[fedora-virt] Schroedinger's VM
Bill Davidsen
davidsen at tmr.com
Fri Apr 24 16:14:29 UTC 2009
Jerry James wrote:
> I'm still a virtualization in Fedora newbie, so forgive me if this is
> a stupid question. Today I started a kernel compile going in a
> qemu-kvm virtual machine on one desktop, switched to another desktop,
> then left for lunch. When I got back, I switched back to the original
> desktop to see how the compile had gone. It was still going. I ran
> top, which showed a short-term load of over 4 and a long-term load of
> near zero, along with 3 cc1 processes near the top of the list. As I
> sat there puzzling over what had happened, the compile finished.
> Other compiles have finished in only a few minutes. That near-zero
> load makes me suspect that the VM simply stopped doing anything while
> I was gone.
>
> I've done a couple of more tests now and have seen the same thing. I
> can start a download going, switch to another desktop, wait for
> awhile, then switch back. The download has progressed only a short
> amount past when I switched away from that desktop, and (apparently)
> abruptly resumes when I switch back to the desktop containing the VM
> window.
>
> Is this expected? Do KVM-based VMs have to be looked at to do
> anything? If so, is there an option somewhere along the lines of
> RunEvenWhenIAmNotLookingAtYou=true?
>
KVM using SDL doesn't have any issues I've ever found running unwatched.
I run a bunch of servers that way, starting in tiny windows and parked
on an unwatched desktop. Only if I need to look at something do I go there.
--
bill davidsen <davidsen at tmr.com>
CTO TMR Associates, Inc
"You are disgraced professional losers. And by the way, give us our money back."
- Representative Earl Pomeroy, Democrat of North Dakota
on the A.I.G. executives who were paid bonuses after a federal bailout.
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