KVM User Guide

Enable KVM on the Dragon Q6A and verify that KVM and QEMU work properly.

Enable KVM

Use the built-in rsetup tool in Radxa OS to enable KVM.

rsetup usage

• Select an item: the current item is highlighted.
• Confirm: press Enter.
• Cancel/back: press ESC.
• Navigate: use Up, Down, Left, Right.
• Multi-select pages: press Space to toggle, then Enter to confirm. A * indicates the option is enabled.

Start rsetup in a terminal:

radxa@dragon-q6a$

rsetup

In rsetup, go to: Overlays -> Manage overlays.

1. Use the arrow keys to find [ ] Enable KVM virtualization support.
2. Press Space until it becomes [*] Enable KVM virtualization support.
3. Press Enter to confirm and save.
4. Reboot the system to apply the changes.

Verify KVM

Check the KVM device node

Run the following command. If it prints /dev/kvm, the KVM device node has been created.

radxa@dragon-q6a$

ls /dev/kvm

Configure user permissions

Add the current user to the kvm group:

radxa@dragon-q6a$

sudo usermod -aG kvm $USER && newgrp kvm

Check kernel logs

View KVM initialization logs using dmesg:

radxa@dragon-q6a$

sudo dmesg | grep -i kvm

If you see output like the following, KVM has been initialized successfully:

[    0.114874] kvm [1]: nv: 567 coarse grained trap handlers
[    0.115147] kvm [1]: IPA Size Limit: 40 bits
[    0.115181] kvm [1]: GICv3: no GICV resource entry
[    0.115186] kvm [1]: disabling GICv2 emulation
[    0.115221] kvm [1]: GIC system register CPU interface enabled
[    0.115249] kvm [1]: vgic interrupt IRQ9
[    0.115286] kvm [1]: VHE mode initialized successfully

Install QEMU

Install QEMU:

radxa@dragon-q6a$

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y qemu-system-arm

Verify KVM + QEMU

Run the following command in a desktop terminal to test whether KVM acceleration is available:

radxa@dragon-q6a$

qemu-system-aarch64 -machine virt -cpu host -enable-kvm

If there are no errors and a QEMU window appears, KVM is enabled and working.