This section provides information to help you anticipate the behavior of KVM VMs of various supported Linux platforms when the Apply Config action or the Save Config action is applied.
Some paravirtualized drivers are required for the kvm provisioning adapter to function correctly when the Apply Config action is applied:
virtio_net: A device driver required for supporting the virtual network.
virtio_blk: A virtual block device driver required for supporting paravirtualized block devices.
virtio_balloon: A memory driver for dynamic memory allocation required for supporting the dynamic change of the amount of memory allocated to a VM.
acpiphp: A device driver used for attaching and detaching disks.
The table below lists the supported VM functionality when the Apply Config action is applied. An “x” in the table indicates support for the function. Required drivers for each platform are noted below the table.
Table 22-2 Supported Disk, NIC, and Memory Setting Functionality on KVM VMs after Apply Config Action Applied
|
Function |
SLES 11 SP1 VM1 |
SLES 10 SP3 VM2 |
RHEL 5 VM3 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Attach IDE disk |
Not supported by the hypervisor. Disk bus IDE cannot be hotplugged. |
Not supported by the hypervisor. Disk bus IDE cannot be hotplugged. |
Not supported by the hypervisor. Disk bus IDE cannot be hotplugged. |
|
Detach IDE disk |
Not supported by the hypervisor. |
Not supported by the hypervisor. |
Not supported by the hypervisor. |
|
Insert DVD / CD-ROM media into IDE disk |
x |
x |
x |
|
Eject DVD / CD-ROM media from IDE disk |
x |
x |
x |
|
Attach USB disk |
x |
x |
x |
|
Detach USB disk |
Not supported by the hypervisor. This type of device cannot be hot unplugged. |
Not supported by the hypervisor. This type of device cannot be hot unplugged. |
Not supported by the hypervisor. This type of device cannot be hot unplugged. |
|
Attach SCSI disk. |
Disk is shown in the configuration filoe, but not in the VM object. |
Not displayed in the VM. |
x |
|
Detach SCSI disk |
Not supported by the hypervisor. This type of device cannot be hot unplugged. |
Not supported by the hypervisor. This type of device cannot be hot unplugged. |
Not supported by the hypervisor. This type of device cannot be hot unplugged. |
|
Attach Virtio disk |
x |
x |
x |
|
Detach Virtio disk |
x |
x |
x |
|
Attach Virtual NIC |
The vNIC is displayed in the Orchestration Console, but does not operate correctly. |
The vNIC is displayed in the Orchestration Console, but does not operate correctly. |
The vNIC is displayed in the Orchestration Console, but does not operate correctly. |
|
Detach Virtual NIC |
x |
x |
x |
|
Set current memory |
x |
x |
x |
|
Set max memory |
Not supported. |
Not supported. |
Not supported. |
1 Paravirtualized virtio drivers (including acpiphp) are included in the kernel of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP1 and newer.
2 SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP3 does not support para-virtualized devices out of the box, because the virtio_* drivers are not included. In order to use such devices, add the missing virtio drivers during the installation. For more information, see Section 5.3.1, “Adding para-virtualized Drivers During the Installation” in the “Managing Virtual Machines with libvirt” section of the “SLES 11 Virtualization with KVM Administration Guide.”
These drivers are available at the Novell virtio Drivers Download Web site .
3 Paravirtualized virtio drivers (including acpiphp) are included in the kernel of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.4 and newer.
Some paravirtualized drivers are required for the kvm provisioning adapter to function correctly when the Save Config action is applied:
virtio_net: A device driver required to support the virtual network.
virtio_blk: A virtual block device driver required for supporting paravirtualized block devices.
virtio_balloon: A memory driver for dynamic memory allocation required for supporting the dynamic change of the amount of memory allocated to a VM.
The table below lists the supported VM functionality when the Save Config action is applied. An “x” in the table indicates support for the function. Required drivers for each platform are noted below the table.
Table 22-3 Supported Disk, NIC, and Memory Setting Functionality on KVM VMs after Save Config Action Applied
|
Function |
SLES 11 SP1 VM1 |
SLES 10 SP3 VM2 |
RHEL 5 VM3 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Attach IDE disk |
x |
x |
x |
|
Detach IDE disk |
x |
x |
x |
|
Insert DVD / CD-ROM media into IDE disk |
x |
x |
x |
|
Eject DVD / CD-ROM media from IDE disk |
x |
x |
x |
|
Attach USB disk |
x |
x |
x |
|
Detach USB disk |
x |
x |
x |
|
Attach SCSI disk |
x |
x |
x |
|
Detach SCSI disk |
x |
x |
x |
|
Attach Virtio disk |
x |
x |
x |
|
Detach Virtio disk |
x |
x |
x |
|
Attach virtual NIC |
x |
x |
x |
|
Detach virtual NIC |
x |
x |
x |
|
Set current memory |
x |
x |
x |
|
Set max memory |
x |
x |
x |
1 Paravirtualized virtio drivers are included in the kernel of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP1 and newer.
2 SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP3 does not support para-virtualized devices out of the box, because the virtio_* drivers are not included. In order to use such devices, add the missing virtio drivers during the installation. For more information, see Section 5.3.1, “Adding para-virtualized Drivers During the Installation” in the “Managing Virtual Machines with libvirt” section of the “SLES 11 Virtualization with KVM Administration Guide.”
These drivers are available at the Novell virtio Drivers Download Web site .
3 Paravirtualized virtio drivers are included in the kernel of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.4 and newer.