Re: [Xen-devel] Re: Vertualization of Unmodified Operating Systems

[Randy Thelen <rthelen@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Ronald G Minnich wrote:

> Is there a VT or pacifica laptop out there? Or is that technology  
> just "assumed" for later CPUs? I'd like to get such a laptop.
> It seems to me that I could boot Plan 9 unmodified, and from there,  
> develop the xenfront drivers I need, thus making test/debug much  
> easier.
All Apple Intel based Macintosh computers have VT-x capability (as of  
April, 2006; I can't speak for future products).  However, on some  
Mac Mini's a procedure is needed to enable VT-x.  I have followed the  
procedure 'documented' (I use that word in the loosest of meanings, I  
assure you) with correct results:
http://forum.parallels.com/thread577.html

However, I do not know of anyone who has run Xen on top of EFI based  
Intel machines.  EFI is Intel's replacement for BIOS.  The acronym  
expands to Extended Firmware Interface.  It's a much more powerful  
boot mechanism than BIOS and the tools for it are open sourced with  
the BSD license:
https://edk.tianocore.org/

In addition, in order to get Xen to work with Mac OS X as dom0, much  
work would have to go into porting the device drivers used for  
pciback, console, and other event channels; as well as porting the  
user applications.   It's a non-trivial porting effort, but I'm quite  
sure there are those who have contemplated it.  (Maybe there's a  
brave soul -doing- it?!)
-- Randy

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