I'm looking for a place where I can get prebuilt xen domu images like the readymade AMI's that amazon provides for quick deployment, but freely available to integrate into non EC2 environments.
Do You have any suggestions?
I'd like to have change of pace and still get things done which means that I'll have to look for a decent Laptop with some serious grunt that lets me develop, test and deploy.
I'm new to this road thingie, so I'd like to get input on selection, requirements and what else to look out for. I'd also be happy about model/hardware suggestions or user experiences.
As a reference, I'm currently in the max $1000 ballpark, tendig towards cost-effectiveness.
demand profile:
- LAMP programming (this means real code, not web pages ;) )
Virtualization, mainly running xen as dom0 [for development / testing (up to live beta for small projects) ]
uncomplicated linux drivers for graphics would be a bonus, I'd like to avoid too much kernel patching as required for some proprietory graphics drivers.
I'm looking at suse because of xen integration until ubuntu integrates xen again.
edit: still looking for input on device selection/suggestions and personal experiences. Anyone?
Intel processor specifications list the virtualization feature vt-d as a processor feature of the xeon 5500 series but not of the 5600 series. Vt-d is needed for io virtualization.
How does vt-d relate to intel processors, there is no information.
edit:
I just learned the answer from an intel marketing manager and thought I should document it here for the common benefit.
vt-d is an Intel chipset feature which enables iommu / directed io in virtualized environments, eg. xen. It is not a processor feature like vt-x. vt-d is neede for io passthrough to guests, like PCI passthrough.
A complete answer obtained from an intel marketing manager is given below.
Does Xeon westmere ep (xeon 56xx series) have vt-d (=iommy / direct io) or does intel TXT (Intel® Trusted Execution Technology) include vt-d?
I'm at a loss. I've been researching current processors for an important project for some time now.
I need to know, if the xeon 5600s (Westmere EP) include vt-d (iommu/directed io/pci passing) because the system will run virtualized guests. This enables direct hardware access eg. pci passthrough, in xen for example.
It seems that the 5600s TXT should incorporate vt-d and that xeon 5600s should include vt-d as they are ramped up 5500s, but there is no conclusive answer anywhere. Intel's processor comparison only states that 5500s have vt-d and no TXT and 5600s have no vt-d but TXT.
I'd be really grateful if anybody could clear this up and possibly even provide a citation.
Thanks a lot.
Edit: Alternative: Can anyone report success in running Xen on a 5600 with working pci passthrough?