| SUSE Linux Documentation Part III. System / Chapter 22. Virtualization | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 21.4. Language and Country-Specific Settings | 22.2. Virtualization Infrastructure |  | |
| SUSE Linux Documentation Part III. System / Chapter 22. Virtualization | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21.4. Language and Country-Specific Settings | 22.2. Virtualization Infrastructure | | |
Contents
The Novell® virtualization strategy is based on combining the SUSE® Linux operating system with Xen* hypervisor software to create a virtualization host server platform capable of hosting virtual machines.
The following sections list the system and software requirements for running virtualization. Remember that virtual machines, just like physical machines, perform better when they run on faster processors and have access to more system memory.
In most cases, the minimum requirements for the virtualization host server are the same as those for the SUSE Linux operating system, but additional CPU, disk, memory, and network requirements should be added to accomodate the resource demands of planned virtual machines.
Although the SUSE Linux operating system can run on many platforms, the virtualization host server is only available on x86 32-bit and x86 64-bit platforms.
Full virtualization mode is available on processors that support hardware-assisted virtualization technology. Look for processors that support Intel* VT or AMD* Virtualization.
For information on Intel VT, see Intel Virtualization Technology.
For information on AMD Virtualization, see the AMD Web Site.
Virtualization packages are available in SUSE Linux operating system products based on code path 10 and later. Code path 10 includes SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10, SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10, and OpenSUSE® 10.1.
The virtualization host server requires the following software packages and their dependencies to be installed:
kernel-xen
xen
xen-tools
xen-tools-ioemu (required for full-virtualization mode)
kernel-xenpae (used instead of kernel-xen, this package is required to enable a 32-bit virtualization host server to access memory over 3 GB)
yast2-vm (You should install the newest version available)
Updates are available through your update channel. Make sure to update to the most recent packages available.
Most popular operating systems can run without modification on virtual machines using full virtualization mode.
Paravirtual mode is available for operating systems that are modified to recognize the Xen virtualization environment.
For more information on specific guest operating systems, see the Guest Operating System Guide at Novell Virtualization Technology.
