Introduction¶

This HOWTO cover how to configure XEN in order to be able to install OpenBSD as a virtual machine (DomU).

Preperation and installation¶

Download OpenBSD installation ISO to the Xen Server¶

In this HOWO we use OpenBSD 5.7. We have created a directory called /opt/images where we download the installation image for OpenBSD.

cd /opt/images && wget "http://ftp.eu.openbsd.org/pub/OpenBSD/5.7/amd64/install57.iso"

Create a Logical Volume in LVM for the disk¶

lvcreate -n openbsd-disk -L 4G <path to volume group>

Adjust the disk size to your needs.

Create your Xen configuration file¶

/etc/xen/openbsd.cfg

builder     = 'hvm'
memory      = '256'

vcpus       = 1

# Adjust Logical Volume path to your location
disk        = [ 
                'phy:/dev/vg_md0/openbsd-disk,ioemu:hda,w',
                'file:/opt/images/install57.iso,ioemu:hdc:cdrom,r',
              ]

# Hostname
name        = 'openbsd'

# Networking, Adapt bridge to your needs
vif         = ['mac=00:16:3E:B6:AA:BB, bridge=br_200, model=e1000']

# Boot on disk first then on cdrom
boot        = 'cd'
vnc         = 1
vncviewer   = 0
# Bind to port 5910, should be unique for each virtual server
vncdisplay  = 10
sdl         = 0

Start the installation¶

xl create /etc/xen/openbsd.cfg

NOTE: On Wheezy and earlier use xm instead of xl

Start VNC and connect to port 5910, this will give you access to the graphical console of the virtual machine.

NOTE: You might need to port forward the VNC port if you are using SSH to access your Xen Server.

ssh <IP to your Xen Server> -L 5910:127.0.0.1:5910

In this case use vncviewer localhost:10 to connect to the console.

Post installation recommendations for OpenBSD (DomU)¶

The following steps are optional.

Recommended packages to install¶

pkg_add -v http://ftp.sunet.se/pub/OpenBSD/5.7/packages/amd64/git-2.3.0.tgz
pkg_add -v http://ftp.sunet.se/pub/OpenBSD/5.7/packages/amd64/bash-4.3.33.tgz
pkg_add -v http://ftp.sunet.se/pub/OpenBSD/5.7/packages/amd64/wget-1.16.1.tgz
pkg_add -v http://ftp.sunet.se/pub/OpenBSD/5.7/packages/amd64/lsof-4.87p4.tgz
pkg_add -v http://ftp.sunet.se/pub/OpenBSD/5.7/packages/amd64/ngrep-1.45p4.tgz

Setup git version control of /etc¶

cd /etc
git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email you@example.com
git init
git add .
git commit -a -m "Post install state"

Upgrade to OpenBSD 5.7 snapshot¶

If you like to upgrade to the latest snapshot, you can follow this guide.