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C XM, XL Toolstacks and Libvirt framework

C.1 Xen Toolstacks
C.2 Import Xen Domain Configuration into libvirt
C.3 Differences Between the xm and xl Applications
C.4 External links
C.5 Saving a Xen Guest Configuration in an xm Compatible Format

C.1 Xen Toolstacks #

Since the early Xen 2.x releases, xend has been the defacto toolstack for managing Xen installations. In Xen 4.1, a new toolstack called libxenlight (also known as libxl) was introduced with technology preview status. libxl is a small, low-level library written in C. It has been designed to provide a simple API for all client toolstacks (XAPI, libvirt, xl). In Xen 4.2, libxl was promoted to officially supported status and xend was marked deprecated. xend has been included in the Xen 4.3 and 4.4 series to give users ample time to convert their tooling to libxl, but it has been removed from the upstream Xen project and will no longer be provided starting with the Xen 4.5 series and SLES 12 SP1.

Although SLES11 SP3 contains Xen 4.2, SUSE retained the xend toolstack since making such an invasive change in a service pack would be too disruptive for SUSE Linux Enterprise customers. However, SLES12 provides a suitable opportunity to move to the new libxl toolstack and remove the deprecated, unmaintained xend stack. Starting with SLES 12 SP1, xend is no longer supported.

One of the major differences between xend and libxl is that the former is stateful, while the latter is stateless. With xend, all client applications such as xm and libvirt see the same system state. xend is responsible for maintaining state for the entire Xen host. In libxl, client applications such as xl or libvirt must maintain state. Thus domains created with xl or not visible or known to other libxl applications such as libvirt. Generally, it is discouraged to mix and match libxl applications and is preferred that a single libxl application be used to manage a Xen host. In SUSE Linux Enterprise 12 , it is recommended to use libvirt to manage Xen hosts, allowing management of the Xen system through libvirt applications such as virt-manager, virt-install, vm-install, virt-viewer, libguestfs, etc. If xl is used to manage the Xen host, any virtual machines under its management will not be accessible to libvirt, and hence not accessible to any of the libvirt applications.

C.1.1 Upgrading from xend/xm to xl/libxl #

The xl application, along with its configuration format (see man xl.cfg), was designed to be backwards-compatible with the xm application and its configuration format (see man xm.cfg). Existing xm configuration should be usable with xl. Since libxl is stateless, and xl does not support the notion of managed domains, SUSE recommends using libvirt to manage SLES12 Xen hosts. SUSE has provided a tool called xen2libvirt, which provides a simple mechanism to import domains previously managed by xend into libvirt. See Section C.2, “Import Xen Domain Configuration into libvirt” for more information on xen2libvirt.

C.1.2 XL design #

The basic structure of every xl command is:

xl subcommand OPTIONS DOMAIN

DOMAIN is the numeric domain id, or the domain name (which will be internally translated to domain id), and OPTIONS are subcommand specific options.

Although xl/libxl was designed to be backward-compatible with xm/xend, there are a few differences that should be noted:

Managed or persistent domains. libvirt now provides this functionality.
xl/libxl does not support Python code in the domain configuration files.
xl/libxl does not support creating domains from SXP format configuration files (xm create -F).
xl/libxl does not support sharing storage across DomU's via w! in domain configuration files.

xl/libxl is relatively new and under heavy development, hence a few features are still missing with respect to the xm/xend toolstack:

SCSI LUN/Host pass-through (PVSCSI)
USB pass-through (PVUSB)
Support Direct Kernel Boot for fully virtualized Linux guests for Xen does not work anymore

C.1.3 Checklist before Upgrade #

Before upgrading a SLES11 SP3 Xen host to SLES12

You must remove any Python code from your xm domain configuration files.
It is recommended to capture the libvirt domain XML from all existing virtual machines using virsh dumpxml DOMAIN_NAME DOMAIN_NAME.xml.
It is recommended to do a backup of /etc/xen/xend-config.sxp and /boot/grub/menu.lst files to keep references of previous parameters used for Xen.

Note

Currently, live migrating virtual machines running on a SLES11 SP3 Xen host to a SLES12 Xen host is not supported. The xend and libxl toolstacks are not runtime-compatible. Virtual machine downtime will be required to move the virtual machines from SLES11 SP3 to a SLES12 host.

C.2 Import Xen Domain Configuration into `libvirt` #

xen2libvirt is a command line tool to import legacy Xen domain configuration into the libvirt virtualization library (see The Virtualization book for more information on libvirt). xen2libvirt provides an easy way to import domains managed by the deprecated xm/xend toolstack into the new libvirt/libxl toolstack. Several domains can be imported at once using its --recursive mode

xen2libvirt is included in the xen-tools package. If needed, install it with

zypper install xen-tools

xen2libvirt general syntax is

xen2libvirt <options> /path/to/domain/config

where options can be:

-h, --help: Prints short information about xen2libvirt usage.
-c, --convert-only: Converts the domain configuration to the libvirt XML format, but does not do the import to libvirt.
-r, --recursive: Converts and/or imports all domains configuration recursively, starting at the specified path.
-f, --format: Specifies the format of the source domain configuration. Can be either xm, or sexpr (S-expression format).
-v, --verbose: Prints more detailed information about the import process.

Example C.1: Converting Xen Domain Configuration to `libvirt` #

Suppose you have a Xen domain managed with xm with the following configuration saved in /etc/xen/sle12.xm:

kernel = "/boot/vmlinuz-2.6-xenU"
  memory = 128
  name = "SLE12"      
  root = "/dev/hda1 ro"
  disk = [ "file:/var/xen/sle12.img,hda1,w" ]

Convert it to libvirt XML without importing it, and look at its content:

# xen2libvirt -f xm -c /etc/xen/sle12.xm > /etc/libvirt/qemu/sles12.xml
  # cat /etc/libvirt/qemu/sles12.xml
  <domain type='xen'>
  <name>SLE12</name>
  <uuid>43e1863c-8116-469c-a253-83d8be09aa1d</uuid>
  <memory unit='KiB'>131072</memory>
  <currentMemory unit='KiB'>131072</currentMemory>
  <vcpu placement='static'>1</vcpu>
  <os>
  <type arch='x86_64' machine='xenpv'>linux</type>
  <kernel>/boot/vmlinuz-2.6-xenU</kernel>
  </os>
  <clock offset='utc' adjustment='reset'/>
  <on_poweroff>destroy</on_poweroff>
  <on_reboot>restart</on_reboot>
  <on_crash>restart</on_crash>
  <devices>
  <disk type='file' device='disk'>
  <driver name='file'/>
  <source file='/var/xen/sle12.img'/>
  <target dev='hda1' bus='xen'/>
  </disk>
  <console type='pty'>
  <target type='xen' port='0'/>
  </console>
  </devices>
  </domain>

To import the domain into libvirt, you can either run the same xen2libvirt command without the -c option, or use the exported file /etc/libvirt/qemu/sles12.xml and define a new Xen domain using virsh:

# sudo virsh define /etc/libvirt/qemu/sles12.xml

C.3 Differences Between the `xm` and `xl` Applications #

The purpose of this chapter is to list all differences between xm and xl applications. Generally, xl is designed to be compatible with xm. Replacing xm with xl in custom scripts or tools is usually sufficient.

You can also use the libvirt framework using the virsh command. In this documentation only the first OPTION for virsh will be shown. To get more help on this option do a:

virsh help OPTION

C.3.1 Notation Conventions #

To easily understand the difference between xl and xm commands, the following notation is used in this section:

Table C.1: Notation Conventions #

Notation	Meaning
(-) minus	Option exists in `xm`, but `xl` does not include it.
(+) plus	Option exists in `xl`, but `xm` does not include it.

C.3.2 New Global Options #

Table C.2: New Global Options #

Options	Task
(+) `-v`	Verbose, increase the verbosity of the output
(+) `-N`	Dry run, do not actually execute the command
(+) `-f`	Force execution. `xl` will refuse to run some commands if it detects that `xend` is also running, this option will force the execution of those commands, even though it is unsafe

C.3.3 Unchanged Options #

List of common options of xl and xm, and their libvirt equivalents.

Table C.3: Common Options #

Options	Task	`libvirt` equivalent
destroy DOMAIN	Immediately terminate the domain	`virsh` `destroy`
domid DOMAIN_NAME	Converts a domain name to a DOMAIN_ID	`virsh` `domid`
domname DOMAIN_ID	Converts a DOMAIN_ID to a DOMAIN_NAME	`virsh` `domname`
help	Displays the short help message (i.e. common commands)	`virsh` `help`
pause DOMAIN_ID	Pause a domain. When in a paused state the domain will still consume allocated resources such as memory, but will not be eligible for scheduling by the Xen hypervisor	`virsh` `suspend`
unpause DOMAIN_ID	Moves a domain out of the paused state. This will allow a previously paused domain to be eligible for scheduling by the Xen hypervisor	`virsh` `resume`
rename DOMAIN_ID NEW_DOMAIN_NAME	Change the domain name of DOMAIN_ID to NEW_DOMAIN_NAME	virsh dumpxml DOMAINNAME > DOMXML modify the domain's name in DOMXML virsh undefine DOMAINNAME virsh define DOMAINNAME
sysrq DOMAIN <letter>	Send a Magic System Request to the domain, each type of request is represented by a different letter. It can be used to send SysRq requests to Linux guests, see `sysrq.txt` in your Linux Kernel sources for more information. It requires PV drivers to be installed in your guest OS	`virsh` `send-keys` can send Magic Sys Req only for KVM
vncviewer OPTIONS DOMAIN	Attach to domain's VNC server, forking a vncviewer process	`virt-view` DOMAIN_ID `virsh` vncdisplay
vcpu-set DOMAIN_ID <vCPUs>	Enables the vcpu-count virtual CPUs for the domain in question. Like `mem-set`, this command can only allocate up to the maximum virtual CPU count configured at boot for the domain	`virsh` `setvcpus`
vcpu-list DOMAIN_ID	Lists VCPU information for a specific domain. If no domain is specified, VCPU information for all domains will be provided	`virsh` `vcpuinfo`
vcpu-pin DOMAIN_ID <VCPU\|all> <CPUs\|all>	Pins the VCPU to only run on the specific CPUs. The keyword all can be used to apply the CPU list to all VCPUs in the domain	`virsh` `vcpupin`
dmesg [-c]	Reads the Xen message buffer, similar to dmesg on a Linux system. The buffer contains informational, warning, and error messages created during Xen's boot process
top	Executes the `xentop` command, which provides real time monitoring of domains. Xentop is a curses interface, and reasonably self explanatory	`virsh` `nodecpustats` `virsh` `nodememstats`
uptime [-s] DOMAIN	Prints the current uptime of the domains running. With `xl` command the DOMAIN argument is mandatory
debug-keys KEYS	Send debug keys to Xen. It is the same as pressing the Xen conswitch (Ctrl-A by default) three times and then pressing "keys"
cpupool-migrate DOMAIN CPU_POOL	Moves a domain specified by DOMAIN_ID or DOMAIN into a CPU_POOL
cpupool-destroy CPU_POOL	Deactivates a cpu pool. This is possible only if no domain is active in the cpu-pool
block-detach DOMAIN_ID DevId	Detach a domain's virtual block device. devid may be the symbolic name or the numeric device id given to the device by Dom0. You will need to run `xl` `block-list` to determine that number	`virsh` `detach-disk`
network-attach DOMAIN_ID NETWORK_DEVICE	Creates a new network device in the domain specified by DOMAIN_ID. network-device describes the device to attach, using the same format as the vif string in the domain configuration file	`virsh` `attach-interface` `virsh` `attach-device`
pci-attach DOMAIN <BDF> [Virtual Slot]	Hot-plug a new pass-through PCI device to the specified domain. BDF is the PCI Bus/Device/Function of the physical device to be passed through	`virsh` `attach-device`
pci-list DOMAIN_ID	List pass-through PCI devices for a domain
getenforce	Determine if the FLASK security module is loaded and enforcing its policy
setenforce `<1\|0\|Enforcing\|Permissive>`	Enable or disable enforcing of the FLASK access controls. The default is permissive and can be changed using the flask_enforcing option on the hypervisor's command line

C.3.4 Removed Options #

List of xm options which are no more available with the XL toolstack and a replacement solution if available.

C.3.4.1 Domain Management #

The list of Domain management removed command and their replacement.

Table C.4: Domain Management Removed Options #

Domain Management Removed Options
Options	Task	Equivalent
(-) `log`	Print out the Xend log.	This log file can be found in `/var/log/xend.log`
(-) `delete`	Remove a domain from Xend domain management. The `list` option shows the domain names	`virsh` `undefine`
(-) `new`	Adds a domain to Xend domain management	`virsh` `define`
(-) `start`	Start a Xend managed domain that was added using the `xm` `new` command	`virsh` `start`
(-) `dryrun`	Dry run - prints the resulting configuration in SXP but does not create the domain	`xl` `-N`
(-) `reset`	Reset a domain	`virsh` `reset`
(-) `domstate`	Show domain state	`virsh` `domstate`
(-) `serve`	Proxy Xend XMLRPC over stdio
(-) `resume` DOMAIN OPTIONS	Moves a domain out of the suspended state and back into memory	`virsh` `resume`
(-) `suspend` DOMAIN	Suspend a domain to a state file so that it can be later resumed using the `resume` subcommand. Similar to the `save` subcommand although the state file may not be specified	`virsh` `managedsave` `virsh` `suspend`

C.3.4.2 USB Devices #

USB options are not available with xl/libxl toolstack. virsh has the attach-device and detach-device options but it does not work yet with USB.

Table C.5: USB Devices Management Removed Options #

USB Devices Management Removed Options
Options	Task
(-) `usb-add`	Add a new USB physical bus to a domain
(-) `usb-del`	Delete a USB physical bus from a domain
(-) `usb-attach`	Attach a new USB physical bus to domain's virtual port
(-) `usb-detach`	Detach a USB physical bus from domain's virtual port
(-) `usb-list`	List domain's attachment state of all virtual port
(-) `usb-list-assignable-devices`	List all the assignable USB devices
(-) `usb-hc-create`	Create a domain's new virtual USB host controller
(-) `usb-hc-destroy`	Destroy a domain's virtual USB host controller

C.3.4.3 CPU Management #

CPU management options has changed. New options are available, see: Section C.3.5.10, “xl cpupool-*”

Table C.6: CPU Management Removed options #

CPU Management Removed Options
Options	Task
(-) `cpupool-new`	Adds a CPU pool to Xend CPU pool management
(-) `cpupool-start`	Starts a Xend CPU pool
(-) `cpupool-delete`	Removes a CPU pool from Xend management

C.3.4.4 Other Options #

Table C.7: Other Options #

Other Removed Options
Options	Task
(-) `shell`	Launch an interactive shell
(-) `change-vnc-passwd`	Change vnc password
(-) `vtpm-list`	List virtual TPM devices
(-) `block-configure`	Change block device configuration

C.3.5 Changed Options #

C.3.5.1 `create` #

xl create CONFIG_FILE OPTIONS VARS

Note: `libvirt` Equivalent:

virsh create

Table C.8: `xl` `create` Changed Options #

`create` Changed Options
Options	Task
() -f=FILE, --defconfig=FILE*	Use the given configuration file

Table C.9: `xm` `create` Removed Options #

`create` Removed Options
Options	Task
(-) `-s`, `--skipdtd`	Skip DTD checking - skips checks on XML before creating
(-) `-x`, `--xmldryrun`	XML dry run
(-) `-F=FILE, --config=FILE`	Use the given SXP formatted configuration script
(-) `--path`	Search path for configuration scripts
(-) `--help_config`	Print the available configuration variables (vars) for the configuration script
(-) `-n`, `--dryrun`	Dry run — prints the configuration in SXP but does not create the domain
(-) `-c`, `--console_autoconnect`	Connect to the console after the domain is created
(-) `-q`, `--quiet`	Quiet mode
(-) `-p`, `--paused`	Leave the domain paused after it is created

Table C.10: `xl` `create` Added Options #

`create` Added Options
Options	Task
(+) `-V`, `--vncviewer`	Attach to domain's VNC server, forking a vncviewer process
(+) `-A`, `--vncviewer-autopass`	Pass VNC password to vncviewer via stdin

C.3.5.2 `console` #

xl console OPTIONS DOMAIN

Note: `libvirt` Equivalent

virsh console

Table C.11: `xl` `console` Added Options #

`console` Added Option
Option	Task
(+) `-t` [pv\|serial]	Connect to a PV console or connect to an emulated serial console. PV consoles are the only consoles available for PV domains while HVM domains can have both

C.3.5.3 info #

xl info

Table C.12: `xm` `info` Removed Options #

`info` Removed Options
Options	Task
(-) `-n`, `--numa`	Numa info
(-) `-c`, `--config`	List Xend configuration parameters

C.3.5.4 `dump-core` #

xl dump-core DOMAIN FILENAME

Note: `libvirt` Equivalent

virsh dump

Table C.13: `xm` `dump-core` Removed Options #

`dump-core` Removed Options
Options	Task
(-) `-L`, `--live`	Dump core without pausing the domain
(-) `-C`, `--crash`	Crash domain after dumping core
(-) `-R`, `--reset`	Reset domain after dumping core

C.3.5.5 `list` #

xl list options DOMAIN

Note: `libvirt` Equivalent

virsh list --all

Table C.14: `xm` `list` Removed Options #

`list` Removed Options
Options	Task
(-) `-l`, `--long`	The output for `xm` `list` presents the data in SXP format
(-) `--state==STATE`	Output information for VMs in the specified state

Table C.15: `xl` `list` Added Options #

`list` Added Options
Options	Task
(+) `-Z`, `--context`	Also prints the security labels
(+) `-v`, `--verbose`	Also prints the domain UUIDs, the shutdown reason and security labels

C.3.5.6 `mem-*` #

Note: `libvirt` Equivalent

virsh setmem

virsh setmaxmem

Table C.16: `xl` `mem-*` Changed Options #

`mem-*` Changed Options
Options	Task
`mem-max` DOMAIN_ID MEM	Appending `t` for terabytes, `g` for gigabytes, `m` for megabytes,`k` for kilobytes and `b` for bytes. Specify the maximum amount of memory the domain can use.
`mem-set` DOMAIN_ID MEM	Set the domain's used memory using the balloon driver

C.3.5.7 `migrate` #

xl migrate OPTIONS DOMAIN HOST

Note: `libvirt` Equivalent

virsh migrate --live hvm-sles11-qcow2 xen+ CONNECTOR://USER@IP_ADDRESS/

Table C.17: `xm` `migrate` Removed Options #

`migrate` Removed Options
Options	Task
(-) `-l`, `--live`	Use live migration. This will migrate the domain between hosts without shutting down the domain
(-) `-r`, `--resource` Mbs	Set maximum Mbs allowed for migrating the domain
(-) `-c`, `--change_home_server`	Change home server for managed domains
(-) `--max_iters=`MAX_ITERS	Number of iterations before final suspend (default:30)
(-) `--max_factor=`MAX_FACTOR	Max amount of memory to transfer before final suspend (default: 3*RAM).
(-) `--min_remaining=`MIN_REMAINING	Number of dirty pages before final suspend (default:50)
(-) `--abort_if_busy`	Abort migration instead of doing final suspend
(-) `--log_progress`	Log progress of migration to `xend.log`
(-) `-s`, `--ssl`	Use ssl connection for migration

Table C.18: `xl` `migrate` Added Options #

`migrate` Added Options
Options	Task
(+) `-s` SSHCOMMAND	Use <sshcommand> instead of `ssh`
(+) `-e`	On the new host, do not wait in the background (on <host>) for the death of the domain
(+) `-C` config	Send <config> instead of config file from creation

C.3.5.8 Domain Management #

xl reboot OPTIONS DOMAIN

Note: `libvirt` Equivalent

virsh reboot

Table C.19: `xm` `reboot` Removed Options #

`reboot` Removed Options
Options	Task
(-) `-a`, `--all`	Reboot all domains
(-) `-w`, `--wait`	Wait for reboot to complete before returning. This may take a while, as all services in the domain need to be shut down cleanly

Table C.20: `xl` `reboot` Added Options #

`reboot` Added Options
Option	Task
(+) `-F`	Fallback to ACPI reset event for HVM guests with no PV drivers

xl save OPTIONS DOMAIN CHECK_POINT_FILE CONFIG_FILE

Note: `libvirt` Equivalent

virsh save

Table C.21: `xl` `save` Added Options #

`save` Added Options
Option	Task
(+) `-c`	Leave domain running after creating the snapshot

xl restore OPTIONS CONFIG_FILE CHECK_POINT_FILE

Note: `libvirt` Equivalent

virsh restore

Table C.22: `xl` `restore` Added Options #

`restore` Added Options
Options	Task
(+) `-p`	Do not unpause domain after restoring it
(+) `-e`	Do not wait in the background for the death of the domain on the new host
(+) `-d`	Enable debug messages
(+) `-V`, `--vncviewer`	Attach to domain's VNC server, forking a vncviewer process
(+) `-A`, `--vncviewer-autopass`	Pass VNC password to vncviewer via stdin

xl shutdown OPTIONS DOMAIN

Note: `libvirt` Equivalent

virsh shutdown

Table C.23: `xm` `shutdown` Removed Options #

`shutdown` Removed Options
Options	Task
(-) `-w`, `--wait`	Wait for the domain to complete shutdown before returning
(-) `-a`	Shutdown all guest domains
(-) `-R`
(-) `-H`

Table C.24: `xl` `shutdown` Added Options #

`shutdown` Added Options
Option	Task
(+) `-F`	If the guest does not support PV shutdown control then fallback to sending an ACPI power event

Table C.25: `xl` `trigger` Changed Options #

`trigger` Changed Options
Option	Task
`trigger` DOMAIN <nmi\|reset\|init\|power\|sleep\|s3resume> VCPU	Send a trigger to a domain. Only available for HVM domains

C.3.5.9 `xl` `sched-*` #

xl sched-credit OPTIONS

Note: `libvirt` equivalent

virsh schedinfo

Table C.26: `xm` `sched-credit` Removed Options #

`sched-credit` Removed Options
Options	Task
`-d` DOMAIN, `--domain=`DOMAIN	Domain
`-w` WEIGHT, `--weight=`WEIGHT	A domain with a weight of 512 will get twice as much CPU as a domain with a weight of 256 on a contended host. Legal weights range from 1 to 65535 and the default is 256
`-c` CAP, `--cap=`CAP	The CAP optionally fixes the maximum amount of CPU a domain can consume

Table C.27: `xl` `sched-credit` Added Options #

`sched-credit` Added Options
Options	Task
(+) `-p` CPUPOOL, `--cpupool=`CPUPOOL	Restrict output to domains in the specified cpupool
(+) `-s`, `--schedparam`	Specify to list or set pool-wide scheduler parameters
(+) `-t` TSLICE, `--tslice_ms=`TSLICE	Timeslice tells the scheduler how long to allow VMs to run before pre-empting
(+) `-r` RLIMIT, `--ratelimit_us=`RLIMIT	Ratelimit attempts to limit the number of schedules per second

xl sched-credit2 OPTIONS

Note: `libvirt` status

virsh only supports credit scheduler, not credit2 scheduler

Table C.28: `xm` `sched-credit2` Removed Options #

`sched-credit2` Removed Options
Options	Task
`-d` DOMAIN, `--domain=`DOMAIN	Domain
`-w` WEIGHT, `--weight=`WEIGHT	Legal weights range from 1 to 65535 and the default is 256

Table C.29: `xl` `sched-credit2` Added Options #

`sched-credit2` Added Options
Option	Task
(+) `-p` CPUPOOL, `--cpupool=`CPUPOOL	Restrict output to domains in the specified cpupool

xl sched-sedf OPTIONS

Table C.30: `xm` `sched-sedf` Removed Options #

`sched-sedf` Removed Options
Options	Task
`-p` PERIOD, `--period=`PERIOD	The normal EDF scheduling usage in milliseconds
`-s` SLICE, `--slice=`SLICE	The normal EDF scheduling usage in milliseconds
`-l` LATENCY, `--latency=`LATENCY	Scaled period if domain is doing heavy I/O
`-e` EXTRA, `--extra=`EXTRA	Flag for allowing domain to run in extra time (0 or 1)
`-w` WEIGHT, `--weight=`WEIGHT	Another way of setting CPU slice

Table C.31: `xl` `sched-sedf` Added Options #

`sched-sedf` Added Options
Options	Task
(+) `-c` CPUPOOL, `--cpupool=`CPUPOOL	Restrict output to domains in the specified cpupool
(+) `-d` DOMAIN, `--domain=`DOMAIN	Domain

C.3.5.10 `xl` `cpupool-*` #

xl cpupool-cpu-remove CPU_POOL <CPU nr>|node:<node nr>

xl cpupool-list [-c|--cpus] CPU_POOL

Table C.32: `xm` `cpupool-list` Removed Options #

`cpupool-*` Removed Options
Option	Task
(-) `-l`, `--long`	Output all CPU pool details in SXP format

xl cpupool-cpu-add CPU_POOL cpu-nr|node:node-nr

xl cpupool-create OPTIONS CONFIG_FILE [Variable=Value ...]

Table C.33: `xm` `cpupool-create` Removed Options #

`cpupool-create` Removed Options
Options	Task
(-) `-f` FILE, --defconfig=FILE	Use the given Python configuration script. The configuration script is loaded after arguments have been processed
(-) `-n`, `--dryrun`	Dry run - prints the resulting configuration in SXP but does not create the CPU pool
(-) `--help_config`	Print the available configuration variables (vars) for the configuration script
(-) `--path=`PATH	Search path for configuration scripts. The value of PATH is a colon-separated directory list
(-) `-F=`FILE, --config=FILE	CPU pool configuration to use (SXP)

C.3.5.11 PCI and Block Devices #

xl pci-detach [-f] DOMAIN_ID <BDF>

Note: `libvirt` Equivalent

virsh detach-device

Table C.34: `xl` `pci-detach` Added Options #

`pci-detach` Added Options
Option	Task
(+) `-f`	If `-f` is specified, `xl` is going to forcefully remove the device even without guest's collaboration

Table C.35: `xm` `block-list` Removed Options #

`block-list` Removed Options
Option	Task
(-) `-l`, `--long`	List virtual block devices for a domain

Table C.36: Other Options #

Option	`libvirt` equivalent
`xl` `block-attach` DOMAIN <disk-spec-component(s)>	`virsh` `attach-disk/attach-device`
`xl` `block-list` DOMAIN_ID	`virsh` `domblklist`

C.3.5.12 Network #

Table C.37: Network Options #

Option	`libvirt` equivalent
`xl` `network-list` DOMAIN(s)	`virsh` `domiflist`
`xl` `network-detach` DOMAIN_ID devid\|mac	`virsh` `detach-interface`
`xl` `network-attach` DOMAIN(s)	`virsh` `attach-interface/attach-device`

Table C.38: `xl` `network-attach` Removed Options #

Removed Options
Option	Task
(-) `-l`, `--long`

C.3.6 New Options #

Table C.39: New Options #

Options	Task
`config-update` DOMAIN CONFIG_FILE OPTIONS VARS	Update the saved configuration for a running domain. This has no immediate effect but will be applied when the guest is next restarted. This command is useful to ensure that runtime modifications made to the guest will be preserved when the guest is restarted
`migrate-receive`
`sharing` DOMAIN	List count of shared pages.List specifically for that domain. Otherwise, list for all domains
`vm-list`	Prints information about guests. This list excludes information about service or auxiliary domains such as Dom0 and stubdoms
`cpupool-rename` CPU_POOL NEWNAME	Renames a cpu-pool to newname
`cpupool-numa-split`	Splits up the machine into one cpu-pool per numa node
cd-insert DOMAIN <VirtualDevice> <type:path>	Insert a CD-ROM into a guest domain's existing virtual CD drive. The virtual drive must already exist but can be current empty
`cd-eject` DOMAIN <VirtualDevice>	Eject a CD-ROM from a guest's virtual CD drive. Only works with HVM domains
`pci-assignable-list`	List all the assignable PCI devices. These are devices in the system which are configured to be available for pass-through and are bound to a suitable PCI back-end driver in Dom0 rather than a real driver
`pci-assignable-add` <BDF>	Make the device at PCI Bus/Device/Function BDF assignable to guests.This will bind the device to the pciback driver
`pci-assignable-remove` OPTIONS <BDF>	Make the device at PCI Bus/Device/Function BDF assignable to guests. This will at least unbind the device from pciback
`loadpolicy` POLICY_FILE	Load FLASK policy from the given policy file. The initial policy is provided to the hypervisor as a multiboot module; this command allows runtime updates to the policy. Loading new security policy will reset runtime changes to device labels

C.4 External links #

For more information on Xen toolstacks refer to the following online resources:

XL in Xen: XL in Xen 4.2
xl command: XL command line.
xl.cfg: xl.cfg domain configuration file syntax.
xl disk: xl disk configuration option.
XL vs Xend: XL vs Xend feature comparison.
BDF doc: BDF documentation.
libvirt: virsh command.

C.5 Saving a Xen Guest Configuration in an `xm` Compatible Format #

Although xl is now the current toolkit for managing Xen guests (apart from the preferred libvirt), you may need to export the guest configuration to the previously used xm format. To do this, follow these steps:

First export the guest configuration to a file:
```
virsh dumpxml guest_id > guest_cfg.xml
```

Then convert the configuration to the xm format:

virsh domxml-to-native xen-xm guest_cfg.xml > guest_xm_cfg

Print this page

Virtualization Guide

C XM, XL Toolstacks and Libvirt framework

C.1 Xen Toolstacks #

C.1.1 Upgrading from xend/xm to xl/libxl #

C.1.2 XL design #

C.1.3 Checklist before Upgrade #

Note

C.2 Import Xen Domain Configuration into libvirt #

Example C.1: Converting Xen Domain Configuration to libvirt #

C.3 Differences Between the xm and xl Applications #

C.3.1 Notation Conventions #

Table C.1: Notation Conventions #

C.3.2 New Global Options #

Table C.2: New Global Options #

C.3.3 Unchanged Options #

Table C.3: Common Options #

C.3.4 Removed Options #

C.3.4.1 Domain Management #

Table C.4: Domain Management Removed Options #

C.3.4.2 USB Devices #

Table C.5: USB Devices Management Removed Options #

C.3.4.3 CPU Management #

Table C.6: CPU Management Removed options #

C.3.4.4 Other Options #

Table C.7: Other Options #

C.3.5 Changed Options #

C.3.5.1 create #

Note: libvirt Equivalent:

Table C.8: xl create Changed Options #

Table C.9: xm create Removed Options #

Table C.10: xl create Added Options #

C.3.5.2 console #

Note: libvirt Equivalent

Table C.11: xl console Added Options #

C.3.5.3 info #

Table C.12: xm info Removed Options #

C.3.5.4 dump-core #

Note: libvirt Equivalent

Table C.13: xm dump-core Removed Options #

C.3.5.5 list #

Note: libvirt Equivalent

Table C.14: xm list Removed Options #

Table C.15: xl list Added Options #

C.3.5.6 mem-* #

Note: libvirt Equivalent

Table C.16: xl mem-* Changed Options #

C.3.5.7 migrate #

Note: libvirt Equivalent

Table C.17: xm migrate Removed Options #

Table C.18: xl migrate Added Options #

C.3.5.8 Domain Management #

Note: libvirt Equivalent

Table C.19: xm reboot Removed Options #

Table C.20: xl reboot Added Options #

Note: libvirt Equivalent

Table C.21: xl save Added Options #

Note: libvirt Equivalent

Table C.22: xl restore Added Options #

Note: libvirt Equivalent

Table C.23: xm shutdown Removed Options #

Table C.24: xl shutdown Added Options #

Table C.25: xl trigger Changed Options #

C.3.5.9 xl sched-* #

Note: libvirt equivalent

Table C.26: xm sched-credit Removed Options #

Table C.27: xl sched-credit Added Options #

Note: libvirt status

Table C.28: xm sched-credit2 Removed Options #

Table C.29: xl sched-credit2 Added Options #

Table C.30: xm sched-sedf Removed Options #

Table C.31: xl sched-sedf Added Options #

C.3.5.10 xl cpupool-* #

Table C.32: xm cpupool-list Removed Options #

Table C.33: xm cpupool-create Removed Options #

C.3.5.11 PCI and Block Devices #

Note: libvirt Equivalent

Table C.34: xl pci-detach Added Options #

Table C.35: xm block-list Removed Options #

Table C.36: Other Options #

C.3.5.12 Network #

C.2 Import Xen Domain Configuration into `libvirt` #

Example C.1: Converting Xen Domain Configuration to `libvirt` #

C.3 Differences Between the `xm` and `xl` Applications #

C.3.5.1 `create` #

Note: `libvirt` Equivalent:

Table C.8: `xl` `create` Changed Options #

Table C.9: `xm` `create` Removed Options #

Table C.10: `xl` `create` Added Options #

C.3.5.2 `console` #

Note: `libvirt` Equivalent

Table C.11: `xl` `console` Added Options #

Table C.12: `xm` `info` Removed Options #

C.3.5.4 `dump-core` #

Note: `libvirt` Equivalent

Table C.13: `xm` `dump-core` Removed Options #

C.3.5.5 `list` #

Note: `libvirt` Equivalent

Table C.14: `xm` `list` Removed Options #

Table C.15: `xl` `list` Added Options #

C.3.5.6 `mem-*` #

Note: `libvirt` Equivalent

Table C.16: `xl` `mem-*` Changed Options #

C.3.5.7 `migrate` #

Note: `libvirt` Equivalent

Table C.17: `xm` `migrate` Removed Options #

Table C.18: `xl` `migrate` Added Options #

Note: `libvirt` Equivalent

Table C.19: `xm` `reboot` Removed Options #

Table C.20: `xl` `reboot` Added Options #

Note: `libvirt` Equivalent

Table C.21: `xl` `save` Added Options #

Note: `libvirt` Equivalent

Table C.22: `xl` `restore` Added Options #

Note: `libvirt` Equivalent

Table C.23: `xm` `shutdown` Removed Options #

Table C.24: `xl` `shutdown` Added Options #

Table C.25: `xl` `trigger` Changed Options #

C.3.5.9 `xl` `sched-*` #

Note: `libvirt` equivalent

Table C.26: `xm` `sched-credit` Removed Options #

Table C.27: `xl` `sched-credit` Added Options #

Note: `libvirt` status

Table C.28: `xm` `sched-credit2` Removed Options #

Table C.29: `xl` `sched-credit2` Added Options #

Table C.30: `xm` `sched-sedf` Removed Options #

Table C.31: `xl` `sched-sedf` Added Options #

C.3.5.10 `xl` `cpupool-*` #

Table C.32: `xm` `cpupool-list` Removed Options #

Table C.33: `xm` `cpupool-create` Removed Options #

Note: `libvirt` Equivalent

Table C.34: `xl` `pci-detach` Added Options #

Table C.35: `xm` `block-list` Removed Options #

Table C.38: `xl` `network-attach` Removed Options #

C.5 Saving a Xen Guest Configuration in an `xm` Compatible Format #