QEMU 10.2 has been released as the latest stable version of this open-source machine emulator and virtualization software. This new version introduces several key features and improvements, focusing on enhanced functionality and performance for virtual machines.
One of the major enhancements is the introduction of live update support, thanks to a new migration mode called ‘cpr-exec’. This mode significantly reduces the resource usage when updating virtual machines and allows for the re-use of existing states and connections during updates.
For ARM architectures, QEMU 10.2 adds support for a new board model called ‘amd-versal2-virt’ and includes improvements for several existing models, such as ‘AST2600,’ ‘AST2700,’ ‘AST1030,’ and ‘xlnx-zynqmp.’ Additionally, it supports various CPU features like FEAT_SCTLR2, FEAT_TCR2, and FEAT_RME_GPC2, among others.
HPPA architectures also see advancements with emulation support for the HP 715/64 workstation and the NCR 53c710 SCSI controller, as well as enhancements for PowerPC architectures, including support for PowerNV11 machinery.
For RISC-V architectures, numerous emulation fixes and improvements have been integrated. Meanwhile, s390x architectures receive virtio-pci performance improvements. The release also promises better support for LoongArch architectures, including MSGINT irqchip and HW Page Table Walk features.
Moreover, QEMU 10.2 includes general performance improvements by implementing io_uring for its main loop and adding support for the 9pfs shared file system on FreeBSD hosts. The developers have raised the minimum required version of Rust to 1.83, which is obtainable through Debian distributions.
For those interested in the changes, the complete list can be found in the release notes. Users can download QEMU 10.2 as a source tarball from the official website, or they may wait for the new version to be made available in the stable software repositories of their GNU/Linux distribution.