Upload
the-linux-foundation
View
46.439
Download
1
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
Many people have difficulty understanding the difference between the Xen Hypervisor, XenServer, and XAPI. In this session, James Bulpin, Director of Technology for XenServer, and Russell Pavlicek, Evangelist for the Xen Project, will attempt to clarify what each project is, what it does, and how it compares with the others. We will cover some of the basic features and functions, the tasks for which each is suitable, and where the projects overlap. Attendees will come away with a better sense of where these three projects fit in the world of Xen virtualization.
Citation preview
James Bulpin XenServer CTO
Xen Project User Summit - Xen, XenServer, and XAPI: What’s the Difference?
@JamesBulpin
Russell Pavlicek Xen Project Evangelist
@RCPavlicek
• Linux author/evangelist/speaker since 1995
• Formerly FOSS columnist for Infoworld, Processor, panelist on The Linux Show webcast, speaker at ~50 FOSS conferences
• Xen Project Evangelist hired by Citrix in January 2013
• Xen user/admin/integrator/ tester since 2004
• XenSource startup veteran
• Leads Citrix XenServer technical strategy
About the Speakers...
Russ James
• …until you ask them
• Some days, it seems there is more confusion about the naming conventions than about the software
• When some people talk about “Xen”, they mean “Xen Project”, but others mean “XenServer”, and yet others “XAPI”
• It is time to clear up the confusion
The Problem: Everyone Knows What Xen Is...
• The Leading Open Source Hypervisor
• Open Source – now and always!
• A Linux Foundation Collaborative Project since April 2013
• Celebrating its 10th anniversary
• Home for several subproject teams
What is the Xen Project?
Xen Project: A Short History
• The Xen Hypervisor: the main game
• PVOPS: (not technically a subproject, but…) allows Linux to run paravirtualized on a hypervisor (Xen, VMware VMI, …)
• The Xen ARM Hypervisor: branching into new architecture
• XAPI Project: more on this later
• Mirage OS: focused appliances built on a specialized library operating system (in incubation)
The Xen Project Subproject Teams
Xen Hypervisor: The Crux of the Xen Project
• Type 1 Hypervisor: Does not run in the kernel
• VMs compete with other VMs for resources, not with processes
• Architecture emphasizes security • Uses toolstacks for Control Domain
to talk to Hypervisor • Default is XL (improved on XM) • Libvirt/VIRSH option • No native GUI
Xen Project Corporate Members
Is your company listed here? Should it be? If you are heavily invested in Xen, consider project membership.
• Nexus of information regarding the Xen Project
• Newly revamped and revised in April 2013
• Access to Articles, Blogs, Wiki, Q&A, Mailing Lists, etc.
• New monthly newsletter with highlights from the community
• Sign up for the website and newsletter today, if you haven’t already!
XenProject.org: The Hub of Information
Xen Project Mascot
Because a cute panda is a terrible thing to waste
• A distribution of Xen, the XAPI toolstack, Linux and other components
• A “shrink-wrapped”, ready to run, virtualization platform
• Builds on basic Xen virtualization to provide high level management:
Networking High availability
Storage Cluster management
User accounts Performance monitoring
If That’s Xen, What is XenServer?
• Started as “XenEnterprise”, a product of XenSource Inc.
– First released in 2006
– Initially a proprietary product built on top of the open-source Xen hypervisor
• Evolved into XenServer, a product of Citrix
– Now up to version 6.2 (released June 2013)
• Became an open-source project in 2013
XenServer – a brief history
Xen
Linux Kernel XAPI
Storage
Manager
XenServer
Tools (PV
drivers)
HA
CentOS 5.x
AD Integration
XenCenter
XenServer – previously
Transfer VM
CIM Server
Qemu
Proprietary
OSS, public dev
Key:
OSS, non-public dev
Xen
Linux Kernel XAPI
Storage
Manager
XenServer
Tools (PV
drivers)
HA
CentOS 5.x
AD Integration
XenCenter
XenServer – after open sourcing
Proprietary
OSS
Key:
Transfer VM
CIM Server
Qemu
• A Citrix-led project
• Removing barriers to collaboration
• Roadmaps, designs and architectural plans discussed in the open
• All code is public; contributions via mailing list and Github pull requests
• More efficient ecosystem through access to design, code and developers
XenServer.org – the open-source project
#1 a set of components
– XenCenter UI
– Windows PV drivers
– HA daemon
– vncterm
– …
#2 an integration/distribution of components
– Choice of component versions
– Backporting of patches
– Configuration and tuning
– Packaging
– …
XenServer.org – two parts to it
But Xen and XAPI are Xen Project components so XenServer developers
contribute to those projects and the results are integrated and packaged into XenServer
• Citrix’s product release from the Open Source project code
• Made available to all for free
• Optional commercial support offering from Citrix
Citrix XenServer
• A toolstack for managing Xen system
– The xapi daemon and its friends; the “xe” CLI
• Works at a higher level than the Xen Project toolstack
– Clustering, storage/network management, host setup, …
• Open-sourced by Citrix in 2009
• Now part of the Xen Project in the Linux Foundation
• Useful for Xen users who want richer API-driven management (such as under OpenStack clouds)
So What is XAPI?
“Xen Cloud Platform” – an overloaded term
• Meaning 1: a synonym for XAPI (particularly for packaged versions)
• Meaning 2: XenServer-like binary ISOs
– Built to provide a distribution for xapi without non-FOSS XenServer pieces
– Provided a wider feature set than the free edition of Citrix XenServer which had certain features disabled
What is XCP?
• XCP and open-source XenServer will merge
– XenServer no longer disables features for non-paying users
• Users of XCP v1.6 are able to upgrade to XenServer
• XCP users will be getting a better deal than they had before
– No more delays to XCP releases
– Timely hotfixes that can be easily installed,
– A product that's even more open than it was before.
XCP (the ISO) is no more
And you thought this talk would be easy… ;)
And Now It Is QUIZ TIME!
Question: Xen, XenServer, or XAPI?
Answer: Xen (Xen Project Mascot)
Question: Xen, XenServer, or XAPI?
Answer: XenServer (XenCenter)
Question: Xen, XenCenter, or XAPI?
Answer: XenServer
Question: Xen, XenCenter, or XAPI?
Answer: Xen and XAPI
$ xe vdi-create \
name-label=LogDisk \
sr-uuid=6021e2b0-c72e-6e9e-01cc-ba3ed4f68be9 \
virtual-size=10GiB type=user
$ xe vbd-create device=2 type=Disk \
vm-uuid=d2f6e2cd-8a98-7e1c-7a46-f4dcff3b56ce \
vdi-uuid=cdd63557-89ad-4011-b638-e063f8b08298
$ xe vm-start vm=MyDHCPServer
Question: Xen, XenServer, or XAPI?
$ xe vdi-create \
name-label=LogDisk \
sr-uuid=6021e2b0-c72e-6e9e-01cc-ba3ed4f68be9 \
virtual-size=10GiB type=user
$ xe vbd-create device=2 type=Disk \
vm-uuid=d2f6e2cd-8a98-7e1c-7a46-f4dcff3b56ce \
vdi-uuid=cdd63557-89ad-4011-b638-e063f8b08298
$ xe vm-start vm=MyDHCPServer
Answer: XAPI (xe CLI)
# xl create -c /etc/xen/wheezy64
# xen-create-image \
--genpass=0 --memory=1024M --noswap --dhcp \
--password="xenroot" --pygrub --size=8G \
--vcpus=2 --arch=amd64 --bridge=virbr0 \
--hostname=wheezy64 --lvm=vms \
--mirror=http://cdn.debian.net/debian \
--install-method=debootstrap \
--dist=wheezy
Question: Xen, XenServer, or XAPI?
# xl create -c /etc/xen/wheezy64
# xen-create-image \
--genpass=0 --memory=1024M --noswap --dhcp \
--password="xenroot" --pygrub --size=8G \
--vcpus=2 --arch=amd64 --bridge=virbr0 \
--hostname=wheezy64 --lvm=vms \
--mirror=http://cdn.debian.net/debian \
--install-method=debootstrap \
--dist=wheezy
Answer: Xen (xl and command line utility)
Extra Credit: Xen, XenServer, or XAPI?
Answer: Trick Question!
Used by Xen and XenServer, but a separate project entirely!
Thank You!
Slides available under CC-BY-SA 3.0 From www.slideshare.net/xen_com_mgr
@RCPavlicek @JamesBulpin
@Xen_Org
• News: blog.XenProject.org
• Web: XenProject.org / www.XenServer.org – Help for IRC, Lists, …
– Stackoverflow-like Q&A
• Wiki: wiki.XenProject.org
• Presentations: slideshare.net/xen_com_mgr
• Videos: vimeo.com/channels/xen