Why I Like Using Virt Manager + QEMU/KVM, Starting From Baked Spaghetti

infoivonblog.nkfjt@aleeas.com (Ivon Huang) — Mon, 08 Jul 2024 22:00:00 +0800

A side story not mentioned in Linux Leraning History! The QEMU/KVM skill tree.

As of now, common virtualization software on GNU/Linux systems includes:

QEMU/KVM, managed with Virt Manager or GNOME Boxes
Oracle VirtualBox
VMware
Xen

Why do the articles in this site’s “Virtual Machines and Container Technologies” category almost all discuss QEMU/KVM as the virtual machine software? (At least up to now.) This has to start with my obsession with QEMU/KVM.

I am not talented; my understanding of Linux virtualization is only like taking one ladle of water from the river.

1. Baked Spaghetti and QEMU/KVM
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The reason I have been enthusiastic about studying QEMU/KVM virtual machines to this day is that, at first, I wanted to migrate to Linux, but was worried about losing access to Windows functionality.

Before 2022, I had not yet come into contact with the cult-like free software ideology, so naturally I could not let go of Windows. Even though I knew Wine existed, I still hoped to have a virtual machine that could quickly create a Windows environment, so that I could run software when necessary.

(In hindsight: I did not expect that two years later I would go to the computer science department to learn C# programming. The virtual machine saved my life, letting me install Visual Studio and finish assignments.)

I already had some experience operating virtual machines before this, but I did not really understand the principles behind them. I only felt that VirtualBox and VMware were intuitive and easy to use! Systems could be installed whoosh, just like that. QEMU/KVM was unknown territory to me.

I vaguely understood that the greatest weak point of virtual machines was graphics processing capability, so starting in my sophomore year (2020), I began researching GPU passthrough technology.

At the school cafeteria attached to the National Pingtung University dormitory, I ordered baked spaghetti, sat down, took out my phone, and read articles written by “For Possible Sounds”, “CT Wang”, “How to Play LOL on Linux”, “Bird Brother”, and others, beginning my study of how to do GPU passthrough.

During the same period, I tried installing Hackintosh on bare metal. I read articles, went back to the dorm to test it, and actually succeeded! Ah, but I could not handle the audio card kext, so I gave up very quickly.

The shop served the meal in a small bowl. The spaghetti was wrapped in aluminum foil, with a hot baked crust covering the top. When I pierced it with a fork and rolled up tomato noodles with stringy cheese and crust, the crispy, sweet-and-sour feeling in my mouth was truly delicious.

Mamma mia, I simply could not understand what those online articles were writing. What IOMMU, VFIO, nouveau blacklist, what the heck!? Why does everyone introduce GPU passthrough like they are writing a thesis? While reading, I finished the noodles too, so I quit and went to sleep!

Slowly, by 2022, I successfully tried GPU passthrough on Ubuntu for the first time. It was not some sudden enlightenment, but success through repeated trial and error. After all, that was a time when I did not even know how to use vim.

Libvirt on Ivon's Blog

Why I Like Using Virt Manager + QEMU/KVM, Starting From Baked Spaghetti

1. Baked Spaghetti and QEMU/KVM #

1. Baked Spaghetti and QEMU/KVM
#