[Info-vax] VMWARE/ESXi Linux

[Arne Vajhøj]

On 12/3/2024 11:10 AM, Dan Cross wrote:
> In article <vina48$3sjr$6 at dont-email.me>,
> Arne Vajhøj  <arne at vajhoej.dk> wrote:
>> On 12/3/2024 10:36 AM, Dan Cross wrote:
>>> In article <vin68p$3sjr$4 at dont-email.me>,
>>> Arne Vajhøj  <arne at vajhoej.dk> wrote:
>>>> KVM runs in Linux not on Linux. Which makes it type 1.
>>>
>>> Nope.  KVM is dependent on Linux at this point.  The claim that
>>> it is a type-1 hypervisor is predicated on the idea that it was
>>> separable from Linux, but I don't think anyone believes that
>>> anymore.
>>
>> It is the opposite. KVM is type 1 not because it is separable
>>from Linux but because it is inseparable from Linux.
> 
> Kinda.  The claim is that KVM turns Linux+KVM into a type-1
> hypervisor; that is, the entire combination becomes a the HV.
> That's sort of a silly distinction, though, since the real
> differentiator, defined by Goldberg, is whether or not the VMM
> makes use of existing system services, which KVM very much does.

ESXi is basic OS functionality and virtualization services
in a single kernel.

Linux+KVM is basic OS functionality and virtualization services
in a single kernel.

They are logical working the same way.

The differences are not in how they work, but in history
and reusability in other contexts:
* Linux existed before KVM
* Linux has more functionality so it can be and is used without KVM

But type 1 vs type 2 should depend on how it works not on
history and reusability in other contexts.

Arne