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Lightning Talk Beginner First Talk

Understanding Virtualization Through QEMU

Approved
Session Description

Virtual machines are widely used, but their underlying concepts are often hidden behind graphical tools like VirtualBox or VMware. This talk introduces virtualization through QEMU, focusing on a practical and transparent approach.

The session demonstrates how to create and run a virtual machine from scratch using QEMU’s command-line tools. It covers key concepts such as the difference between emulation and virtualization, creating disk images with qemu-imq and running virtual machines using qemu - system.

A live demonstration will show how to boot a virtual machine from an ISO image, explaining important command-line options and the VM lifecycle. The talk will also briefly discuss performance considerations, including the role of KVM, and when QEMU is an appropriate choice.

This session is aimed at beginners and intermediate developers who want a deeper, hands-on understanding of virtualization beyond GUI-based tools.

Key Takeaways

  • Understand the difference between emulation and virtualization

  • Learn how to create and manage virtual disk images using QEMU

  • Gain hands-on knowledge of running virtual machines from the command line

  • Understand the VM boot process using an ISO image

  • Get familiar with key QEMU commands and options

  • Learn when to use QEMU vs other virtualization tools

References

https://www.qemu.org/docs/master/
https://wiki.qemu.org/Main_Page
https://www.qemu.org/docs/master/system/index.html

Session Categories

Tutorial about using a FOSS project

Speakers

G.Vara Prasad Student | jeppiaar university

I am a student interested in backend development, open source software, and cybersecurity.
G.Vara Prasad

Reviews

Sounds like an interesting topic for a lightning talk aimed at beginners.

Reviewer #1 Approved

We try to avoid project intro talks unless the author is a maintianer/contributor

Reviewer #2 Rejected
Reviewer #3 Approved

The topic is interesting and a lightning talk feels like the right amount of time for such a talk - but it's not clear what prior experience the proposer has with the topic.

Reviewer #4 Not Sure