Re: Port FreeBSD to QEMU MicroVM for GSoC 2025

On Tue, Feb 25, 2025, at 17:50, Pranav Tyagi wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I am interested in contributing to FreeBSD MicroVM for GSoC 2025 and
> would like to focus on writing or improving a device driver. I have
> some experience in kernel development and have built a few drivers,
> but I am still learning and want to take on a task that is both
> impactful and aligned with my skill level.
>
> Could you provide insights on:
> What device drivers are currently missing or need improvement for
> FreeBSD MicroVM?
> Are there specific VirtIO drivers that would be valuable to implement
> or optimize (e.g., virtio-rng, virtio-blk)?
> Would extending an existing driver (like virtio-blk) be more useful
> than writing a new one?
>
> Additionally, since you are interested in co-mentoring this project,
> could you suggest the right people who might be interested in
> mentoring throughout GSoC? Your guidance would be invaluable in
> shaping a well-structured proposal.
>
> I would appreciate your thoughts and guidance.

Hi Pranav,

Thanks for your interest in this project.

I suspect the issues with the current port are due to clocking, rather than explicit device drivers I think the first part of this project would be of testing followed by debugging. 

Once we can reliably boot on microvm I am happy for the project to go in a few directions and I would like to plan these in as "stretch goals" in the case that the debugging isn't too difficult.

- Proof of Concept Integration into the freebsd build system as a test tool
- Proof of Concept implementation of a microvm or like interface for bhyve

I have a ton of other ideas of how we could use microvm support. I see microvm as a potential tool to greatly increase the testability of FreeBSD, it might not be a project with a lot of driver output, but it should be a great project for learning and talking about operating system development.

- Tom