How to Install Xen on MXLinux Latest

In this tutorial, we will guide you on how to install Xen on MXLinux Latest.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure that you have the following prerequisites:

  • MXLinux Latest installed
  • Access to the terminal with root or sudo privileges
  • Internet access

Step 1: Install Xen

First, you need to add the Xen Project repository by following the below steps:

  1. Open a terminal and run the following command to add the Xen Project repository key:
wget -qO - https://xenbits.xen.org/xenadmin/GPG-KEY-xenbits.asc | sudo apt-key add -
  1. Next, run the following command to add the Xen Project repository list to your MXLinux sources list:
echo "deb http://downloads.xenproject.org/release/xen-4.14.0/ MXLinux stretch main\n" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/xen.list
  1. After adding the repository, update your system’s package information as follows:
sudo apt update
  1. Now, install the Xen packages by running the below command:
sudo apt install xen-hypervisor-amd64 xen-tools

During the installation, you'll be asked to configure GRUB bootloader, select ‘yes’ to install GRUB boot loader to master boot record.

Step 2: Configuring Xen

Enabling the xenpm kernel module

Xen works more efficiently if the Xen Power Management kernel module (xenpm) is enabled. You can enable the xenpm kernel module by executing the below command.

sudo modprobe xenpm

To avoid re-enabling the xenpm module on every reboot, you need to edit your kernel command line and add the following parameter:

sudo sed -Ei.bak 's,GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="(.*)",GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="\1 xenpm=force",g' /etc/default/grub

Configuring the Network bridge

Xen uses the network bridge to allow VMs to access the network. You can enable the network bridge as follows:

  1. Create the bridge by running the following commands:
sudo nmcli con add type bridge autoconnect yes con-name br0 ifname br0
sudo nmcli con modify br0 bridge.stp no
sudo nmcli con up br0
  1. Next, you need to modify the bridge configuration. Open the /etc/network/interfaces file using any text editor as follows:
sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces

Add the following lines to the file:

auto br0
iface br0 inet dhcp
  bridge_ports enp0s3
  bridge_stp off
  bridge_fd 0
  bridge_maxwait 0

enp0s3 is the name of your network interface card, replace it with yours.

Reboot

Finally, reboot your system to apply the changes made:

sudo reboot

The above command will reboot your system, and you can check the Xen installation by running:

sudo xl info

Congratulations! You have successfully installed and configured Xen on MXLinux Latest. You can now create and manage your VMs using Xen.