VMware: Difference between revisions
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<big><b><font color=red>For current information on emulation of OLPC software images, see [[Emulating the XO]]</font></b></big> |
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[http://www.vmware.com/ VMWare] (Workstation, Player) is an emulator released as commercial software. The player version is distributed free of charge (Gratis). It runs on either Win32 or Linux host machines, allowing you to run OLPC images within the virtual machine. A Mac version is also available, VMWare Fusion, however this is not provided free of charge (a free 30-day evaluation is available). |
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You can decide either to emulate an XO via downloaded images, or to build a [[#Developer's Desktop Emulation|developer's desktop image]] starting from a stock Fedora 7. Both approaches are discussed here. |
You can decide either to emulate an XO via downloaded images, or to build a [[#Developer's Desktop Emulation|developer's desktop image]] starting from a stock Fedora 7. Both approaches are discussed here. |
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On Linux, VMWare setup requires a package of kernel modules (as do all high-speed emulation options we are aware of). |
On Linux, VMWare setup requires a package of kernel modules (as do all high-speed emulation options we are aware of). |
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VMWare seems to have the highest performance of the emulation solutions available, but the difference between it |
VMWare seems to have the highest performance of the emulation solutions available, but the difference between it and Qemu + KQemu is fairly minimal. |
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hl |
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= Features = |
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VMWare's primary advantages for OLPC developers are: |
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* You may already have it |
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* It's fast (generally slightly faster than Qemu with KQemu) |
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* It's got a slick GUI front-end (for the full versions) |
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* There is (paid) support available from VMWare for their products |
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That said, VMWare is comparatively less well supported by the project. We are attempting to improve support, but we will generally prioritize [[Qemu]] support before VMWare support. |
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== Snapshots == |
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Allow you to take a complete copy of a system at any point in time (even while running) in order to checkpoint changes and allow you to return to the previous state. |
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Note that VMware Workstation does ''not'' use an overlay system such as [[Qemu]]'s copy-on-write system or VMware Fusion's snapshot method, it copies the whole disk (and memory), so will take considerably more hard-disk space. |
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== File Sharing == |
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You can use your host machine to edit files and "upload" them to your virtual XO via any IP-based file-transfer mechanism: |
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* source-code-control (git, bzr, svn) |
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* sftp, scp |
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* rsync |
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* editor-based virtual file-systems |
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Direct file-sharing support is available in commercial versions of VMWare with the VMWare tools installed on the client OS. |
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= Emulating the XO = |
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An emulated XO image is recommended for developers working on Activities (as distinct from Sugar and other core libraries). It is also recommended for those who want to test their software or who may not have enough computer power to run a developer's image. |
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The XO images have the advantage of being faster than a "developer's desktop" image. They are also much easier to maintain (sugar-jhbuild can be quite time consuming). You should be sure to use source-code-control storing to another machine (such as your host machine) for all of your code so that you do not lose work when updating to a newer image. |
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== Compatibility == |
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Recent builds, particularly Ship.2 builds, should all work reasonably well with VMWare. Still always keep in mind that emulation is [[Emulating the XO/Limitations of XO disk images|not perfect]]. |
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= Setup = |
= Setup = |
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* The next steps will take the better part of a day to complete, if not more on a slower machine (You'll be running an emulator ''within'' an emulator!) |
* The next steps will take the better part of a day to complete, if not more on a slower machine (You'll be running an emulator ''within'' an emulator!) |
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* Create a new virtual machine and do a base Fedora |
* Create a new virtual machine and do a base Fedora (or Ubuntu) install on it |
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** Do not install any extra packages (will be done later) |
** Do not install any extra packages (will be done later) |
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** Make sure you give the disk at least 15GB max size. If you have the disk space, preallocate it now. That will give you a twofold increase in performance |
** Make sure you give the disk at least 15GB max size. If you have the disk space, preallocate it now. That will give you a twofold increase in performance |
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Once you have your working Fedora 7 or Ubuntu image under emulation, see the instructions for setting up [[Sugar with sugar-jhbuild]] for your new (emulated) platform: |
Once you have your working Fedora 7 or Ubuntu image under emulation, see the instructions for setting up [[Sugar with sugar-jhbuild]] for your new (emulated) platform: |
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* [[Sugar on Fedora |
* [[Sugar on Fedora]] |
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* [[Sugar on Ubuntu Linux]] |
* [[Sugar on Ubuntu Linux]] |
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Latest revision as of 16:15, 8 February 2011
For current information on emulation of OLPC software images, see Emulating the XO
You can decide either to emulate an XO via downloaded images, or to build a developer's desktop image starting from a stock Fedora 7. Both approaches are discussed here. See Also:
CaveatsOn Linux, VMWare setup requires a package of kernel modules (as do all high-speed emulation options we are aware of). VMWare seems to have the highest performance of the emulation solutions available, but the difference between it and Qemu + KQemu is fairly minimal. hl SetupThe VMWare/VirtualBox images are converted from the official images using a simple downloading script. You can either use a pre-converted image (recommended) or download and convert the official images yourself. Mac Users may want to check out this article or use OLPC4Mac, a script that creates an OLPC image for VMware Fusion on the Mac automatically. Pre-converted ImagesPre-converted images used to be generated from the latest release and made available at http://dev.laptop.org/pub/virtualbox/ OS images explains the different kinds of builds. Choose a reasonably recent version (within the last few weeks) whenever possible. Keep in mind that Joyride builds may be broken! Discussions on the OLPC-devel mailing list will discuss broken builds when they happen. Images created after 2007-12-22 should have a VMWare 6.0-format -6.vmx and -6.vmxf file in the downloadable zip file. These files are not yet tested, but VMWare 6.0 should allow you to use USB keys and the like more reliably within the emulated images. See: Configuration and Usage -- describes how to set up the new image for development work TipsTo get access to the root console, that is, virtual console 1:
Use full-screen mode:
OLPC ClonesVMware Workstation has a nifty feature called "Linked Clones." This enables users to deploy virtual machines based on the "template virtual machine" that take up very little space. For example, I can make a OLPC virtual machine, turn it into a template, make a clone, and the clone will take up ~6 megs of disk space when not running. When running, it will consume more diskspace as ram. Why?It is now extremely easy to test mesh networking and networking activities in general. The folks at OLPC Austria have done something similar with qemu, but that requires additional software to manage a virtual ethernet network. VMware workstation provides more networking support out the box. In addition, the clones would take less disk space than it would to run multiple instances of qemu images. Creating the Template OLPC Virtual Machine
Deploying Clones From The Template OLPC Virtual Machine
VMWare Tools
Ed Borasky, 5 December 2007: I've downloaded ship2 build650 and built a virtual machine from it following the above instructions. Unfortunately:
Developer's Desktop EmulationFor development on the core Sugar system (as distinct from activities), you likely need an emulated sugar-jhbuild system so that you can keep up to the most recent versions of all core packages. System Requirements:
The quickest way to get started creating a jhbuild (developer's desktop) is:
Once you have your working Fedora 7 or Ubuntu image under emulation, see the instructions for setting up Sugar with sugar-jhbuild for your new (emulated) platform: The See:
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