Re: [qvm86-devel] kqemu 1.3.0 compatibility and small bugfix

[Luke-Jr]

On Wednesday 15 February 2006 07:20, Jim C. Brown wrote:
> On Wed, Feb 15, 2006 at 07:11:45AM +0000, Luke-Jr wrote:
> > Any idea why kqemu/qvm86 are kernel-level? Couldn't the majority of
> > virtualization occur in userspace and leave the rest emulated?
>
> As I understand it, all virtualization done by qvm86 and older versions of
> kqemu occur in a sort of userspace.
>
> It is simply that one does not have the proper access to required
> structures (such as LDT, GDT, etc) in the userspace of the host, so kernel
> level access (specifically ring 0 access) is required.

Why are the structures needed? Could perhaps they be simply exported to 
userland with a patch and qvm86 itself moved there?

I don't like the idea that a bug in qvm86 could theoretically freeze/panic my 
entire system, and don't plan to use it (nor kqemu), until that somehow 
changes... Keeping the kernel changes minimal (eg, exporting stuff to 
userland) reduces the code a dangerous bug can possibly occur in.
-- 
Luke-Jr
Developer, Utopios
http://utopios.org/