KVM

KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) is a full virtualization solution for Linux that turns the Linux kernel into a Type 1 hypervisor, leveraging hardware virtualization extensions.

Key Features

• Kernel Integration - Built into the Linux kernel since 2.6.20
• Hardware Acceleration - Uses Intel VT-x and AMD-V extensions
• QEMU Integration - Works with QEMU for device emulation
• Live Migration - Move running VMs between hosts
• Memory Management - Kernel Same-page Merging (KSM) for efficiency

Security Features

• SELinux Integration - Mandatory access control for VMs
• sVirt - Security framework for VM isolation
• Secure Boot - UEFI Secure Boot support
• Memory Encryption - AMD SEV and Intel TME support
• Namespaces and Cgroups - Resource isolation

Use Cases

• Linux-based server virtualization
• Cloud infrastructure (OpenStack, Proxmox)
• Cost-effective enterprise virtualization
• Security research and malware analysis labs
• Development environments