User Mode Linux

Table of Contents

Preface     ix
Acknowledgments     xi
About the Author     xiiiChapter 1: Introduction     1

What Is UML?     1
Comparison with Other Virtualization Technologies     2
Why Virtual Machines?     3
A Bit of History     4
What Is UML Used For?     8
The Future     14

Chapter 2: A Quick Look at UML     17

Booting UML for the First Time     20
Booting UML Successfully     24
Looking at a UML from the Inside and Outside     29
Conclusion     37

Chapter 3: Exploring UML     39

Logging In as a Normal User     39
Consoles and Serial Lines     40
Adding Swap Space     47
Partitioned Disks     49
UML Disks as Raw Data     53
Networking     54
Shutting Down     59

Chapter 4: A Second UML Instance     61

COW Files     61
Networking the UML Instances     71
A Virtual Serial Line     79

Chapter 5: Playing with a UML Instance     83

Use and Abuse of UML Block Devices     83
Networking and the Host     87

Chapter 6: UML Filesystem Management     101

Mounting Host Directories within a UML     101
Host Access to UML Filesystems     114
Making Backups     116
Extending Filesystems     117
When to Use What     118

Chapter 7: UML Networking in Depth     121

Manually Setting Up Networking     121
The UML Networking Transports     142
An Extended Example     155

Chapter 8: Managing UML Instances from the Host     167

The Management Console     167
Controlling a UML Instance with Signals     188

Chapter 9: Host Setup for a Small UML Server     191

Host Kernel Version     192
UML Execution Modes     194
Managing Long-Lived UML Instances     203
Networking     206
UML Physical Memory     206
Host Memory Consumption     208
umid Directories     209
Overall Recommendations     209

Chapter 10: Large UML Server Management     211

Security     212
Jailing UML Instances     216
Providing Console Access Securely     223
skas3 versus skas0     225
Future Enhancements     226
Final Points     232

Chapter 11: Compiling UML from Source     233

Downloading UML Source     234
Configuration     235
Compilation     249

Chapter 12: Specialized UML Configurations     251

Large Numbers of Devices     252
Clusters     265
UML as a Decision-Making Tool for Hardware     273

Chapter 13: The Future of UML     275

The externfs Filesystem     277
Virtual Processes     282
Captive UML     283
Virtualized Subsystems     295
Conclusion     298

Appendix A: UML Command-Line Options     301

Device and Hardware Specifications     301
Debugging Options     303
Management Options     304
Informational Options     305

Appendix B: UML Utilities Reference     307

humfsify     307
uml_moo     308
uml_mconsole     308
tunctl     310
uml_switch     311
Internal Utilities     312

Index     313

 

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