From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Received: from firstgate.proxmox.com (firstgate.proxmox.com [212.224.123.68]) by lore.proxmox.com (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 505E11FF164 for ; Fri, 17 Jan 2025 13:09:27 +0100 (CET) Received: from firstgate.proxmox.com (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by firstgate.proxmox.com (Proxmox) with ESMTP id 9E80ACCB6; Fri, 17 Jan 2025 13:08:59 +0100 (CET) From: Fiona Ebner To: pve-devel@lists.proxmox.com Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2025 13:08:17 +0100 Message-Id: <20250117120817.41443-19-f.ebner@proxmox.com> X-Mailer: git-send-email 2.39.5 In-Reply-To: <20250117120817.41443-1-f.ebner@proxmox.com> References: <20250117120817.41443-1-f.ebner@proxmox.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 X-SPAM-LEVEL: Spam detection results: 0 AWL -0.450 Adjusted score from AWL reputation of From: address BAYES_00 -1.9 Bayes spam probability is 0 to 1% DMARC_MISSING 0.1 Missing DMARC policy KAM_ASCII_DIVIDERS 0.8 Email that uses ascii formatting dividers and possible spam tricks KAM_DMARC_STATUS 0.01 Test Rule for DKIM or SPF Failure with Strict Alignment SPF_HELO_NONE 0.001 SPF: HELO does not publish an SPF Record SPF_PASS -0.001 SPF: sender matches SPF record Subject: [pve-devel] [PATCH docs v3 18/18] qm: machine version: document support in PVE X-BeenThere: pve-devel@lists.proxmox.com X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.29 Precedence: list List-Id: Proxmox VE development discussion List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Reply-To: Proxmox VE development discussion Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Errors-To: pve-devel-bounces@lists.proxmox.com Sender: "pve-devel" Elaborate on new QEMU machine version removal policy and how PVE will support machine versions. Make sure to also mention the years, so that users immediately have a good idea for how long it will be. Signed-off-by: Fiona Ebner --- qm.adoc | 39 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-------- 1 file changed, 31 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-) diff --git a/qm.adoc b/qm.adoc index 94fdd4e..9d8becf 100644 --- a/qm.adoc +++ b/qm.adoc @@ -173,19 +173,42 @@ This means that after a fresh start, the newest machine version supported by the QEMU binary is used (e.g. the newest machine version QEMU 8.1 supports is version 8.1 for each machine type). +Starting with QEMU 10.1, machine versions will be removed from upstream QEMU +after 6 years. In {pve}, major releases happen approximately every 2 years, so a +major {pve} release will support machine versions from approximately two +previous major {pve} releases, more details below. + +Before upgrading to a new major {pve} release, you should update VM +configurations to avoid all machine versions that will be dropped during the +next major {pve} release. This ensures that the guests can still be used +throughout that release. See the section +xref:qm_machine_update[Update to a Newer Machine Version]. + +The following table shows the expected baselines of supported machine versions +for the current and upcoming major {pve} releases (best guesses): + +[width="100%",cols=">s,>,>s,2*>",options="header"] +|=============================================================================================== +| {pve} | active development | supported baseline | dropped during life cycle | last QEMU binary +| 8 | 2023-2025 | 2.4 | 2.3 and older | 9.2 +| 9 | 2025-2027 | 6.0 | 5.2 and older | 11.2 +| 10 | 2027-2029 | 8.0 | 7.2 and older | 13.2 +|=============================================================================================== + +NOTE: Support for {pve} releases is longer than active development, but no new +QEMU binary versions will be added after active development, just backports and +fixes for existing binary versions. + [[qm_machine_update]] Update to a Newer Machine Version +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ -Very old machine versions might become deprecated in QEMU. For example, this is -the case for versions 1.4 to 1.7 for the i440fx machine type. It is expected -that support for these machine versions will be dropped at some point. If you -see a deprecation warning, you should change the machine version to a newer one. -Be sure to have a working backup first and be prepared for changes to how the -guest sees hardware. In some scenarios, re-installing certain drivers might be -required. You should also check for snapshots with RAM that were taken with -these machine versions (i.e. the `runningmachine` configuration entry). +If you see a deprecation warning, you should change the machine version to a +newer one. Be sure to have a working backup first and be prepared for changes to +how the guest sees hardware. In some scenarios, re-installing certain drivers +might be required. You should also check for snapshots with RAM that were taken +with these machine versions (i.e. the `runningmachine` configuration entry). Unfortunately, there is no way to change the machine version of a snapshot, so you'd need to load the snapshot to salvage any data from it. -- 2.39.5 _______________________________________________ pve-devel mailing list pve-devel@lists.proxmox.com https://lists.proxmox.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/pve-devel