[libvirt-users] Shared Folders

Tue Jun 7 13:20:55 UTC 2011

2011/6/7 Guilherme Santos <guisgb13 at gmail.com>:
>> A shared folder will
>> probably just map to this XML snippet:
>>
>> <filesystem type='mount'>
>>   <source dir='/home/guilhermesgb/Desktop/SharedFolder'/>
>>
>>   <target dir='myshare1'/>
>>
>> </filesystem>
>
> I see. I also tried this XML configuration you gave as an example, but it
> wouldn't work. And now I know why...
>
>> <shareddir fstype="ext4" path="/home/guilhermesgb/Desktop/SharedFolder"
>> mount_tag="SharingName" security_model="passthrough" />
>>
>> Where did you find this? This is not libvirt XML.
>
> I found it searching through Google:
> http://www.mail-archive.com/libvir-list@redhat.com/msg27808.html - altough I
> just used it as a last resort, as anything else would work.

Ah, that was just some idea that never got implemented.

> We have chosen to use libvirt in order to deal, in a generalized way, with
> the
> process of starting virtual machines, stopping them, executing remote
> commands and creating shared folders.
> As we saw that libvirt cannot handle with executing remote commands without
> any manual configuration by us (setting up consoles, through ssh, etc.), we
> will basically use a shared folder to store scripts that are to be executed
> by the guest, and the guest would have a running daemon that monitors this
> shared folder and executes everything in it.
>
> Do you know how could I share a folder with a VBox guest through actual
> Libvirt code?

Oh, I missed to CC you on this patch:

https://www.redhat.com/archives/libvir-list/2011-June/msg00315.html

That makes libvirt support VirtualBox shared folders.

> We are also trying to do this through the Java binding, but it won't work
> either. As you said, it's not supported yet.
> We will eventually have to do this for all other hypervisors supported by
> Libvirt, so I'd like to know: which hypervisors have this shared folder
> funcionality supported by Libvirt?

The <filesystem> element is supported for Qemu and also for LXC and
OpenVZ judging by the codebase.

Matthias

> We are very thankful for your answers and willing to see new feature in the
> next version!
>
> 2011/6/7 Matthias Bolte <matthias.bolte at googlemail.com>
>>
>> 2011/6/6 Guilherme Santos <guisgb13 at gmail.com>:
>> > Well, I am still with that problem, attempting to create shared folders,
>> > so
>> > I will try to be more specific and then maybe somebody can help me.
>>
>> Your problem is simple, libvirt currently doesn't support shared
>> folder for VirtualBox. I'll have a look at it and if it's simple to
>> implement you might see it in libvirt 0.9.3.
>>
>>
>>
>> > When I say "I am trying to set up shared folders", I mean that I set
>> > this
>> > configuration in my XML description:
>> >
>> >     <filesystem type='template' accessmode='mapped'>
>> >       <source name='/home/guilhermesgb/Desktop/SharedFolder/>
>> >       <target dir='/home/tarciso/Desktop/SharedFolder'/>
>> >     </filesystem>
>>
>> VirtualBox shared folders don't support setting an access mode. The
>> target dir will map to the name of the shared folder in the guest.
>> Also the template type is OpenVZ specific. A shared folder will
>> probably just map to this XML snippet:
>>
>> <filesystem type='mount'>
>>  <source dir='/home/guilhermesgb/Desktop/SharedFolder'/>
>>  <target dir='myshare1'/>
>> </filesystem>
>>
>> You might also specify the <readonly/> option.
>>
>> > This was my last attempt. I also tried all other combinations, with
>> > accessmodes "passthrough" and "squash", for filesystem type "mount" too.
>> >
>> > I can't send you any error messages neither printscreens because my
>> > problem
>> > is that anything happens, the domain is started properly but no shared
>> > folder is specified so I can mount it, using command "sudo mount -t
>> > vboxsf
>> > SharedFolder /home/tarciso/Desktop/SharedFolder". I always get a
>> > protocol
>> > error.
>> >
>> > I was expecting libvirt to automatically do this step for me, so I
>> > wouldn't
>> > need to do it manually through vbox GUI or VBoxManage.
>>
>> As I said libvirt just doesn't support this yet, but I'll look at it.
>>
>> > During my searches through the web, I found this other option, although
>> > I
>> > can't be sure if it is implemented, as the libvirt website says nothing
>> > about it: defining an XML file with this configuration:
>> >
>> >     <shareddir fstype="ext4"
>> > path="/home/guilhermesgb/Desktop/SharedFolder"
>> > mount_tag="SharingName" security_model="passthrough" />
>>
>> Where did you find this? This is not libvirt XML.
>>
>> > And then mounting it with proper command (the same as before, now with
>> > the
>> > mount_tag specified: "sudo mount -t vboxsf SharingName
>> > /home/tarciso/Desktop/SharedFolder" . Unfortunatelly the same error
>> > persists.
>> >
>> > Am I missing something?
>>
>> No, it is exactly as expected, but it'll improve.
>>
>> Matthias
>>
>> > Sorry if my first message was hard to understand. Thanks.
>> >
>> > 2011/6/1 Guilherme Santos <guisgb13 at gmail.com>
>> >>
>> >> Good afternoon.
>> >>
>> >> I am having trouble trying to set up shared folders in the guest VM
>> >> using
>> >> VirtualBox hypervisor. No matter what configuration is defined in my
>> >> XML, it
>> >> never works, I mean, no shared folder is added/specifyed, then, inside
>> >> the
>> >> guest, when I try to mount the folder, I always get a protocol error.
>> >>
>> >> If I use VirtualBoxManage, I can add/specify shared folders easily and
>> >> mount it with no problem.
>> >>
>> >> I need to use libvirt in order to deal, in a generalized way, with the
>> >> process of creating shared folders in all hypervisors supported by
>> >> libvirt,
>> >> otherwise my problem would be solved already. I must not use specific
>> >> commands of a certain hypervisor (such as VirtualBoxManage's).
>> >>
>> >> How does libvirt allow me to set up shared folders? Does it use
>> >> VirtualBoxManage for VBox hypervisors? If so, how do I use it?
>> >> I've read the documentation and followed it in defining my XMLs.
>> >>
>> >> Thanks anyway!
>> >> --
>> >> Guilherme Santos G. Baptista
>> >> Undergraduate in Computer Science at UFCG
>> >> LSD - Distributed Systems Laboratory
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > --
>> > Guilherme Santos G. Baptista
>> > Graduando em Ciência da Computação pela UFCG
>> > LSD - Laboratório de Sistemas Distribuídos
>> >
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > libvirt-users mailing list
>> > libvirt-users at redhat.com
>> > https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/libvirt-users
>> >
>
>
>
> --
> Guilherme Santos G. Baptista
> Graduando em Ciência da Computação pela UFCG
> LSD - Laboratório de Sistemas Distribuídos
>