The open-source virtualization software QEMU has recently launched its major update, version 10.0, significantly enhancing its emulation capabilities with a host of new features and improvements.
Among the notable updates are faster emulation times for string instructions on x86 architecture and the introduction of true multiqueue support for the virtio-scsi device, which enhances performance. New parameters, such as the handshake-max-seconds optional parameter to the nbd-server-start QMP command, have also been added, along with new apple-gfx-pci and apple-gfx-mmio devices designed to provide accelerated graphics for macOS virtual machines.
For RISC-V architecture, this release introduces support for a variety of functionalities, including the Tenstorrent Ascalon CPU, AIA userspace irqchip_split support, and advancements in initrd addressing. Additionally, it incorporates support for various ISA extensions and the management of performance via features like exception tracing in user mode.
As for the s390x architecture, QEMU 10.0 adds feature definitions and CPU models relevant to the generation 17 mainframe CPU. It enhances virtio-mem support and improves emulation of specific CPU instructions to boost overall performance.
For more detailed information about all the changes in QEMU 10.0, users can visit the official change log. There, you can also download the QEMU 10.0 source tarball for those interested in compiling it themselves, while others will need to wait for their respective GNU/Linux distributions to release this latest version in their software repositories.