Linux Kernel Journey

Feb 9, 2025 · Fundamentals

Analyzing KVM Mode Switching: How the Initialization Infrastructure Works

The article provides a detailed technical analysis of Linux 5.9 on arm64 KVM, explaining how Host and Guest OSes are distinguished at EL1, how HCR_EL2 flags control mode switching, and how the EL2 exception vector and related registers are initialized during Linux boot to enable KVM virtualization.