Creating a local ISO repository in XenServer
Use a local ISO repository to install your XenServer VMs.
It happens sometimes you need to install VMs with ISO, without having a shared Storage Repository (e.g NFS). Citrix XenServer allows to do this, and you can have multiples cases for that:
- you have a single host, without access of any ISO share
- you don't want to create a shared storage
- you want a simple way to start to use ISO files
Warning: you only have 4GB of space in the root file system. So, prefer an external HDD or a large USB key, to avoid filling the Dom0 at 100%.
First this first, you need to use a folder somewhere. You can use /tmp if you like, but the content will be lost after a reboot.
You can also create a dedicated folder on your host:
$ mkdir -p /var/opt/xen/ISO_Store
Before Xen Orchestra, you'll have to do this:
$ xe sr-create name-label=LocalISO type=iso device-config:location=/var/opt/xen/ISO_Store device-config:legacy_mode=true content-type=iso
But now with Xen Orchestra, it's easier! (see the original blog post about creating any Storage Repository in XenServer) You just have to create a Storage Repository:
Choose local ISO, use any path on your filesystem:
Click on "Create SR" and you're done!
Now, each ISO you add in this folder, will be visible in the ISO list when creating a VM!