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x86 virtualization is the use of hardware-assisted virtualization capabilities on an x86/x86-64 CPU.. In the late 1990s x86 virtualization was achieved by complex software techniques, necessary to compensate for the processor's lack of hardware-assisted virtualization capabilities while attaining reasonable performance.
Instruction set extensions that have been added to the x86 instruction set in order to support hardware virtualization.These extensions provide instructions for entering and leaving a virtualized execution context and for loading virtual-machine control structures (VMCSs), which hold the state of the guest and host, along with fields which control processor behavior within the virtual machine.
Hardware virtualization (or platform virtualization) pools computing resources across one or more virtual machines. A virtual machine implements functionality of a (physical) computer with an operating system. The software or firmware that creates a virtual machine on the host hardware is called a hypervisor or virtual machine monitor. [2]
Prior to 2005, x86 architecture processors were unable to meet the Popek and Goldberg requirements – a specification for virtualization created in 1974 by Gerald J. Popek and Robert P. Goldberg. However, both proprietary and open-source x86 virtualization hypervisor products were developed using software-based virtualization.
January 31, 2001, AMD and Virtutech release Simics/x86-64 ("Virtuhammer") to support the new 64-bit architecture for x86. Virtuhammer is used to port Linux distributions and the Windows kernel to x86-64 well before the first x86-64 processor was available in April 2003. June, Connectix launches its first version of Virtual PC for Windows.
Virtual 8086 mode is not available in x86-64 long mode, although it is still present on x86-64 capable processors running in legacy mode. Intel VT-x brings back the ability to run virtual 8086 mode from x86-64 long mode, but it has to be done by transitioning the (physical) processor to VMX root mode and launching a logical (virtual) processor ...
IDT (Centaur Technology x86 division acquired by VIA) Cyrix (acquired by National Semiconductor) National Semiconductor (sold the x86 PC designs to VIA and later the x86 embedded designs to AMD) NexGen (acquired by AMD) Chips and Technologies (acquired by Intel) Texas Instruments (discontinued its own x86 line) IBM (discontinued its own x86 line)
Oracle VM Server for x86 is a server virtualization offering from Oracle Corporation. Oracle VM Server for x86 incorporates the free and open-source Xen hypervisor technology, supports Windows , Linux , and Solaris [ 3 ] guests and includes an integrated Web based management console.