Re: Xen vs VMware

[Magnus Eriksson <magetoo@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Sat, 21 Oct 2006, walt wrote:

> Andreas Hauser wrote:

> > Unless you use a current processor (Intel or Amd e.g.) which come with hardware
> > virtualization...

> Can you point out which processors have this hardware -- are they the
> 64-bit models only?  My instincts tell me that the 64-bit hardware
> could virtualize a 32-bit machine -- but that's a pure guess on my part.

Since people recently asked on NetBSD's port-xen list:

(I don't think it has anything to do with 64 vs 32 bit, by the way.)


MAgnus


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2006 18:21:19 +0200
From: Manuel Bouyer <bouyer@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: upgraded to 3.0.3, with hvm support

On Fri, Oct 20, 2006 at 12:09:55PM -0400, Steven M. Bellovin wrote:
> I'm now persuaded that I need to update my desktop machine to one that
> supports HVM...  (Is there any way to tell from vendor literature if the
> CPU has the right features?)

For Intel it's
http://indigo.intel.com/compare_cpu/default.aspx?familyID=1&culture=en-US

What you're looking for is  "VT"

--
Manuel Bouyer, LIP6, Universite Paris VI.           Manuel.Bouyer@xxxxxxx
     NetBSD: 26 ans d'experience feront toujours la difference
--

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2006 19:17:36 +0200
From: Christian Biere <christianbiere@xxxxxx>
Reply-To: port-xen@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: upgraded to 3.0.3, with hvm support

[...]

> > What you're looking for is  "VT"
>
> Though the AMD stuff virtualizes a bit more, and performance is supposed
> to be somewhat better, right?
>
> Which AMD CPUs have virtualization?  I am having some trouble figuring out.

Recent models of the Athlon 64, Opteron and Turion. They used to call it
"Pacifica" but call it "AMD-V" now. I think AMD has a marketing issue. Xen
apparently supports AMD Pacifica since 3.0.2.

--
Christian