Re: Linux with kvm-intel locks up VMplayer guest is started

[Anthony Liguori]

devzero@xxxxxx wrote:
> i`d like to give a comment about those claims in this thread (see below),  vmware kernel part would be closed source or binary module.
>
> i think, they arenŽt. they just are not available via public/opensource code repository.
>
> just go and download workstation 6.5 beta from:
>
> http://download3.vmware.com/software/wkst/VMware-workstation-e.x.p-91182.i386.tar.gz
> (you may need register for that)
>
> unpack and take a look at vmware-distrib/lib/modules/source - there is source for 6 independent kernel
> modules in those .tar files:
>
> vmblock, vmci, vmmon, vmnet, vmppuser and vsock. (~3MB alltogether)
>   

vmmon is sort of a stub that loads the actual monitor which is a binary 
blob.

Regards,

Anthony Liguori

> regards
> roland
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>   
> > i think what he's saying is that VMWare is a closed binary blob
> > executing in the kernel; so there's no way to certify anything with
> > this.
> >     
>
>   
> > as soon as you put some unknown (and unknowable, unverifiable,
> > untrustable) code in the kernel, you can't know what will work and
> > what won't.
> >     
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>   
> > So ask vmware. They have source to both parts we don't."
> >     
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>   
> > If the VMware code was upstream, then we could work together to make a 
> > software arbitration mechanism.  It's not, and worse yet, it's closed 
> > source so there's no chance it will be.  Even if someone wrote an 
> > arbitration mechanism and got VMware to use it, it still shouldn't be 
> > merged because KVM would be the only thing using that mechanism 
> > upstream.  I'm not interested in adding kernel infrastructure to support 
> > external binary kernel modules.
> >     
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>   
> > VMware is a binary kernel module that's out of kernel.  KVM is not 
> > misbehaving and the fact that VMware breaks when the KVM module is 
> > loaded isn't our problem.  If they submitted their code for inclusion in 
> > mainline, we could possibly come up with solution for arbitrating who is 
> > using VT.
> >     
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
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>   

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