Getting Started

Step-by-step guide from building BitVisor to booting it.

This guide explains how to build and run BitVisor v3.0 on real hardware or QEMU.

Overview

  1. Prepare syslog — Configure rsyslog to receive BitVisor log output over the network (recommended)
  2. Configure — Select compile-time options with make config and write runtime settings in defconfig
  3. Build BitVisor — Compile the hypervisor core (bitvisor.elf)
  4. Build the UEFI loader — Compile loadvmm.efi
  5. Boot — Launch from a USB drive via EFI Shell on real hardware, or use QEMU for quick testing

System Requirements

x86_64

Item Requirement
Architecture x86_64 (processor with Intel VT-x or AMD-V)
Firmware 64-bit UEFI (32-bit UEFI is not supported)
Build OS Linux (x86_64)

AArch64 (Experimental)

Experimental AArch64 (ARM64) support was added in v3.0. Currently, Linux can be booted with a working network via virtio_net.

Item Requirement
Architecture Armv8.1-A (VHE: Virtualization Host Extension required)
Firmware UEFI environment
Mode 64-bit only (32-bit concealed)
Cross-compiler aarch64-none-linux-gnu-gcc or equivalent
1. Prepare the Build Environment

Obtain the source code and set up rsyslog for log reception

2. Configure and Build BitVisor

Select compile-time options, write runtime configuration (defconfig), and build

3. Running BitVisor

Boot on real hardware via USB + EFI Shell, or test quickly with QEMU

4. Testing on QEMU

Quick verification using QEMU for x86_64 and AArch64