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Hardware virtualization for intel/amd processors did not come until 2006. So you could run VMWare and get decent performance with paravirtualized drivers, but
by dsp1234 11y ago
Hardware virtualization for intel/amd processors did not come until 2006. So you could run VMWare and get decent performance with paravirtualized drivers, but running a completely different OS would have required software virtualization, and it was not fast by any means. Booting to the other operating system was a much better experience since the OS would then have full use of the resources without software virtualization being in the way.
- wang_li 11y agoSoftware only virtualization was faster than the first generation of hardware supported virtualization. See page 7. of this document: http://www.vmware.com/pdf/asplos235_adams.pdf http://www.vmware.com/pdf/asplos235_adams.pdf
- thrownaway2424 11y agoIndeed. It is quite amazing how history is being revised here. Software virtualization was extremely useful from day 1.