[kernel-xen] Problems booting Xen Dom0 on IBM X3550 M3

[Steven Haigh]

On 03/02/15 12:11, Paulo Fessel wrote:
> Hello, gents.
> 
> Today I was trying to set up Xen according to the instructions on Xen
> made easy webpage (http://xen.crc.id.au/support/guides/install/) using
> CentOS 6.6 as basis for the installation on an IBM Xseries 3550 M3, with
> 12 GB RAM, 2 processor packages (12 HT cores). No problems installing
> CentOS either on EFI or legacy mode; OTOH I have not managed to boot Xen
> neither on EFI nor in legacy mode.
> 
> When in EFI mode, grub just can't boot Xen, more or less just like what
> is described on
> https://lists.wireless.org.au/pipermail/kernel-xen/2015-January/000430.html
> ("error 13: invalid or unsupported executable format"), except that I
> don't get the error message (probably to EFI graphic driver issues).
> Otherwise, the result is very much the same: when I press any key I'm
> taken back into the Grub boot menu. The only kernels I get to boot on an
> EFI installation are the standard CentOS ones.

Yeah - right now I don't have anything that will boot with an EFI bios
for testing. As such, I've been unable to verify if / what / how things
should proceed and be packaged.

The Xen 4.5.0 packages may work when I get to do some testing on them
using EFI to boot - but I still don't have any EFI hardware to test with
- as such it may well be at a 'builds & packages but untested' status.

Donations of EFI kit welcome :)

> After a complete reinstallation using now the legacy mode boot, I get to
> boot the Xen hypervisor; however, by the time the boot is complete (and
> I should say, after the NIC card is activated) I get the following message:

I would expect that legacy mode booting would work properly.

> /Uhhuh. NMI received for unknown reason 3d on CPU 0.
> Dazed and confused, but trying to continue
> Do you have a strange power saving mode enabled?
> 
> /And then the system reboots. I have no time to logging in and check the
> actual error messages; I can't see nothing on syslog related to the
> reboot, or even related to the boot of Dom0. This behavior is somewhat
> similar to a report I've seen on XenServer.org
> (https://bugs.xenserver.org/browse/XSO-195); however, setting
> "nmi=ignore" does not solve the issue, just prevents the message to
> appear on system console. Disabling HT also does not solve the problem.
> 
> The entries for grub seem to be in the correct places, and in legacy
> mode Dom0 is actually booted, but does not survive. Any hints?

I wonder if this is a BIOS bug? Is there an updated bios that can be
applied to that system?

-- 
Steven Haigh

Email: netwiz at crc.id.au
Web: http://www.crc.id.au
Phone: (03) 9001 6090 - 0412 935 897

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