The Performance Of Ubuntu KVM Virtualization

[phoronix]

Phoronix: The Performance Of Ubuntu KVM Virtualization

The Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) has been in the mainline Linux kernel since Linux 2.6.20 in early 2007 and over time it has become one of the most widely used virtualization platforms on Linux. Ubuntu uses KVM, Fedora uses KVM, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux has even switched from Xen to preferring KVM, among others. While occasionally we deliver new KVM virtualization benchmarks, we decided to investigate how the performance of KVM virtualization has changed -- if at all -- over the past two years for better or worse.

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=14922

[xeros]

Nice benchmark. I wonder how's the performance of KVM compared to XEN. Althrough using Ubuntu as dom0 with XEN i very problematic

[spirit]

Phoronix: The Performance Of Ubuntu KVM Virtualization

The Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) has been in the mainline Linux kernel since Linux 2.6.20 in early 2007 and over time it has become one of the most widely used virtualization platforms on Linux. Ubuntu uses KVM, Fedora uses KVM, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux has even switched from Xen to preferring KVM, among others. While occasionally we deliver new KVM virtualization benchmarks, we decided to investigate how the performance of KVM virtualization has changed -- if at all -- over the past two years for better or worse.

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=14922

did you have use virtio drivers for disks and network drivers for the vms ?
Because it's include since 2.6.25 kernel, and the perfs are much better (near real host performance). they are pv drivers like in xen kernel.

[VinzC]

did you have use virtio drivers for disks and network drivers for the vms ?
Because it's include since 2.6.25 kernel, and the perfs are much better (near real host performance). they are pv drivers like in xen kernel.

You are absolutely right. Benchmarking virtual machines without virtio makes these tests completely irrelevant and useless.