diff options
author | Rob Landley <rlandley@parallels.com> | 2011-05-06 09:22:02 -0700 |
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committer | Randy Dunlap <randy.dunlap@oracle.com> | 2011-05-06 09:22:02 -0700 |
commit | ed16648eb5b86917f0b90bdcdbc857202da72f90 (patch) | |
tree | a8198415a6c2f1909f02340b05d36e1d53b82320 /Documentation/virtual/uml/UserModeLinux-HOWTO.txt | |
parent | bfd412db9e7b0d8f7b9c09d12d07aa2ac785f1d0 (diff) |
Move kvm, uml, and lguest subdirectories under a common "virtual" directory, I.E:
cd Documentation
mkdir virtual
git mv kvm uml lguest virtual
Signed-off-by: Rob Landley <rlandley@parallels.com>
Signed-off-by: Randy Dunlap <randy.dunlap@oracle.com>
Diffstat (limited to 'Documentation/virtual/uml/UserModeLinux-HOWTO.txt')
-rw-r--r-- | Documentation/virtual/uml/UserModeLinux-HOWTO.txt | 4579 |
1 files changed, 4579 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/virtual/uml/UserModeLinux-HOWTO.txt b/Documentation/virtual/uml/UserModeLinux-HOWTO.txt new file mode 100644 index 000000000000..9b7e1904db1c --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/virtual/uml/UserModeLinux-HOWTO.txt @@ -0,0 +1,4579 @@ + User Mode Linux HOWTO + User Mode Linux Core Team + Mon Nov 18 14:16:16 EST 2002 + + This document describes the use and abuse of Jeff Dike's User Mode + Linux: a port of the Linux kernel as a normal Intel Linux process. + ______________________________________________________________________ + + Table of Contents + + 1. Introduction + + 1.1 How is User Mode Linux Different? + 1.2 Why Would I Want User Mode Linux? + + 2. Compiling the kernel and modules + + 2.1 Compiling the kernel + 2.2 Compiling and installing kernel modules + 2.3 Compiling and installing uml_utilities + + 3. Running UML and logging in + + 3.1 Running UML + 3.2 Logging in + 3.3 Examples + + 4. UML on 2G/2G hosts + + 4.1 Introduction + 4.2 The problem + 4.3 The solution + + 5. Setting up serial lines and consoles + + 5.1 Specifying the device + 5.2 Specifying the channel + 5.3 Examples + + 6. Setting up the network + + 6.1 General setup + 6.2 Userspace daemons + 6.3 Specifying ethernet addresses + 6.4 UML interface setup + 6.5 Multicast + 6.6 TUN/TAP with the uml_net helper + 6.7 TUN/TAP with a preconfigured tap device + 6.8 Ethertap + 6.9 The switch daemon + 6.10 Slip + 6.11 Slirp + 6.12 pcap + 6.13 Setting up the host yourself + + 7. Sharing Filesystems between Virtual Machines + + 7.1 A warning + 7.2 Using layered block devices + 7.3 Note! + 7.4 Another warning + 7.5 uml_moo : Merging a COW file with its backing file + + 8. Creating filesystems + + 8.1 Create the filesystem file + 8.2 Assign the file to a UML device + 8.3 Creating and mounting the filesystem + + 9. Host file access + + 9.1 Using hostfs + 9.2 hostfs as the root filesystem + 9.3 Building hostfs + + 10. The Management Console + 10.1 version + 10.2 halt and reboot + 10.3 config + 10.4 remove + 10.5 sysrq + 10.6 help + 10.7 cad + 10.8 stop + 10.9 go + + 11. Kernel debugging + + 11.1 Starting the kernel under gdb + 11.2 Examining sleeping processes + 11.3 Running ddd on UML + 11.4 Debugging modules + 11.5 Attaching gdb to the kernel + 11.6 Using alternate debuggers + + 12. Kernel debugging examples + + 12.1 The case of the hung fsck + 12.2 Episode 2: The case of the hung fsck + + 13. What to do when UML doesn't work + + 13.1 Strange compilation errors when you build from source + 13.2 (obsolete) + 13.3 A variety of panics and hangs with /tmp on a reiserfs filesystem + 13.4 The compile fails with errors about conflicting types for 'open', 'dup', and 'waitpid' + 13.5 UML doesn't work when /tmp is an NFS filesystem + 13.6 UML hangs on boot when compiled with gprof support + 13.7 syslogd dies with a SIGTERM on startup + 13.8 TUN/TAP networking doesn't work on a 2.4 host + 13.9 You can network to the host but not to other machines on the net + 13.10 I have no root and I want to scream + 13.11 UML build conflict between ptrace.h and ucontext.h + 13.12 The UML BogoMips is exactly half the host's BogoMips + 13.13 When you run UML, it immediately segfaults + 13.14 xterms appear, then immediately disappear + 13.15 Any other panic, hang, or strange behavior + + 14. Diagnosing Problems + + 14.1 Case 1 : Normal kernel panics + 14.2 Case 2 : Tracing thread panics + 14.3 Case 3 : Tracing thread panics caused by other threads + 14.4 Case 4 : Hangs + + 15. Thanks + + 15.1 Code and Documentation + 15.2 Flushing out bugs + 15.3 Buglets and clean-ups + 15.4 Case Studies + 15.5 Other contributions + + + ______________________________________________________________________ + + 11.. IInnttrroodduuccttiioonn + + Welcome to User Mode Linux. It's going to be fun. + + + + 11..11.. HHooww iiss UUsseerr MMooddee LLiinnuuxx DDiiffffeerreenntt?? + + Normally, the Linux Kernel talks straight to your hardware (video + card, keyboard, hard drives, etc), and any programs which run ask the + kernel to operate the hardware, like so: + + + + +-----------+-----------+----+ + | Process 1 | Process 2 | ...| + +-----------+-----------+----+ + | Linux Kernel | + +----------------------------+ + | Hardware | + +----------------------------+ + + + + + The User Mode Linux Kernel is different; instead of talking to the + hardware, it talks to a `real' Linux kernel (called the `host kernel' + from now on), like any other program. Programs can then run inside + User-Mode Linux as if they were running under a normal kernel, like + so: + + + + +----------------+ + | Process 2 | ...| + +-----------+----------------+ + | Process 1 | User-Mode Linux| + +----------------------------+ + | Linux Kernel | + +----------------------------+ + | Hardware | + +----------------------------+ + + + + + + 11..22.. WWhhyy WWoouulldd II WWaanntt UUsseerr MMooddee LLiinnuuxx?? + + + 1. If User Mode Linux crashes, your host kernel is still fine. + + 2. You can run a usermode kernel as a non-root user. + + 3. You can debug the User Mode Linux like any normal process. + + 4. You can run gprof (profiling) and gcov (coverage testing). + + 5. You can play with your kernel without breaking things. + + 6. You can use it as a sandbox for testing new apps. + + 7. You can try new development kernels safely. + + 8. You can run different distributions simultaneously. + + 9. It's extremely fun. + + + + + + 22.. CCoommppiilliinngg tthhee kkeerrnneell aanndd mmoodduulleess + + + + + 22..11.. CCoommppiilliinngg tthhee kkeerrnneell + + + Compiling the user mode kernel is just like compiling any other + kernel. Let's go through the steps, using 2.4.0-prerelease (current + as of this writing) as an example: + + + 1. Download the latest UML patch from + + the download page <http://user-mode-linux.sourceforge.net/ + + In this example, the file is uml-patch-2.4.0-prerelease.bz2. + + + 2. Download the matching kernel from your favourite kernel mirror, + such as: + + ftp://ftp.ca.kernel.org/pub/kernel/v2.4/linux-2.4.0-prerelease.tar.bz2 + <ftp://ftp.ca.kernel.org/pub/kernel/v2.4/linux-2.4.0-prerelease.tar.bz2> + . + + + 3. Make a directory and unpack the kernel into it. + + + + host% + mkdir ~/uml + + + + + + + host% + cd ~/uml + + + + + + + host% + tar -xzvf linux-2.4.0-prerelease.tar.bz2 + + + + + + + 4. Apply the patch using + + + + host% + cd ~/uml/linux + + + + host% + bzcat uml-patch-2.4.0-prerelease.bz2 | patch -p1 + + + + + + + 5. Run your favorite config; `make xconfig ARCH=um' is the most + convenient. `make config ARCH=um' and 'make menuconfig ARCH=um' + will work as well. The defaults will give you a useful kernel. If + you want to change something, go ahead, it probably won't hurt + anything. + + + Note: If the host is configured with a 2G/2G address space split + rather than the usual 3G/1G split, then the packaged UML binaries + will not run. They will immediately segfault. See ``UML on 2G/2G + hosts'' for the scoop on running UML on your system. + + + + 6. Finish with `make linux ARCH=um': the result is a file called + `linux' in the top directory of your source tree. + + Make sure that you don't build this kernel in /usr/src/linux. On some + distributions, /usr/include/asm is a link into this pool. The user- + mode build changes the other end of that link, and things that include + <asm/anything.h> stop compiling. + + The sources are also available from cvs at the project's cvs page, + which has directions on getting the sources. You can also browse the + CVS pool from there. + + If you get the CVS sources, you will have to check them out into an + empty directory. You will then have to copy each file into the + corresponding directory in the appropriate kernel pool. + + If you don't have the latest kernel pool, you can get the + corresponding user-mode sources with + + + host% cvs co -r v_2_3_x linux + + + + + where 'x' is the version in your pool. Note that you will not get the + bug fixes and enhancements that have gone into subsequent releases. + + + 22..22.. CCoommppiilliinngg aanndd iinnssttaalllliinngg kkeerrnneell mmoodduulleess + + UML modules are built in the same way as the native kernel (with the + exception of the 'ARCH=um' that you always need for UML): + + + host% make modules ARCH=um + + + + + Any modules that you want to load into this kernel need to be built in + the user-mode pool. Modules from the native kernel won't work. + + You can install them by using ftp or something to copy them into the + virtual machine and dropping them into /lib/modules/`uname -r`. + + You can also get the kernel build process to install them as follows: + + 1. with the kernel not booted, mount the root filesystem in the top + level of the kernel pool: + + + host% mount root_fs mnt -o loop + + + + + + + 2. run + + + host% + make modules_install INSTALL_MOD_PATH=`pwd`/mnt ARCH=um + + + + + + + 3. unmount the filesystem + + + host% umount mnt + + + + + + + 4. boot the kernel on it + + + When the system is booted, you can use insmod as usual to get the + modules into the kernel. A number of things have been loaded into UML + as modules, especially filesystems and network protocols and filters, + so most symbols which need to be exported probably already are. + However, if you do find symbols that need exporting, let us + <http://user-mode-linux.sourceforge.net/> know, and + they'll be "taken care of". + + + + 22..33.. CCoommppiilliinngg aanndd iinnssttaalllliinngg uummll__uuttiilliittiieess + + Many features of the UML kernel require a user-space helper program, + so a uml_utilities package is distributed separately from the kernel + patch which provides these helpers. Included within this is: + + +o port-helper - Used by consoles which connect to xterms or ports + + +o tunctl - Configuration tool to create and delete tap devices + + +o uml_net - Setuid binary for automatic tap device configuration + + +o uml_switch - User-space virtual switch required for daemon + transport + + The uml_utilities tree is compiled with: + + + host# + make && make install + + + + + Note that UML kernel patches may require a specific version of the + uml_utilities distribution. If you don't keep up with the mailing + lists, ensure that you have the latest release of uml_utilities if you + are experiencing problems with your UML kernel, particularly when + dealing with consoles or command-line switches to the helper programs + + + + + + + + + 33.. RRuunnnniinngg UUMMLL aanndd llooggggiinngg iinn + + + + 33..11.. RRuunnnniinngg UUMMLL + + It runs on 2.2.15 or later, and all 2.4 kernels. + + + Booting UML is straightforward. Simply run 'linux': it will try to + mount the file `root_fs' in the current directory. You do not need to + run it as root. If your root filesystem is not named `root_fs', then + you need to put a `ubd0=root_fs_whatever' switch on the linux command + line. + + + You will need a filesystem to boot UML from. There are a number + available for download from here <http://user-mode- + linux.sourceforge.net/> . There are also several tools + <http://user-mode-linux.sourceforge.net/> which can be + used to generate UML-compatible filesystem images from media. + The kernel will boot up and present you with a login prompt. + + + Note: If the host is configured with a 2G/2G address space split + rather than the usual 3G/1G split, then the packaged UML binaries will + not run. They will immediately segfault. See ``UML on 2G/2G hosts'' + for the scoop on running UML on your system. + + + + 33..22.. LLooggggiinngg iinn + + + + The prepackaged filesystems have a root account with password 'root' + and a user account with password 'user'. The login banner will + generally tell you how to log in. So, you log in and you will find + yourself inside a little virtual machine. Our filesystems have a + variety of commands and utilities installed (and it is fairly easy to + add more), so you will have a lot of tools with which to poke around + the system. + + There are a couple of other ways to log in: + + +o On a virtual console + + + + Each virtual console that is configured (i.e. the device exists in + /dev and /etc/inittab runs a getty on it) will come up in its own + xterm. If you get tired of the xterms, read ``Setting up serial + lines and consoles'' to see how to attach the consoles to + something else, like host ptys. + + + + +o Over the serial line + + + In the boot output, find a line that looks like: + + + + serial line 0 assigned pty /dev/ptyp1 + + + + + Attach your favorite terminal program to the corresponding tty. I.e. + for minicom, the command would be + + + host% minicom -o -p /dev/ttyp1 + + + + + + + +o Over the net + + + If the network is running, then you can telnet to the virtual + machine and log in to it. See ``Setting up the network'' to learn + about setting up a virtual network. + + When you're done using it, run halt, and the kernel will bring itself + down and the process will exit. + + + 33..33.. EExxaammpplleess + + Here are some examples of UML in action: + + +o A login session <http://user-mode-linux.sourceforge.net/login.html> + + +o A virtual network <http://user-mode-linux.sourceforge.net/net.html> + + + + + + + + 44.. UUMMLL oonn 22GG//22GG hhoossttss + + + + + 44..11.. IInnttrroodduuccttiioonn + + + Most Linux machines are configured so that the kernel occupies the + upper 1G (0xc0000000 - 0xffffffff) of the 4G address space and + processes use the lower 3G (0x00000000 - 0xbfffffff). However, some + machine are configured with a 2G/2G split, with the kernel occupying + the upper 2G (0x80000000 - 0xffffffff) and processes using the lower + 2G (0x00000000 - 0x7fffffff). + + + + + 44..22.. TThhee pprroobblleemm + + + The prebuilt UML binaries on this site will not run on 2G/2G hosts + because UML occupies the upper .5G of the 3G process address space + (0xa0000000 - 0xbfffffff). Obviously, on 2G/2G hosts, this is right + in the middle of the kernel address space, so UML won't even load - it + will immediately segfault. + + + + + 44..33.. TThhee ssoolluuttiioonn + + + The fix for this is to rebuild UML from source after enabling + CONFIG_HOST_2G_2G (under 'General Setup'). This will cause UML to + load itself in the top .5G of that smaller process address space, + where it will run fine. See ``Compiling the kernel and modules'' if + you need help building UML from source. + + + + + + + + + + + 55.. SSeettttiinngg uupp sseerriiaall lliinneess aanndd ccoonnssoolleess + + + It is possible to attach UML serial lines and consoles to many types + of host I/O channels by specifying them on the command line. + + + You can attach them to host ptys, ttys, file descriptors, and ports. + This allows you to do things like + + +o have a UML console appear on an unused host console, + + +o hook two virtual machines together by having one attach to a pty + and having the other attach to the corresponding tty + + +o make a virtual machine accessible from the net by attaching a + console to a port on the host. + + + The general format of the command line option is device=channel. + + + + 55..11.. SSppeecciiffyyiinngg tthhee ddeevviiccee + + Devices are specified with "con" or "ssl" (console or serial line, + respectively), optionally with a device number if you are talking + about a specific device. + + + Using just "con" or "ssl" describes all of the consoles or serial + lines. If you want to talk about console #3 or serial line #10, they + would be "con3" and "ssl10", respectively. + + + A specific device name will override a less general "con=" or "ssl=". + So, for example, you can assign a pty to each of the serial lines + except for the first two like this: + + + ssl=pty ssl0=tty:/dev/tty0 ssl1=tty:/dev/tty1 + + + + + The specificity of the device name is all that matters; order on the + command line is irrelevant. + + + + 55..22.. SSppeecciiffyyiinngg tthhee cchhaannnneell + + There are a number of different types of channels to attach a UML + device to, each with a different way of specifying exactly what to + attach to. + + +o pseudo-terminals - device=pty pts terminals - device=pts + + + This will cause UML to allocate a free host pseudo-terminal for the + device. The terminal that it got will be announced in the boot + log. You access it by attaching a terminal program to the + corresponding tty: + + +o screen /dev/pts/n + + +o screen /dev/ttyxx + + +o minicom -o -p /dev/ttyxx - minicom seems not able to handle pts + devices + + +o kermit - start it up, 'open' the device, then 'connect' + + + + + + +o terminals - device=tty:tty device file + + + This will make UML attach the device to the specified tty (i.e + + + con1=tty:/dev/tty3 + + + + + will attach UML's console 1 to the host's /dev/tty3). If the tty that + you specify is the slave end of a tty/pty pair, something else must + have already opened the corresponding pty in order for this to work. + + + + + + +o xterms - device=xterm + + + UML will run an xterm and the device will be attached to it. + + + + + + +o Port - device=port:port number + + + This will attach the UML devices to the specified host port. + Attaching console 1 to the host's port 9000 would be done like + this: + + + con1=port:9000 + + + + + Attaching all the serial lines to that port would be done similarly: + + + ssl=port:9000 + + + + + You access these devices by telnetting to that port. Each active tel- + net session gets a different device. If there are more telnets to a + port than UML devices attached to it, then the extra telnet sessions + will block until an existing telnet detaches, or until another device + becomes active (i.e. by being activated in /etc/inittab). + + This channel has the advantage that you can both attach multiple UML + devices to it and know how to access them without reading the UML boot + log. It is also unique in allowing access to a UML from remote + machines without requiring that the UML be networked. This could be + useful in allowing public access to UMLs because they would be + accessible from the net, but wouldn't need any kind of network + filtering or access control because they would have no network access. + + + If you attach the main console to a portal, then the UML boot will + appear to hang. In reality, it's waiting for a telnet to connect, at + which point the boot will proceed. + + + + + + +o already-existing file descriptors - device=file descriptor + + + If you set up a file descriptor on the UML command line, you can + attach a UML device to it. This is most commonly used to put the + main console back on stdin and stdout after assigning all the other + consoles to something else: + + + con0=fd:0,fd:1 con=pts + + + + + + + + + +o Nothing - device=null + + + This allows the device to be opened, in contrast to 'none', but + reads will block, and writes will succeed and the data will be + thrown out. + + + + + + +o None - device=none + + + This causes the device to disappear. + + + + You can also specify different input and output channels for a device + by putting a comma between them: + + + ssl3=tty:/dev/tty2,xterm + + + + + will cause serial line 3 to accept input on the host's /dev/tty3 and + display output on an xterm. That's a silly example - the most common + use of this syntax is to reattach the main console to stdin and stdout + as shown above. + + + If you decide to move the main console away from stdin/stdout, the + initial boot output will appear in the terminal that you're running + UML in. However, once the console driver has been officially + initialized, then the boot output will start appearing wherever you + specified that console 0 should be. That device will receive all + subsequent output. + + + + 55..33.. EExxaammpplleess + + There are a number of interesting things you can do with this + capability. + + + First, this is how you get rid of those bleeding console xterms by + attaching them to host ptys: + + + con=pty con0=fd:0,fd:1 + + + + + This will make a UML console take over an unused host virtual console, + so that when you switch to it, you will see the UML login prompt + rather than the host login prompt: + + + con1=tty:/dev/tty6 + + + + + You can attach two virtual machines together with what amounts to a + serial line as follows: + + Run one UML with a serial line attached to a pty - + + + ssl1=pty + + + + + Look at the boot log to see what pty it got (this example will assume + that it got /dev/ptyp1). + + Boot the other UML with a serial line attached to the corresponding + tty - + + + ssl1=tty:/dev/ttyp1 + + + + + Log in, make sure that it has no getty on that serial line, attach a + terminal program like minicom to it, and you should see the login + prompt of the other virtual machine. + + + 66.. SSeettttiinngg uupp tthhee nneettwwoorrkk + + + + This page describes how to set up the various transports and to + provide a UML instance with network access to the host, other machines + on the local net, and the rest of the net. + + + As of 2.4.5, UML networking has been completely redone to make it much + easier to set up, fix bugs, and add new features. + + + There is a new helper, uml_net, which does the host setup that + requires root privileges. + + + There are currently five transport types available for a UML virtual + machine to exchange packets with other hosts: + + +o ethertap + + +o TUN/TAP + + +o Multicast + + +o a switch daemon + + +o slip + + +o slirp + + +o pcap + + The TUN/TAP, ethertap, slip, and slirp transports allow a UML + instance to exchange packets with the host. They may be directed + to the host or the host may just act as a router to provide access + to other physical or virtual machines. + + + The pcap transport is a synthetic read-only interface, using the + libpcap binary to collect packets from interfaces on the host and + filter them. This is useful for building preconfigured traffic + monitors or sniffers. + + + The daemon and multicast transports provide a completely virtual + network to other virtual machines. This network is completely + disconnected from the physical network unless one of the virtual + machines on it is acting as a gateway. + + + With so many host transports, which one should you use? Here's when + you should use each one: + + +o ethertap - if you want access to the host networking and it is + running 2.2 + + +o TUN/TAP - if you want access to the host networking and it is + running 2.4. Also, the TUN/TAP transport is able to use a + preconfigured device, allowing it to avoid using the setuid uml_net + helper, which is a security advantage. + + +o Multicast - if you want a purely virtual network and you don't want + to set up anything but the UML + + +o a switch daemon - if you want a purely virtual network and you + don't mind running the daemon in order to get somewhat better + performance + + +o slip - there is no particular reason to run the slip backend unless + ethertap and TUN/TAP are just not available for some reason + + +o slirp - if you don't have root access on the host to setup + networking, or if you don't want to allocate an IP to your UML + + +o pcap - not much use for actual network connectivity, but great for + monitoring traffic on the host + + Ethertap is available on 2.4 and works fine. TUN/TAP is preferred + to it because it has better performance and ethertap is officially + considered obsolete in 2.4. Also, the root helper only needs to + run occasionally for TUN/TAP, rather than handling every packet, as + it does with ethertap. This is a slight security advantage since + it provides fewer opportunities for a nasty UML user to somehow + exploit the helper's root privileges. + + + 66..11.. GGeenneerraall sseettuupp + + First, you must have the virtual network enabled in your UML. If are + running a prebuilt kernel from this site, everything is already + enabled. If you build the kernel yourself, under the "Network device + support" menu, enable "Network device support", and then the three + transports. + + + The next step is to provide a network device to the virtual machine. + This is done by describing it on the kernel command line. + + The general format is + + + eth <n> = <transport> , <transport args> + + + + + For example, a virtual ethernet device may be attached to a host + ethertap device as follows: + + + eth0=ethertap,tap0,fe:fd:0:0:0:1,192.168.0.254 + + + + + This sets up eth0 inside the virtual machine to attach itself to the + host /dev/tap0, assigns it an ethernet address, and assigns the host + tap0 interface an IP address. + + + + Note that the IP address you assign to the host end of the tap device + must be different than the IP you assign to the eth device inside UML. + If you are short on IPs and don't want to consume two per UML, then + you can reuse the host's eth IP address for the host ends of the tap + devices. Internally, the UMLs must still get unique IPs for their eth + devices. You can also give the UMLs non-routable IPs (192.168.x.x or + 10.x.x.x) and have the host masquerade them. This will let outgoing + connections work, but incoming connections won't without more work, + such as port forwarding from the host. + Also note that when you configure the host side of an interface, it is + only acting as a gateway. It will respond to pings sent to it + locally, but is not useful to do that since it's a host interface. + You are not talking to the UML when you ping that interface and get a + response. + + + You can also add devices to a UML and remove them at runtime. See the + ``The Management Console'' page for details. + + + The sections below describe this in more detail. + + + Once you've decided how you're going to set up the devices, you boot + UML, log in, configure the UML side of the devices, and set up routes + to the outside world. At that point, you will be able to talk to any + other machines, physical or virtual, on the net. + + + If ifconfig inside UML fails and the network refuses to come up, run + tell you what went wrong. + + + + 66..22.. UUsseerrssppaaccee ddaaeemmoonnss + + You will likely need the setuid helper, or the switch daemon, or both. + They are both installed with the RPM and deb, so if you've installed + either, you can skip the rest of this section. + + + If not, then you need to check them out of CVS, build them, and + install them. The helper is uml_net, in CVS /tools/uml_net, and the + daemon is uml_switch, in CVS /tools/uml_router. They are both built + with a plain 'make'. Both need to be installed in a directory that's + in your path - /usr/bin is recommend. On top of that, uml_net needs + to be setuid root. + + + + 66..33.. SSppeecciiffyyiinngg eetthheerrnneett aaddddrreesssseess + + Below, you will see that the TUN/TAP, ethertap, and daemon interfaces + allow you to specify hardware addresses for the virtual ethernet + devices. This is generally not necessary. If you don't have a + specific reason to do it, you probably shouldn't. If one is not + specified on the command line, the driver will assign one based on the + device IP address. It will provide the address fe:fd:nn:nn:nn:nn + where nn.nn.nn.nn is the device IP address. This is nearly always + sufficient to guarantee a unique hardware address for the device. A + couple of exceptions are: + + +o Another set of virtual ethernet devices are on the same network and + they are assigned hardware addresses using a different scheme which + may conflict with the UML IP address-based scheme + + +o You aren't going to use the device for IP networking, so you don't + assign the device an IP address + + If you let the driver provide the hardware address, you should make + sure that the device IP address is known before the interface is + brought up. So, inside UML, this will guarantee that: + + + + UML# + ifconfig eth0 192.168.0.250 up + + + + + If you decide to assign the hardware address yourself, make sure that + the first byte of the address is even. Addresses with an odd first + byte are broadcast addresses, which you don't want assigned to a + device. + + + + 66..44.. UUMMLL iinntteerrffaaccee sseettuupp + + Once the network devices have been described on the command line, you + should boot UML and log in. + + + The first thing to do is bring the interface up: + + + UML# ifconfig ethn ip-address up + + + + + You should be able to ping the host at this point. + + + To reach the rest of the world, you should set a default route to the + host: + + + UML# route add default gw host ip + + + + + Again, with host ip of 192.168.0.4: + + + UML# route add default gw 192.168.0.4 + + + + + This page used to recommend setting a network route to your local net. + This is wrong, because it will cause UML to try to figure out hardware + addresses of the local machines by arping on the interface to the + host. Since that interface is basically a single strand of ethernet + with two nodes on it (UML and the host) and arp requests don't cross + networks, they will fail to elicit any responses. So, what you want + is for UML to just blindly throw all packets at the host and let it + figure out what to do with them, which is what leaving out the network + route and adding the default route does. + + + Note: If you can't communicate with other hosts on your physical + ethernet, it's probably because of a network route that's + automatically set up. If you run 'route -n' and see a route that + looks like this: + + + + + Destination Gateway Genmask Flags Metric Ref Use Iface + 192.168.0.0 0.0.0.0 255.255.255.0 U 0 0 0 eth0 + + + + + with a mask that's not 255.255.255.255, then replace it with a route + to your host: + + + UML# + route del -net 192.168.0.0 dev eth0 netmask 255.255.255.0 + + + + + + + UML# + route add -host 192.168.0.4 dev eth0 + + + + + This, plus the default route to the host, will allow UML to exchange + packets with any machine on your ethernet. + + + + 66..55.. MMuullttiiccaasstt + + The simplest way to set up a virtual network between multiple UMLs is + to use the mcast transport. This was written by Harald Welte and is + present in UML version 2.4.5-5um and later. Your system must have + multicast enabled in the kernel and there must be a multicast-capable + network device on the host. Normally, this is eth0, but if there is + no ethernet card on the host, then you will likely get strange error + messages when you bring the device up inside UML. + + + To use it, run two UMLs with + + + eth0=mcast |