Installing Oracle VM 2.1.2 Server, Part I
As mulit-core processors predominately take the stage, the need to address additional Oracle licensing becomes a serious concern for many small and large companies alike. Enticed by the appealing Oracle VM solution, this posting in particular describes the simple installation of Oracle’s VM Server 2.1.2 onto VMware’s Workstation.
It is important to note that VMware’s BIOS currently does not have the ability to enable VT (Virtualization Technology), so a somewhat proper Oracle’s VM will in fact install, however, one will not be able to import ISOs. This is a precondition that Oracle has deemed necessary, and it will impact the creation of a VM Guest. Non the less, installing Oracle’s VM Server, or what we have commonly referred to as Oracle’s JEOS (Just Enough Operating System), does provide a very suitable development lab for sorting out the odd Linux challenges, and it will allow access to the VM Manager Portal to create a server pool of sorts.
Additionally, we also looked at using Oracle’s Unbreakable Linux [Enterprise-R5-U3-Server-i386] instead of the JEOS version as it would provide a nice Gnome UI. Unfortunately, this also provided different challenges altogether. If one installs UL (Unbreakable Linux) within VMware, the option to install the Xen virtualization is not present. We believe that this is because of the above mentioned where VT currently not available in VMware’s BIOS. And, if one installs UL on a physical metal server, it fails to include the installation of the ovs-agent, unlike the JEOS version. The ovs-agent is critical for creating server pools and the like. Simply bear in mind that Oracle’s VM 2.1.2 JEOS version is exactly that, just enough Unbreakable Linux to properly support the VM environment.
Lastly, and what is rather disappointing, is of current information on troubleshooting Oracle’s VM. The internet, including Oracle’s documentation and within MetaLink, it is indeed scarce and vague.
Concepts and Goals [return to top]
The sole purpose of creating an Oracle VM within VMware’s Workstation was to provide a development lab for sorting out the challenges with Linux, port allocations, partition sizing and to some extent, Oracle VM functionality. The final installation, configuration and testing will be performed on a HP DL380 G5 server, in a two node scenario with a shared SANs. According to Oracle, this hardware design and configuration will provide the foundation for the Live Migration component of Oracle VM. The Live Migration functionality is somewhat similar to VMware’s VMotion functionality. Basically, Oracle’s VM Enterprise Manager allows a guest virtual machine to be migrated from one Oracle VM Server to another. All guest virtual machines on a server can also be migrated at the same time. By default, live migration traffic is SSL-encrypted to protect sensitive data from exploitation.
Specifications [return to top]
- VMware Host: HP Compaq 8510p, 3GB RAM, Dual 2.00GHz Intel Core2 Duo T7300
- VMware Workstation 6.5.0, build 118166
- Oracle VM Server 2.1.2
- Oracle VM Manager 2.1.2
Prerequisites and Considerations [return to top]
With a bit of navigation, Oracle’s VM site provides all the needed ISOs and RPMs for the JEOS Oracle VM installation. The download requires registration, and all ISOs are zipped.
The assumption is that VMware Workstation 6.5 will be used, however, any VMware version that supports a ‘Other Linux 2.6.x kernel 64-bit’ or ‘Other Linux 2.6.x kernel’ template can be used.
To create a new VMware Guest, simply perform the following steps:
- From the toolbar, select File > New > Virtual Machine (CTL+N)
- Select ‘Custom (advanced)’, and click Next
- Select ‘Workstation 5′, and select ‘ESX Server’ compatibility, and click Next
- Select ‘I will install the operating system later’, and click Next
- Select ‘Other Linux 2.6.x kernel 64-bit’ or ‘Other Linux 2.6.x kernel’, and click Next
- Enter the desired Virtual Server Name and the path where the created VM files are to be placed, and click Next
- Select either One or Two processors, and click Next
- Enter 1024 (mb) for the memory value of this virtual machine, and click Next
- Select ‘Use Bridged Networking’, and click Next
- Select ‘LSI Logic’ for the SCSI Adapter, and click Next
- Select ‘Create a new virtual disk’, and click Next
- Select ‘SCSI’, and click Next
- Enter 120.0 (gb) for the Maximum Disk Size, and select ‘Store virtual disk as a single file’, and click Next
- Rename the default disk file to ‘Local Storage Array A.vmdk’, and click Next
- Deselect ‘Power on this virtual machine after creation’ as additional modifications are required, and click Finish
- From the toolbar, select VM > Settings (CTL+D), and click ‘Add’
- Select ‘Hard Disk’, and click Next
- Select ‘Create a new virtual disk’, and click Next
- Select ‘SCSI’, and click Next
- Enter 120.0 (gb) for the Maximum Disk Size, and click Next
- Rename the default disk file to ‘SANs Storage Array A.vmdk’, and click Finish
- Click ‘Add’
- Select ‘Hard Disk’, and click Next
- Select ‘Create a new virtual disk’, and click Next
- Select ‘SCSI’, and click Next
- Enter 120.0 (gb) for the Maximum Disk Size, and click Next
- Rename the default disk file to ‘SANs Storage Array B.vmdk’, and click Finish
- Select ‘CD/DVD’, and provide the location of the Oracle VM Manager 2.1.2 ISO file, and click ‘OK’
Create a backup of the Virtual Guest’s VMX file, and using a text editor such as Notepad, open the VMX file associated with this Virtual Guest, and carefully mind you, add the following entries:
ethernet0.virtualDev = "e1000"
ethernet0.connectionType = "bridged"
ethernet0.addressType = "generated"
ethernet1.present = "TRUE"
ethernet1.wakeOnPcktRcv = "FALSE"
ethernet1.virtualDev = "e1000"
ethernet1.connectionType = "bridged"
ethernet1.addressType = "generated"
ethernet2.present = "TRUE"
ethernet2.wakeOnPcktRcv = "FALSE"
ethernet2.virtualDev = "e1000"
ethernet2.connectionType = "bridged"
ethernet2.addressType = "generated"
monitor_control.restrict_backdoor = "TRUE"
monitor_control.vt32 = "TRUE"
svga.maxWidth = "1920"
svga.maxHeight = "1200"
svga.vramSize = "33554432"
mks.enable3d = "TRUE"
disk.locking = "FALSE"
diskLib.dataCacheMaxSize = "0"
diskLib.dataCacheMaxReadAheadSize = "0"
diskLib.dataCacheMinReadAheadSize = "0"
diskLib.dataCachePageSize = "4096"
diskLib.maxUnsyncedWrites = "0"
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The following snap (click to enlarge) provides a view of the VM Guest configurations |
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If one is to install Oracle VM Manager onto this particular VM Guest, then the / root partition must be adequately sized. On this spin, we sized the / root partition to 24gb to provide space for all the unforeseen.
Benchmarks [return to top]
No benchmarks were obtained.
Installation Guide [return to top]
| 1. |
The installation prompts the options to install or upgrade Oracle VM server.
Press <ENTER> to continue. |
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| 2. |
The initial installation and setup processes are launched.
No manual intervention required. |
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| 3. |
Installation continues with the loading of various drivers.
No manual intervention required. |
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| 4. |
If you have confidence in the media, then using the TAB, UP, or DOWN (↑ and ↓) keys, select ‘Skip’, and press <ENTER> to continue. |
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| 5. |
The installation process prepares and is loaded.
No manual intervention required. |
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| 6. |
Using the TAB, UP, or DOWN (↑ and ↓) keys, select the desired model, then select ‘OK’, and press <ENTER> to continue. |
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| 7. |
Using the TAB, UP, or DOWN (↑ and ↓) keys, select ‘YES’ and press <ENTER> to continue |
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| 8. |
Using the TAB, UP, or DOWN (↑ and ↓) keys, select ‘YES’ and press <ENTER> to continue |
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| 9. |
Using the TAB, UP, or DOWN (↑ and ↓) keys, select ‘YES’ and press <ENTER> to continue |
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Using the TAB, UP, or DOWN (↑ and ↓) keys, select ‘Remove all partitions on selected drives and create default layout’, then select ‘OK’ and press <ENTER> to continue |
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| 11. |
Using the TAB, UP, or DOWN (↑ and ↓) keys, select ‘YES’ and press <ENTER> to continue |
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| 12. |
Using the TAB, UP, or DOWN (↑ and ↓) keys, select ‘YES’ and press <ENTER> to continue |
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| 13. |
Using the TAB, UP, or DOWN (↑ and ↓) keys, highlight the /boot partition, then select ‘Edit’ and press <ENTER> to continue |
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| 14. |
Using the TAB, UP, or DOWN (↑ and ↓) keys, select ’sda’ as the only allowable drive, change the current ‘Size MB’ value to 150, then select ‘OK’ and press <ENTER> to continue |
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| 15. |
Using the TAB, UP, or DOWN (↑ and ↓) keys, highlight the swap partition, then select ‘Edit’ and press <ENTER> to continue |
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Using the TAB, UP, or DOWN (↑ and ↓) keys, select ’sda’ as the only allowable drive, change the current ‘Size MB’ value to 5120, then select ‘OK’ and press <ENTER> to continue |
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| 17. |
Using the TAB, UP, or DOWN (↑ and ↓) keys, highlight the / (root) partition, then select ‘Edit’ and press <ENTER> to continue |
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Using the TAB, UP, or DOWN (↑ and ↓) keys, select ’sda’ as the only allowable drive, change the current ‘Size MB’ value to 24576, enable ‘Force to be a primary partition’, then select ‘OK’ and press <ENTER> to continue |
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| 19. |
Using the TAB, UP, or DOWN (↑ and ↓) keys, highlight the remaining free space for the ’sda’ disc, then select ‘New’ and press <ENTER> to continue |
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Using the TAB, UP, or DOWN (↑ and ↓) keys, enter ‘/u01′ as a new mount pointe, ext3 as the File System Type, ’sda’ as the only allowable drive, ,change the current ‘Size MB’ value to 93031, enable ‘Force to be a primary partition’, then select ‘OK’ and press <ENTER> to continue |
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| 21. |
Using the TAB, UP, or DOWN (↑ and ↓) keys, highlight the /OVS partition, then select ‘Delete’ and press <ENTER> to continue. |
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| 22. |
Using the TAB, UP, or DOWN (↑ and ↓) keys, select ‘Delete’ and press <ENTER> to continue |
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| 23. |
Using the TAB, UP, or DOWN (↑ and ↓) keys, highlight the remaining free space for the ’sdb’ disc, then select ‘New’ and press <ENTER> to continue |
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Using the TAB, UP, or DOWN (↑ and ↓) keys, enter ‘/OVS’ as a new mount pointe, ext3 as the File System Type, ’sdb’ as the only allowable drive, change the current ‘Size MB’ value to 245758, enable ‘Force to be a primary partition’, then select ‘OK’ and press <ENTER> to continue |
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Using the TAB, UP, or DOWN (↑ and ↓) keys, highlight the remaining free space for the ’sdc’ disc, then select ‘New’ and press <ENTER> to continue |
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Using the TAB, UP, or DOWN (↑ and ↓) keys, enter ‘/u02′ as a new mount pointe, ext3 as the File System Type, ’sdc’ as the only allowable drive, change the current ‘Size MB’ value to 245758, enable ‘Force to be a primary partition’, then select ‘OK’ and press <ENTER> to continue |
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Using the TAB, UP, or DOWN (↑ and ↓) keys, select ‘OK’ and press <ENTER> to continue |
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Using the TAB, UP, or DOWN (↑ and ↓) keys, highlight /dev/sda boot loader, then select ‘OK’ and press <ENTER> to continue |
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Using the TAB, UP, or DOWN (↑ and ↓) keys, highlight the eth0 network interface, then select ‘OK’ and press <ENTER> to continue |
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| 30. |
Using the TAB, UP, or DOWN (↑ and ↓) keys, enable the IPv4 support, enter the IP address and NetMask values for IPv4, then select ‘OK’ and press <ENTER> to continue |
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Using the TAB, UP, or DOWN (↑ and ↓) keys, enter the Gateway, Primary DNS, Secondary DNS values, then select ‘OK’ and press <ENTER> to continue |
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Using the TAB, UP, or DOWN (↑ and ↓) keys, select manually, and enter the hostname, then select ‘OK’ and press <ENTER> to continue |
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Using the TAB, UP, or DOWN (↑ and ↓) keys, select the desired Time Zone, then select ‘OK’ and press <ENTER> to continue |
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| 34. |
Using the TAB, UP, or DOWN (↑ and ↓) keys, enter the desired password for the OVS Agent, then select ‘OK’ and press <ENTER> to continue |
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| 35. |
Using the TAB, UP, or DOWN (↑ and ↓) keys, enter the desired password for the root account, then select ‘OK’ and press <ENTER> to continue |
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| 36. |
The installation performs a dependency check on the packages to be installed.
No manual intervention required. |
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| 37. |
Using the TAB, UP, or DOWN (↑ and ↓) keys, select ‘OK’ and press <ENTER> to continue |
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| 38. |
The installation begins the formatting of the configured partitions.
No manual intervention required. |
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| 39. |
The installation begins installation of the packages.
No manual intervention required. |
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| 40. |
Using the TAB, UP, or DOWN (↑ and ↓) keys, select ‘Reboot’ and press <ENTER> to continue |
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| 41. |
The server will display the shutdown sequence of events.
No manual intervention required. |
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| 42. |
Press any key to invoke the Oracle VM Server loading options. |
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| 43. |
Using the UP or DOWN (↑ and ↓) keys, select the desired loading option and press <ENTER> to continue |
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| 44. |
Using the TAB, UP, or DOWN (↑ and ↓) keys, select ‘Agree’ and press <ENTER> to continue |
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| 45. |
The installation process has been completed, and one can now log into the Oracle VM Server environment. |
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Installation Challenges [return to top]
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When the VMware Guest is started, or restarted for that matter, one may receive an error of ‘ERR: Not a 64-Bit CPU!erver-ovs’. This is simply corrected by entering the menu upon boot, and selecting the 32-bit version as described in step 42 and 43 of the installation process above. |
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Reference Information [return to top]
Summation [return to top]
Oracle VM Server (and Oracle VM Manager) can indeed be properly installed onto a VMware Workstation scenario, and provide a suitable development lab. Oracle’s VM Server is JEOS (Just Enough Operating System), and that is truly what is installed. However, as mentioned at the beginning of this post, one is challenged when importing ISOs into the Oracle VM Manager portal as VMware current does not have a VT (Virtual Technology) option in the BIOS.
- Average VM Guest footprint (powered up) on hosting machine is 4.5gb
- Standard ‘text mode’ interfaces are supported
- RedHat Sysstat functionality [sysstat-7.0.0-3.el5.i386.rpm] is not installed by default, however, the RPM can be located within the OracleVM-Server-2.1.2 ISO and installed separately [# rpm -ivh sysstat-7.0.0-3.el5.i386.rpm]
- By default, the CTRL+ALT+DEL functionality will in fact restart the VM Server. This can be altered by editing the /etc/inittab file
