KVMQEMU

KVMQEMU refers to the use of the KVM kernel module together with the QEMU user-space emulator to run virtual machines on Linux with hardware acceleration. In this arrangement, KVM provides the kernel-level virtualization infrastructure, including virtual CPUs and low-level VM management, while QEMU acts as the machine monitor and provides virtual hardware devices and I/O virtualization.

When hardware virtualization extensions (Intel VT-x or AMD-V) are available and the kvm kernel modules are loaded, QEMU can execute guest code directly on the host CPU, delivering near-native performance. QEMU handles memory management, device emulation, and I/O, while KVM handles the execution of guest code. If hardware acceleration is unavailable, QEMU can fall back to software emulation via TCG, which is much slower.

KVMQEMU supports a wide range of guest operating systems, including Linux, Windows, and BSD, and guest architectures such as x86_64 and arm64. Virtual disks are commonly stored in formats like qcow2 or raw, and virtual networks are implemented with virtio-based devices connected to bridges, TAP interfaces, or user networking. The virtio driver suite provides efficient paravirtualized I/O for storage and networking, among other devices.

Management of KVMQEMU instances is typically performed through higher-level tools such as libvirt (virsh, virt-manager) or OpenStack, though QEMU can be invoked directly. Common workflows include creating and booting VMs from disk images, configuring virtual networks, performing live migrations, and taking snapshots. KVMQEMU is widely supported across mainstream Linux distributions and forms a foundational technology for virtualized desktops, server virtualization, and cloud infrastructure.