tag
QEMU
5 posts
virt-install Explained: Every Flag for an arm64 Guest
The command that builds a Debian guest on a Raspberry Pi 5 has 14 options, answering seven questions. Learn the questions, and write the next command yourself.
Why VirtIO Is Faster Than Emulated Devices: Virtqueues and vhost-net Explained
Emulated devices are slow because they faithfully imitate hardware never designed for software. VirtIO throws that away, and lets the guest cooperate instead.
What ioctl(KVM_RUN) Does: The VM Exit Loop Explained
One system call, ioctl(KVM_RUN), repeated in a loop, is what running a virtual machine physically is. This post looks closely at it, and at the VM exit loop.
How QEMU Emulates Hardware: Device Models, MMIO, and TCG
Every device your guest sees is C code responding to memory addresses. Once you see the trick, QEMU stops being mysterious, and its performance predictable.
KVM vs QEMU vs libvirt: Who Does What
Three pieces, one running VM. Each exists because of a specific gap the layer below it leaves, which is a better way to learn them than three definitions.