfsense to a pvm state as to be able to pass the physical lan card to it :)
-
I like to know if any1 tried to create multi bridges on xen to pfsense?
-
CougarMaster, How did you get the Hardware virtualization to work? I would love to get it to work. I am running it without hardware virtualization. I am running XenServer 5.0 sp3 the free Enterprise version. It is running great.
I am running it with 2 pci-e broadcomm nic's, a dual port intel 100 mb adapter(pci), and nvida gb on-board adapter. It is quad phenom 2.5 GHZ processor with 6 GB of ram. I have 3 x 320 GB HD's. I have everything connected to Nortel 380 GB switch. I have 4 vlans configured on the switch.
I have OpenVPN, IPSEC, running on PF-Sense, and SBS 2003 running on my virtual server. I have use it to protoype many different systems have come and gone. I am running OpenFiler as my ISCSI backend.
Let me know what if you can help me with that.
RC -
It doesnt really work it got corrupted and the network couldnt route properly and I cant find my notes as some one reformatted my test machine. >:( I am trying to retrace my way back but I cant seem to reproduce the way I had it. The main thing was the drivers not parsing the mac or ip properly and the vm couldnt actually see beyond that. Anyway I am still trying to see if I can get the pv to work again first. But I need to get it to run hvm with bridges seems to be more manageable that way.
sorry to get you excited about it :(
-
I be glad to to send you a base image that is test for XenServer 5.
RC -
That wont work for pvm. I got the hvm to work with my bridges and its running fine. pvm is way to hard now as I need to trick xen into installing the freebsd kernel so it'll run in pv state but as I said b4 I cant get it to run like b4 it just corrupts the system somehow. I need to get this system up and running soon and give it to the client then I will have a bit of time to check out what I did b4.
-
I'm running pfsense 1.2.2 on xen 3.3 with hvm and multiple bridges. So far, it appears to work just fine.
You do need xen 3.3 though, it wouldn't boot using 3.2.
-
Yes it runs fine in hvm and lvm but havent really got the chance to put it thru its paces. Need to lock the dom0 down and keep all the other servers behind pfsense. It boots ok in 3.2 but seems sluggish on routes. Kind of like it waits and sends data hehe. I am using 3.3.1 and dont seem to have that problem well at least its not obvious, but will have to see it in production. But I really like to run it in pvm then I can really have dedicated lan cards for it. Still a bit worried about using the bridges may have vulnerability I cant see or hackable. Anyway happy so far havent crashed or died in anyway atm but want to see it under load.
-
Well for some reason I am running XEN 3.2 and all seems good except for rebooting the domus it just hangs there and its a known bug. So use 3.3.1 if u need to auto reboot the domus like pfsense and u will need to be physically there to destroy and create it again if u are using 3.2. But performance wise I am happy to say its really great and using the latest 1.2.3-rc2 snapshot and no quirkiness except b4 updating it hanged once. The only frustrating thing about pfsense is its configuration of the ftp in passive mode which is kinda sad now my clients are forced to use Active mode and learn how to open firewall from their client software lol. The pfsense has been up for a week and has not complained and quite happy in its new home :) . Well the next step is to configure OpenVPN which is my weak part and see the performance from that point. Hope it can handle 40 connections at one time (crossed fingers ;) )
So anyone wanting to try or roll out pfsense on XEN pls use at least 3.3.1 and plan out your network way in advance as you will go thru hell if you dont and banging your head againt the wall. Remember to close all access to dom0 except ssh and use sftp to transfer files to it if needed. All I can say was this was an adventure I really enjoyed and learned a lot from it and I am really happy everything is running smoothly. Well closing slogan PFSENSE ON BABY! -
I m running on XenServer 5.5 now. It looks solid. Will have my server back on the internet on Friday. Been down for a week, I am moving.
It's been ton's of fun. Now real question how har would it be to create a kernal that is XenServer optimized for Windows and Unix Xen implementations that would be able to be used to build full blow installation packages so we could use Xen with all it's whistels and bells enabled.
RC