Future Architecture?
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Hello
I have a very simple question: Will the coming Version (with Alma inside) support the CPU Code for x86_64_v1/2? Because, RockyLinux 10 won't support it.
We have many HP DL380-G6/7 in our education (Technical High School in Austria) for Network Engineers and we like XCP-ng very much because of its easy useage. And it works perfect on our machines!!!
Thank you very much -
It depends on whether the Alma Linux core chosen for dom0 is the one for v3 and v4 or the one for v2. As AlmaLinux also has a variant in vanilla not just for baseline v3 and v4 but also for one baseline below in other words v2.
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I suspect it will also depend on BIOS vs. UEFI boot. DL380 G6/G7 systems are BIOS-only. I run a lot of DL380 G7 systems myself so I know which I'm hoping for.
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Welcome to the forum, and nice to hear the DL380 G6/G7s are still earning their keep in a classroom.
I'm not the expert here (far from that), but @teddyastie from the team answered something close to this last year: XCP-ng 9 will need an x86_64-v2 CPU, which he summed up as Intel Nehalem or newer (https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/98416).
If I've got the generations right (and that's a real if
), the G6 and G7 carry Xeon 5500 and 5600 chips, Nehalem and Westmere, so the CPU level shouldn't be what stops you, which fits john.c's point about Alma having a v2 build.Like @JeffBerntsen says, boot mode is the bigger question: Teddy's post says UEFI will be required, "or at least the only officially supported option", and Jeff runs G7s himself and confirms they're BIOS-only. So the honest answer is that I don't know yet whether legacy boot will still work on 9, even unofficially. Either way, 8.3 is the LTS release and it's supported until 2028-11-30 (https://docs.xcp-ng.org/releases/release-8-3), so there's no rush for your lab.
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Yes, your wright! I know about that. As i mentioned, our machines are really working perfect (they can easily be a productive system) I am asking because our school does not have much money (in fact nothing) and i will go on with my lessons in hypervisors with xcp-ng.
THANKS TO EVERYONE who works on this project - i like it!!
P.S. If you need user tests in grater scale, we can do it (10 machines) and we have time. -
Yes, your wright! I know about that. As i mentioned, our machines are really working perfect (they can easily be a productive system) I am asking because our school does not have much money (in fact nothing) and i will go on with my lessons in hypervisors with xcp-ng.
THANKS TO EVERYONE who works on this project - i like it!!
P.S. If you need user tests in grater scale, we can do it (10 machines) and we have time.Welcome to the forums!
To answer your question while expanding on @Poddingue's excellent point: it all comes down to the AlmaLinux base chosen for the dom0 control domain. While AlmaLinux 10 does offer an alternative x86_64-v2 compilation option for older processors, relying on a sub-baseline build for a modern hypervisor can limit your performance and future third-party repository support.
To truly get the most out of XCP-ng 9.0 when it reaches stable release—and to avoid the hard limitations of the modern EFI and Secure Boot requirements—you will want to target at least generation 9 of HPE servers (Gen9) at a minimum.
Since you are dealing with a tight school budget but need to acquire a large number of machines for your network engineering students, here are the most effective ways to source that volume:
• Corporate Hardware Donations: Depending on your school's official legal status (such as Gemeinnützigkeit), you might be able to get these machines donated for free. Many large companies in Austria cycle out their enterprise hardware every few years and actively look to donate working Gen9 or Gen10 servers to schools for tax benefits or community goodwill. It is highly worth reaching out to local IT departments or tech companies!
• Professionally Refurbished Bulk Batches: Sourcing former enterprise hardware in large, uniform batches is your next best path. Gen9 servers offer excellent performance for a very low price right now. Keeping the hardware identical also makes managing your pool templates significantly easier.
• Academic Programs & Vates Discounts: If your rollout scales up and you eventually need official commercial backing, it is well worth reaching out directly to Vates. Let them know you are an educational institution; they are often very supportive of academia and may offer steep volume or academic purchasing discounts for schools.
Good luck setting up the lab for your hypervisor lessons!
P.S. A quick, friendly tip for your English writing: drop the "w" when you want to agree with someone. If you use "write", it sounds like the action of writing words down on paper (schreiben). To agree with someone, the correct phrases are "You're right" or "You are right" (Du hast recht / Sie haben recht).
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