[kernel-xen] Problems booting Xen Dom0 on IBM X3550 M3

[Paulo Fessel]

Hello, gents.

Today I was trying to set up Xen according to the instructions on Xen
made easy webpage (http://xen.crc.id.au/support/guides/install/) using
CentOS 6.6 as basis for the installation on an IBM Xseries 3550 M3, with
12 GB RAM, 2 processor packages (12 HT cores). No problems installing
CentOS either on EFI or legacy mode; OTOH I have not managed to boot Xen
neither on EFI nor in legacy mode.

When in EFI mode, grub just can't boot Xen, more or less just like what
is described on
https://lists.wireless.org.au/pipermail/kernel-xen/2015-January/000430.html
("error 13: invalid or unsupported executable format"), except that I
don't get the error message (probably to EFI graphic driver issues).
Otherwise, the result is very much the same: when I press any key I'm
taken back into the Grub boot menu. The only kernels I get to boot on an
EFI installation are the standard CentOS ones.

After a complete reinstallation using now the legacy mode boot, I get to
boot the Xen hypervisor; however, by the time the boot is complete (and
I should say, after the NIC card is activated) I get the following message:

/Uhhuh. NMI received for unknown reason 3d on CPU 0.
Dazed and confused, but trying to continue
Do you have a strange power saving mode enabled?

/And then the system reboots. I have no time to logging in and check the
actual error messages; I can't see nothing on syslog related to the
reboot, or even related to the boot of Dom0. This behavior is somewhat
similar to a report I've seen on XenServer.org
(https://bugs.xenserver.org/browse/XSO-195); however, setting
"nmi=ignore" does not solve the issue, just prevents the message to
appear on system console. Disabling HT also does not solve the problem.

The entries for grub seem to be in the correct places, and in legacy
mode Dom0 is actually booted, but does not survive. Any hints?

TIA,

Paulo Fessel

//

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: signature.asc
Type: application/pgp-signature
Size: 213 bytes
Desc: OpenPGP digital signature
URL: <https://lists.wireless.org.au/pipermail/kernel-xen/attachments/20150202/2f73886b/attachment.sig>