Panorama - Xen Server

[VinceM]

Hi all,

All our architecture is built on Citrix Xen Xerver. Does anybody already tryed to install Panorama under Xen Server ?

I tried with Xen convert to move from Pano .ovf to Xen format but I have a error "Kernel Panic - not Syncinc: VFS; Unable to mount root fs on unknown-block(0,0)"

Can anybody help ?

Cheers

V.

[gsamuels · Accepted solution]

Hello,

Unfortunately Panorama does not currently support this functionality,

If this is a feature you wish to pursue, you are encouraged to submit a request for enhancement via your local sales channel.

Regards,

Gary S.

[ctr_ts]

Sorry to hijack this old thread, but I just had the very same question and decided to give it a try anway. Just wanted to share my findings (please note I used Xen.org Xen 4.1 rather than the commercial XenServer, but the current - XenServer 6.0 - Hypervisor is also based on Xen 4.1 so this should be close enough) so far:

- Converting the vmdk to raw and then LVM was no problem (using qemu-img as intermediate step and then creating a LV with exactly the same size as the resulting raw file)

- Running in PV mode (paravirtualized) cannot work as the kernel has no support for Xen compiled in (although 2.6.32 has mainline Xen domU support, its just not enabled), booting the image off a self-made kernel works, but PAN services do not start due to missing (proprietary) modules (FIPS check?), trying to build a "similar" kernel (that may be able to load PAN modules) cannot work either, as Xen 32bit domU required PAE (highmem) to be enabled. Stock Panaroma modules dont have highmem enabled, so the modules would not be compatible.

- Running in HVM basically works when changing the boot disk from sda to hda (again, there is Xen support in the used kernel but no support for it compiled in, so we have to rely on qemu presenting the virtual PIIX controller and the plain ode ATA/IDE driver picking it up). Looking at some files in /boot this used to be a supported scenario (there are two files for every boot option one referencing hda and one sda) but the sda files are active, so one had to manually change that to be able to boot. Even if there were Xen drivers, the block devices would be xvda* rather than sda*

Initial config (IP) can be set an Panorama remotely accessed, however I haven't been able to upgrade such a VM to anything other than the base image (4.1.0 -> 4.1.x did not work) with the updater complaining about failed scripts and VM starting in maint mode the next time. I *assume* this is due to the hda/sda difference, but I cannot tell for sure.

Overall 99% seems to be there (2.6.32 is recent enough to support Xen without patches, a newer kenerl boots up the image just fine but lacks PAN proprietary stuff), but that single 1% is preventing it from actually being useful...

[amccormack]

I had these very same findings, but with Microsoft's Hyper-V.  I had no insight into the upgrade package to change the block device to "hda" from "sda" so I ran into the same issue with Panorama starting in maint. mode.