Subject: another SoC project suggestion: kqemu kernel accelerator module port
To: None <tech-kern@NetBSD.org>
From: Hubert Feyrer <hubert@feyrer.de>
List: tech-kern
Date: 04/27/2006 13:53:59
Qemu is a software emulator for an Intel CPU (and others).
For Linux and FreeBSD, an accelerator module is available that
speeds up the whole emulation process considerably.
Having that module available on NetBSD would be nice.

I've had a quick look at the sources, and merging the FreeBSD and Linux 
sources shouldn't be impossible - it boils down to writing a LKM that 
allocates a bit of wired kernel memory and provides a character device 
driver to issue various commands. The commands (ioctls) would be C stub 
calls that then call into the actual accelerator module, which is only 
available as binary module.

Ideally, this would target the CVS version of qemu.

A first step would probably be to make a qemu-devel package that uses the 
CVS version of qemu, and then port the kqemu module.

Getting the X86_64 version to go would be a possible addition.

Work required for this: within SoC timeframe, including getting familiar 
with the VM and device driver interfaces in NetBSD as well as getting 
qemu-cvs to build.

Possible mentors: someone with slight kernel clue (VM, device drivers),
ie. not me X-)


  - Hubert