KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) is a full virtualization solution built into the Linux kernel. OpenStack Foundation user surveys consistently indicate that KVM is the most commonly used Hypervisor for OpenStack deployments, managed using the Libvirt driver for OpenStack Compute (Nova). Despite this sustained popularity development of the driver, and indeed the underlying Hypervisor itself, continues at a frantic pace.
This presentation will help you make sense of it all starting with an overview of the way Nova, Libvirt, and KVM interact before analysing progress made in Kilo on utilizing key Libvirt/KVM features in Nova including:
- Instance vCPU pinning
- Huge page backed instances
- Enhanced NUMA topology awareness
- Enhanced iSCSI interaction
...and more! The session will close with a discussion of how in addition to exposing existing Libvirt/KVM features emerging OpenStack use cases - such as Network Function Virtualization (NFV) and High Performance Computing (HPC) - are driving open innovation in the Libvirt, QEMU, and KVM projects themselves.
