Re: [PATCH] Fix pci passthru in xend interface used by libvirt [and 1 more messages]

[Jim Fehlig <jfehlig@novell.com>]

Ian Jackson wrote:
> Jim Fehlig writes ("[Xen-devel] [PATCH] Fix pci passthru in xend interface used by libvirt"):
>   
>> Attempting to define or create a domain whose XML config contains a
>> passthru PCI device fails with libvirt
>>     
>
> Thanks for this report.  I'm afraid that no-one any more seems to know
> much about the protocol that libvirt speaks to xend.  And, xend is on
> the way out - we're trying to push the new libxl library instead.
>   

Heh, I was just beginning to craft a mail asking for some clarity on
"xend is on the way out".  I've seen comments on the list about
deprecating xend and switching to the new tool stack, but can't seem to
find any details about the change.  I have seen Stefano's talk on
libxenlight from spring Xen Summit, which states xend will be 'ported'
to libxenlight.  But as you hint, I don't think this is the case - and
it sounds like a rather unpleasant task :-).

Is there a wiki, doc, roadmap, etc. that provides more details on the
tool stack future?  E.g. when can we anticipate the xend-based stack no
longer being the default?  Xen 4.1?  Are there plans to completely
remove xend and associated code from xen-unstable?

I've seen some "interesting" custom tools over the years and would like
to better understand how these users might be affected by the tool stack
changes.  What, if any, compatibility will there be with these existing
xend interfaces?

direct use of xm tool
xenapi (xen.org version)
xmlrpc
sexpr-over-http

I think there have been statements about traditional python
configuration files working with xl.  I assume this means config files
containing only assignment statements correct?  I've tried several
simple python config files with xl and haven't noticed any problems, but
looking for a more authoritative statement about libxl compatibility
with tradition, ubiquitous python config files.

> So it would be worth thinking about changing libvirt to use libxl
> instead.
>   

Yes, I thought about it while investigating this bug.  I think some
answers to my questions above will help prioritize this task.


> In the meantime, though, I've applied your patch.
>   

Thank you.

Regards,
Jim