XenServer Administration Handbook

Part I. Designing a Successful XenServer Deployment

XenServer is a powerful virtualization platform that in its most recent release is capable of officially hosting 1,000 virtual machines (VMs) with close to 100 of those being graphics-intensive, workstation-class VMs. This level of scalability is inherent to the platform, but being able to achieve such levels of virtualization requires some planning. In this part of the book, we’ll be covering core concepts every administrator should be aware of when working with XenServer. Many of the topics covered are fairly detailed, but we’re going to keep the information very admin-specific and not go deep into items an engineer developing XenServer might deal with.

After all, this is the administrators handbook, and you should expect actionable information!

We are going cover precisely what a XenServer is, what it is not, its origins, what makes it work, where to look for core configuration items. In addition, we’ll provide specific guidance on issues that directly impact deployments. Much of what is covered could be considered best practice, but we’re going to steer away from that term and simply call it practical advice.

Before we continue, it is important for us to remind you that when in doubt, please do consult the XenServer Administrator’s Guide for the specific version of XenServer you are working with. Documentation, features, release notes, and many other important resources for the version of XenServer you are planning to ...