Does FreeBSD make you happy? Explain why

Run any OS or app in a virtual environment (hypervisor or jail) and retain intellectual control over the hosting environment. The mix of virtualization and ZFS plays really well - it gives full freedom to do anything without fear of breaking the world.
 
vermaden said:
Here you have both Windows 10 and Windows 11 covered for Bhyve:

- https://vermaden.wordpress.com/2023/08/18/freebsd-bhyve-virtualization/
Click to expand...
Thanks, I've already read this (I always read your articles!). But as for bhyve, I don't need these advanced virtual machine management features yet. My problem is described here:

D

bhyve Thread 'Bhyve: Update to win11 24H2 guest causes large increase in CPU and VCSW.'

I have been running quite a few windows 11 virtual machines on a couple of servers using BHYVE and 14.2-RELEASE.
Upon upgrading win11 to 24H2 the host cpu usage at idle (4 cpu guest) has increase from ~2% to %20 of a CPU (based on top). This has happened on both
intel and AMD CPUs. The other item of note is that the number of voluntary context switches for the BHYVE process has increased from approx 330/sec to 12000/sec.
As part of testing, I have created a fresh windows install (win11 21H2), then updated to 23H2, then 24H2. There was a slight jump to 23H2, but the huge jump was upon...
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And a reasonable explanation of the problem is here:

cy@

bhyve Post in thread 'Idle Windows 11 bhyve guests high CPU usage'

One has to wonder if Windows 11 uses the hlt instruction less.

The other issue I notice with VMs running on Intel hypervisors (ESXi [VMware], VirtualBox, bhyve that I'm familiar with) is that VMs spend a lot of their time in the host's kernel mode. Unlike IBM's zVM which the guest O/S spends the majority of its time in user mode. This is a failing of the underlying hardware architecture -- read the paper by Popek and Goldberg about hardware requirements for virtualization.

Unlike the IBM mainframe's instruction set which userspace does not affect CPU state, on Intel machines it does, which is...
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Andrey Lanin said:
Thanks, I've already read this (I always read your articles!). But as for bhyve, I don't need these advanced virtual machine management features yet. My problem is described here:

D

bhyve Thread 'Bhyve: Update to win11 24H2 guest causes large increase in CPU and VCSW.'

I have been running quite a few windows 11 virtual machines on a couple of servers using BHYVE and 14.2-RELEASE.
Upon upgrading win11 to 24H2 the host cpu usage at idle (4 cpu guest) has increase from ~2% to %20 of a CPU (based on top). This has happened on both
intel and AMD CPUs. The other item of note is that the number of voluntary context switches for the BHYVE process has increased from approx 330/sec to 12000/sec.
As part of testing, I have created a fresh windows install (win11 21H2), then updated to 23H2, then 24H2. There was a slight jump to 23H2, but the huge jump was upon...
  • Thanks

And a reasonable explanation of the problem is here:

cy@

bhyve Post in thread 'Idle Windows 11 bhyve guests high CPU usage'

One has to wonder if Windows 11 uses the hlt instruction less.

The other issue I notice with VMs running on Intel hypervisors (ESXi [VMware], VirtualBox, bhyve that I'm familiar with) is that VMs spend a lot of their time in the host's kernel mode. Unlike IBM's zVM which the guest O/S spends the majority of its time in user mode. This is a failing of the underlying hardware architecture -- read the paper by Popek and Goldberg about hardware requirements for virtualization.

Unlike the IBM mainframe's instruction set which userspace does not affect CPU state, on Intel machines it does, which is...
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Click to expand...
As I used both Windows 10 and 11 inside Bhyve (and also on physical laptops) I noticed that 11 as a lot slower and less responsive then 10 on the same hardware - does not matter if virtual or physical.

As support for 'regular' Windows 10 has ended (with some extension if you did some additional bullshit) I still use Windows 10 but LTSC version which has official updates up to 2027 year ... and after that I will move to Windows 10 LTSC IoT version which officially has support and patches up to 2032 ... and maybe then I will take into consideration upgrading to anything else ... as I use Windows ONLY for casual gaming.
 
Unfortunately, I need Windows for my work. We develop operating systems for microcontrollers, and all the developer tools and emulators only work on Windows. I'm also currently using Windows 10 bhyve guests. If the vendors of my developer tools switch to Windows 11, I'll have to install Windows 11 on bare metal or switch to VMware on Linux. 😞
 
Andrey Lanin said:
Unfortunately, I need Windows for my work. We develop operating systems for microcontrollers, and all the developer tools and emulators only work on Windows. I'm also currently using Windows 10. If the vendors of my developer tools switch to Windows 11, I'll have to install Windows 11 on bare metal or switch to VMware on Linux. 😞
Click to expand...
Probably I'm not bringing anything valuable to the table, but, just in case, I use Windows 11 in a VirtualBox VM on FreeBSD 15 quite happily. It shouldn't result in a better performance than Bhyve, but you never know. You may give it a try.
 
Thanks. But I stopped using VirtualBox in 2022... I was still working in Linux back then:

Andrey Lanin

vbox Post in thread 'VirtualBox or bhyve'

After 11 (2011-2022) years of working on Linux (and Virtualbox in it) I switched from Linux to FreeBSD precisely because VirtualBox simply broke, and the developers were in no hurry to fix it and the situation remained unchanged for several months.
Sorry for referring to myself (post #13) : https://forums.freebsd.org/threads/why-do-you-use-freebsd-on-desktop.88480/post-603281
Of course, this applies to VirtualBox on Linux, but still...
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Andrey Lanin said:
Do USB 2.0 / 3.x devices work in VirtualBox on FreeBSD? Or is it only USB 1.x ?
Click to expand...
At this point I can't help you anymore because I am no expert. I just make my things work and live another day. I could make this screenshot, though, which seems to answer affirmatively to your question, but I can't assure it does:
Screenshot_20260106_055138.png
 
I'm reusing this thread because I want to try to infuse a little positivity.

Another of the reasons why FreeBSD makes me happy is the passion and commitment of the port maintainers and the developers.

I sincerely admire all of them. They invest many hours not only using their technical skills so others can enjoy a top-notch OS and a huge number of ports but also writing messages on unending mailing lists and responding to bug reports, a lot of which are just the user being the user. And they do it for free. And most of the time they are not even properly thanked. So, thank you all from the bottom of my heart.
 
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