PARALLELS SERVER BARE METAL 5.0 BETA README (c) 1999-2011 Parallels Holdings, Ltd. and its affiliates. All rights reserved. This document provides the first-priority information on the Parallels(r) Server Bare Metal 5.0 beta release and supplements the included documentation. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. ABOUT PARALLELS SERVER BARE METAL 5.0 BETA 2. WHAT'S NEW IN PARALLELS SERVER BARE METAL 5.0 BETA 3. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS 4. SUPPORTED GUEST OPERATING SYSTEMS 5. INSTALLING PARALLELS SERVER BARE METAL 5.0 BETA 6. STARTING TO WORK WITH PARALLELS SERVER BARE METAL 5.0 BETA 7. KNOWN ISSUES AND RESTRICTIONS 8. CONTACT INFORMATION ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. ABOUT PARALLELS SERVER BARE METAL 5.0 BETA Parallels Server Bare Metal 5.0 is a virtualization solution that allows you to simultaneously run Parallels virtual machines and containers on the same physical server, thereby making more efficient use of your server's hardware resources. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. WHAT'S NEW IN PARALLELS SERVER BARE METAL 5.0 The beta version of Parallels Server Bare Metal 5.0 includes the following new features and improvements: * Support for servers with 64 CPU cores and 128 GB of RAM. The beta version of Parallels Server Bare Metal 5.0 can be installed on servers with up to 64 CPU cores and 128 GB of RAM. * Disk I/O limits. You can configure the bandwidth that a container or virtual machine is allowed to use for disk input and output (I/O) operations with the pctl set --iolimit command. Limiting disk I/O bandwidth can help prevent situations where high disk I/O activities in one container or virtual machine will slow down the performance of other containers and virtual machines on the same server. * Disk I/O accounting. You can view disk I/O statistics for containers and virtual machines by using the pstat utility or by examining the /proc/bc//iostat file. These statistics will enable you to easily identify the containers and virtual machines that generate the highest disk I/O load on the server. * Support for iotop utility in containers. You can now run the iotop utility in containers to determine the processes that generate the highest disk I/O load. * Parallels Virtual Automation 4.6.2 support. Parallels Virtual Automation (PVA) 4.6.2 can now manage servers running Parallels Server Bare Metal 5.0. If you want PVA support, you can install the PVA components (PVA Agent and PVA Master Node) at the same time that you're installing Parallels Server Bare Metal. Note: To set up the PVA Master Node component, an active Internet connection is required. * Zero-downtime migration for virtual machines. The pmigrate utility now supports migrating virtual machines with zero downtime, eliminating any service outages or interruptions for end users. * Online migration improvements for containers. You can now migrate containers that have one or more Network File System version 3 (NFSv3) directories mounted; containers that have one or more AutoFS mount points ( including NFSv3 directories managed by AutoFS); and containers with processes that have open device files, named pipes, and Unix sockets hidden by another file system mounted over the directory where these objects reside. * IPv6 support. This beta version provides full support for using IPv6 addresses with virtual machines and containers, including support for traffic shaping and accounting. * Customizable DHCP pools for host-only networks. You can now configure the range of IP addresses that the Parallels DHCP server allocates to virtual machines in host-only networks. You can either define a custom IP address range in a kickstart file when performing an unattended installation of Parallels Server Bare Metal 5.0, or change the default IP address range after the installation using the Parallels Management Console or the prlsrvctl utility. * E1000 virtual adapter support. Now E1000 virtual network adapters are used to handle network traffic in virtual machines. The E1000 virtual network adapters support jumbo frames-extended Ethernet frames that can carry up to 9,000 bytes of payload. The E1000 adapters are created and enabled by default in virtual machines that run the following operating systems: o Windows Vista or later o Linux with kernel 2.6 or later o all other supported non-Linux and Windows operating systems * USB device assignments. You can assign a USB device to a virtual machine, causing the device to be automatically connected to the virtual machine when you plug the device into the Parallels server or when you start the virtual machine. * Viewing statistics for virtual machines. You can now monitor resource statistics (such as CPU usage, disk usage, and network traffic) for virtual machines using the pnetstat and pstat utilities. * CPU limit in megahertz. Along with setting a CPU limit for virtual machines and containers in relative units, you can now set such a limit in MHz. In such a case, the CPU limit will remain the same regardless of the total CPU power of the server on which the virtual machine or container resides. * SATA support. Parallels Server Bare Metal 5.0 now supports the use of SATA devices (virtual disks and CD/DVD-ROM drives) in virtual machines. SATA devices can be added to and removed from virtual machines whether the machines are running or stopped. * CPU and memory hotplug support. You can now turn on CPU and memory hotplug functionality in virtual machines, enabling you to dynamically configure both the number of CPUs and the amount of memory in your virtual machines. * Compatibility with Parallels products. You can use virtual machines created in Parallels Server Bare Metal 5.0 with the following Parallels products (as long as they have the latest updates installed): o Parallels Desktop 6 for Mac o Parallels Server for Mac 4.0 o Parallels Server for Mac 4.0 Bare Metal Edition o Parallels Desktop 4 for Windows and Linux o Parallels Workstation 4.0 Extreme * Support for converting third-party virtual machines. You can now convert Microsoft Hyper-V, Microsoft Virtual PC, Virtual Box, VMware, and Xen virtual machines to Parallels virtual machines. Depending on the type of virtual machine, the conversion can be performed by means of the pctl, prl_convert, or pmigrate utility. * Traffic shaping and accounting. Network traffic can be now shaped and accounted for in both containers and virtual machines. * CPU affinity. On physical servers with multiple processors, you can now bind virtual machines and containers to specific CPUs, so that only those CPUs are used to handle the processes running in these virtual machines and containers. This approach can increase your system performance by up to 20%. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS The hardware and software requirements for Parallels Server Bare Metal 5.0 are as follows: * Platform: X86 or x86-64 platform with Intel VT-x or AMD-V hardware virtualization support. * CPU: 1.5 GHz or higher processor (a 64-bit processor is required for launching 64-bit guest operating systems). * Memory: 2 GB or more RAM (4 GB recommended). * Hard disk: 10 GB or more for the root partition that will keep Parallels Server Bare Metal files; around 2 GB for the swap partition; 30 GB or more for the /vz partition that will keep virtual machine and container files. * Network: Ethernet network adapter; valid IP address. * Other hardware: DVD-ROM drive. (The Parallels Server 5 Bare Metal beta release is distributed as a DVD image, so your server must have a DVD-ROM drive to start the installation.) * Operating system: None. Parallels Server Bare Metal 5.0 is installed directly on the server hardware and does not need any operating system for its functioning. Both the actual number of virtual machines and containers you can run on a physical server and their performance depend on the resources they require. In general, the more resources your physical server has, the more virtual machines and containers you can run and the higher their performance. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. SUPPORTED GUEST OPERATING SYSTEMS Listed below are the operating systems that you can run in your Parallels virtual machines and containers: Operating System Virtual Machine Container Windows Windows 7 with Service Pack 1 (x86, x64) Yes No Windows Server 2008 R2 with Service Pack 1 (x64) Yes No Windows Server 2003 R2 with Service Pack 2 (x86, x64) Yes No Windows Vista with Service Pack 2 (x86, x64) Yes No Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2 (x64) and with Service Pack 3 (x86) Yes No Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4 (x86) Yes No Linux Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 (x86, x64) Yes Yes Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.6 (x86, x64) Yes Yes Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.8 (x86, x64) Yes Yes Fedora 14 (x86, x64) Yes Yes Fedora 13 (x86, x64) No Yes CentOS 5.6 (x86, x64) Yes Yes CentOS 4.8 (x86, x64) Yes Yes SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 with Service Pack 1 (x86, x64) Yes Yes SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 (x86, x64) No Yes SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 (x86, x64) No Yes openSUSE 11.3 (x86, x64) Yes No openSUSE 11.2 (x86, x64) No Yes openSUSE 11.1 (x86, x64) No Yes Debian GNU/Linux 6.0 (x86, x64) Yes Yes Debian GNU/Linux 5.0 (x86, x64) Yes Yes Ubuntu Linux 10.10 (x86, x64) Yes Yes Ubuntu Linux 10.04 (x86, x64) Yes Yes Ubuntu Linux 9.10 (x86, x64) No Yes Ubuntu Linux 8.04 (x86, x64) No Yes BSD FreeBSD 8.1 (x86, x64) Yes No FreeBSD 7.3 (x86, x64) Yes No Oracle Oracle Enterprise Linux 5.5 (x86, x64) Yes No Oracle Enterprise Linux 5.6 (x86, x64) No Yes ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. INSTALLING PARALLELS SERVER 5 BARE METAL 5.0 To install the beta version of Parallels Server Bare Metal 5.0, follow these steps: 1 Switch on the physical server on which you wish to install Parallels Server Bare Metal. 2 Configure the server to boot from the CD/DVD-ROM drive. 3 Insert the DVD with the Parallels Server Bare Metal 5.0 distribution set into the server's CD/DVD-ROM drive and restart the server. 4 When the server boots, press Enter to continue with the installation. 5 Click Next to accept the Parallels end-user license agreement. In the displayed window, click Agree to confirm your decision. 6 Enter the Parallels Server Bare Metal 5.0 license number and click Next. 7 Select the Remove all partitions on selected drives and create default layout radio button, click Next, and in the displayed window, click Yes to confirm your decision. Note: Selecting this option and clicking Next will remove all data on the selected drives. 8 In the Network Configuration window, click Next to accept the default network settings. 9 Enter your time settings and click Next. 10 Enter the password for the root account and click Install. 11 Click Reboot to restart the server. Complete installation instructions on how to set up Parallels Server Bare Metal 5.0 on a dedicated server are provided in the Getting Started With Parallels Server 5 Bare Metal guide, available on the Parallels Web site. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6. STARTING TO WORK WITH THE PARALLELS SERVER BARE METAL 5.0 BETA RELEASE After you successfully install the product and restart the physical server, you will be provided with instructions on how to start working with the Parallels Server Bare Metal 5.0 beta release. In general, you have two ways of working with Parallels Server Bare Metal 5.0: * Using the Parallels command-line utilities * Using the Parallels Management Console 6.1. PARALLELS COMMAND-LINE UTILITIES Parallels Server Bare Metal 5.0 provides a set of command-line utilities for managing Parallels virtual machines and containers both locally and remotely. 6.1.1. Connecting to Parallels Server Bare Metal 5.0 Locally To manage virtual machines and containers locally- that is, from the same server on which Parallels Server Bare Metal 5.0 is installed-type root as the user name and enter the password you provided when installing the product. After you have successfully logged onto the server, you can start creating and managing Parallels virtual machines and containers, using the following command-line utilities: * pctl: use this utility to perform day-to-day operations on containers and virtual machines. * pmigrate: use this utility to perform different types of migrations on servers running Parallels Server Bare Metal 5.0. * pstat: use this utility to collect statistics on your virtual machines and containers. For more information on these utilities, see their man pages. 6.1.2. Connecting to Parallels Server Bare Metal 5.0 Remotely To connect to Parallels Server Bare Metal 5.0 remotely, use the IP address indicated on your server's screen. For example, you can use a Secure Shell (SSH) client to connect to the physical server. When logging onto the server, use the root user name and enter the password you provided when installing the product. 6.2. PARALLELS MANAGEMENT CONSOLE If you prefer working with GUI tools, you can set up Parallels Management Console to remotely connect to Parallels Server Bare Metal 5.0. However, this tool is intended for managing Parallels virtual machines only. If you need to create a container or perform any operation on it, you should use the corresponding Parallels command-line utilities. To set up the Parallels Management Console: 1 Make sure the computer on which you are going to install the Parallels Management Console meets the necessary system requirements. The requirements are listed on the Web page for the Parallels Server Bare Metal 5.0 beta release. 2 Download the Parallels Management Console installation file: a. Open your favorite browser and type the IP address of the server running Parallels Server Bare Metal 5.0. b. In the Welcome window, click the link corresponding to the system architecture on which you want to install the Parallels Management Console and download the installation file. 1 Install the Parallels Management Console. 2 Launch the Parallels Management Console and use it to connect remotely to the server running Parallels Server Bare Metal 5.0. For more information on these operations, refer to the Getting Started With Parallels Server Bare Metal 5.0 guide. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7. KNOWN ISSUES AND RESTRICTIONS The known issues for the beta version of Parallels Server Bare Metal 5.0 are as follows: * The version of the Parallels Management Console shipped with the Parallels Server Bare Metal 5.0 beta release can be installed only on Linux and Windows computers. Installation on Mac computers is not supported. * You may simultaneously run no more than 255 virtual machines and containers on a server running Parallels Server Bare Metal 5.0. * The ps utility may not work in containers running a 32-bit Linux operating system. To work around the problem, set the process identifiers limit in /proc/sys/kernel/pid_max in the affected container to 32768. * You cannot increase the disk size of running virtual machines and containers if they reside on iSCSI storage devices. To work around the problem, stop or suspend the affected virtual machine or container, and then resize the disk. * A SATA device connected to a running virtual machine with Windows Server 2008 may not show up in the list of devices available to this virtual machine. To work around the issue, try to connect/disconnect the device several times in a row. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8. CONTACT INFORMATION Product Web site: http://www.parallels.com Copyright(c) 1999-2011 by Parallels Holdings, Ltd. All rights reserved. Parallels is a registered trademarks of Parallels Software International, Inc. The Parallels logo is a trademark of Parallels Holdings, Ltd. This product is based on a technology that is the subject matter of a number of patent pending applications. Distribution of this work or derivative of this work in any form is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained from the copyright holder. Microsoft, Windows, Windows Server, and Windows Vista are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. Apple, Mac, and Mac OS are trademarks of Apple Inc. All other marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.