SolusVM is an increasingly popular VPS management software. VPS providers use it to provision VM instances based on OpenVZ, Xen, or the KVM technology.

In our server management services, Bobcares team installs, configures and maintains SolusVM architecture for our customers who are VPS providers.

How to install SolusVM

To install SolusVM, all it takes is to download the installer to a fresh machine, execute it and follow the instructions shown.

wget https://files.soluslabs.com/install.sh
sh install.sh

Depending on the type of the node (master or slave), the installation option has to be chosen.

But installing SolusVM without proper planning, may fail the purpose and can lead to additional overhead in the future, as the business grows. Today, we’ll see the 3 key aspects to consider when installing SolusVM.

1. SolusVM architecture

A SolusVM system consists of a master node and one or more slave nodes. The master node controls the slave nodes and hosts the GUI to manage the VMs.

Slave nodes are used to host the VMs and do not have the GUI feature. However, slaves can be added for different virtualization types while master can host only OpenVZ.

Before installing SolusVM, the number of slaves have to be decided, based on an approximate number of VMs that are needed. Appropriate license has to be purchased based on this architecture.

For the servers we manage, Bobcares’ expert engineers work along with the customers to understand their business requirements and derive the ideal architecture for their needs.

2. Type of virtualization

SolusVM supports different virtualization technologies such as OpenVZ, KVM, Xen PV (ParaVirtualization) and Xen HVM (Hardware-Assisted Virtualized Machine).

When we install SolusVM, we need to decide the type of virtualization that is needed. This depends on various parameters such as isolation, security and performance.

For instance, OpenVZ offers high disk speed and access compared to KVM and Xen, but it comes at the cost of lack of separation in terms of privacy and security.

Xen is known for its performance and exceptional stability, as Xen hosts pre-allocate RAM and CPU cores to the hypervisor and it cannot be impacted by guest VMs.

Most people select KVM for its excellent performance, privacy and flexibility, but it comes with a lack of stability and suffer I/O lag under heavy load.

However, KVM is the most popular technology when it comes to supporting both Linux and Windows guests. We choose an appropriate technology during installation by considering all these aspects.

3. Disk and swap allocation

Depending on the type of virtualization used, the disk partitioning of the nodes is be done. While allotting disk space, an approximate number of VMs is also taken into account.

For KVM and Xen, the / partition should be atleast 80 GB and configured as ext4/ext3 primary partition. In the case of OpenVZ, / has to be allocated a minimum of 40 GB.

KVM virtualization requires a huge swap of atleast 4 GB, as VMs may use this swap space. But for Xen, the swap space can be less than 4 GB, as VMs will not use this.

In OpenVZ, the swap needs to be twice the size of RAM. The /vz partition is allotted in such a way that there is enough space for storing the templates and virtual servers.

Conclusion

SolusVM enables VPS hosting providers to create and manage VPS instances for their customers. Today, we saw the 3 key parameters that Bobcares Engineers consider when we install SolusVM for our customers.