Xen boot problems when the network manager is enabled

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Environment

SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 Service Pack 1

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 Service Pack 1

Situation

The following may apply:

Dom0 may not boot at all
Dom0 may hang during boot at the network portion
Networking for Dom0 or DomU's may be affected negatively

Resolution

NetworkManager is a tool that allows users to configure networking. It is especially common, and even advised, to run it on laptops and desktops.

Xen is incomputable with the NetworkManager. NetworkManager does not support multiple IP addresses, bonding, bridging, etc. As a result most server admins use the traditional "ip method." On all desktops and servers that are running Xen, the following conditions must be true (variations from the following will result in limited support or the server may not be able to run Xen):

A static IP address must be assigned to Dom0
Network manager must be disabled
The hardware needs to be "Yes Certified"

To disable it, do the following:

Open /etc/sysconfig/network/config for editing
Find the following line:
networkmanager="yes"
Change it to:
networkmanager="no"
Reboot

Disclaimer

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