Create a PV DomU pfsense image for Xen $100

[jonnytabpni]

Now that pfSense uses FreeBSD 8, and FreeBSD eight has support for a PV kernel, could someone please create a Xen PV image?

At the minute, the HVM network cards really do cap performance.

I'll start this bounty at $100

Thanks

[cougarmaster]

Hi jonnytabpni,
    Try this link might help you.

http://www.freebsdnews.net/2010/05/10/howto-create-freebsd-8-i386-xen-pv-domu/

Good luck and share if you do make it.
Eric

[jonnytabpni]

Hi cougarmaster,

The oly issue I see with that link is that is is FreeBSD generic. After I had made the kernel, how would I go about incoroporating pfsense into the image?

Thanks

[djzort]

Xen is dead, use KVM.

[billm]

@djzort:

Xen is dead, use KVM.

What does the kernel memory interface (http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=kvm&apropos=0&sektion=0&manpath=FreeBSD+8.1-RELEASE&format=html) have to do with virtualization?

–Bill

[black0ut]

@jonnytabpni:

Now that pfSense uses FreeBSD 8, and FreeBSD eight has support for a PV kernel, could someone please create a Xen PV image?

At the minute, the HVM network cards really do cap performance.

I'll start this bounty at $100

Thanks

Have you solved this problem yet?  If not, let me know what version of xen you're running on what distro, and I can try and test out my Xen PV image.

[danswartz]

@billm:

@djzort:

Xen is dead, use KVM.

What does the kernel memory interface (http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=kvm&apropos=0&sektion=0&manpath=FreeBSD+8.1-RELEASE&format=html) have to do with virtualization?

–Bill

Not that KVM, the kernel module for virtualization.

[billm]

@danswartz:

@billm:

@djzort:

Xen is dead, use KVM.

What does the kernel memory interface (http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=kvm&apropos=0&sektion=0&manpath=FreeBSD+8.1-RELEASE&format=html) have to do with virtualization?

–Bill

Not that KVM, the kernel module for virtualization.

Yeah, I know…but the original post asked for Xen support - Xen images can run on NetBSD, Citrix XenServer (think, commercial environment) and with greater difficulty by the day on Linux.  As far as I know there is no decent commercial support of KVM and it's a Linux only solution.  I see greater value in a Xen image...however, for $100 I'd suggest replacing your CPU and forgetting about PV (yes, this may not be possible, but trust me, you'll be MUCH happier with hardware virtualization).

--Bill

[jonnytabpni]

@djzort:

Xen is dead, use KVM.

Xen is not dead. Without going too much off-topic, very few companies use KVM in production. There are literally thousands that use Xen though. While I agree that the distant future for KVM looks good (as there are a lot of companies backing it), Xen is by far the most mature virtualisation technology out there (Even more mature than VMWare).

As to the poster who mentioned that I should forget PV and use full virtualisation, yes, I've tried that and pfsense works well in Xen under full virtualisation (HVM mode). However, Xen works better with PV VMs, hence this bounty :)

[simoncpu]

This sounds exciting.  I'll wait for the bounty to go up… :)

[billm]

@jonnytabpni:

@djzort:

Xen is dead, use KVM.

Xen is not dead. Without going too much off-topic, very few companies use KVM in production. There are literally thousands that use Xen though. While I agree that the distant future for KVM looks good (as there are a lot of companies backing it), Xen is by far the most mature virtualisation technology out there (Even more mature than VMWare).

As to the poster who mentioned that I should forget PV and use full virtualisation, yes, I've tried that and pfsense works well in Xen under full virtualisation (HVM mode). However, Xen works better with PV VMs, hence this bounty :)

Unfortunately I found it rather difficult to get Xen working in my environment and ended up having to deploy KVM.  I have an opportunity to try it again in a few days.  If I succeed, I may be willing to pursue this bounty if it's still open.

–Bill