[coLinux-users] coLinux 0.6.1

[Dan A. <da...@co...>]

Hello,

I have just released 0.6.1. It is not that different from the
latest snapshot accept a fix in the installer for the upgrade
of the TAP driver + a workaround to make TAP networking work
under service mode in Windows XP.

This version of coLinux brings forth a bunch of fixes against
0.6.0, plus a few changes in interface of the daemon, an 
upgrade to the recent version of the TAP driver, and a Linux
port (it requires a kernel module and therefore not distributed 
as binaries).

UPGRADING from 0.6.0 and earlier:

It is better to remove the old version from Add/Remove programs 
before beginning intallation.

Please take into account that rebooting after installation 
could be necessary in order for the actual upgrade of the 
TAP driver to take place, unless you prefer to play with it 
manually. The new version will not work with the old TAP
driver. Both OpenVPN and coLinux will work now with the 
same TAP driver version.

Also, the name attribute of the network element in the 
configuration is now matched against the TAP adapter name that
appears in the Network Connections Control Panel, so you need 
either to have them matched for that particular TAP to be 
used, or remove the 'name' attribute altogether to let the 
first TAP device detected to be used instead.

The coLinux daemon requires the '-c' command line switch
and will not use default.colinux.xml by default :) You
should have already copied default.colinux.xml to another
name and use that switch anyway.



Changes:
* Version 0.6.1 
  * Multiple virtual NICs are supported (eth1, eth2, etc...).
  * Some small bugfixes.	 
  * Added the ability to send Ctrl-Alt-Del to the Linux machine.
  * Linux patch updated to 2.4.26	
  * Linux port (for systems running kernel 2.6.x)
  * Fixed a crash that could happen on swapoff().
  * Initmem is freed (no more 'missing implementation')
  * The number of maximum cobd block devices was increased to 32.
  * The daemon process is pinned to the first processor until
    we get the SMP stability issue fixed.
  * Time is not going backward for gettimeofday() users anymore.
  * Support for running more than one instance of coLinux is now functional.	 
  * No port I/O allowed from userspace: the guest Linux can't change the host's 
    clock, and it also fixed crashes that were caused by trying to run X.
  * Windows: 
    * Sizes of raw partition devices are now detected properly. This 
      means that the resierfs problems should be over, plus cat /dev/cobd* 
      would work for you.
    * Suspension of the host machine won't cause colinux-daemon problems like 
      memory leaks.
    * The daemon can install itself as a service (Jaroslaw Kowalski). 
      Stopping the service sends Ctrl-Alt-Del to let the Linux VM
      shutdown cleanly.
    * The daemon can install the linux.sys driver separately from its run,
      which can allow you to run coLinux as any user that have access to
      the installed driver (Daniel R. Slater).	 
    * coLinux now builds using MingW32 and no longer depends on cygwin1.dll.
    * Added scripts for building the MingW32 cross compiler on Linux,
      plus scripts that download, compile, and install the libraries
      coLinux depends on.
    * The name of the TAP device to use can be specified with the
      'name' attribute in the XML. NOTICE: The name is matched against
      the string that appears in Network Connections (e.g., 'Local Area 
      Connection') and not the device name assigned by Windows (e.g.,
      'TAP-Win32 Adapter')
    * The driver is installed from the daemon's installation directory
      rather than from the current running directory.
  * Linux port:
    * Sending SIGHUP to the daemon causes it to issue Ctrl-Alt-Del on the
      Linux VM.
  * Consoles: 
    * Fixed a bug in the clear operation: let it clear with the right video 
      erase character so that ncurses apps would appear properly.
    * Fixed virtual console switching (alt-f1, alt-f2, etc.) so it will
      save/redraw the screen like it should.
    * FLTK: The cursor is visible again.
    * If keyboard focus is taken away from the consoles, it will release
      any pressed key in the VM.

-- 
Dan Aloni
da...@co...