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List:       centos-virt
Subject:    [CentOS-virt] Check out Proxmox VE... can CentOS improve on this?
From:       dowdle () montanalinux ! org (Scott Dowdle)
Date:       2008-08-13 23:40:28
Message-ID: 5626806.3651218670819810.JavaMail.root () mail ! montanalinux ! org
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Greetings,

I'm a big OpenVZ fanboy.  I've sent a few emails on this list that proves that... and \
I'm sure I've annoyed some people... but be that as it may... I would like to draw \
everyone on this list's attention to Proxmox VE.  What is Proxmox VE?

Here's a review from the end of June:

ProxMox: The high-performance virtualization server for the rest of us
http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=9181

It is a "bare-metal" Linux distribution based on Debian that has been stripped down \
to a minimum that includes a kernel that provides support for both KVM and OpenVZ so \
it does fully virtualized machines (requiring hardware support in the CPU) and \
containers.  It has a nice web-based management system that is fairly feature \
complete and allows for the easy creation and management of KVM virtual machines and \
OpenVZ containers.  It also has clustering features.  That's a long enough \
description.

Ok, how does this differ from everything else out there?

1) It is bare-metal... just pop in the CD (which is a 250MB download)... boot up the \
machine, answer about two questions... a few minutes worth of install time... and a \
reboot later... you have what looks very similar to a VMware ESX host... with a \
console (text) login screen that says... I man a Proxmox VE machine... connect to me \
at the following URL.  Start browsing.

2) It supports both fully virtualized machines AND containers

3) It has a really nice, maturing (two releases so far) web-interface for managing \
everything

4) It is cluster aware - add additional Proxmox VE machines, use the really simple \
command line program to make each machine aware of all of the others... and bang the \
web-interface on any machine sees all of the virtual machines on all nodes

5) The web-interface includes VNC-java-applet based access so you can graphically \
attach to any virtual machine including the console of an OpenVZ container. For KVM \
machines, you get to see the BIOS / boot from ISO image before virtual machine is \
even on the network

6) Proxmox VE shows the potential that exists with a FOSS OS, FOSS Virtualization \
products... in a completely FOSS product... that is freaking easy to install, setup \
and use... that works well

Problems - Some of the features aren't done yet.  Proxmox VE is a little ahead of its \
time.  Live migration doesn't quite work for OpenVZ yet (although it works fine in \
stock OpenVZ with their stable kernel branches).  Proxmox VE is still in beta.

Basically, if and when the Proxmox VE concept is fully realized and matured it'll be \
a killer app that makes business folks go... Linux DUH... for those that care about \
virtualization... like yoous guyyys on this hea list.

Ok... so any chance CentOS or some of the members of the CentOS development community \
would like to borrow the Proxmox VE idea (perhaps even their web-interface code) and \
make something like Proxmox VE... but based on CentOS... that supports Xen and \
OpenVZ?  It would have the benefit of being able to run on both systems with and \
without hardware support for Virtualization - if you have VT you can run fully \
virtualized Xen AND para-virtualized machines... if not... para-virtualized VMs \
only... and in both cases OpenVZ containers.

The form-factor would have to retain all of the properties I mentioned above... I \
think... for it to be a huge success.

Where to start?  Get two machines to test on... desktops are fine as long as they \
have VT in the CPU.  Download the 250MB Proxmox VE iso.  Burn disc.  Boot disk.  \
Answer two questions.  Wait 5 minutes.  Reboot.  Play with it.  See what you think... \
and use your imagination.  If impressed, plan the take over of the world with a \
similar setup based on CentOS.  Then when RHEL6 comes out and KVM is here... switch \
to KVM.

BTW, the OpenVZ Project had a kernel package built on the RHEL kernel that included \
both Xen and OpenVZ but I can't seem to find it now.

Notice I'm not providing any links to Proxmox VE.  You have to care enough to google \
for it. :)

TYL,
-- 
Scott Dowdle
704 Church Street
Belgrade, MT 59714
(406)388-0827 [home]
(406)994-3931 [work]


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