Real mode emulation

Real mode emulation

[Ben Collins]

Being able to boot Ubuntu's liveCD from KVM is fairly important to me at
this point.

We use a bootsplash, and I don't think that's going to change. We do
have alternate install CD's, but they don't boot to a live session,
where people can test things (plus virtualization technologies like KVM
provide us with a quick and dirty test bed for liveCD boot/install).

What all is involved in doing the x86_emulate.c changes for real mode?
Some docs, and maybe a bit of explanation on where these changes need to
be made.

Thanks

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Re: Real mode emulation

[Avi Kivity]

Ben Collins wrote:
> Being able to boot Ubuntu's liveCD from KVM is fairly important to me at
> this point.
>
> We use a bootsplash, and I don't think that's going to change. 

Nor should you -- that's a kvm bug, and guests need not work around it.


> We do
> have alternate install CD's, but they don't boot to a live session,
> where people can test things (plus virtualization technologies like KVM
> provide us with a quick and dirty test bed for liveCD boot/install).
>
> What all is involved in doing the x86_emulate.c changes for real mode?
> Some docs, and maybe a bit of explanation on where these changes need to
> be made.
>
>   

There's some details in

  
http://www.mail-archive.com/kvm-devel%40lists.sourceforge.net/msg00626.html

In addition to the x86_emulate.c changes listed there, you'd need to 
change vmx_vcpu_run() to call the emulator in guest real mode, instead 
of using VT.

-- 
Do not meddle in the internals of kernels, for they are subtle and quick to panic.


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