XCP-ng

XCP-ng at a glance

XCP-ng is an open-source virtualization platform based on Xen (a community-driven Citrix Hypervisor alternative), popular in homelabs and SMBs, usually managed with Xen Orchestra. XCP-ng ships regular releases plus patches and security fixes; as a hypervisor hosting many VMs, careful updates matter.

For admins updates run through the pool management (yum-based patches, or rolling pool upgrades for major versions) — apply patches promptly, and for major upgrades follow the documented rolling procedure so VMs stay up by migrating between hosts. Back up VM metadata and take snapshots first. Keep the management network isolated and access controlled, since a hypervisor is a high-value target. After patching, verify that hosts, storage and VM migration work. Track the version and its support window, and keep Xen Orchestra compatible. Patchletter surfaces new XCP-ng releases so security patches aren't missed.