wiki/phyllomeos/purpose.md

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---
title: Purpose
description:
published: true
date: 2021-11-12T15:31:30.659Z
tags:
editor: markdown
dateCreated: 2021-11-12T15:31:30.659Z
---
2021-11-15 15:26:10 +00:00
## []{#anchor-31}Purpose
Why would one prefers to use an operating system installed on virtual
hardware ?
Adding a layer of abstraction between the operating system and the
virtualization-friendly hardware allows for support of newer operating
systems, beyond what the physical hardware can support.
- By using Phyllome OS on Apple hardware that do not support the
latest iteration of macOS, one could create a virtual machine and
install the latest iteration of macOS anyway, further extending the
life of hardware.
- **Note:** Phyllome OS does not and will **not** support running
macOS on anything but Apple hardware, as it is -- sadly -- not
allowed by Apple.
- Windows 11 requires a Trusted Platform Module (TPM). By using a
virtual machine alongside a virtual TPM on unsupported hardware, one
could still run Windows 11. The passthrough of a real TPM may also
be supported.
### []{#anchor-32}Advantages
More generally, a software-based/backed computer, or simply a virtual
machine, has many advantages over a silicon-based computer :
- **Cost** : the cost of creating a virtual machine tends to zero
- **Flexibility** : a software-backed computer, alongside its
operating system, can be migrated to new physical hosts. In other
words, when a user acquires a new physical computer, the entire
computing environment may be copy/pasted to the new machine.
- **Compatibility** : contrary to silicon-based computers, which tend
to be optimized to work at most with only a handful operating
systems, a virtual machine can be designed to work with most
operating systems.
### []{#anchor-33}Limitations
Alas, it also comes with limitations, including but not limited to :
- Limited out-of-the box hardware support : hardware-assisted
virtualization is available on many computers but rarely activated
by default and not always correctly implemented. Users remain a the
mercy of good platform firmware and may have to explicitly activate
hardware-assisted virtualization in the BIOS/UEFI. Hardware
components are often not correctly isolated in IOMMU groups.
- Offering first-class support for only a handful of curated
computers might provide an answer, at the price of
compatibility.
- When it comes to IOMMU groups, a workaround[^30] might have to
be used for models that do not offer well-isolated IOMMU groups,
a workaround that has security implications.
- **Reliance on devices or controllers passthrough to cover edge cases
**: virtual hardware do not cover all features a user may expect to
have, including out of the box support for Bluetooth, wireless, or
sound adapters. For those cases, USB or PCI Passthrough might be
used.
- Again, offering first-class support for only a handful of
curated computers might provide an answer, at the price of
compatibility.
- New virtual hardware are expected, including paravirtualized
sound cards, which will improve the situation.