Nested Virtual Machines and Multiple Hypervisors Unsupported

This document (7003403) is provided subject to the disclaimer at the end of this document.

Environment

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10
XEN
KVM

Situation

Is running multiple hypervisors on the same server supported?
Scenario examples:
Xen and KVM running on the same server
KVM and VMware running on the same server

Are nested virtual machines supported?
Scenario examples:
Xen with a Xen virtual machine running under VMware
Xen with a Xen virtual machine running under KVM
KVM virtual machine running in a Xen virtual machine

Resolution

The short answer is no. You should use only one virtualization technology per server. If you are running two hypervisors on the same hardware, you should choose one and disable the other.

Determining Virtual Machine Identities

This section will assist you in determining what kind of virtualization you are using on a specific server. For the purposes of this TID, the hypervisor is the virtual machine server, capable of hosting virtual machines. Virtual machine is a virtual server run and controlled by the hypervisor.

Xen
Hypervisor: The existence of the /proc/xen/xsd_port file indicates a Xen virtual machine server or Dom0.
Virtual Machine: A missing /proc/xen/xsd_port file, but the existence of the /proc/xen directory indicates a Xen virtual machine or DomU.

KVM
Hypervisor: A running kvm kernel module reported by lsmod indicates a KVM virtual machine server.
Virtual Machine: A missing kvm kernel driver, but a /proc/cpuinfo module name of “Virtual Machine (QEMU Virtual CPU)” indicates a KVM virtual machine.

VMware
Hypervisor: A running vmmon kernel module reported by lsmod indicates a VMware virtual machine server.
Virtual Machine: A missing vmmon kernel driver, but a hardware platform name including “Vmware Hardware Platform” as reported by /usr/sbin/dmidecode -s system-product-name indicates a Vmware virtual machine.

Additional Information

Supportconfig 2.25-117 and higher will display virtual machine information in the basic-environment.txt file.

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.