Possible to try and use one host first?

[John Muckley <j....@databax.com>]

Hey guys,

In my 4.3 environment I’ve got 2 xen hosts online at the moment.
I kind of assumed that CloudStack would fill one up then move onto the other, which it doesn’t.
I can see why it wouldn’t when I think about it, as it minimises contention and makes it so that there is less data to ship between hosts in the event of one failing etc.
However, I wondered if there is a way in which I can force the cloud to use one host first until there is no capacity left on that host?

I ask because we run some specialist Citrix backup software on our hosts to take a daily backup of our VMs and until they issue me another licence, I can only back up one host.

The virtual appliance is for this backup software (PHD Virtual ‘PHDVBA’) runs as an alien VM, as importing it into the cloudstack via VHD upload seems to cause issues in the way it performs (ie it boots into it’s Ubuntu based OS, but refuses to work).

Alternatively, In an ideal world, I would import the virtual appliance through the CloudStack, have it back up one host then migrate to the other host and back that up too. Would be a nifty little way of dodging the extra licence fees too.
Has anyone had similar problems importing virtual appliances and overcome them?

Thanks guys!

John

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RE: Possible to try and use one host first?

[Shweta Agarwal <Sh...@citrix.com>]

You can set value for vm.allocation.algorithm ('random', 'firstfit', 'userdispersing', 'userconcentratedpod_random', 'userconcentratedpod_firstfit' : Order in which hosts within a cluster will be considered for VM/volume allocation) global parameter to firstfit . By default the value is random .

Hope this will help.

Thanks
Shweta

-----Original Message-----
From: John Muckley [mailto:j.muckley@databax.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, June 17, 2014 12:41 PM
To: users@cloudstack.apache.org
Subject: Possible to try and use one host first?

Hey guys,

In my 4.3 environment I’ve got 2 xen hosts online at the moment.
I kind of assumed that CloudStack would fill one up then move onto the other, which it doesn’t.
I can see why it wouldn’t when I think about it, as it minimises contention and makes it so that there is less data to ship between hosts in the event of one failing etc.
However, I wondered if there is a way in which I can force the cloud to use one host first until there is no capacity left on that host?

I ask because we run some specialist Citrix backup software on our hosts to take a daily backup of our VMs and until they issue me another licence, I can only back up one host.

The virtual appliance is for this backup software (PHD Virtual ‘PHDVBA’) runs as an alien VM, as importing it into the cloudstack via VHD upload seems to cause issues in the way it performs (ie it boots into it’s Ubuntu based OS, but refuses to work).

Alternatively, In an ideal world, I would import the virtual appliance through the CloudStack, have it back up one host then migrate to the other host and back that up too. Would be a nifty little way of dodging the extra licence fees too.
Has anyone had similar problems importing virtual appliances and overcome them?

Thanks guys!

John

________________________________

This is an e-mail from Databax Ltd (Company No.04085248). The contents of this e-mail are confidential. Databax Ltd does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this e-mail as it has been transmitted over a public network.  If you receive this e-mail in error please accept our apology. If this is the case we would be obliged if you would contact the sender and then delete this e-mail. This e-mail and/or any replies to it, and any attachments may be intercepted, copied or monitored by Databax Ltd for the purpose of monitoring or keeping record of its business and for the purposes set out in the Telecommunications (Lawful Business Practices) (Interception of Communications) Regulations 2000. All statements made in this e-mail are subject to contract. The contents are not to be regarded as a contractual offer or acceptance. The sender is not authorised to bind Databax Ltd. The views expressed in this e-mail are those of the sender and not necessarily those of  Databax Ltd.
Feel free to visit the Databax web site at www.databax.com<http://www.databax.com/>  to find out about our range of products and services, and for the latest Databax news and information.

<

>Please consider the environment before printing this email.