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VMX, SVM, or other CPU flags missing after updating Xen

This document (7001447) is provided subject to the disclaimer at the end of this document.

Environment

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 Service Pack 2
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 Service Pack 2
 

Situation

Changes

The Xen hypervisor (package xen) and/or the Xen-enabled kernel (packages kernel-xenpae and kernel-xen) were updated on a system running a SLE10 SP2 based product.

Symptoms
  • The CPU capabilities stated in /proc/cpuinfo are missing flags which have been reported before, in particular the vmx flag (Intel CPUs), or the svm flag (AMD CPUs) is missing.
  • It is not possible to install a fully virtualized system on appropriate hardware.
  • When Xen live migration is set up, live migration may fail.
  • When ZENworks Orchestrator is used, virtual machine images which require full virtualization may be marked as unavailable, or may be unable to migrate, with a ERROR: Host lacks HVM support being reported.

Resolution

This issue is fixed as of version 2.6.16.60-0.33 of the kernel-xenpae and kernel-xen packages.

Additional Information

Live migration - detailed symptoms

When live migration of a Xen VM fails due to this issue, a traceback similar to the following may be logged on the node on which the VM was running:
[2008-11-19 07:08:34 8011] INFO (XendCheckpoint:373) All memory is saved
[2008-11-19 07:08:34 8011] INFO (XendCheckpoint:373) Save exit rc=0
[2008-11-19 07:08:35 8011] ERROR (XendCheckpoint:144) Save failed on domain
vm-hagbard (22).
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/lib64/python2.4/site-packages/xen/xend/XendCheckpoint.py", line 122, in save
    write_exact(fd, buf, "could not write device model state")
  File "/usr/lib64/python2.4/site-packages/xen/xend/XendCheckpoint.py", line 43, in write_exact
    raise XendError(errmsg)
XendError: could not write device model state
and messages similar to the following being logged on the node onto which the VM was to be migrated:
[2008-11-19 07:08:34 8251] INFO (XendCheckpoint:373) Received all pages (0 races)
[2008-11-19 07:08:34 8251] INFO (XendCheckpoint:373) ERROR Internal error: error setting the HVM context
[2008-11-19 07:08:35 8251] INFO (XendCheckpoint:373) Restore exit with rc=1

Disclaimer

This Support Knowledgebase provides a valuable tool for SUSE customers and parties interested in our products and solutions to acquire information, ideas and learn from one another. Materials are provided for informational, personal or non-commercial use within your organization and are presented "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND.

  • Document ID:7001447
  • Creation Date: 29-Sep-2008
  • Modified Date:12-Mar-2021
    • SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop
    • SUSE Linux Enterprise Server

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