Virtual devices, including virtual chipsets, are shipping alongside platform firmware.
SeaBIOS is an implementation of an x86 BIOS which relies on coreboot. It is used for legacy systems, but also to specialized and cloud optimized guests systems which don't require UEFI.
OVMF, which stands for Open Virtual Machine Firmware, is a UEFI-compatible firmware.
It is based on the TianoCore project, which provides an open-source implementation of a platform firmware that follows UEFI specifications.
It is the default method to boot UEFI-based operating systems in a virtual machine.
The Rust Hypervisor Firmware (RHF) is a UEFI-compatible firmware. It is focused on simplicity and performance and is designed to run cloud-centric operating systems.
It is developed alongside the Cloud Hypervisor.
| SeaBIOS | OVMF | RHF | |
|---|---|---|---|
| BIOS | Yes | No | No |
| UEFI | No | Yes | Yes |
| Secure Boot | No | Yes | ? |
| Chipset | i440fx, Q35 | i440f, Q35 | virt |
| Guests | Linux, Windows | Linux, Darwin, Windows | Linux, Windows |
| Virtual Function I/O (VFIO) | No | Yes | Yes |