CentOS 7.3 KVM maps USB flash drive from Host to VM

* USB flash drive, plugged into Host(it might take some time for host to recognise at first time), can be seen in Guest OS WinServer2003, with following assignment:

  in qemu-kvm, goto VM details, click on Add Hardware,  Add New Virtual Hardware window pops-up; Click on USB Controller, and select USB flash drive from displayed USB devices, then Finish.

CentOS 7.3 KVM Bridged Network Configuration note

CentOS 7.3
system by default uses NAT network


To change NAT network to Bridge network

1.
Stop and disable the NetworkManager service; (Network Manager is good for configuration, however, it's heard that it can cause issues from time to time)

sudo systemctl stop NetworkManager
sudo systemctl disable NetworkManager

2.

*eno2 here is physical network port on host

#cat /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eno2
DEVICE="eno2"
ONBOOT="yes"
NM_CONTROLLED="no"
#TYPE=Ethernet
BRIDGE=br0
BOOTPROTO=static
#IPADDR=192.168.1.100
#NETMASK=255.255.255.0
#GATEWAY=192.168.1.1

3.

#cat /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-br0

DEVICE="br0"
ONBOOT="yes"
TYPE=Bridge
BOOTPROTO=static
IPADDR=192.168.1.112
NETMASK=255.255.255.0

4.
GATEWAY for both eno2 and br0 is set here

cat /etc/sysconfig/network
# Created by anaconda
GATEWAY=192.168.1.1

run service network restart:

#service network restart
Restarting network (via systemctl):   [  OK  ]

Ping between host OS and guest OS, between guest and hosts on the same subnet shall success now. 




In case needed, shutdown firewall to ensure the firewall is not causing issues
 
Firewalld is a complete firewall solution that has been made available by default on all CentOS 7 servers, including Liquid Web Core Managed CentOS 7, and Liquid Web Self Managed CentOS 7. On occasion, perhaps for testing, disabling or stopping firewalld may be necessary.



Check the Status of Firewalld  :  systemctl status firewalld
Stop the Firewalld : systemctl stop firewalld 

ASUS Tower Server TS100-E9-PI4 (Xeon E3-1230v6) OS Installation note

Server : ASUS Tower Server TS100-E9-PI4 (Xeon E3-1230v6)
OS Installation
As of 2017-JUN-8

Xeon E3-1230v6 : Launch Date : Q1 2017

Due to the E3-1230v6 is launched in Q1 2017, it can cause issues to not-updated linux kernel, mainly the Kabylake PCH is not properly recognised by the not-updated linux kernel

1.
Server : ASUS Tower Server TS100-E9-PI4 (Xeon E3-1230v6)
OS: Citrix XenServer 7.1

Result:
* OS installation can be complete, and enter XenServer working environment 
* however warning/error message can pop-up during boot, and sometimes can prevent from entering XenServer working environment


* warning/error message as follows
5.799516] mce: Unable to init device /dev/mcelog (rc: -16)
5.805534] systemd[1]: Failed to insert module 'autofs4'



** system is unstable



2.
Server : ASUS Tower Server TS100-E9-PI4 (Xeon E3-1230v6)
OS: Citrix XenServer6.5

Result:
* OK
* USB flash drive, plugged into Host, can NOT be seen in Guest OS WinServer 2003 (not sure if any workaround available?!)



3.
Server : ASUS Tower Server TS100-E9-PI4 (Xeon E3-1230v6)
OS: CentOS 7.3 (1611)

Result:
* During installation, warning/error message pop-up everytime
* installation cannot be completed
* warning/error message as follows

[1.993291] Unknown Intel PCH (0xa14a) detected
[1.993293] Warning: Intel Kabylake processor with unknown PCH - this hardware has not undergone upstream testing. Please consult http://wiki.centos.org/FAQ for more information


Cause : The Kabylake PCH was not properly recognized by CentOS 7.3 (1611)
Resolution : Linux kernel-3.10.0-514.6.1.el7 is required to support, CentOS 7.3 (1705) has the update included


4.
Server : ASUS Tower Server TS100-E9-PI4 (Xeon E3-1230v6)
OS: CentOS 7.3 (1705)

Result:
* during boot, pop-up following message








** works OK with NO issues observed so far