Why are vms in KVM/QEMU called domains?
I noticed when using virsh that VMs are referred to as "domains". Why are they called domains instead of Virtual Machines?
$ virsh
virsh # help
...
Domain Monitoring (help keyword 'monitor'):
domblkerror Show errors on block devices
domblkinfo domain block device size information
domblklist list all domain blocks
domblkstat get device block stats for a domain
domcontrol domain control interface state
domif-getlink get link state of a virtual interface
domifaddr Get network interfaces' addresses for a running domain
domiflist list all domain virtual interfaces
domifstat get network interface stats for a domain
dominfo domain information
dommemstat get memory statistics for a domain
domstate domain state
domstats get statistics about one or multiple domains
domtime domain time
list list domains
...
virsh # list --all
Id Name State
----------------------------------------------------
- centos_vagrant_test_test_vm shut off
- collectd01 shut off
- grafana01 shut off
- influxdb01 shut off
- JobDBWin7_Stable shut off
- OpenWRT_Red shut off
kvm qemu
asked Dec 1 '17 at 23:56
leeand00leeand00
1,39532342
add a comment |
I noticed when using virsh that VMs are referred to as "domains". Why are they called domains instead of Virtual Machines?
$ virsh
virsh # help
...
Domain Monitoring (help keyword 'monitor'):
domblkerror Show errors on block devices
domblkinfo domain block device size information
domblklist list all domain blocks
domblkstat get device block stats for a domain
domcontrol domain control interface state
domif-getlink get link state of a virtual interface
domifaddr Get network interfaces' addresses for a running domain
domiflist list all domain virtual interfaces
domifstat get network interface stats for a domain
dominfo domain information
dommemstat get memory statistics for a domain
domstate domain state
domstats get statistics about one or multiple domains
domtime domain time
list list domains
...
virsh # list --all
Id Name State
----------------------------------------------------
- centos_vagrant_test_test_vm shut off
- collectd01 shut off
- grafana01 shut off
- influxdb01 shut off
- JobDBWin7_Stable shut off
- OpenWRT_Red shut off
kvm qemu
asked Dec 1 '17 at 23:56
leeand00leeand00
1,39532342
Not an answer, but "virtual machine" itself is ambiguous as well.
– Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams
Dec 2 '17 at 0:02
1
qemudoesn't call them domain. libvirt does.virshis the CLI to libvirt, a management interface to a number of hypervisors including qemu/kvm, xen or virtualbox.
– Stéphane Chazelas
Jan 9 at 19:59
add a comment |
I noticed when using virsh that VMs are referred to as "domains". Why are they called domains instead of Virtual Machines?
$ virsh
virsh # help
...
Domain Monitoring (help keyword 'monitor'):
domblkerror Show errors on block devices
domblkinfo domain block device size information
domblklist list all domain blocks
domblkstat get device block stats for a domain
domcontrol domain control interface state
domif-getlink get link state of a virtual interface
domifaddr Get network interfaces' addresses for a running domain
domiflist list all domain virtual interfaces
domifstat get network interface stats for a domain
dominfo domain information
dommemstat get memory statistics for a domain
domstate domain state
domstats get statistics about one or multiple domains
domtime domain time
list list domains
...
virsh # list --all
Id Name State
----------------------------------------------------
- centos_vagrant_test_test_vm shut off
- collectd01 shut off
- grafana01 shut off
- influxdb01 shut off
- JobDBWin7_Stable shut off
- OpenWRT_Red shut off
kvm qemu
asked Dec 1 '17 at 23:56
leeand00leeand00
1,39532342
I noticed when using virsh that VMs are referred to as "domains". Why are they called domains instead of Virtual Machines?
$ virsh
virsh # help
...
Domain Monitoring (help keyword 'monitor'):
domblkerror Show errors on block devices
domblkinfo domain block device size information
domblklist list all domain blocks
domblkstat get device block stats for a domain
domcontrol domain control interface state
domif-getlink get link state of a virtual interface
domifaddr Get network interfaces' addresses for a running domain
domiflist list all domain virtual interfaces
domifstat get network interface stats for a domain
dominfo domain information
dommemstat get memory statistics for a domain
domstate domain state
domstats get statistics about one or multiple domains
domtime domain time
list list domains
...
virsh # list --all
Id Name State
----------------------------------------------------
- centos_vagrant_test_test_vm shut off
- collectd01 shut off
- grafana01 shut off
- influxdb01 shut off
- JobDBWin7_Stable shut off
- OpenWRT_Red shut off
kvm qemu
kvm qemu
asked Dec 1 '17 at 23:56
leeand00leeand00
1,39532342
asked Dec 1 '17 at 23:56
leeand00leeand00
1,39532342
edited Dec 2 '17 at 1:29
leeand00
asked Dec 1 '17 at 23:56
leeand00leeand00
1,39532342
asked Dec 1 '17 at 23:56
leeand00leeand00
1,39532342
asked Dec 1 '17 at 23:56
leeand00leeand00
1,39532342
1,39532342
Not an answer, but "virtual machine" itself is ambiguous as well.
– Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams
Dec 2 '17 at 0:02
1
qemudoesn't call them domain. libvirt does.virshis the CLI to libvirt, a management interface to a number of hypervisors including qemu/kvm, xen or virtualbox.
– Stéphane Chazelas
Jan 9 at 19:59
add a comment |
Not an answer, but "virtual machine" itself is ambiguous as well.
– Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams
Dec 2 '17 at 0:02
1
qemudoesn't call them domain. libvirt does.virshis the CLI to libvirt, a management interface to a number of hypervisors including qemu/kvm, xen or virtualbox.
– Stéphane Chazelas
Jan 9 at 19:59
Not an answer, but "virtual machine" itself is ambiguous as well.
– Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams
Dec 2 '17 at 0:02
Not an answer, but "virtual machine" itself is ambiguous as well.
– Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams
Dec 2 '17 at 0:02
1
1
qemu doesn't call them domain. libvirt does. virsh is the CLI to libvirt, a management interface to a number of hypervisors including qemu/kvm, xen or virtualbox.– Stéphane Chazelas
Jan 9 at 19:59
qemu doesn't call them domain. libvirt does. virsh is the CLI to libvirt, a management interface to a number of hypervisors including qemu/kvm, xen or virtualbox.– Stéphane Chazelas
Jan 9 at 19:59
add a comment |
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
They're not kvm exclusive terminology (xen also refers to machines as domains). A hypervisor is a rough equivalent to domain zero, or dom0, which is the first system initialized on the kernel and has special privileges. Other domains started later are called domU and are the equivalent to a guest system or virtual machine.
The reason is probably that both are very similar as they are executed on the kernel that handles them.
answered Dec 2 '17 at 0:44
ZipZip
54628
When I runlist --all(which is listed in help under DOMAINS, see above) I get a list of all of my virtual machines.
– leeand00
Dec 2 '17 at 1:31
Yes, because the dom0 is where you're running that command from. It won't be considered a VM...
– Zip
Dec 2 '17 at 2:05
add a comment |
According to Xen wiki (https://wiki.xen.org/wiki/Domain),
A domain is one of the virtual machines that run on the system.
Domain0 is the first domain started by the Xen hypervisor at boot, and
will be running a Linux OS.
The Xen project has greatly influenced the developers of virtualization tools. This name certainly comes from there.
answered Jan 9 at 19:47
shadaï ALIshadaï ALI
1211
3
libvirt (which the OP confuses with qemu/kvm) was initially for xen. Support for qemu was added later, which is why libvirt's naming convention follows xen's
– Stéphane Chazelas
Jan 9 at 21:13
add a comment |
I don't think they're called that in KVM or QEMU.
The QEMU manual does mention "domains" in the context of Unix domain sockets, DNS domains and Xen domains, but that terminology isn't related to QEMU itself. The manual seems to call the program itself a "system emulator", and refers to the virtual machines as just "guests" on multiple occasions.
The KVM website then mentions "running virtual machines". Virtual machines and guests are also mentioned in the original announcement. I can't see any mention of domains.
answered Dec 2 '17 at 1:03
ilkkachuilkkachu
56.7k784156
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "106"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2funix.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f408308%2fwhy-are-vms-in-kvm-qemu-called-domains%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
They're not kvm exclusive terminology (xen also refers to machines as domains). A hypervisor is a rough equivalent to domain zero, or dom0, which is the first system initialized on the kernel and has special privileges. Other domains started later are called domU and are the equivalent to a guest system or virtual machine.
The reason is probably that both are very similar as they are executed on the kernel that handles them.
answered Dec 2 '17 at 0:44
ZipZip
54628
When I runlist --all(which is listed in help under DOMAINS, see above) I get a list of all of my virtual machines.
– leeand00
Dec 2 '17 at 1:31
Yes, because the dom0 is where you're running that command from. It won't be considered a VM...
– Zip
Dec 2 '17 at 2:05
add a comment |
They're not kvm exclusive terminology (xen also refers to machines as domains). A hypervisor is a rough equivalent to domain zero, or dom0, which is the first system initialized on the kernel and has special privileges. Other domains started later are called domU and are the equivalent to a guest system or virtual machine.
The reason is probably that both are very similar as they are executed on the kernel that handles them.
answered Dec 2 '17 at 0:44
ZipZip
54628
When I runlist --all(which is listed in help under DOMAINS, see above) I get a list of all of my virtual machines.
– leeand00
Dec 2 '17 at 1:31
Yes, because the dom0 is where you're running that command from. It won't be considered a VM...
– Zip
Dec 2 '17 at 2:05
add a comment |
They're not kvm exclusive terminology (xen also refers to machines as domains). A hypervisor is a rough equivalent to domain zero, or dom0, which is the first system initialized on the kernel and has special privileges. Other domains started later are called domU and are the equivalent to a guest system or virtual machine.
The reason is probably that both are very similar as they are executed on the kernel that handles them.
answered Dec 2 '17 at 0:44
ZipZip
54628
They're not kvm exclusive terminology (xen also refers to machines as domains). A hypervisor is a rough equivalent to domain zero, or dom0, which is the first system initialized on the kernel and has special privileges. Other domains started later are called domU and are the equivalent to a guest system or virtual machine.
The reason is probably that both are very similar as they are executed on the kernel that handles them.
answered Dec 2 '17 at 0:44
ZipZip
54628
edited Dec 2 '17 at 2:23
answered Dec 2 '17 at 0:44
ZipZip
54628
answered Dec 2 '17 at 0:44
ZipZip
54628
answered Dec 2 '17 at 0:44
ZipZip
54628
54628
When I runlist --all(which is listed in help under DOMAINS, see above) I get a list of all of my virtual machines.
– leeand00
Dec 2 '17 at 1:31
Yes, because the dom0 is where you're running that command from. It won't be considered a VM...
– Zip
Dec 2 '17 at 2:05
add a comment |
When I runlist --all(which is listed in help under DOMAINS, see above) I get a list of all of my virtual machines.
– leeand00
Dec 2 '17 at 1:31
Yes, because the dom0 is where you're running that command from. It won't be considered a VM...
– Zip
Dec 2 '17 at 2:05
When I run
list --all (which is listed in help under DOMAINS, see above) I get a list of all of my virtual machines.– leeand00
Dec 2 '17 at 1:31
When I run
list --all (which is listed in help under DOMAINS, see above) I get a list of all of my virtual machines.– leeand00
Dec 2 '17 at 1:31
Yes, because the dom0 is where you're running that command from. It won't be considered a VM...
– Zip
Dec 2 '17 at 2:05
Yes, because the dom0 is where you're running that command from. It won't be considered a VM...
– Zip
Dec 2 '17 at 2:05
add a comment |
According to Xen wiki (https://wiki.xen.org/wiki/Domain),
A domain is one of the virtual machines that run on the system.
Domain0 is the first domain started by the Xen hypervisor at boot, and
will be running a Linux OS.
The Xen project has greatly influenced the developers of virtualization tools. This name certainly comes from there.
answered Jan 9 at 19:47
shadaï ALIshadaï ALI
1211
3
libvirt (which the OP confuses with qemu/kvm) was initially for xen. Support for qemu was added later, which is why libvirt's naming convention follows xen's
– Stéphane Chazelas
Jan 9 at 21:13
add a comment |
According to Xen wiki (https://wiki.xen.org/wiki/Domain),
A domain is one of the virtual machines that run on the system.
Domain0 is the first domain started by the Xen hypervisor at boot, and
will be running a Linux OS.
The Xen project has greatly influenced the developers of virtualization tools. This name certainly comes from there.
answered Jan 9 at 19:47
shadaï ALIshadaï ALI
1211
3
libvirt (which the OP confuses with qemu/kvm) was initially for xen. Support for qemu was added later, which is why libvirt's naming convention follows xen's
– Stéphane Chazelas
Jan 9 at 21:13
add a comment |
According to Xen wiki (https://wiki.xen.org/wiki/Domain),
A domain is one of the virtual machines that run on the system.
Domain0 is the first domain started by the Xen hypervisor at boot, and
will be running a Linux OS.
The Xen project has greatly influenced the developers of virtualization tools. This name certainly comes from there.
answered Jan 9 at 19:47
shadaï ALIshadaï ALI
1211
According to Xen wiki (https://wiki.xen.org/wiki/Domain),
A domain is one of the virtual machines that run on the system.
Domain0 is the first domain started by the Xen hypervisor at boot, and
will be running a Linux OS.
The Xen project has greatly influenced the developers of virtualization tools. This name certainly comes from there.
answered Jan 9 at 19:47
shadaï ALIshadaï ALI
1211
answered Jan 9 at 19:47
shadaï ALIshadaï ALI
1211
answered Jan 9 at 19:47
shadaï ALIshadaï ALI
1211
answered Jan 9 at 19:47
shadaï ALIshadaï ALI
1211
1211
3
libvirt (which the OP confuses with qemu/kvm) was initially for xen. Support for qemu was added later, which is why libvirt's naming convention follows xen's
– Stéphane Chazelas
Jan 9 at 21:13
add a comment |
3
libvirt (which the OP confuses with qemu/kvm) was initially for xen. Support for qemu was added later, which is why libvirt's naming convention follows xen's
– Stéphane Chazelas
Jan 9 at 21:13
3
3
libvirt (which the OP confuses with qemu/kvm) was initially for xen. Support for qemu was added later, which is why libvirt's naming convention follows xen's
– Stéphane Chazelas
Jan 9 at 21:13
libvirt (which the OP confuses with qemu/kvm) was initially for xen. Support for qemu was added later, which is why libvirt's naming convention follows xen's
– Stéphane Chazelas
Jan 9 at 21:13
add a comment |
I don't think they're called that in KVM or QEMU.
The QEMU manual does mention "domains" in the context of Unix domain sockets, DNS domains and Xen domains, but that terminology isn't related to QEMU itself. The manual seems to call the program itself a "system emulator", and refers to the virtual machines as just "guests" on multiple occasions.
The KVM website then mentions "running virtual machines". Virtual machines and guests are also mentioned in the original announcement. I can't see any mention of domains.
answered Dec 2 '17 at 1:03
ilkkachuilkkachu
56.7k784156
add a comment |
I don't think they're called that in KVM or QEMU.
The QEMU manual does mention "domains" in the context of Unix domain sockets, DNS domains and Xen domains, but that terminology isn't related to QEMU itself. The manual seems to call the program itself a "system emulator", and refers to the virtual machines as just "guests" on multiple occasions.
The KVM website then mentions "running virtual machines". Virtual machines and guests are also mentioned in the original announcement. I can't see any mention of domains.
answered Dec 2 '17 at 1:03
ilkkachuilkkachu
56.7k784156
add a comment |
I don't think they're called that in KVM or QEMU.
The QEMU manual does mention "domains" in the context of Unix domain sockets, DNS domains and Xen domains, but that terminology isn't related to QEMU itself. The manual seems to call the program itself a "system emulator", and refers to the virtual machines as just "guests" on multiple occasions.
The KVM website then mentions "running virtual machines". Virtual machines and guests are also mentioned in the original announcement. I can't see any mention of domains.
answered Dec 2 '17 at 1:03
ilkkachuilkkachu
56.7k784156
I don't think they're called that in KVM or QEMU.
The QEMU manual does mention "domains" in the context of Unix domain sockets, DNS domains and Xen domains, but that terminology isn't related to QEMU itself. The manual seems to call the program itself a "system emulator", and refers to the virtual machines as just "guests" on multiple occasions.
The KVM website then mentions "running virtual machines". Virtual machines and guests are also mentioned in the original announcement. I can't see any mention of domains.
answered Dec 2 '17 at 1:03
ilkkachuilkkachu
56.7k784156
answered Dec 2 '17 at 1:03
ilkkachuilkkachu
56.7k784156
answered Dec 2 '17 at 1:03
ilkkachuilkkachu
56.7k784156
answered Dec 2 '17 at 1:03
ilkkachuilkkachu
56.7k784156
56.7k784156
add a comment |
add a comment |
Thanks for contributing an answer to Unix & Linux Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2funix.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f408308%2fwhy-are-vms-in-kvm-qemu-called-domains%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Not an answer, but "virtual machine" itself is ambiguous as well.
– Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams
Dec 2 '17 at 0:02
1
qemudoesn't call them domain. libvirt does.virshis the CLI to libvirt, a management interface to a number of hypervisors including qemu/kvm, xen or virtualbox.– Stéphane Chazelas
Jan 9 at 19:59