---
name: "fence_xvmd"
section: "8"
platform: "linux"
package: "cman"
version: "3.0.12-3.2+deb7u2"
release: "Debian 7 (Wheezy)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/fence_xvmd"
---

# fence\_xvmd(8)

Libvirt-based, general purpose fencing host for virtual machines.

## NAME

fence\_xvmd - Libvirt-based, general purpose fencing host for virtual machines.

## SYNOPSIS

**fence\_xvmd** \[*OPTION*\]...

## DESCRIPTION

fence\_xvmd is an I/O Fencing host which resides on bare metal machines and is used in conjunction with the fence\_xvm fencing agent.  Together, these two programs can be used to fence can be used  machines which are part of a cluster.

If the virtual machines are backed by clustered storage or the virtual machines may be migrated to other physical machines, all physical machines in question must also be a part of their own CMAN/OpenAIS based cluster.  Furthermore, the bare metal cluster is required to have fencing configured if virtual machine recovery is expected to be automatic.

fence\_xvmd accepts options on the command line and from cluster.conf

## OPTIONS

- **-f**

  Foreground mode (do not fork)

- **-d**

  Enable debugging output.  The more times you specify this parameter, the more debugging output you will receive.

- **-i** *family*

  IP family to use (auto, ipv4, or ipv6; default = auto)

- **-a** *address*

  Multicast address to listen on (default=225.0.0.12 for ipv4, ff02::3:1 for ipv6)

- **-p** *port*

  Port to use (default=1229)

- **-I** *interface*

  Network interface to listen on, e.g. eth0.

- **-C** *auth*

  Authentication type (none, sha1, sha256, sha512; default=sha256).  This controls the authentication mechanism used to authenticate clients.  The three SHA hashes use a key which must be shared between both the virtual machines and the host machine or cluster.  The three SHA authentication  mechanisms use a simple bidirectional challenge-response based on pseudo- random number generation and a shared private key.

- **-c** *hash*

  Packet hash type (none, sha1, sha256, sha512; default=sha256).  This controls the hashing mechanism used to authenticate fencing requests.  The three SHA hashes use a key which must be shared between both the virtual machines and the host machine or cluster.

- **-k** *key\_file*

  Use the specified key file for packet hashing / SHA authentication. When both the hash type and the authentication type are set to "none", this parameter is ignored.

- **-u**

  Fence by UUID instead of virtual machine name.

- **-?**

  Print out a help message describing available options, then exit.

- **-h**

  Print out a help message describing available options, then exit.

- **-X**

  Do not connect to CCS for configuration; only use command line parameters.  CCS configuration parameters override command line parameters (because they are cluster-wide), so if you need to  override a configuration option contained in CCS, you must specify this parameter.

- **-L**

  Local-only / non-cluster mode.  When used with -X, this this option prevents fence\_xvmd from operating as a clustered service, obviating the need to configure/run CMAN on the host domain.

- **-U** *uri*

  Force use of the specified URI for connecting to the hypervisor.

- **-V**

  Print out a version message, then exit.

## CCS PARAMETERS

CCS options are simply attributes of the \<fence\_xvmd\> tag, a child of the \<cluster\> tag in /etc/cluster/cluster.conf.

- *debug="1"*

  Same as the -d option.  Specify numbers \>1 for more debugging information.

- *family="param"*

  Same as the -i option.

- *multicast\_address="param"*

  Same as the -a option.

- *port="param"*

  Same as the -p option.

- *auth="param"*

  Same as the -C option.

- *hash="param"*

  Same as the -c option.

- *key\_file="param"*

  Same as the -k option.

- *use\_uuid="1"*

  Same as the -u option.

- [fence(8)](/fence/8.md), [fence\_node(8)](/fence_node/8.md), [fence\_xvm(8)](/fence_xvm/8.md)

  ## SEE ALSO