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Re: [Xen-users] VMWare vs. Xen, is the conflict by VMware deliberate?

To: Sadique Puthen <sputhenp@xxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [Xen-users] VMWare vs. Xen, is the conflict by VMware deliberate?
From: Nico Kadel-Garcia <nkadel@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2008 15:52:32 +0000
Cc: xen list <xen-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
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Sadique Puthen wrote:
Nico Kadel-Garcia wrote:
I've been trying to virtualize SCO OpenServer 5.0.6 for various reasons, and found that the Xensource 4.x doesn't support it, nor does the open source Xen 3.x in any of the environments I've tried. It works on VMware, but for various reasons I prefer to use Xen on my Dom0. (I like open source, and the base OS for the commercial reasons is much, much more recent, and I suspect the Xen Dom0 performance for managing backup systems is superior.)

So, I tried running VMWare Workstation on top of a Xen enabled Dom0. And VMWare promptly started up with a "You're running a Xen Hypervisor! Bad sys-geek, no biscuit! We're taking our start-up tool and going home, p-b-b-b-b-b-b-t-h!"

Is this a well-founded refusal to start on their part, perhaps due to kernel behavior conflicts? Or is this an anti-competitive move,

VMware requires that your host kernel be run in ring 0 (to do cpu scheduling, memory management and provide timer interrupts) where as in xen architecture hypervisor has taken ring 0 and deprivileged the guest kernel (dom0 kernel) to other rings. So running VMware on dom0 doesn't allow it to virtualize cpu, memory. My 2 cents

--Sadique
Ahh. Thank you! That was clear.

Hmm. Does a Xen DomU look to the unsespecting local environment like a ring 0 kernel, especially in full virtualization rather than para-virtualization? It would be contorted, but would allow me to keep my Dom0 as a Xen host, at a serious but potentially acceptable performance loss.

to avoid being able to run VMware Workstation on Xen Dom0's and force people to select VMWare only? I've not taken apart the kernel modules well enough to tell, but I hate to have to dedicate entire servers to VMware: it can absorb the resources I'd otherwise use to provide Xen.



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