OpenSolaris

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Release Notes

  • Bugs
  • Known Issues
  • Tips
  • xVM Bugfixes in OpenSolaris SXCE Builds
  • Known xVM Issues with each OpenSolaris SXCE Build

    Bugs

    Bugs Affecting Solaris in HVM Domains

    Bugs Affecting Machines

    • Tecra-M5 Workaround

      There is an INI routine in this machine's ACPI tables that can't tolerate being run twice. A recompile of the ACPI routines that removed the offending INI portion fixed the problem. To obtain the revised file, go to this location.

      Untar the tar file. 

      cd / 
tar xvf acpi.tar

      Then you should be able to reboot into dom0.

    • 6476572 hci1394 causes NMI (because of PCI SERR) on Tyan 2895, Ultra-40

      You cannot boot dom0 on Ultra-40 systems when this error condition occurs.

      The workaround is to add the following to the end of the unix line in the grub entry in /boot/grub/menu.lst (or in grub itself): 

       -B disable-hci1394=true

      For example: 

      title Solaris xVM 
kernel$ /boot/$ISADIR/xen.gz console=com1 com1=9600,8n1
module$ /platform/i86xpv/kernel/$ISADIR/unix /platform/i86xpv/kernel/$ISADIR/unix -B disable-hci1394=true
module$ /platform/i86pc/$ISADIR/boot_archive

    Bugs Affecting Live Upgrades

    Bugs Affecting Console Settings

    Bugs Affecting Drivers

    Known Issues

    xVM 3.1

    • 6668833 xvm 3.1 changes rtls subsystem ids, breaks existing HVM domUs

      In 3.1, the rtls device subsystem-vendor-id and subsystem-id have been changed. This causes the Solaris rtls device paths to change. If an xVM 3.0 based HVM domU is run on xVM 3.1, then any rtls device paths will change. This in turn will cause the rtls network device instances and names to change and cause any default networking configuration setup to fail.

      Workaround: Boot the failsafe and mount your root environment. Edit /etc/path_to_inst and remove all rtls paths, and rebuild the boot archive.

    xVM Live upgrades

    xVM Hypervisor Running Out of Memory

    When running some non-Solaris domUs, you could encounter an issue where xVM hypervisor runs out of memory. This will generally be reflected by error messages generated to the dom0 console, in some cases in such high quantities that a reboot of the dom0 might be required to recover.

    To avoid this, it is suggested that when running a non-Solaris domU, you manually balloon the amount of memory used by dom0 down to a smaller amount before booting the domU.

    For example, if the dom0 is using 3500Mb, which can be determined via the xm list command, you would issue the following command to reduce its memory usage to 3000Mb:

    xm mem-set Domain-0 3000

    This should not be necessary when using a build-81 based dom0, or later. For more information, see:

    Also see the section Memory Requirements in Download, Installation, and Configuration Information.

    No Support for Access to the Performance Counter

    Currently, there is no support for access to the performance counter under Xen and Solaris xVM. cputrack -h operations do not work. libcpc(3LIB) is not supported. An RFE, CR 6534225, has been filed.

    OpenGl Applications and the nvidia Driver

    Using OpenGL applications on dom0 with an older (pre-build 73) nvidia driver might crash the dom0. This typically happens when Gnome selects a random screensaver that uses OpenGL. The most recent nvidia driver can be found internally at: 

    http://solaris-x86.eng/nVIDIA

    A possible workaround is to disable the screensaver or set it to only blank the screen.

    virt-install HVM Guest Installations

    For this version of virt-install, only installs from ISOs and physical CDs are supported for HVM. Network installations require PXE emulation for the HVM guest, and that is not supported in this version. See 6626482 would like PXE booting for HVM domains.

    Tips

    Booting and VT-x or AMD-V Extensions

    In some systems with Intel or AMD processors, the hardware virtualization extensions used by xVM for HVM mode are disabled by default in the BIOS. Before booting Windows or other operating systems in HVM mode, you might need to change the BIOS settings to enable either Intel VT-x or AMD-V.

    Some system manufacturers do not provide a BIOS option to enable these extensions. If you have such a system, you will be unable to use HVM, even if you have an HVM-capable CPU. In this case, contact the system vendor to see if there is a BIOS upgrade available.

    Sending CTRL+ALT+DEL to an HVM domU

    The key sequence to send a CTRL+ALT+DEL to a guest Windows DomU while using virt-manager is: Control,Control,Control,Alt+Del.

    Press Control three times, then Alt+Del.

    DomU Installed With Solaris Defaults

    If you install a domU with the Solaris defaults, you will not be able to upgrade that domU later because the Solaris installer will not create enough space in the root partition.

    If you want the ability to upgrade the domU, increase the root partition to at least 1.5GB.

    How to Determine Whether a Machine Is HVM-Capable

    Run virt-install with no arguments. 

    # virt-install

    If you see the following display: 

    Would you like a fully virtualized guest (yes or no)?  This will allow you to run unmodified operating systems.

    You have an HVM-capable system. That question is not asked when run on a non-HVM capable system.

    xVM Bugfixes in OpenSolaris SXCE Builds

    SXCE Build 88

    SXCE Build 87

    SXCE Build 86

    SXCE Build 85

    SXCE Build 84

    SXCE Build 83

    SXCE Build 82

    SXCE Build 81

    SXCE Build 80

    SXCE Build 79a

    SXCE Build 79

    SXCE Build 78

    SXCE Build 77

    SXCE Build 76

    Known xVM Issues with each OpenSolaris SXCE Build

    SXCE Build 82

    SXCE Build 81

    SXCE Build 80

    SXCE Build 79a

    SXCE Builds 78 & 79

    SXCE Build 77

    Copyright 2007 Sun Microsystems, Inc.