Why CentOS removed Xen Project?

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hack3rcon
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Why CentOS removed Xen Project?

Post by hack3rcon » 2018/12/14 14:40:05

Hello.
Why CentOS removed Xen hypervisor? I know KVM is for Red Hat but why no option for select hypervisor to install? Xen is type-1 but KVM is type-2.

Thank you.

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avij
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Re: Why CentOS removed Xen Project?

Post by avij » 2018/12/14 15:43:09

You can still use Xen by following these instructions: https://wiki.centos.org/HowTos/Xen/Xen4QuickStart (you may need to use centos-release-xen-48 instead of centos-release-xen, though).

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TrevorH
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Re: Why CentOS removed Xen Project?

Post by TrevorH » 2018/12/14 15:44:08

In all my tests kvm is faster than xen, easier to configure and run. And as to why RH removed xen after CentOS 5 you would have to ask them but I would guess it has something to do with them buying the people that wrote kvm.
The future appears to be RHEL or Debian. I think I'm going Debian.
Info for USB installs on http://wiki.centos.org/HowTos/InstallFromUSBkey
CentOS 5 and 6 are deadest, do not use them.
Use the FAQ Luke

hack3rcon
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Re: Why CentOS removed Xen Project?

Post by hack3rcon » 2018/12/14 18:35:00

TrevorH wrote:
2018/12/14 15:44:08
In all my tests kvm is faster than xen, easier to configure and run. And as to why RH removed xen after CentOS 5 you would have to ask them but I would guess it has something to do with them buying the people that wrote kvm.
OK, KVM is faster than Xen because it just type-2 and never offer Xen features. I agree, KVM is easy to configure and I know some people use it because Xen is hard to configure but Xen security is better and has better features.
I guess CentOS must offer an option about it.

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TrevorH
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Re: Why CentOS removed Xen Project?

Post by TrevorH » 2018/12/14 18:47:38

Xen security is better and has better features
That's a matter of opinion. Have you seen the list of XSA reports for xen recently?
The future appears to be RHEL or Debian. I think I'm going Debian.
Info for USB installs on http://wiki.centos.org/HowTos/InstallFromUSBkey
CentOS 5 and 6 are deadest, do not use them.
Use the FAQ Luke

hack3rcon
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Re: Why CentOS removed Xen Project?

Post by hack3rcon » 2018/12/14 19:48:31

TrevorH wrote:
2018/12/14 18:47:38
Xen security is better and has better features
That's a matter of opinion. Have you seen the list of XSA reports for xen recently?
Is you mean https://xenbits.xen.org/xsa/? I see but what does it mean? Can it mean Xen is bad? Each applications have it's own security holes.
How about KVM? I guess Red Hat never provide any info about security holes in KVM ;)
Some companies like Amazon added KVM and use both of Xen and KVM because they just need a type-2 hypervisor in Cloud. Amazon will remove both of them and use it's own hypervisor(Nitro).

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Re: Why CentOS removed Xen Project?

Post by hunter86_bg » 2018/12/15 15:59:31

I am sorry to disappoint you , but KVM is not type2 hypervisor. It is coexisting with the Linux Kernel, and I can assure you it has less security issues than XEN.

P.S.: No type2 hypervisor will be faster than type1 one.

Some reading materials:
https://virtualizationreview.com/Blogs/ ... r.aspx?m=1
https://www.linux-kvm.org/page/Main_Page

hack3rcon
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Re: Why CentOS removed Xen Project?

Post by hack3rcon » 2018/12/15 20:36:12

hunter86_bg wrote:
2018/12/15 15:59:31
I am sorry to disappoint you , but KVM is not type2 hypervisor. It is coexisting with the Linux Kernel, and I can assure you it has less security issues than XEN.

P.S.: No type2 hypervisor will be faster than type1 one.

Some reading materials:
https://virtualizationreview.com/Blogs/ ... r.aspx?m=1
https://www.linux-kvm.org/page/Main_Page
"KVM is not a clear case as it could be categorized as either one. The KVM kernel module turns Linux kernel into a type 1 bare-metal hypervisor, while the overall system could be categorized to type 2 because the host OS is still fully functional and the other VM's are standard Linux processes from its perspective."
How you sure it is secure than Xen? KVM is just a modules than make Linux a type-1.
KVM not have all Xen features.

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avij
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Re: Why CentOS removed Xen Project?

Post by avij » 2018/12/15 21:22:43

I believe the question has been phrased incorrectly. The question should be "Why did Red Hat remove Xen from RHEL, and why did the CentOS Project add it back to CentOS?"

As for the first part, I believe TrevorH already answered the question adequately. If you need more information, you would need to ask Red Hat.

And the second part, Xen is still available in CentOS because there was community support for it. Sounds good, right?

Is there still something particularly unclear about this subject?

hack3rcon
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Re: Why CentOS removed Xen Project?

Post by hack3rcon » 2018/12/16 07:04:51

avij wrote:
2018/12/15 21:22:43
I believe the question has been phrased incorrectly. The question should be "Why did Red Hat remove Xen from RHEL, and why did the CentOS Project add it back to CentOS?"

As for the first part, I believe TrevorH already answered the question adequately. If you need more information, you would need to ask Red Hat.

And the second part, Xen is still available in CentOS because there was community support for it. Sounds good, right?

Is there still something particularly unclear about this subject?
But, I can't select Xen when installing CentOS!!!

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