No, actually OS virtualization doesn't generally use any hardware assistance. And my questions don't stem from ignorance; I have extensive experience with the

No, actually OS virtualization doesn't generally use any hardware assistance. And my questions don't stem from ignorance; I have extensive experience with the implementation of both OS virtualization[1] and HW virtualization[2] -- which is why I find the LXD specifics so peculiar. (All the more so that they imply that the support is forthcoming, not current -- and that they are talking to "silicon companies" not microprocessor vendors.) I think the best guess is what derefr posited, above: that they are using HW network virt as a way of avoiding building in proper network stack virtualization like that found in Crossbow.[3] Then again, given the degree to which LXD appears to be aspirational rather than actual, we might be overthinking it: perhaps the conversations with "silicon companies" are like LXD itself -- a daydream about what might be rather than a concrete reality. [1] http://www.slideshare.net/bcantrill/os-virtualization-40700689 http://www.slideshare.net/bcantrill/os-virtualization-407006... [2] http://www.slideshare.net/bcantrill/experiences-porting-kvm-to-smartos http://www.slideshare.net/bcantrill/experiences-porting-kvm-... [3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenSolaris_Network_Virtualization_and_Resource_Control http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenSolaris_Network_Virtualizat...