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Linux Kernel to Include KVM Virtualization
It looks like the newest version of the Linux kernel (2.6.20) will include KVM, the relatively new virtualization environment. From the article: "Thanks to its approach KVM already runs in the current kernel, without any extensive bouts of patching and compiling being required, after the fairly simple compilation of a module. Virtual machines that run unmodified operating systems are meant to appear in the host as a simple process and work independently of the host kernel. In a fashion comparable to that of Xen a modified QEMU is used for the supportive emulation of typical PC components of the virtual machines."
All three-letter acronyms are recycled many times already but it will not stop future projects/organizations to recycle them once more.
839*929
It mentions some code names but I'm not au fait with Intel or AMD code names. How long have these functions been in CPUs? Will my P4 support it or is it only the latest core duos and so forth?
> there I was thinking that my Belkin KVM switch was finally gonna work properly
> (I have two mice connected as the switch cannot switch the mice correctly)
Keyboard and mouse data comes in packets of about 3 or 4 bytes. If a KVM switch toggles mid-packet the PC and/or the peripheral may get badly confused. A well-designed KVM product will get this right, but many don't; it looks like your Belkin product falls into this category.
KVM swithces also vary enormously in their video quality. It is a mistake to think of a KVM switch as a "commodity" device. It is well worth spending a bit extra to get a well-designed product. You're unlikely to have any problems with Adder or Avocent kit.
If you it gives another OS *full* access to everything then you'd be just as vulnerable to viruses , worms etc as if you were running that OS natively and you could well find your linux filesystem hosed. Hopefully guest OSes will be in a sandbox or at the very least only allowed to directly access specific user defined hardware resources. If not then I certainly won't be taking advantage of this system anytime soon.
If the full interface documentation for recent Nvidia and ATI video cards was released, and GPL-compatible drivers existed, this would probably already be in the works.
http://outcampaign.org/
Er. No, it's not secure. We're just lucky that most leet haxors (that we know about...) are really just script kiddies without the technical know-how to do the fancier stuff. A malicious program running on your GPU or other expansion card has privileged access to your physical memory.
The PC architecture (and I use the term loosely...) simply doesn't have proper memory protected I/O "channels" like mainframe I/O. (I dunno about PCI Express, since it's a cut-down channel architecture, maybe it, maybe in conjunction with an AMD-syle x86_64 IOMMU, could properly memprotect all thos noncpu processors modern PeeCees tend to have).
Why does it matter if you're running a proprietary OS in a proprietary VM? If you're concerned about only using free software, why bother with the proprietary OS? If you're wanting to virtualize Free operating systems, use Xen. It rocks.
"It ain't a war against drugs.it's a war against personal freedom" --Bill Hicks
Games is not the main barrier to adoption. The home desktop is low price, low margin cut-throat business. Why would VMware, XenSource etc. want to go after a market which will be difficult to support, and not provide them with the money they need to keep going? The corporate market (particularly servers) is far larger and far more important for them - so don't expect video drivers to ever be a priority.
Oolite: Elite-like game. For Mac, Linux and Windows
Games may be an inhibitor for Linux adoption in the home market, but Xen/QEmu/KVM/VMWare aren't aimed at the home market at all. When you consider the fact that what you want is most definitely not a simple task, you may understand why nobody has done it yet.
Game! - Where the stick is mightier than the sword!
"a crashing X session won't bring your whole machine down."
If it locks up the video sub system it can make the machine unusable except via a net or dumb terminal connection , which could mean the machine needs a reboot. Not good in a business enviroment.
I understand we are talking about virtual machines that is multiple OS's running on the same machine simultaneously.
My question is: what does that offer me? Other then possibly running a linux and XP on my home machine what could that possibly offer anyone?
Thanx
Julian
I go out of my way to complicate the simple things, so that I can simplify the complicated things.