Comment 11 for bug 429443

On Tue, Mar 02, 2010 at 02:48:40PM -0000, Dustin Kirkland wrote:
> kvm-ok used to be just a grep for vmx|svm of /proc/cpuinfo.

I understand. That's why I didn't want to put it in the kvm package to
begin with.

> The check for the bios message has been exceedingly useful to users,
> and we the maintainers trying to support users who's computer
> manufacturers arbitrarily disable kvm in their bios by default.

I understand the usefulness of the information.

> This particular bug is really about moving /usr/bin/kvm-ok out of the
> qemu-kvm package and into some package the user will already have on
> their system when they're trying to decide if they can use kvm or not.

Right.

> The current mode is clearly suboptimal, which looks like:
> $ sudo apt-get install qemu-kvm
> $ kvm-ok || sudo apt-get purge qemu-kvm
>
> That's clearly silly.

No doubt. Again, that's why I didn't want it in the kvm package to begin
with.

> Whether a message ends up in MOTD, I care not. But I thought Kees'
> change set a precedent for giving friendly hints about cpu features
> which are disabled in BIOS.

Kees' script (IIUIC) is meant to tell users if they have important
security features in their CPU, but for some reason have them turned
off. It's something they're expected to act upon. Just like "Hey,
you've got security updates" is something they're supposed to act upon,
and when acted upon, the notice disappears.

"Yup, you still have VT support" is only vaguely actionable and does not
go away in response to any action you take. I think it makes much more
sense in util-linux.

--
Soren Hansen
Ubuntu Developer
http://www.ubuntu.com/