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Jan 30, 2024 · Fundamentals

Understanding ARMv8 Virtualization Architecture: Exception Levels, Stage‑2 Translation, and Hypervisor Features

This article explains the ARMv8 virtualization architecture, covering its core characteristics, exception levels, Stage‑2 address translation, MMIO emulation, SMMU handling, trap‑and‑emulate mechanisms, virtual interrupts, generic timer virtualization, host extensions, nested virtualization, and the associated performance overheads.