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Since Windows Server 2008 falls into the Xen category of an unmodified operating system (in other words an operating system that has not been altered specifically to be run as a on the Xen domainUhypervisor) the only way to virtualize Windows Server 2008 using Xen is to configure it as a Hardware Virtual Machine (HVM) guest, a concept also known as full virtualization.
This chapter of [[Xen Virtualization Essentials]] will cover in detail the steps necessary to install and run Windows Server 2008 as a virtualized Xen guest.
== Requirements for Xen Windows Server 2008 Virtualization ==
This chapter assumes that the Xen host (domain0) system is running a Xen enabled kernel and that the standard Xen tools (specifically ''xm'') are also installed. In addition, full (HVM) hardware virtualization requires that the host system hardware include either Intel-VT or AMD-V virtualization support. In order to verify this run the following commands on the host system:
For Intel CPUs:
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If neither of the above command produce output then it is likely these features are unavailable and that your hardware is unable to run Xen HVM guests. Whilst you can still run modified operating systems (such as Linux) as paravirtualized guests you will not be able to virtualize Windows Server 2008 using Xen.
== Windows Server 2008 Installation Media ==
In order to install Windows Server 2008 as a Xen HVM guest the second requirement is the operating system installation media. This is likely to be in the form of a DVD. Installation may be performed directly from the DVD, or the contents of the DVD may be copied to an ISO image file on the hosts host system from the installation may be performed.
To create an ISO image simply insert the DVD into a drive, unmount it if it automounts and then run the following command (substituting ''/dev/cdrom'' for your DVD drive device):
Obviously, the Windows Server 2008 guest system will need disk space into which it can install itself and subsequently execute. This space can take the form of either a physical disk drive connected to the host (domain0) system or a disk image file. If a physical disk drive is available for the guest make a note of the device name. This is typically a device beginning with /dev/sd or /dev/hd followed by a letter (for example /dev/sdc or /dev/hdb).
If a disk image is required one can may be created using the ''dd'' command-line tool:
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The next step involves the creation of a domainU configuration file suitable for installing Windows Server 2008 as a Xen guest.
The following file is an example configuration file with the minimal settings required for a Windows Server 2008 Xen guest:
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The above example assumes that Windows Server 2008 is going to be installed into a disk image and that the inmstallation installation media is an ISO image file. If, on the other hand, a physical disk is to be used the disk directive might appear as follows (where ''/dev/sdb'' is replaced with the appropriate physcial device name):
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The above line maps physical disk drive ''/dev/sdb'' on the host to ''/dev/hda'' on the guest and ''/dev/hdc'' on the host as the cdrom CD/DVD device on the guest (note that the CD/DVD device name on your host may be different depending on your Linux distribution).
Alternatively, if a disk image file is to be used as the disk drive the line might instead read:
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A number of the configuration settings shown in the above example are to enable a graphical console for our Windows Server 2008 guest operating system. Xen provides a choice of VNC or SDL for supporting a graphical console when the guest is running. For example the following settings select VNC:
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