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QNX Hypervisor User's Guide
This User's Guide explains the QNX hypervisor architecture and provides instructions for installing and running a QNX Hypervisor system, changing system components and configuration, and using hypervisor features such as virtual devices (vdevs).
Virtual Machine Firmware
The virtual machines (VMs) in a QNX Hypervisor system provide a comprehensive firmware interface for guest OSs to manage VM power settings, access timers, and more.

QNX Momentics IDE User's Guide
This User's Guide describes version 8.0 of the Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that's part of the QNX Tool Suite.
QNX Software Development Platform
QNX SDP is a cross-compiling and debugging environment, including an IDE and command-line tools, for building binary images and programs for target boards running the QNX OS 8.0.
QNX Software in the Cloud
QNX Software in the Cloud enables developers to use the QNX OS in the Amazon cloud environment.
QNX Toolkit for Visual Studio Code
This User's Guide describes the QNX^® Toolkit for Visual Studio Code. The guide introduces you to the QNX Toolkit by explaining the QNX development environment and how to build, run, and debug your QNX^® Operating System (OS) applications and systems.
QNX Hypervisor User's Guide
This User's Guide explains the QNX hypervisor architecture and provides instructions for installing and running a QNX Hypervisor system, changing system components and configuration, and using hypervisor features such as virtual devices (vdevs).
- Understanding QNX Virtual Environments
  QNX hypervisors are designed to meet the expectations of a hypervisor specified by the Popek/Goldberg Theorem.
- QNX Hypervisor: Protection Features
  This chapter explains the main features used by the QNX Hypervisor to protect itself and its guests. Many of these features are part of the design, while others are configurable.
- Configuration
  A QNX hypervisor, its qvm processes that create the VMs in which guests run, and these guests must be configured to work together.
- Building a QNX Hypervisor System
  This chapter explains how to build (assemble) a QNX Hypervisor system and transfer a bootable image to a supported target platform.
- Booting and Shutting Down
  This chapter describes how to boot and shut down the hypervisor host and guests in a QNX hypervisor system.
- Using Virtual Devices, Networking, and Memory Sharing
  This chapter describes how guests can discover and connect to vdevs and how they can use important hypervisor capabilities, such as networking and memory sharing.
- Monitoring and Troubleshooting
  This chapter describes some tools and techniques you can use to monitor and troubleshoot your hypervisor system.
- Performance Tuning
  This chapter describes common sources of overhead in a QNX hypervisor system, and strategies for reducing this overhead and optimizing system performance.
- VM Configuration Reference
  When you specify options to configure a qvm process, you are assembling and configuring the components of a virtual machine (VM) in which a guest will run.
- Virtual Device Reference
  This chapter presents the virtual devices (vdevs) delivered with QNX hypervisors, and describes how to configure these vdevs.
- Virtual Machine Firmware
  The virtual machines (VMs) in a QNX Hypervisor system provide a comprehensive firmware interface for guest OSs to manage VM power settings, access timers, and more.
  - Firmware interface for AArch64
    The firmware interface provided by QNX Hypervisor VMs on AArch64 (ARMv8) platforms adheres to the Secure Monitor Call Calling Convention (SMCCC) which governs the use of the SMC and HVC (HyperVisor Call) instructions. This interface includes the ARM Architecture Service, ParaVirtualized Timer (PV TIMER), and Power State Coordination Interface (PSCI) services.
- Utilities and Drivers Reference
  This chapter describes the utilities and drivers delivered with the QNX hypervisor.
- Terminology
  The following terms are used throughout the QNX hypervisor documentation.
Typographical Conventions, Support, and Licensing
This section describes the typographical conventions used throughout the documentation, explains how to obtain technical support, and provides some information about licensing.

Virtual Machine Firmware

The virtual machines (VMs) in a QNX Hypervisor system provide a comprehensive firmware interface for guest OSs to manage VM power settings, access timers, and more.

The firmware interface depends on the target platform's architecture. For AArch64, the VMs support many key firmware services that follow modern standards defined by ARM. For x86_64, firmware access is provided by ACPI. Much of the firmware functionality is emulated, meaning it's implemented in software on the host, but for a few functions, the requests are forwarded to and handled by the host hardware.

Page updated: August 11, 2025