OpenSolaris JeOS Prototype (Part 9: JeOS Excution costs)

Memory

Reduced OpenSolaris can be started on 256MB RAM, while Linux can started on 128MB RAM. Main difference here is them Solaris don’t have optimized kernel for Virtualization and its start more system services like “fmd”.

Another memory hungry part of OpenSolaris is ZFS and its memory located ARCH cache requirement for feasible performance, so minimum realistic size is 384MB RAM, if user want to evaluate image, for example see installed packages and so on without modification.

Another memory hungry part is IPS pkg packaging, weed even more memory like 512MB RAM, if user for example customize it with install/un-install IPS packages.

Virtual Disk Size

Gorwable Virtual Disks will significantly grow under ZFS and can’t easily shrink, only by serializing with ZFS receive/send. So ee need also make difference between installation image size (like output of “du” and distribution size of compressed Virtual Disk image. Due to usage of ZFS in OpenSolaris and its copy on write nature we will have get more significantly download size.

Preallocated Virtual Disks need to have significant space preallocated to DUMP/SWAP toning for used Memory size, on servers this can lead into large sized disks which is difficult to manipulate.

Customizations , Modifications and Update

IPS PKG depend on network, this can be a big issue if network is low , unstable or in “in house” deployments of images where security prohibit users net access, plus there is no common way to make full local repository. Current IPS PKG cache is on disk and can’t be officially in Memory (TMP FS) (I make a RFE for this), this makes a large disk fragmentation due ZFS copy-on-write.

OpenSolaris JeOS Prototype (Part 8: JeOS Installation costs)

This entry is part of OpenSolaris JeOS (Just Enough Operating System) Prototype workshop.

Base on previous experience we set this this installation sizing targets for current JeOS prototype Max 200MB download size and MAX 1GB install size.

Install Type	No of IPS Packages	Compressed LZMZ size	Install Size (du)	Ratio	No of Files	Notes
CORE Solaris as RootDisk	N/A (40?)	30 MB	N/N	N/N	N/N	File based systam installation in Recovery Console style
CORE Solaris Manual	61	90 MB	300 MB	30%	7 020	Just non official OpenSolaris CORE packages to boot, login (no drivers)
One-Purpose JeOS	100	105 MB	400 MB	30%	21 250	JeOS smaller setup with multiple Virtual Technologies Support – V2V Migration Assisant Live-CD
Common JeOS	158	150 MB	726 MB	20%	39 974	JeOS larger universal setup with multiple Virtual Environments , Teams Support
2008.11 LiveCD with GUI	610	640 MB	2745 MB	20%	79 554	Standard 2008.11 installation of version with all Languages
iPKG Zone	55	46 MB	232 MB	20%	8 622	Default installation of OpenSolaris IPKG branded zone (Some stuff is shared with GZ)
x86.minioot-safe	N/A	136 MB	270 MB	50%	8 685	File based Nevada Recovery Console costs for single kernel AMD64 (gzip is 158 MB
Ubuntu 8.0.4 JeOS	167	106 MB	350 MB	30%	9 695 + dirs	For Comparsion: Default 32bit Ubuntu JeOS install + SSH,MC stuff
Ubuntu 8.10 JeOS	202	117 MB	380 MB	30%	10950 + dirs	For Comparison: Default 64bit Ubuntu JeOS default install

Note: This table represent internal experience and also public data on Internet, especialy from Milax – Alexander Eremin Blog

As summary, there are 3 primary reasons why current OpenSolaris JeOS consist from so many packages, this OpenSolaris JeOS have 150 packages, while full basic OpenSolaris Live CD install install have 555 packages, global 610 packages:

1. To do not be dependent on network connection for instant evaluation (Most home evaluators have slow networs)
2. To fulfill requirements of all participating team and have about of box experience for their users
3. Some high level dependencies still missing in repository (only binary are guarantied for now) and they can’t be easily checked

In OpenSolaris 200906 JeOS prototype we was able to save about 20MB from compressed images by excluding JAVA (JDK) and some OS dependencies, even when we include full support for iPKG based zones.

OpenSolaris JeOS Prototype (Part 7: JeOS Install Base Targets)

This entry is part of OpenSolaris JeOS (Just Enough Operating System) Prototype workshop.

Lessons Learned from Amazon EC2 (AWS) show then network stability can be significant factor preventing users get instant experience, plus in Europe lot of users still have slow mobile connection or small download limits. We don’t have CD packages based install option as Linux distributions have, mitigation is to build as distribute Virtual Machine image with repository freeze, as I will demonstrate later.

Lessons Learned from initial PKG list creation show then IPS PKG repository design have capability to process dependencies, but repository content is not ready to drive CLI installs, there are missing high level dependencies, it’s demonstrated later on OpenSolaris 2008.11 CLI JeOS prototype. Also user experience with PKG in CLI is far from one on GUI, we missing better search capabilities in “names/groups”, easy querying of important attributes like sizing ,Debian like “suggest” feature and , Some CLI services are still dependent on CLI, like new “Removal Devices Manager”

Lessons Learned from Virtualizations forums show then users are now have more powerful computers, but they lost in mist cases wiliness to install multiple Virtualizatton products, this is because most of them now use Hardware Assisted Virtualizationts and will collide with each other, so if it will be possible we need provide more virtual images formats so user have choice to select not colliding one.

Lessons Learned from OpenSolaris 2008.05 , there is “no man pages, its very difficult to work in CLI without past Solaris CLI experience”.

Based on this experience it looks a better strategy for this level OpenSolaris 2008.11 / 2009.06 CLI JeOS prototype to have common ONE image with ONE development, ONE QA investments cots:

Target	Implementation	Comments
Selected Architecture	x86 and x86-64(SPARC)	OpenSolaris offer both architectures in one installation(Use SPARC port for 2009.60)
Selected Platforms	Major 10 Virtualization Technologies	Most Virtualization technologies emulate similar HW, so only limited set of drivers will be needed
Selected Environments	Virtual Environments	Support specifics need of Virtual Environments, like Cloud Amazon EC2 (AWS)
Keep Solaris Advantage	Main OpenSolaris features	Include major technologies which differentiate OpenSolaris base on official GUI Live-CD installation – this will potentially also address supportability
User Experience	Advanced Users	Truly App Developers oriented, must not require CLI administration experience, minimize work needed in CLI to run in your supported virtualization
User Groups	Solaris ,OpenSolaris,Linux, Windows	Solaris and Linux can be a GUI oriented developers with minimum CLI experience, Windows support will be limited to minimum connectivity only
Network dependency	Follow up Live-CD logic	Out-of-the box experience for selected scenarios below without need to install PKGs from net

Some initial participation teams requirements on top reduces JeOS images was:

Team	Requirement	Package	Size	Note
Netbeans	Editor with syntactic highliting	SUNWvim	16.5 MB
Netbeans	FTP server	SUNWftp	346 KB
Amazon EC2 (AWS)	EC2 tools – Ruby	SUNWruby18	5.51 MB
Amazon EC2 (AWS)	EC2 tools – Java	SUNWj6rt	88.6 MB
OpenSolaris Install	Python	Need extra?		Do we need Python Extra
OpenSolaris Install	BE env	beadm		Part of System Core

OpenSolaris 200906 JeOS Prototype project is mowed to new location

OpenSolaris 200906 JeOS Prototype project is mowed to new location on new OpenSolaris HUB system, at:


JeOS: Just enough OS Project

OpenSolaris 200906 JeOS Prototype are avaiable for downloads

We finally make avaiable downloads for OpenSolaris 200906 JeOS Prototype in various virtualization formats, you can get VM images at:

OpenSolaris 2009.06 JeOS Prototype VM Image