[Pkg-xen-devel] Release notes addition for Xen support in Debian

[Justin B Rye]

Thomas Goirand wrote:
> Right. Changed. Attached is the new text, please re-read and let me know
> what you think.
> 
> Thomas

> 4.7.4. Upgrading with Xen installed, and Kernel enumeration order issue with Xen

What you mean is:

  4.7.4. Xen upgrades

> In Lenny, using grub legacy, the default kernel that would start
> after installing Xen packages was the Xen hypervisor and the dom0
> capable Linux kernel.

Before I read this I thought I understood it, but now... the Xen
hypervisor is a kernel that starts after installing itself?  Or,
wait, the Xen hypervisor plus a Linux kernel, considered together,
constitute the default kernel?  I imagine you mean:

  In Lenny, if you installed Xen, the kernel that grub-legacy would
  boot by default was the one providing a Xen hypervisor and dom0
  support.

> But in Squeeze (and SID), when running with Grub2, this isn't what
> is happening.

These are *release* notes - forget Sid.  To steal Ben's phrasing:

  This does not happen under GRUB 2 in Squeeze.

> By default, the non-Xen kernel will boot.

  Instead, the non-Xen kernel will boot by default.

Or perhaps run it together as

  This does not happen under GRUB 2 in Squeeze - instead, the
  non-Xen kernel will boot by default.

> If you have Xen installed and expect to boot with it by
> default, you have to tweak grub2 configuration as explained at:
> http://wiki.debian.org/Xen#Installationandconfiguration       

s/have to/need to/ and s/grub2/the GRUB 2/

> Also, when upgrading from Lenny, Xen isn't upgraded to the 4.0
> version of Squeeze.

I didn't know there was a 4.0 version of Squeeze!
http://packages.debian.org/changelogs/pool/main/s/squeeze/
I *think* you mean:

  Also, upgrading from the Lenny version of Xen does not
  automatically install the current 4.0 version.

> So, after you finished the dist-upgrade, it is advised to check
> that Xen 4.0 and the corresponding dom0 kernel are installed with
> dpkg -l, and eventually, install them with aptitude install.

"Dist-upgrade" is obsolete jargon.  There's no particular reason to
use dpkg rather than "aptitude show", or indeed just trying the
install anyway - how would it miraculously have got installed
without the sysadmin's knowledge if there's no dependency pathway
from xen-hypervisor-3.2.1 to -4.0?

Also, false friend s/eventually/if appropriate/, but just drop this
pointless check:

  So, after you finish the dist-upgrade, you should use an explicit
  "aptitude install" for Xen 4.0 and a corresponding dom0 kernel.

I'm sorely tempted to add "or give up on xen altogether".

> See the same address (eg:
> http://wiki.debian.org/Xen#Installationandconfiguration) to see how
> to install the Xen hypervisor and the Xen dom0 kernel under Squeeze.

You don't mean "e.g." here.  (I suppose it's better than "ibid.")

  See the wiki page for instructions on how to set up the Xen
  hypervisor and dom0 kernel under Squeeze.
 
> It is also important to notice that your domU wont be able to use
> HDD devices of the type sda1 (for example). This naming scheme has
> been removed from Xen because of a request from the mainline kernel
> maintainers. Instead, you should use xvda1 (as a corresponding
> example) instead.

  Be aware that your domU won't be able to use (for example) sda1 as
  a device name for its hard drive. This naming scheme has been removed
  from Xen because of a request from the mainline kernel maintainers.
  Instead you should use (as a corresponding example) xvda1.

-- 
JBR	with qualifications in linguistics, experience as a Debian
	sysadmin, and probably no clue about this particular package