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I have Citrix XenServer 7.1 installed on my server. In Citrix XenCenter, I have connected my server and created few VMs.

On choosing respective VM templates, OS with 6.x architecture (i.e. RHEL 6.x, CentOS 6.x, Oracle Linux 6.x) is getting installed in CLI mode taking Paravirtualization mode as default.

But on choosing custom template through Other install media option, these are getting installed in GUI mode taking Hardware-assisted Virtualization (HVM) mode. Also, if we choose templates of 7.x and install 6.x OS, I am able to install 6.x OS in GUI mode.

Is it an expected behavior? How are these templates affecting the GUI and CLI installation? Is there any way to make a custom template with Paravirtualization mode as a default?

Note: I tried creating a custom template but it is not providing me any option to change the virtualization mode and by default, it is taking HVM mode.

Amit24x7
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1 Answers1

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Here's why graphic installer is not working, quote from https://discussions.citrix.com/topic/345351-installing-centos-64-from-template-with-graphical-installer/

when you boot VM in PV-mode, XenServer does not emulate VGA card for the VM, we just use a PV-console device to get the screen of the VM that's why you have to use VNC to get a graphical interface.

RHEL 6 was the last OS, that supported PV mode. RHEL 7 doesn't support PVM, it can only run as HVM or PVHVM, see https://docs.oracle.com/cd/E50245_01/E63729/html/vmrns-bugs-vm-ol7-rhel7-pv.html , if you choose 7x template for 6x system, it's actually not very different from running "other media".

If you really want to use graphical installer from pv template, you may try using vnc to advanced os boot parametres. Another option is to use "install from URL", which is reported to provide graphical interface. However, i recommend you to use kickstart files, or even a full-blown Foreman installation if you are doing installs on scale.

Additional links on subject:

Andrew
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  • Thanks! I tried that VNC installation but the problem is that the installation will be done in GUI mode but after OS installation, OS will remain in CLI mode as it was in paravirtualization mode. What I wanted was to create a template of RHEL 6 but with HVM mode as default. – Amit24x7 Aug 01 '17 at 09:03
  • well, in that case you don't need a template, just use an "other install media" one. Install xentools and you won't notice a major performance difference between pv and pvhvm modes. – Andrew Aug 01 '17 at 10:07