libvirt/docs/platforms.rst
Andrea Bolognani a0b02d5095 docs: platforms: Convert to reStructuredText
Signed-off-by: Andrea Bolognani <abologna@redhat.com>
Reviewed-by: Pavel Hrdina <phrdina@redhat.com>
2020-07-14 18:04:05 +02:00

101 lines
3.9 KiB
ReStructuredText

========================
Supported host platforms
========================
.. contents::
Libvirt aims to support building and executing on multiple host OS platforms,
as well as working with multiple hypervisors. This document outlines which
platforms are targeted for each of these areas.
Build targets
=============
These platforms are used as the basis for deciding upon the minimum required
versions of 3rd party software libvirt depends on. If a platform is not listed
here, it does not imply that libvirt won't work. If an unlisted platform has
comparable software versions to a listed platform, there is every expectation
that it will work. Bug reports are welcome for problems encountered on
unlisted platforms unless they are clearly older vintage than what is described
here.
Note that when considering software versions shipped in distros as support
targets, libvirt considers only the version number, and assumes the features in
that distro match the upstream release with the same version. In other words,
if a distro backports extra features to the software in their distro, libvirt
upstream code will not add explicit support for those backports, unless the
feature is auto-detectable in a manner that works for the upstream releases
too.
The `Repology`_ site is a useful resource to identify currently shipped
versions of software in various operating systems, though it does not cover all
distros listed below.
* `libvirt on Repology`_
* `qemu on Repology`_
* `qemu-kvm on Repology`_
Linux OS
--------
For distributions with frequent, short-lifetime releases, the project will aim
to support all versions that are not end of life by their respective vendors.
For the purposes of identifying supported software versions, the project will
look at Fedora, Ubuntu, and openSUSE distros. Other short-lifetime distros
will be assumed to ship similar software versions.
For distributions with long-lifetime releases, the project will aim to support
the most recent major version at all times. Support for the previous major
version will be dropped 2 years after the new major version is released. For
the purposes of identifying supported software versions, the project will look
at RHEL, Debian, Ubuntu LTS, and SLES distros. Other long-lifetime distros will
be assumed to ship similar software versions.
Windows
-------
The project supports building with current versions of the MinGW toolchain,
hosted on Linux.
macOS
-----
The project aims to support the most recent major version at all times. Support
for the previous major version will be dropped 2 years after the new major
version is released.
Note that to compile libvirt will require extra packages to be made available
on the macOS host. It is recommended to use `HomeBrew`_ since this is what
libvirt CI tests with, however, `MacPorts`_ is an alternative option that is
likely to work.
FreeBSD
-------
The project aims to support the most recent major version at all times. Support
for the previous major version will be dropped 2 years after the new major
version is released.
Virtualization platforms
========================
For `hypervisor drivers`_ which execute locally (QEMU, LXC, VZ, libxl, etc),
the set of supported operating system platforms listed above will inform
choices as to the minimum required versions of 3rd party libraries and
hypervisor management APIs.
If a hypervisor is not commonly shipped directly by any distro listed above,
(VMware ESX, HyperV, VZ), the project aims to support versions up to 5 years,
or until the vendor discontinues support, whichever comes first.
.. _HomeBrew: https://brew.sh/
.. _MacPorts: https://www.macports.org/
.. _Repology: https://repology.org/
.. _hypervisor drivers: drivers.html
.. _libvirt on Repology: https://repology.org/metapackage/libvirt/versions
.. _qemu on Repology: https://repology.org/metapackage/qemu/versions
.. _qemu-kvm on Repology: https://repology.org/metapackage/qemu-kvm/versions