Linux KVM Continues Offering Much Better Performance Than VirtualBox

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Linux KVM Continues Offering Much Better Performance Than VirtualBox

With the release earlier this month of Oracle VirtualBox 6.0, besides running some benchmarks of its VMSVGA 3D graphics support, I also ran some basic benchmarks to see how a similarly configured VM under both VirtualBox 6.0 with Linux KVM setup via virt-manager would compare for performance as we hit the end of 2018. This quick round of Linux virtualization tests was done on the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX system.

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=27348

[birdie]

It would be great to add VMWare WS to the mix as well - however I'm not sure their EULA allows that.

[birdie]

Michael

Please also post the results of `7z b`

[AsuMagic]

I wonder if the difference is as noticeable with a Windows guest. Unfortunately though there's no way I know of for getting desktop acceleration with qemu/KVM for D3D.

[equeim]

Doesn't VirtualBox also uses KVM on Linux? So it's more like VirtualBox vs QEMU.

[Berniyh]

Did you set Paravirtualization Interface to KVM and enabled HW virtualization in Virtuabox settings?

If I understand the documentation correctly, this should be done automatically and actually it doesn't quite do what you think it does.

https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch...l#gimproviders
Oracle VM VirtualBox enables the exposure of a paravirtualization interface, to facilitate accurate and efficient execution of software within a virtual machine. These interfaces require the guest operating system to recognize their presence and make use of them in order to leverage the benefits of communicating with the Oracle VM VirtualBox hypervisor.

Most modern mainstream guest operating systems, including Windows and Linux, ship with support for one or more paravirtualization interfaces. Hence, there is typically no need to install additional software in the guest to take advantage of this feature.

Exposing a paravirtualization provider to the guest operating system does not rely on the choice of host platforms. For example, the Hyper-V paravirtualization provider can be used for VMs to run on any host platform supported by Oracle VM VirtualBox and not just Windows.

Oracle VM VirtualBox provides the following interfaces:

• Minimal: Announces the presence of a virtualized environment. Additionally, reports the TSC and APIC frequency to the guest operating system. This provider is mandatory for running any Mac OS X guests.

• KVM: Presents a Linux KVM hypervisor interface which is recognized by Linux kernels version 2.6.25 or later. Oracle VM VirtualBox's implementation currently supports paravirtualized clocks and SMP spinlocks. This provider is recommended for Linux guests.

• Hyper-V: Presents a Microsoft Hyper-V hypervisor interface which is recognized by Windows 7 and newer operating systems. Oracle VM VirtualBox's implementation currently supports paravirtualized clocks, APIC frequency reporting, guest debugging, guest crash reporting and relaxed timer checks. This provider is recommended for Windows guests.

VBoxManager doc also says that KVM is the default for Linux and hyperv is the default for Windows:

--paravirtprovider none|default|legacy|minimal|hyperv|kvm: Specifies which paravirtualization interface to provide to the guest operating system. Specifying none explicitly turns off exposing any paravirtualization interface. The option default selects an appropriate interface when starting the VM, depending on the guest OS type. This is the default option chosen when creating new VMs. The legacy option is used for VMs which were created with older Oracle VM VirtualBox versions and will pick a paravirtualization interface when starting the VM with Oracle VM VirtualBox 5.0 and newer. The minimal provider is mandatory for Mac OS X guests. kvm and hyperv are recommended for Linux and Windows guests respectively. These options are explained in Section 11.4, “Paravirtualization Providers”.

[birdie]

Doesn't VirtualBox also uses KVM on Linux? So it's more like VirtualBox vs QEMU.

No. It has its own hypervisor which had existed long before KVM got released.

[geearf]

No. It has its own hypervisor which had existed long before KVM got released.

Is there any special benefit to it?

[rastersoft]

No. It has its own hypervisor which had existed long before KVM got released.

Mmm... But in System->Acceleration->Paravirtualization Interface you can choose between: Default, Inherited, Minimal, Hyper-V and KVM... Does it have something to do with allowing to use KVM under the hood, or it is something else?

[Berniyh]

Mmm... But in System->Acceleration->Paravirtualization Interface you can choose between: Default, Inherited, Minimal, Hyper-V and KVM... Does it have something to do with allowing to use KVM under the hood, or it is something else?

My post above gives you all the answers you need.