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NAME

       xmdomain.cfg - xm domain config file format

SYNOPSIS

        /etc/xen/myxendomain
        /etc/xen/myxendomain2
        /etc/xen/auto/myxenautostarted

DESCRIPTION

       The xm(1) program uses python executable config files to define domains
       to create from scratch.  Each of these config files needs to contain a
       number of required options, and may specify many more.

       Domain configuration files live in /etc/xen by default, if you store
       config files anywhere else the full path to the config file must be
       specified in the xm create command.

       /etc/xen/auto is a special case.  Domain config files in that directory
       will be started automatically at system boot if the xendomain init
       script is enabled.  The contents of /etc/xen/auto should be symlinks to
       files in /etc/xen to allow xm create to be used without full paths.

       Options are specified by name = value statements in the xmdomain.cfg
       files.

OPTIONS

       The following lists the most commonly used options for a domain config
       file.

       kernel
           The kernel image for the domain.  The format of the parameter is
           the fully qualified path to the kernel image file, i.e.
           /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.12-xenU.

       ramdisk
           The initial ramdisk for the domain.  The format of the parameter is
           the fully qualified path to the initrd, i.e. /boot/initrd.gz.  On
           many Linux distros you will not need a ramdisk if using the default
           xen kernel.

       memory
           The amount of RAM, in megabytes, to allocate to the domain when it
           starts.  Allocating insufficient memory for a domain may produce
           extremely bizarre behavior.  If there isn’t enough free memory left
           on the machine to fulfill this request, the domain will fail to
           start.

           Xen does not support overcommit of memory, so the total memory of
           all guests (+ 64 MB needed for Xen) must be less than or equal to
           the physical RAM in the machine.

       name
           A unique name for the domain.  Attempting to create two domains
           with the same name will cause an error.

       root
           Specifies the root device for the domain.  This is required for
           Linux domains, and possibly other OSes.

       nics
           The number of network interfaces allocated to the domain on boot.
           It defaults to 1.

       disk
           An array of block device stanzas, in the form:

               disk = [ "stanza1", "stanza2", ... ]

           Each stanza has 3 terms, separated by commas,
           "backend-dev,frontend-dev,mode".

           backend-dev
               The device in the backend domain that will be exported to the
               guest (frontend) domain.  Supported formats include:

               phy:device - export the physical device listed.  The device can
               be in symbolic form, as in sda7, or as the hex major/minor
               number, as in 0x301 (which is hda1).

               file://path/to/file - export the file listed as a loopback
               device.  This will take care of the loopback setup before
               exporting the device.

           frontend-dev
               How the device should appear in the guest domain.  The device
               can be in symbolic form, as in sda7, or as the hex major/minor
               number, as in 0x301 (which is hda1).

           mode
               The access mode for the device.  There are currently 2 valid
               options, r (read-only), w (read/write).

       vif An array of virtual interface stanzas in the form:

               vif = [ "stanza1", "stanza2", ... ]

           Each stanza specifies a set of name = value options separated by
           commas, in the form: "name1=value1, name2=value2, ..."

           OPTIONS

           bridge
               The network bridge to be used for this device.  This is
               especially needed if multiple bridges exist on the machine.

           mac The MAC address for the virtual interface.  If mac is not
               specified, one will be randomly chosen by xen with the 00:16:3e
               vendor id prefix.

       vfb A virtual frame buffer stanza in the form:

               vfb = [ "stanza" ]

           The stanza specifies a set of name = value options separated by
           commas, in the form: "name1=value1, name2=value2, ..."

           OPTIONS

           type
               There are currently two valid options: vnc starts a VNC server
               that lets you connect an external VNC viewer, and sdl starts an
               internal viewer.

           vncdisplay
               The VNC display number to use, defaults to the domain ID.  The
               VNC server listens on port 5900 + display number.

           vnclisten
               The listening address for the VNC server, default 127.0.0.1.

           vncunused
               If non-zero, the VNC server listens on the first unused port
               above 5900.

           vncpasswd
               Overrides the XenD configured default password.

           display
               Display to use for the internal viewer, defaults to environment
               variable DISPLAY.

           xauthority
               Authority file to use for the internal viewer, defaults to
               environment variable XAUTHORITY.

ADDITIONAL OPTIONS

       The following options are also supported in the config file, though are
       far more rarely used.

       builder
           Which builder should be used to construct the domain.  This
           defaults to the linux if not specified, which is the builder for
           paravirtualized Linux domains.

       cpu Specifies which CPU the domain should be started on, where 0
           specifies the first cpu, 1 the second, and so on.  This defaults to
           -1, which means Xen is free to pick which CPU to start on.

       cpus
           Specifies a list of CPUs on which the domains’ VCPUs are allowed to
           execute upon.  The syntax supports ranges (0-3), and negation, ^1.
           For instance:

               cpus = "0-3,5,^1"

           Will result in CPUs 0, 2, 3, 5 being available for use by the
           domain.

       extra
           Extra information to append to the end of the kernel parameter
           line.  The format is a string, the contents of which can be
           anything that the kernel supports.  For instance:

               extra = "4"

           Will cause the domain to boot to runlevel 4.

       nfs_server
           The IP address of the NFS server to use as the root device for the
           domain.  In order to do this you’ll need to specify root=/dev/nfs,
           and specify nfs_root.

       nfs_root
           The directory on the NFS server to be used as the root filesystem.
           Specified as a fully qualified path, i.e. /full/path/to/root/dir.

       vcpus
           The number of virtual cpus to allocate to the domain.  In order to
           use this the xen kernel must be compiled with SMP support.

           This defaults to 1, meaning running the domain as a UP.

DOMAIN SHUTDOWN OPTIONS

       There are 3 options which control domain shutdown (both planned and
       unplanned) under certain events.  The 3 events currently captured are:

       on_shutdown
           Triggered on either an xm shutdown or graceful shutdown from inside
           the DomU.

       on_reboot
           Triggered on either an xm reboot or graceful reboot from inside the
           DomU.

       on_crash
           Triggered when a DomU goes to the crashed state for any reason.

       All of them take one of 4 valid states listed below.

       destroy
           The domain will be cleaned up completely.  No attempt at respawning
           will occur.  This is what a typical shutdown would look like.

       restart
           The domain will be restarted with the same name as the old domain.
           This is what a typical reboot would look like.

       preserve
           The domain will not be cleaned up at all.  This is often useful for
           crash state domains which ensures that enough evidence is to debug
           the real issue.

       rename-restart
           The old domain will not be cleaned up, but will be renamed so a new
           domain can be restarted in it’s place.  The old domain will be
           renamed with a suffix -1, -2, etc, and assigned a new random UUID;
           the new domain will keep the original name and UUID.  The old
           domain will release the devices that it holds, so that the new one
           may take them.

           Additionally, the "on_crash" event can also take:

           coredump-destroy

           Dump the crashed domain’s core and then destroy it.

       coredump-restart
           Dump the crashed domain’s core and then restart it.

EXAMPLES

       The following are quick examples of ways that domains might be
       configured.  They should not be considered an exhaustive set.

       A Loopback File as Root
               kernel = "/boot/vmlinuz-2.6-xenU"
               memory = 128
               name = "MyLinux"
               root = "/dev/hda1 ro"
               disk = [ "file:/var/xen/mylinux.img,hda1,w" ]

           This creates a domain called MyLinux with 128 MB of memory using a
           default xen kernel, and the file /var/xen/mylinux.img loopback
           mounted at hda1, which is the root filesystem.

       NFS Root
           FIXME: write me

       LVM Root
           FIXME: write me

       Two Networks
           FIXME: write me

SEE ALSO

       xm(1)

AUTHOR

         Sean Dague <sean at dague dot net>

BUGS

       Not all options are currently documented

POD ERRORS

       Hey! The above document had some coding errors, which are explained
       below:

       Around line 301:
           You can’t have =items (as at line 305) unless the first thing after
           the =over is an =item

       Around line 311:
           ’=item’ outside of any ’=over’