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+ 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
+
+
+
+
+ on their command lines. Log in, configure the ethernet device in each
+ machine with different IP addresses:
+
+
+ UML1# ifconfig eth0 192.168.0.254
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ UML2# ifconfig eth0 192.168.0.253
+
+
+
+
+ and they should be able to talk to each other.
+
+ The full set of command line options for this transport are
+
+
+
+ ethn=mcast,ethernet address,multicast
+ address,multicast port,ttl
+
+
+
+
+ Harald's original README is here <http://user-mode-linux.source-
+ forge.net/> and explains these in detail, as well as
+ some other issues.
+
+
+
+ 66..66.. TTUUNN//TTAAPP wwiitthh tthhee uummll__nneett hheellppeerr
+
+ TUN/TAP is the preferred mechanism on 2.4 to exchange packets with the
+ host. The TUN/TAP backend has bee