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port-xen/47200: Sorry state of xen in NetBSD



        Note: There was a bad value `' for the field `Class'.
        It was set to the default value of `sw-bug'.

>Number:         47200
>Category:       port-xen
>Synopsis:       Sorry state of xen in NetBSD
>Confidential:   no
>Severity:       serious
>Priority:       high
>Responsible:    port-xen-maintainer
>State:          open
>Class:          sw-bug
>Submitter-Id:   net
>Arrival-Date:   Fri Nov 16 14:55:01 +0000 2012
>Originator:     Martin S. Weber
>Release:        NetBSD 6.0_STABLE / pkgsrc-2012Q3
>Organization:
        
>Environment:
        
        
System: NetBSD agamemnon.entropie.local 6.0_STABLE NetBSD 6.0_STABLE (GENERIC) 
#0: Mon Nov 12 20:11:14 EST 2012 
root@agamemnon.entropie.local:/space/obj/sys/arch/amd64/compile/GENERIC amd64
Architecture: x86_64
Machine: amd64
>Description:
The xen packages / port is in a very sorry state, release engineering wise.
Given the (lack of) depth and state of its documentation, you might as well 
think this is GNU software.

- the port's homepage last two progress items were 2009 and 2012. Really?
- the xen howto is so far out of date that it hurts just reading. 
  Xentools20? Fabolous.
- xen defines two competing interfaces, one supposedly ready to deprecate the
  other (xm, xl). xm has a manpage. xl doesn't. xm has manpages for its config
  file, and the per-domain config files. xl uses config files similarly. xm's
  config files have manpages; xl's don't.
- xl actually tries to use some very non-netbsd'ish paths (/usr/lib/var/xl...?)
- there is no single, simple step-by-step guide by netbsd that actually produces
  working results.
- the current NetBSD documentation doesn't explain NetBSD specifics at all.
- NetBSD shouldn't rely on any bit of information from the xen homepage, as
  the chaos over there is even worse than what NetBSD presents under port-xen

and then, it doesn't even work?

- it might actually reboot your hardware (it does this for me at times)
- it might give your dom0 1 CPU no matter how many you've asked for
- it can't properly communicate with itself (can't find console: ENOENT)
- its scripts are out of date?? (e.g. xen/scripts/vif-bridge checks its
  state argument for 2 and 6 but actually gets called with 1 and 5)

How about some of the NetBSD/port-xen wizards just writes a step-by-step,
no-extra-comments, this-is-what-works guide (i.e. shell-script style) and
lets this get under the scrutiny of reality?
        
>How-To-Repeat:
Try to install a linux domU under NetBSD-6.0_STABLE/amd64 dom0 with
xen 4.1.3 from pkgsrc-2012Q3 without a Ph.D. in xenism. Fail. Pull hair 
over documentation. Walk away or write PR.
        
>Fix:
        
        Xen wizards actually share their working setup scripts and 
configurations.

>Unformatted:
        
        


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