Web based front end

Web based front end

[David Isaac Wolinsky]

Hello all,

I was curious if there is a web based front end (or one in the works) 
for xen-unstable.  Last I checked, the built-in one for 2.x was being 
tossed out.  Secondly assuming that there isn't one, would the preferred 
language be python?  Finally, would it be better to be a front end for 
xm or would it be better to more tightly integrate it (or of course the 
mix)?

Thanks,
David

Re: Web based front end

[Tom Wilkie]

Dear David

The web based front end, XenSV, is still alive and kicking in the  
latest unstable.  I did some work on it a few weeks ago, removed its  
dependancy on twisted, and made it run using mod_python, and apache.   
I'm planing on doing some more work on it in the coming weeks, and  
doing a howto for installation.

SV works by calling into the XendClient.py file, the same file xm  
uses to communicate with Xend.  Its is written entirely in python,  
which probably isn't the best choice for a web app, but makes it  
easier to interface with xend.

Cheers

Tom

On 4 Sep 2005, at 06:38, David Isaac Wolinsky wrote:

> Hello all,
>
> I was curious if there is a web based front end (or one in the  
> works) for xen-unstable.  Last I checked, the built-in one for 2.x  
> was being tossed out.  Secondly assuming that there isn't one,  
> would the preferred language be python?  Finally, would it be  
> better to be a front end for xm or would it be better to more  
> tightly integrate it (or of course the mix)?
>
> Thanks,
> David
>
> _______________________________________________
> Xen-devel mailing list
> Xen-devel@lists.xensource.com
> http://lists.xensource.com/xen-devel
>

Re: Web based front end

[David Isaac Wolinsky]

Thanks Tom for the info, I had remembered twisted being removed but 
hadn't realized that XenSV had been since updated.  A couple questions 
though...

    Why not decouple the interface from Apache (as to require only 
python be installed)?  I am not sure of the performance advantage, but 
it should reduce the memory requirements for dom0, allow for a slightly 
smaller disk (negligible), and make installation easier.

    Similarly have you looked into writing XenSV in C?

    Finally, is there any distributed computing tools for Xen, ie, a 
controller software?  This is where my interest really lies, as I am 
working for a group that could use a tool like this and am also looking 
for a way to get involved.

I haven't had an oppurtunity yet to install apache, but will be doing so 
soon enough.

Regards,
David

Tom Wilkie wrote:

> Dear David
>
> The web based front end, XenSV, is still alive and kicking in the  
> latest unstable.  I did some work on it a few weeks ago, removed its  
> dependancy on twisted, and made it run using mod_python, and apache.   
> I'm planing on doing some more work on it in the coming weeks, and  
> doing a howto for installation.
>
> SV works by calling into the XendClient.py file, the same file xm  
> uses to communicate with Xend.  Its is written entirely in python,  
> which probably isn't the best choice for a web app, but makes it  
> easier to interface with xend.
>
> Cheers
>
> Tom
>
> On 4 Sep 2005, at 06:38, David Isaac Wolinsky wrote:
>
>> Hello all,
>>
>> I was curious if there is a web based front end (or one in the  
>> works) for xen-unstable.  Last I checked, the built-in one for 2.x  
>> was being tossed out.  Secondly assuming that there isn't one,  would 
>> the preferred language be python?  Finally, would it be  better to be 
>> a front end for xm or would it be better to more  tightly integrate 
>> it (or of course the mix)?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> David
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Xen-devel mailing list
>> Xen-devel@lists.xensource.com
>> http://lists.xensource.com/xen-devel
>>
>
>

Re: Web based front end

[Tom Wilkie]

David

On 4 Sep 2005, at 17:37, David Isaac Wolinsky wrote:

> Thanks Tom for the info, I had remembered twisted being removed but  
> hadn't realized that XenSV had been since updated.  A couple  
> questions though...
>
>    Why not decouple the interface from Apache (as to require only  
> python be installed)?  I am not sure of the performance advantage,  
> but it should reduce the memory requirements for dom0, allow for a  
> slightly smaller disk (negligible), and make installation easier.

Well, I didn't want to completely re-implement a HTTP server  
(although I suppose its not tough) so I looked at using another one.   
The bit that depends on apache/mod_python is minimal, about a 20 line  
adapter between mod_python and what twisted used to provide.  So if  
you wrote your own http server it would be a reasonably straight  
forward task to do.

I might actually do this, the dependance on apache is a pain, and I  
think xend has its own http server in it atm.

>    Similarly have you looked into writing XenSV in C?

The primary reason I choose python is because thats what we use in  
cambridge, and its what all the other tools and written in ;-)  Also  
it lets me call straight into the XendClient.py stuff, which  
simplifies it greatly.

>    Finally, is there any distributed computing tools for Xen, ie, a  
> controller software?  This is where my interest really lies, as I  
> am working for a group that could use a tool like this and am also  
> looking for a way to get involved.

I seem to remember somebody talking about one, I'm sure somebody else  
on the list will be able to respond to that. If not I'll ask about on  
monday.

> I haven't had an oppurtunity yet to install apache, but will be  
> doing so soon enough.

The mod_python website has all the info on getting psp up and running  
quickly, just three lines in a config file worked for me.

> Regards,
> David
>
> Tom Wilkie wrote:
>
>
>> Dear David
>>
>> The web based front end, XenSV, is still alive and kicking in the   
>> latest unstable.  I did some work on it a few weeks ago, removed  
>> its  dependancy on twisted, and made it run using mod_python, and  
>> apache.   I'm planing on doing some more work on it in the coming  
>> weeks, and  doing a howto for installation.
>>
>> SV works by calling into the XendClient.py file, the same file xm   
>> uses to communicate with Xend.  Its is written entirely in  
>> python,  which probably isn't the best choice for a web app, but  
>> makes it  easier to interface with xend.
>>
>> Cheers
>>
>> Tom
>>
>> On 4 Sep 2005, at 06:38, David Isaac Wolinsky wrote:
>>
>>
>>> Hello all,
>>>
>>> I was curious if there is a web based front end (or one in the   
>>> works) for xen-unstable.  Last I checked, the built-in one for  
>>> 2.x  was being tossed out.  Secondly assuming that there isn't  
>>> one,  would the preferred language be python?  Finally, would it  
>>> be  better to be a front end for xm or would it be better to  
>>> more  tightly integrate it (or of course the mix)?
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> David
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Xen-devel mailing list
>>> Xen-devel@lists.xensource.com
>>> http://lists.xensource.com/xen-devel
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>

Re: Web based front end

[Anthony Liguori]

Tom Wilkie wrote:

> David
>
> On 4 Sep 2005, at 17:37, David Isaac Wolinsky wrote:
>
>> Thanks Tom for the info, I had remembered twisted being removed but  
>> hadn't realized that XenSV had been since updated.  A couple  
>> questions though...
>>
>>    Why not decouple the interface from Apache (as to require only  
>> python be installed)?  I am not sure of the performance advantage,  
>> but it should reduce the memory requirements for dom0, allow for a  
>> slightly smaller disk (negligible), and make installation easier.
>
>
> Well, I didn't want to completely re-implement a HTTP server  
> (although I suppose its not tough) so I looked at using another one.   
> The bit that depends on apache/mod_python is minimal, about a 20 line  
> adapter between mod_python and what twisted used to provide.  So if  
> you wrote your own http server it would be a reasonably straight  
> forward task to do.

I think this is what you want:

http://docs.python.org/lib/module-CGIHTTPServer.html

At some point, I'd like to remove the HTTP server Xend is using and 
replace it with SimpleHTTPServer.

> I might actually do this, the dependance on apache is a pain, and I  
> think xend has its own http server in it atm.
>
>>    Similarly have you looked into writing XenSV in C?
>
>
> The primary reason I choose python is because thats what we use in  
> cambridge, and its what all the other tools and written in ;-)  Also  
> it lets me call straight into the XendClient.py stuff, which  
> simplifies it greatly.

Yeah, until the store is more complete, tools pretty much have to be in 
python.

Regards,

Anthony Liguori