CS 695
Topics in Virtualization and Cloud Computing
Spring 2019

Exercise #1

due date: 15th January 2019.

The aim of this exercise is to setup a virtual machine and to get familiar with the Linux kernel compilation and installation procedure. The Linux source and its compilation to be in the virtual machine.

Part 1: Setup virtual machine
Setup a virtual machine using the hypervisor qemu-kvm to familiarize with virtualization. Note, the virtual machine will need network connectivity with the outside world.
virt-manager is be a useful application for creating and managing virtual machines. A similar command line tool os virsh for managing virtual machines. Read up usage information on them and put them to use.
  1. Install qemu-kvm and supporting packages.
  2. Install 'bridge-utils' and configure shared bridge network.
  3. Create a virtual machine and install Ubuntu server OS (link).
  4. Configure the network in virtual machine, and login to internet.iitb.ac.in !!!
Pre-built kernel image file for direct usage with virsh, qemu-system-x86_64 to be added

Part 2: Linux kernel compilation and installation
Once Ubuntu server OS is installed in a virtual machine, the next step is to download the Linux kernel source, build it and use it as a separate installation.
  1. Download Linux kernel version 4.19.13 source code from www.kernel.org
  2. Extract source archive
  3. Install development tools and configure kernel.
    Be wary of the configuration for compilation of the kernel. If many tools and drivers are selected, the compilation can a take a long time. Lookup default or lean configuration settings.
  4. Compile and install the kernel
  5. Update boot loader
  6. Reboot and select your kernel.

Installation notes by Deba are here: link

Part 3: Debugging the kernel
debashish's notes
Reference links: