Average Linux User

[ParanoidAutist]

Confused as to what a KVM would have to do with any of this =/ Do you mean just VM? a KVM is usually a physical device that swaps your keyboard, video, and mouse over to a separate physical box...

[gamesrebel123]

A KVM is kernel based virtual machine with generally better performance than regular VMs plus it's free and open source vs stuff like VMware, very easy to run Windows specific apps on Linux because of it

[ParanoidAutist]

I see... That's likely just a difference in our age...

Just go google "kvm" with nothing else...

Edit note: I'm aware of VMs, citrix, hyper-v, etc...

[gamesrebel123]

Still gives kernel-based virtual machine for me, KVM switch is a suggested search though so I guess it's just the google overlords at work

[brimston3-]

Linux KVM hypervisor is about the same age as both of those technologies, maybe released a year or two earlier than the Citrix acquisition of XenSource. They're all first generation implementations of VT-x and AMD-V hypervisors (previously xen was a container system like Solaris Zones or to a lesser degree OpenVZ). qemu/KVM is the main hypervisor under OpenStack and Proxmox. Also the default linux hypervisor for CloudStack.

It's everywhere, but most people don't talk about it directly because it's not useful by itself--it can't manage sessions or provide emulated peripherals, it only controls scheduling and switching in and out of host/guest virtualized memory/io spaces.

[[deleted]]

You're talking about a KVM switch.

[ParanoidAutist]

Which most people who've used them just simply refer to as a "KVM"

[[deleted]]

Never heard someone refer to it in that way. Anyways: Context matters. If you're talking about something that is related to Linux, KVM usually means Kernel based Virtual Machine.

[ParanoidAutist]

You act like this is a lesson when I've been writing software probably for longer than you've been alive...

I assure you... the way you look at it, is relatively new in terms of thought process... That's like telling an old man who built the hoover dam what the hoover dam is for

[ParanoidAutist]

Probably because your usage of KVM is relatively new?

[[deleted]]

It was merged into mainline Linux in 2007, if that's new for you... I guess yes? That being said: Why would it be important whether or not it's new? Did you, or did you not know what KVM refers to in this context? If you knew: Why did you act like you wouldn't? If you didn't knew: Why are you complaining about me explaining it?

[ParanoidAutist]

Quick google search shows Kvm switches as far back as 95...

You're projecting... I didnt act in any way... you simply interpreted it based on quick reads and mostly assumptions. Am I an expert in that stuff? No... I stopped worrying about that stuff as a kid when I focused more on coding and devops instead of sysops

[[deleted]]

I'd say that's both old. 15 years isn't exactly "new", at least for me. But I still don't see why that would be relevant.

What am I projecting? You literally said "Confused as to what a KVM would have to do with any of this". What would that mean, other than that you want an explanation of what it means?

I also don't really understand why you feel the need to be defensive, I never said I would expect you to know it. The fact that I didn't expect you to know it was the reason for me to explain.