Linux KVM

Kernel Virtual Machine
KVM Documents
KVM (for Kernel-based Virtual Machine) is a full virtualization solution for Linux on x86 hardware containing virtualization extensions (Intel VT or AMD-V). It consists of a loadable kernel module, kvm.ko, that provides the core virtualization infrastructure and a processor specific module, kvm-intel.ko or kvm-amd.ko.

Using KVM, one can run multiple virtual machines running unmodified Linux or Windows images. Each virtual machine has private virtualized hardware: a network card, disk, graphics adapter, etc.

Kernel

The Definitive KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) API Documentation
The Definitive KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) API Documentation (broken link)

The kvm API is a set of ioctls that are issued to control various aspects of a virtual machine.