The next stable release of the Linux kernel will reportedly have a new paravirtualization ABI (application binary interface) contributed by VMware. The 2.6.21 kernel's “VMI” (virtual machine interface) ABI aims to let Linux modify itself for faster performance when run under a hypervisor.

According to a report at eWEEK, VMware originally hoped VMI could serve generically with any hypervisor, including Xen as well as VMware, and perhaps even L4. However, “pushback” from Linux developers resulted in VMI getting implemented as a patch to the PARAVIRT config option added in 2.6.20. So, rather than a single ABI for all hypervisors, Linux will eventually offer various paravirtualization hooks, the eWEEK story suggests.

eWEEK also reported that Ubuntu 7.04 will include a VMI-enabled kernel, while a forthcoming VMware Workstation 6.0 release will be capable of exploiting VMI-enabled kernels. The brief story can be found here.

Availability

Linux kernel 2.6.21 is currently available in rc5 (release candidate 5) form.

 
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