Which Linux distribution should I use as a Xen host? [closed]

Answer 1

I happen to view this question. I have deployed Xen virtual machines across lots of servers in our cluster. The platform is Fedora 12. We have done lots of tests on it and plenty of computation is done on these VMs. It's quite stable. The only pain is that you need to compile the kernel by yourself:

http://fclose.com/b/1535/setting-up-xen-pvops-dom0-on-fedora-xen-3-4-2-kernel-2-6-31-with-paravirt_ops-in-fedora-12/

Answer 2

Debian is very good choice. You may also use xen live cd to test everything and if everything is ok, install it on HDD.

Answer 3

I highly recommend Debian or Ubuntu (server) for domain-0. Here's why:

1. Setting up complex networking (bridges, bonded devices, etc) is simple. One file, easy syntax, easy to have scripts do it for you if need be. Do not use the 'network-bridge' script that comes with Xen on a production box, you may need to re-start Xend, which would break all networking (dom-0 and guests)
2. Debian and Ubuntu use the apt package manager. Apt is notorious for resolving dependencies very well, letting you search for libraries that you need to compile new tools for Xen (or Xen itself from source, which I recommend).
3. Shorewall, which is wildly popular in the Xen community for routed configurations is very easy to use on a Debian based system. Moreover, you can get Steve Kemp's Xen tools as well as the dozen or so that I wrote.

I would not recommend this to someone who wanted Desktop virtualization, I would recommend Fedora. However, as a Xen host with 300 Xen servers in production, I HIGHLY recommend something Debian based. Of course, use what you are comfortable with .. however it might be worth your time to get comfortable with a Debian based distro on dom-0.

Answer 4

Red Hat EL5 (or Centos) is one of the easiest to set up Xen on OOB, and RH is fully behind xen as their virtualization tool; debian and ubuntu look to be moving toward KVM. Fedora 11 has a pvops enabled kernel by default I think. Just my 2c worth, I prefer Red Hat based but like they said, whatever youre comfortable with will work.

Answer 5

I would like to extend Tim's (vote for Debian) response, pointing that Xen community working on Project Kronos, which will bring XAPI (Xen API) to Debian/Ubuntu see official announcement, what makes Debian even more attractive option.

Another options you might want to consider are Xen Cloud Platform (XCP in short) or XenServer, especially that base version you can get for free.

Answer 6

opensuse has specific tools for managing xen, I've not played with it, but having out of the box support might be good.