Logical Domains 1.2 Released with Nine New Features

Logical Domains (LDoms) provides built-in virtualization capabilities for Sun's CoolThreads Servers. As Sun's server hardware virtualization and partitioning technology for CoolThreads servers, LDoms software leverages the hypervisor to subdivide supported platforms' resources (CPUs, memory, I/O, and storage) by creating partitions called logical domains. Each logical domain can run an independent operating system. Specialized service and control domains allow the management of these resources using the Logical Domains Manager.

Recently released Version 2.1 provides features such as support for:

CPU Power Management

The Logical Domains Manager now supports two power policies - a setting that governs system power usage at any point in time - assuming that the underlying platform has implemented Power Management features:

• Performance: The system is allowed to use all the power that is available.
• Elastic: The system power usage is adapted to the current utilization level. For example, power up or down just enough system components to keep utilization within thresholds at all times, even if the workload fluctuates.

Jumbo Frames

LDoms virtual switch (vsw) and virtual network (vnet) devices can now support Ethernet frames with payload sizes larger than 1500 bytes. This change results in these drivers being able to increase network throughput.

Configuring Domain Dependencies

LDoms Manager can be used to establish dependency relationships between domains. A domain that has one or more domains that depend on it is called a master domain. A domain that depends on another domain is called a slave domain. Each master domain can specify what happens to its slave domains in the event that the master domain fails. For instance, if a master domain fails, it might require its slave domains to panic. If a slave domain has more than one master domain, the first master domain to fail triggers its defined failure policy on all of its slave domains.

Autorecovery of Configurations

Starting with the Logical Domains 1.2 release, a copy of the current configuration is automatically saved on the control domain whenever the Logical Domains configuration is changed. This autosave operation enables you to recover a configuration when the configurations that are saved on the SP are lost. This operation also enables you to recover a configuration when the current configuration was not explicitly saved to the SP when the system powercycled.

Export of Same Backend Multiple Times

A virtual disk backend can be exported multiple times either through the same or different virtual disk servers. Each exported instance of the virtual disk backend can then be assigned to either the same or different guest domains.

Physical-to-Virtual (P2V) Migration Tool

Automatically converts an existing physical system to a virtual system that runs in a logical domain on a chip multithreading (CMT) system. The source system can be any of the following:

• Any sun4u SPARC system that runs at least the Solaris 8 Operating System
• Any sun4v system that runs the Solaris 10 OS, but does not run in a logical domain

Configuration Assistant Tools

Leads you through the configuration of a logical domain by setting basic properties.

Restriction of Delayed Reconfiguration Operations to the Control Domain

The LDoms Manager 1.2 software restricts delayed reconfiguration operations to the control domain. For all other domains, you must stop the domain to modify the configuration unless the resource can be dynamically reconfigured.

API to Support LDMD Discovery

Discovery LDoms Managers on a subnet by using multicast messages. The ldmd daemon is able to listen on a network for a specific multicast packet. If that multicast message is of a certain type, ldmd replies to the caller. This enables ldmd to be discovered on systems that are running Logical Domains.

Bug Fixes

Multiple bug fixes also have been implemented.

System Support

LDoms 1.2 requires Solaris 10 05/09 (earlier patched versions are supported as well) or OpenSolaris 2009.06 as the control domain and is supported on the following systems:

• Sun SPARC Enterprise T5440 Servers
• Sun SPARC Enterprise T5140 and T5240 Servers
• Sun SPARC Enterprise T5120 and T5220 Servers
• Sun Blade T6300, T6320 and T6340 Server Modules
• Netra CP3060 and CP3260 Blades
• Netra T2000,T5220 and T5440 Servers
• Sun Fire or SPARC Enterprise T1000 and T2000 Servers

Reference : Release notes

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