initial import (Boeing r1752, NRL r878)

doc/machine.rst

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+.. This file is part of the CORE Manual
+   (c)2012-2013 the Boeing Company
+
+.. _Machine_Types:
+
+*************
+Machine Types
+*************
+
+.. index:: machine types
+
+Different node types can be configured in CORE, and each node type has a
+*machine type* that indicates how the node will be represented at run time.
+Different machine types allow for different virtualization options.
+
+.. _netns:
+
+netns
+=====
+
+.. index:: netns machine type
+
+The *netns* machine type is the default. This is for nodes that will be
+backed by Linux network namespaces. See :ref:`Linux` for a brief explanation of
+netns. This default machine type is very lightweight, providing a minimum 
+amount of
+virtualization in order to emulate a network. 
+Another reason this is designated as the default machine type
+is because this virtualization technology
+typically requires no changes to the kernel; it is available out-of-the-box
+from the latest mainstream Linux distributions.
+
+.. index:: physical machine type
+
+.. index:: emulation testbed machines
+
+.. index:: real node
+
+.. index:: physical node
+
+.. _physical:
+
+physical
+========
+
+The *physical* machine type is used for nodes that represent a real
+Linux-based machine that will participate in the emulated network scenario.
+This is typically used, for example, to incorporate racks of server machines
+from an emulation testbed. A physical node is one that is running the CORE
+daemon (:file:`core-daemon`), but will not be further partitioned into virtual
+machines. Services that are run on the physical node do not run in an
+isolated or virtualized environment, but directly on the operating system.
+
+Physical nodes must be assigned to servers, the same way nodes
+are assigned to emulation servers with :ref:`Distributed_Emulation`.
+The list of available physical nodes currently shares the same dialog box
+and list as the emulation servers, accessed using the *Emulation Servers...* 
+entry from the *Session* menu.
+
+.. index:: GRE tunnels with physical nodes
+
+Support for physical nodes is under development and may be improved in future
+releases. Currently, when any node is linked to a physical node, a dashed line
+is drawn to indicate network tunneling. A GRE tunneling interface will be
+created on the physical node and used to tunnel traffic to and from the
+emulated world.
+
+Double-clicking on a physical node during runtime 
+opens a terminal with an SSH shell to that
+node. Users should configure public-key SSH login as done with emulation
+servers.
+
+.. _xen:
+
+xen
+===
+
+.. index:: xen machine type
+
+The *xen* machine type is an experimental new type in CORE for managing
+Xen domUs from within CORE. After further development, 
+it may be documented here.
+
+Current limitations include only supporting ISO-based filesystems, and lack
+of integration with node services, EMANE, and possibly other features of CORE.
+
+There is a :file:`README-Xen` file available in the CORE source that contains
+further instructions for setting up Xen-based nodes.
+
+
+