feature-request: Hardware Virtualization GUI Info Utility

[Technologov]

Hi,

In continuing to the bug #1240, and other VT-x related bugs, I can say from personal experience, that hardware virtualization is not always transparent enough.

That is: Hardware virtualization becomes more and more sophisticated, but I'we not seen any "user-friendly" utility (either CLI or GUI), that shows that hosts VT capabilities.

I request either making a separate cross-platform utility for that purpose, or additional GUI Info Dialog within VBox GUI.

It must show the following:

• Intel VT-x
• Intel VT-d
• Intel Extended Page Tables (EPT)
• Intel FlexPriority
• AMD-V
• AMD Nested Page Tables (NPT)
• Whenever all the CPUs support all the features
• Whenever other virtualizer already uses those features currently (so they are not accessible to VBox)
• Whenever BIOS enables/disables those features.

Now, Linux has some limited capabilities in this field, and other platforms, provide even less info to the end-user.

It will really make life easier for lots of people.

-Technologov, 17.06.2008.

[Sander van Leeuwen]

All the information you ever wanted about VT-x or AMD-V is in the VBox.log file. Could perhaps be useful to add this to VBoxManage, but certainly not to the GUI.

[Technologov]

I have a good GUI idea.

It should be placed at:

Help->About CPU (similarly to Help->About VirtualBox)

-Technologov

[Technologov]

• AMD IOMMU

• Clarification: "Whenever all the CPUs support all the features" - I mean in SMP systems. (Some poorly constructed systems may contain broken BIOSes that don't enable VT for all the CPUs, or may have 2 different CPUs, while one supporting VT, and other don't)

sander wrote:

Could perhaps be useful to add this to VBoxManage, but certainly not to the GUI.

Speaking of VBox 2.0 and the new 64-bit capability, that requires VT - now this GUI utility became a MUST.

-Technologov

[Terry Ellison]

The path that VMware have chosen is to publish a standalone utility: ​http://www.vmware.com/pdf/processor_check.pdf. A standalone approach (or integrated into VBoxManage internalcommands) might be a pragmatic way to achieve this.

[Technologov]

This VMware check requires burning a CD, and restarting a machine - it is basically an OS. Very bad idea for most users.

Really, having this feature in a GUI is the best way IMHO.

This one is an old request. Can you please take a second look at it ?

-Technologov

[Technologov]

I mean - there is absolutely no software that fulfills this task in user-friendly (GUI), cross-platform way.

Since "vboxdrv" reads information directly from hardware, and is cross-platform, it should not be that difficult to pass that info to GUI.

[Technologov]

Help->About CPU (similarly to Help->About VirtualBox) is best idea for now.

[Technologov]

A few more technologies and must make it into the list are:

-Intel FlexMigration

-Intel VMX Unrestricted mode

-AMD-V Extended Migration

===

-Technologov

[dma_k]

Nice to have this hint somewhere in GUI. I vote for this issue.