must use VMware sometimes

must use VMware sometimes

[Scott Serr]

I must use VMware sometimes for colaboration projects where others are 
using VMware.  And also a situation where I have a VERY old development 
environment perfectly tweaked on Win98.  I have to do one of these say 
10% of the time.

100% of the time I'd like to use KVM (or Xen).  I'd like to not have to 
close KVM VMs and unload the modules just so I can do a little work in 
VMware.

Is this possible?  Or will it ever be possible?  Initially I thought 
since VMware (workstation) didn't use any VM extensions of processors, 
it would not interfere with the KVM or Xen... but I seem to be wrong.

Tell me... use VMware basically prohibits me from using KVM or Xen?

Thanks,
Scott Serr


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
This SF.net email is sponsored by: Microsoft
Defy all challenges. Microsoft(R) Visual Studio 2005.
http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/vse0120000070mrt/direct/01/

Re: must use VMware sometimes

[Fernando Cassia]

[-- Attachment #1.1: Type: text/plain, Size: 2210 bytes --]

I'm sure the developers will be more than happy to answer your question, for
which I sadly don't know the answer.

But perhaps I can speculate/think aloud....

What would be needed for these instances is for Virtualization software
makers to agree on an EXTERNAL API shared by all the VMs, so that when you
launch another virtualization software, the other is "put to sleep" so to
speak (call it "hibernate the VM" call it whatever you want), so the new
Virtualization app just loaded kicks in. When this one is closed, the other
resumes operation just as if the user had manually closed and then re-opened
it.

Think this is doable? After all, if the industry sat together apparently to
agree on a common file format...

File standard coming to virtualization products
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9584_22-6206963.html?tag=nl.e550

FC

On 9/22/07, Scott Serr <serrs-LOV8xbAlIgXk1uMJSBkQmQ@public.gmane.org> wrote:
>
> I must use VMware sometimes for colaboration projects where others are
> using VMware.  And also a situation where I have a VERY old development
> environment perfectly tweaked on Win98.  I have to do one of these say
> 10% of the time.
>
> 100% of the time I'd like to use KVM (or Xen).  I'd like to not have to
> close KVM VMs and unload the modules just so I can do a little work in
> VMware.
>
> Is this possible?  Or will it ever be possible?  Initially I thought
> since VMware (workstation) didn't use any VM extensions of processors,
> it would not interfere with the KVM or Xen... but I seem to be wrong.
>
> Tell me... use VMware basically prohibits me from using KVM or Xen?
>
> Thanks,
> Scott Serr
>
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
> This SF.net email is sponsored by: Microsoft
> Defy all challenges. Microsoft(R) Visual Studio 2005.
> http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/vse0120000070mrt/direct/01/
> _______________________________________________
> kvm-devel mailing list
> kvm-devel-5NWGOfrQmneRv+LV9MX5uipxlwaOVQ5f@public.gmane.org
> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/kvm-devel
>



-- 
Dream of the Daily Mail
It is the Holy Grail
And then the BBC
Your life would be complete

-Manic Street Preachers, "Royal Correspondent"

[-- Attachment #1.2: Type: text/html, Size: 3083 bytes --]

[-- Attachment #2: Type: text/plain, Size: 228 bytes --]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
This SF.net email is sponsored by: Microsoft
Defy all challenges. Microsoft(R) Visual Studio 2005.
http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/vse0120000070mrt/direct/01/

[-- Attachment #3: Type: text/plain, Size: 186 bytes --]

_______________________________________________
kvm-devel mailing list
kvm-devel-5NWGOfrQmneRv+LV9MX5uipxlwaOVQ5f@public.gmane.org
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/kvm-devel

Re: must use VMware sometimes

[Alexey Eremenko]

Well, there is discussion on VirtualBox about this topic as well, but
no solution.

http://www.virtualbox.org/ticket/317

Ideally Linux needs some mechanism to "share" VMX across different
virtualizers. But it doesn't exists, and not even planned.

-- 
-Alexey Eremenko "Technologov"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
This SF.net email is sponsored by: Microsoft
Defy all challenges. Microsoft(R) Visual Studio 2005.
http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/vse0120000070mrt/direct/01/

Re: must use VMware sometimes

[Avi Kivity]

Scott Serr wrote:
> I must use VMware sometimes for colaboration projects where others are 
> using VMware.  And also a situation where I have a VERY old development 
> environment perfectly tweaked on Win98.  I have to do one of these say 
> 10% of the time.
>
> 100% of the time I'd like to use KVM (or Xen).  I'd like to not have to 
> close KVM VMs and unload the modules just so I can do a little work in 
> VMware.
>
> Is this possible?  Or will it ever be possible?  Initially I thought 
> since VMware (workstation) didn't use any VM extensions of processors, 
> it would not interfere with the KVM or Xen... but I seem to be wrong.
>
> Tell me... use VMware basically prohibits me from using KVM or Xen?
>   

I believe VMware uses real mode transiently, which is not possible when 
vmx extensions are enabled.  So using VMware and kvm concurrently is not 
possible.

Maybe one of the following will suit:
- run the Windows 98 image in qemu (without kvm).  This will have lower 
performance, but may be adequate.
- run VMware within a kvm VM, and run Windows 98 within that.
- unload the modules.  This isn't a lot of fun and prevents concurrent 
operation.


-- 
error compiling committee.c: too many arguments to function


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
This SF.net email is sponsored by: Microsoft
Defy all challenges. Microsoft(R) Visual Studio 2005.
http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/vse0120000070mrt/direct/01/

Re: must use VMware sometimes

[Scott Serr]

Avi Kivity wrote:
> Scott Serr wrote:
>> I must use VMware sometimes for colaboration projects where others 
>> are using VMware.  And also a situation where I have a VERY old 
>> development environment perfectly tweaked on Win98.  I have to do one 
>> of these say 10% of the time.
>>
>> 100% of the time I'd like to use KVM (or Xen).  I'd like to not have 
>> to close KVM VMs and unload the modules just so I can do a little 
>> work in VMware.
>>
>> Is this possible?  Or will it ever be possible?  Initially I thought 
>> since VMware (workstation) didn't use any VM extensions of 
>> processors, it would not interfere with the KVM or Xen... but I seem 
>> to be wrong.
>>
>> Tell me... use VMware basically prohibits me from using KVM or Xen?
>>   
>
> I believe VMware uses real mode transiently, which is not possible 
> when vmx extensions are enabled.  So using VMware and kvm concurrently 
> is not possible.
>
> Maybe one of the following will suit:
> - run the Windows 98 image in qemu (without kvm).  This will have 
> lower performance, but may be adequate.
> - run VMware within a kvm VM, and run Windows 98 within that.
> - unload the modules.  This isn't a lot of fun and prevents concurrent 
> operation.
>
Thanks Avi,

#2 sounds good to me "run VMware within a kvm VM, and run Win98 within 
that."  I've gone all the way down this path with Xen but ended at a 
road block.  VMware Workstation says it can run in a Xen VM and halts.  
If you grab VMware Server it lets you go, but during an install of 
CentOS early on, it freezes.

I'm not sure #2 is possible with KVM.  Can someone comment if they are 
doing this reliably?

Thanks,
-Scott


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
This SF.net email is sponsored by: Microsoft
Defy all challenges. Microsoft(R) Visual Studio 2005.
http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/vse0120000070mrt/direct/01/

Re: must use VMware sometimes

[Avi Kivity]

Scott Serr wrote:
>>
>> I believe VMware uses real mode transiently, which is not possible 
>> when vmx extensions are enabled.  So using VMware and kvm 
>> concurrently is not possible.
>>
>> Maybe one of the following will suit:
>> - run the Windows 98 image in qemu (without kvm).  This will have 
>> lower performance, but may be adequate.
>> - run VMware within a kvm VM, and run Windows 98 within that.
>> - unload the modules.  This isn't a lot of fun and prevents 
>> concurrent operation.
>>
> Thanks Avi,
>
> #2 sounds good to me "run VMware within a kvm VM, and run Win98 within 
> that."  I've gone all the way down this path with Xen but ended at a 
> road block.  VMware Workstation says it can run in a Xen VM and 
> halts.  If you grab VMware Server it lets you go, but during an 
> install of CentOS early on, it freezes.
>
> I'm not sure #2 is possible with KVM.  Can someone comment if they are 
> doing this reliably?
>

Ryan Harper reported that it can be made to work, and I've included his 
patch in kvm-44.

-- 
error compiling committee.c: too many arguments to function


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
This SF.net email is sponsored by: Microsoft
Defy all challenges. Microsoft(R) Visual Studio 2005.
http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/vse0120000070mrt/direct/01/