Building a kernel with KVM host support

6.18 LPAR mode KVM guest

Select the CONFIG_KVM kernel configuration menu option to include the kvm module that is required by KVM hosts.

Kernel builders: This information is intended for those who want to build their own kernel. Be aware that both compiling your own kernel or recompiling an existing distribution usually means that you have to maintain your kernel yourself.

The following figure shows where to find the CONFIG_KVM option in the configuration menu:

Figure 1. Kernel configuration menu KVM support


 Virtualization  --->
    KVM --->                                                      (CONFIG_VIRTUALIZATION)
       Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) support                 (CONFIG_KVM)

You can compile KVM support into the kernel or as a separate module, kvm.

The CONFIG_KVM option provides base support for KVM. For the options that you need to support VFIO pass-through devices, see Building a kernel with VFIO pass-through support.