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= QXL driver for guests =
= SPICE protocol / QXL driver for guests =


Add QXL driver for virtual machines
Add SPICE graphics protocol for guests


== Summary ==
== Summary ==
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== Detailed Description ==
== Detailed Description ==
Current KVM-based virtual machines use an emulated Cirrus Logic graphics driver.  This has numerous problems, the main ones being that it is slow and has a limited resolution.  When Red Hat acquired Qumranet, we acquired a closed source protocol called QXL which removes these limitations, is highly optimized, and supports such features as on-the-fly compression of video streams.  The plan is to fully open source this and include all the pieces in QEMU/KVM, libvirt, Xorg, virt-install and virt-manager.
Current KVM-based virtual machines use an emulated Cirrus Logic graphics driver.  This has numerous problems, the main ones being that it is slow and has a limited resolution.  When Red Hat acquired Qumranet, we acquired a closed source protocol called SPICE which removes these limitations, is highly optimized, and supports such features as on-the-fly compression of video streams.  The plan is to fully open source this and include all the pieces in QEMU/KVM, libvirt, Xorg, virt-install and virt-manager.


== Benefit to Fedora ==
== Benefit to Fedora ==
<!-- What is the benefit to the platform? If this is a major capability update, what has changed? If this is a new feature, what capabilities does it bring? Why will Fedora become a better distribution or project because of this feature?-->
Fedora will benefit because guests will be able to use a graphics protocol which is much more suitable for virtual machines. They will be able to use higher resolutions and more colors, support 2D acceleration, and be able to display video streams. These are all things which are not possible with the current Cirrus Logic device emulation.


== Scope ==
== Scope ==
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== User Experience ==
== User Experience ==
<!-- If this feature is noticeable by its target audience, how will their experiences change as a result?  Describe what they will see or notice. -->
Users will notice faster guest consoles.  They will be able to select high resolutions and color-depths than currently possible.  Features such as video playback inside the guest will be possible.


== Dependencies ==
== Dependencies ==
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== Contingency Plan ==
== Contingency Plan ==
<!-- If you cannot complete your feature by the final development freeze, what is the backup plan?  This might be as simple as "None necessary, revert to previous release behaviour."  Or it might not.  If you feature is not completed in time we want to assure others that other parts of Fedora will not be in jeopardy. -->
None necessary, we will just continue to use the Cirrus Logic driver.


== Documentation ==
== Documentation ==
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== Comments and Discussion ==
== Comments and Discussion ==


* See [[Talk:Features/QXL driver for guests]]
* See [[Talk:Features/SPICE graphics protocol for guests]]


[[Category:Virtualization|QXL driver for guests]]
[[Category:Virtualization|SPICE graphics protocol for guests]]


[[Category:FeaturePageIncomplete]]
[[Category:FeaturePageIncomplete]]

Revision as of 16:47, 2 February 2009

SPICE protocol / QXL driver for guests

Add SPICE graphics protocol for guests

Summary

Owner

Current status

  • Targeted release: Fedora 11
  • Last updated: 2009-02-30
  • Percentage of completion: XX%

Detailed Description

Current KVM-based virtual machines use an emulated Cirrus Logic graphics driver. This has numerous problems, the main ones being that it is slow and has a limited resolution. When Red Hat acquired Qumranet, we acquired a closed source protocol called SPICE which removes these limitations, is highly optimized, and supports such features as on-the-fly compression of video streams. The plan is to fully open source this and include all the pieces in QEMU/KVM, libvirt, Xorg, virt-install and virt-manager.

Benefit to Fedora

Fedora will benefit because guests will be able to use a graphics protocol which is much more suitable for virtual machines. They will be able to use higher resolutions and more colors, support 2D acceleration, and be able to display video streams. These are all things which are not possible with the current Cirrus Logic device emulation.

Scope

How To Test

User Experience

Users will notice faster guest consoles. They will be able to select high resolutions and color-depths than currently possible. Features such as video playback inside the guest will be possible.

Dependencies

Contingency Plan

None necessary, we will just continue to use the Cirrus Logic driver.

Documentation

Release Notes

Comments and Discussion