Open Source Cloud & Virtualization

KVM – Kernel-based Virtual Machine – is an open source hypervisor that provides enterprise-class performance, scalability and security to run Windows and Linux virtual machines. KVM provides organizations a cost-effective alternative to other x86 hypervisors, and enables a lower-cost, more scalable, and open virtualization platform.

KVM is a unique hypervisor. The KVM developers, instead of creating major portions of an operating system kernel themselves, as other hypervisors have done, devised a method that turned the Linux kernel itself into a hypervisor. This was achieved through a minimally intrusive method by developing KVM as kernel module. Integrating the hypervisor capabilities into a host Linux kernel as a loadable module can simplify management and improve performance in virtualized environments. This probably was the main reason for developers to add KVM to the Linux kernel.

KVM is supported by major industry players such as IBM, cisco, Intel, AMD, Redhat, Novell amongst others. The support of such companies to an open  source project cannot be understated.