LAB: Xen Orchestra 6 and XCP-NG - installation from the source via script from Roni Väyrynen

I was tinkering in my lab recently, and installing (or trying to) Xen Orchestra, whcih is a VMware vCenter server alternative as a management of XCP-NG hypervisors. I have already reported about XCP-NG on several blog posts, but in reality, I haven't really did a blog post about Xen Orchestra which is the main piece, as you need it to manage multiple XCP-NG hosts from a single UI.

Xen Orchestra (XO) is a complete, open-source solution for managing, visualizing, backing up, and delegating control over XCP-ng and XenServer virtualization infrastructures. It serves as the official web-based management interface for XCP-ng, offering a centralized, agentless platform accessible via a browser.

Xen Orchestra is an Open Source software developped and maintained by Vates, which, when you want to use it in production, you have much easier way to install it (via pre-built virtual appliance) than I show you today, via script. Also, the installation via script from Roni Väyrynen I'm showing today is good for labs only as it is not officially supported by Vates. XOA (Xen Orchestra Appliance) is a fullblown, prebuilt VM image (recommended for production) with professional support, automatic updates, and a trial for premium features.

But let's get back to our lab installation, via script. There is no GUI-based installation process for Xen Orchestra from sources on any Linux distro. So for users not familiar with Linux it might be an issue. The installation must be performed via the command line, but then, as each distro is different and many dependencies required, the script is graat help as it is able to gather the dependencies right and left whiel recognizing the distro that it is running on. (note only the supported distros works!). So yes, the XenOrchestraInstallerUpdater script greatly simplifies the manual steps and handles dependencies, compilation, and service setup.

The script is maintained by Roni Väyrynen and it's freely available on github. (if you like it, support the author – via PayPal!) The script can also do updates or rollbacks. It supports many Linux distributions or even containers. In my case, I picked up Rocky Linux 10. (there is CentOS 10 Stream, CentOS 9 Stream, AlmaLinux 10, AlmaLinux 9, AlmaLinux 8, Rocky Linux 10, Rocky Linux 9, Rocky Linux 8, Debian 13, Debian 12, Debian 11, Ubuntu 24.04, Ubuntu 22.04.

Steps to Install Xen Orchestra from Sources on Rocky Linux 10 (Using Script)

Follow the steps bellow.

Update System

sudo dnf -y update
sudo systemctl reboot

Install Required Tools

sudo dnf install -y git curl wget vim

Download the Installer Script

git clone https://github.com/ronivay/XenOrchestraInstallerUpdater.git
cd XenOrchestraInstallerUpdater
cp sample.xo-install.cfg xo-install.cfg

Edit Configuration (Optional)

Open xo-install.cfg with vim or nano.
Set PORT=”443″ (or another port).
Set PRESERVE=”15″ to keep 15 backup configurations.

Save and exit.

Run the Installer

sudo ./xo-install.sh

Select Option 1 for a fresh install.

The script will install Node.js, Yarn, dependencies, build Xen Orchestra, and set up the service.

And then, simply go to the main page of Xen Orchestra

Default credentials

User: [email protected]
Password: admin

The new Xen Orchestra 6 is the default. (note: you can go back to XO5 via link showing within the UI).

The XO6 looks more polish, more finished from the design perspective as well.

It has a completely rebuilt interface using Vue.js for improved performance, maintainability, and developer experience, featuring a modern, intuitive design with a long-requested tree view for infrastructure navigation.

Key new features and improvements include:

Enhanced backup engine with support for large disks (2TiB+), differential restores, and built-in backup health checks for more reliable recovery.
Real-time reactivity via a new event stream system, eliminating the need for manual refreshes and enabling instant updates across views.
Fully documented Swagger-based REST API, designed to better integrate with DevOps workflows, CI/CD pipelines, and tools like Terraform and Pulumi.
Improved UX/UI with better organization, clearer workflows, and support for internationalization through Weblate.
Read-only access in the initial release, with most day-to-day operations still recommended via the XO 5 interface, though some actions (like VM and network creation) are available in XO

XO 6 is currently available only on the latest release channel (and via the repo) and is intended for admins with a dedicated feedback platform to guide future development. The transition from XO 5.x is finalized with the release of XO 5.113, the last in the 5.x series.

I see this solution goin steady up, especially when thinking that Veeam Backup and Replication will have it listed as one of its supporting platforms! As the vast majority of Veeam users are VMware shops, the considerations to migrate to other hypervisors, such as XCP-NG is higher for the upcomming months/years.

LAB: Xen Orchestra 6 and XCP-NG – installation from the source via script from Roni Väyrynen