[virt-tools-list] [PATCH DISCUSSION ONLY] Add inspection thread to virt-manager.

[Matthias Bolte]

2011/4/18 Cole Robinson <crobinso at redhat.com>:
> First, thanks a lot for the patch! I'm sure everyone will be glad to see
> libguestfs integration in virt-manager.
>
>> [This patch is incomplete and just for discussion]
>>
>> Using libguestfs inspection[1], we can find out a lot about a virtual
>> machine, such as what operating system is installed, the OS version,
>> the OS distro, the hostname, the (real) disk usage, what apps are
>> installed, and lots more. It would be nice if virt-manager could use
>> this information: for example we could change the generic "computer"
>> icon into a Windows or Fedora logo if Windows or Fedora was installed
>> in the virtual machine.
>>
>
> That icon bit was originally intended for the current design, but since we've
> never really tracked OS info after install time, it never came about.
>
> Particularly for OS type/version tracking, I think we need a few things:
>
> - Everything standardize on some naming scheme, ideally libosinfo (though
> nothing is using it yet :/ ). libosinfo could also distribute the OS icons
>
> - Libvirt domain XML schema is extended with a field to track the installed
> OS. For most libvirt drivers this would just be metadata (vmware/esx the
> exception). Even though the data might be out of date if the guest is
> upgraded, I think it has become clear that there is a lot of value in tracking
> this in XML.
>

Dan already suggested something along this line a while ago, but I
didn't implement it yet:

https://www.redhat.com/archives/libvir-list/2011-January/msg00528.html

Matthias