Serious Discussion openSUSE Tumbleweed with Xen Hypervisor

[MuzzMelbourne]

Just wondering if there are folk with any experience running openSUSE as a dedicated VM machine?

Trying to setup a Qubes box but, because of old hardware, I lack the required Intel Vtx simulation.

According to the docs, Qubes will run on Xen, but I can't get openSUSE to boot into Xen mode.

Any help appreciated...

 

[Bot]

Yes, there are people who have experience running openSUSE as a dedicated VM machine. While I don't have specific information about running openSUSE with Qubes on Xen, I can provide some general guidance that might help you troubleshoot the issue.

First, ensure that your hardware supports virtualization and that it is enabled in the BIOS settings. Without Intel VT-x or AMD-V support, you won't be able to run virtual machines with hardware-assisted virtualization.

Next, make sure you have installed the necessary Xen packages on your openSUSE system. You can use the package manager (zypper) to install the required packages. The package names might vary slightly depending on your openSUSE version, but you can search for Xen-related packages using the following command:

```
sudo zypper search xen
```

Once you have installed the Xen packages, you should be able to boot into Xen mode. During the boot process, you might need to select the Xen kernel from the boot menu. If you don't see the Xen kernel option, it's possible that the Xen packages were not installed correctly or that there is a configuration issue.

To further troubleshoot the problem, you can check the system logs for any error messages related to Xen. The logs are typically located in the /var/log directory. Look for files like xen-xend.log or xen-qemu-dm-<domain>.log and examine them for any error messages that might indicate the cause of the boot failure.

If you are still encountering issues, I recommend reaching out to the openSUSE community forums or the Qubes community forums for more specific assistance. They will have more expertise in troubleshooting openSUSE with Xen and might be able to provide more targeted guidance.

I hope this helps, and good luck with your setup!

 

[MuzzMelbourne]

Yup, done all that, except looking at the logs, good idea.

I have Westmere Xeon CPU's which can, apparently, run virtualsation even though they dont have VT-x.

I'll hit the forums... God I hate being a 'noob' on those things.

 

[simmerskool]

Just wondering if there are folk with any experience running openSUSE as a dedicated VM machine?

Trying to setup a Qubes box but, because of old hardware, I lack the required Intel Vtx simulation.

According to the docs, Qubes will run on Xen, but I can't get openSUSE to boot into Xen mode.

Any help appreciated...

sorry above my pay-grade. I'm debating getting a new motherboard & cpu for this box, or buy a new pc this year, and put Qubes on this hardware. I ran into a snafu with Virtualbox for Whonix last night. More annoying than serious. If openSUSE has an iso I can probably install it on VMware Workstation 16.2.5... Briefly what's "benefit" of openSUSE?

 

[ForgottenSeer 107474]

I have Westmere Xeon CPU's which can, apparently, run virtualsation even though they dont have VT-x.

I'll hit the forums... God I hate being a 'noob' on those things.

Sorry, dont have experience with it, but you say multiple CPU's as in a dual cpu mobo?

I enjoy my patato PC with Linux, but it is indeed annoying that I have to (re)search for things which were easy for me on Windows.

 

[MuzzMelbourne]

Haha... Briefly? Thought you knew me better than that...

Ummm, from what I've read/watched, most people rate it at least top 5 distro's. I'd never heard of it... but,

I love it. Super configurable, 2,400+ packages available including Proton, Tutanota, Monero, FreeTube ec. etc.

Very snappy UI, easy to install and configure, good docs. I replaced Mint Cinnamon with it and have zero regrets.

Plus, for me(Qubes), you can, supposedly, run it as a virtualisation machine from boot, not VM's on host OS, fully integrated.

If you're considering extra hardware for the project, check-out their system reccomendations.

Great fun...

The makers' choice for sysadmins, developers and desktop users.

Discover Tumbleweed and get the newest Linux packages with our rolling release. Fast! Integrated! Stabilized! Tested!. Discover Leap and get the most complete Linux distribution with openSUSE’s latest regular-release version!

www.opensuse.org

 

[MuzzMelbourne]

...but you say multiple CPU's as in a dual cpu mobo?

2010 Apple MacPro 5,1. 2 x Intel Xeon Westmere 6 Core CPU's. ie. 12 physical cores and 12 virtual cores for 24 threads.

Awesome computers for Linux and super cheap now-a-days.

Mac Pro "Twelve Core" 2.66 (2010/Westmere) Specs (Mid-2010, BTO/CTO, MacPro5,1, A1289, 2314-2*): EveryMac.com

Technical specifications for the Mac Pro "Twelve Core" 2.66 (2010/Westmere). Dates sold, processor type, memory info, hard drive details, price and more.

everymac.com

 

[simmerskool]

2010 Apple MacPro 5,1. 2 x Intel Xeon Westmere 6 Core CPU's. ie. 12 physical cores and 12 virtual cores for 24 threads.

Awesome computers for Linux and super cheap now-a-days.

Mac Pro "Twelve Core" 2.66 (2010/Westmere) Specs (Mid-2010, BTO/CTO, MacPro5,1, A1289, 2314-2*): EveryMac.com

Technical specifications for the Mac Pro "Twelve Core" 2.66 (2010/Westmere). Dates sold, processor type, memory info, hard drive details, price and more.

everymac.com

Great link, I had never considered buying used MacPro, but very interesting, especially at those prices...

 

[MuzzMelbourne]

Yeah, people don't realise the power of them. Industrial Light and Magic used a bunch to animate Toy Story, allegedly.

A$6000.00 new with 6GB RAM in 2010. I got mine for A$500.00(US$250.00), with 2 Radeon GPU cards, 2 x 1TB HDD, 1 x 256GB NVME and 48GB RAM.

Haven't had a chance to really push it yet. Qubes would be ideal I reckon.

PS. They're known in Apple circles as "the cheesegrater Macs"...

 

[simmerskool]

Yeah, people don't realise the power of them. Industrial Light and Magic used a bunch to animate Toy Story, allegedly.

A$6000.00 new with 6GB RAM in 2010. I got mine for A$500.00(US$250.00), with 2 Radeon GPU cards, 2 x 1TB HDD, 1 x 256GB NVME and 48GB RAM.

Haven't had a chance to really push it yet. Qubes would be ideal I reckon.

PS. They're known in Apple circles as "the cheesegrater Macs"...

any kind of used warranty, like 90 days or 1 year. I've had power supplies die on Macs, but that was some time ago...

 

[MuzzMelbourne]

I bought mine privately, so no.

But, they are so over engineered in the first place, unless you are flogging the poor thing 24/7 you should be good to go...

and besides, there is quite a healthy secondhand market for old Mac parts and even Apple still keep a lot of spares.

 

[simmerskool]

I bought mine privately, so no.

But, they are so over engineered in the first place, unless you are flogging the poor thing 24/7 you should be good to go...

and besides, there is quite a healthy secondhand market for old Mac parts and even Apple still keep a lot of spares.

of course, I my current pc, this one, runs 24/7 nearly 365, usually forced to reboot once every month with win_updates, pretty solid

 

[Victor M]

I would be interested in replacing my 2012 slow Dell Optiplex for a more beefier model. Never thought of deals available from the Mac world.