Running OSv on Xen

OSv can run on the XEN hypervisor in the Hardware-assisted Virtualization (HVM) mode of operation (see https://wiki.xenproject.org/wiki/Xen_Project_Software_Overview#Guest_Types). The author of this wiki page is not a Xen expert, but we think OSv can run specifically in the HVM mode with PV (Paravirtualized) drivers like:

• Xen clock
• Xen netfront - PV front-end driver that interacts directly with a PV back-end networking device driver in the Dom0 kernel
• Xen blkfront - PV front-end driver that interacts directly with a PV back-end block device driver in the Dom0 kernel

OSv can run on EC2 Xen-based instances (like t2.*) or on Xen Server with Linux running on Dom0 (tested with Fedora and Ubuntu).

Running OSv on XEN-based EC2

In order to deploy OSv

Extra links

General

• Xen Project Overview
• Xen History

Devices

• https://github.com/avsm/xen-unstable/blob/master/docs/misc/blkif-drivers-explained.txt
• block device protocol

Tools

• https://xenbits.xen.org/docs/unstable/man/xl.1.html
• https://xenbits.xen.org/docs/unstable/man/xl.cfg.5.html
• https://xenbits.xen.org/docs/unstable/man/xl-disk-configuration.5.html

OSv mailing list

• Xen on AArch64 status
• Problems starting on Xen

Relevant issues (mostly closed)

• run.sh fails to start an OSv instance on Xen HV
• run.py fails on XEN because of losetup failure
• OSv hangs when booting on XEN
• How can I run osv in Xen?