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Lukas
eede7d0df8
add section under construction to a bunch of file; fetch contents from the white-paper
42 lines
2.9 KiB
Markdown
42 lines
2.9 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: Purpose
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description:
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published: true
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date: 2021-11-12T15:31:30.659Z
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tags:
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editor: markdown
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dateCreated: 2021-11-12T15:31:30.659Z
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---
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## Purpose
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Why would one prefers to use an operating system installed on virtual hardware ?
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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.
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* 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.
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* **Note:** Phyllome OS does not and will **not** support running macOS on anything but Apple hardware, as it is -- sadly -- not allowed by Apple.
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* 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.
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### Advantages
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More generally, a software-based/backed computer, or simply a virtual machine, has many advantages over a silicon-based computer :
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* **Cost** : the cost of creating a virtual machine tends to zero
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* **Flexibility** : a software-backed computer, alongside its operating system, can be migrated to new physical hosts. In other
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words, when a user acquires a new physical computer, the entire computing environment may be copy/pasted to the new machine.
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- **Compatibility** : contrary to silicon-based computers, which tend to be optimized to work at most with only a handful operating
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systems, a virtual machine can be designed to work with most operating systems.
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### Limitations
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Alas, it also comes with limitations, including but not limited to :
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* 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.
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* Offering first-class support for only a handful of curated computers might provide an answer, at the price of compatibility.
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* When it comes to IOMMU groups, a workaround might have to be used for models that do not offer well-isolated IOMMU groups, a workaround that has security implications.
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* 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.
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* Again, offering first-class support for only a handful of curated computers might provide an answer, at the price of compatibility.
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* New virtual hardware are expected, including paravirtualized sound cards, which will improve the situation.
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