Testing aarch64 on x86 with qemu

[wfeldt]

Requirements

What you need are these two packages:

• qemu-arm
• qemu-uefi-aarch64

1. Testing aarch64 installation

Get an installation ISO. I was using openSUSE-Tumbleweed-DVD-aarch64-Current.iso (Snapshot20210203 at the time I'm writing this).

Create an empty disk image to install into; for example:

qemu-img create -f qcow2 foo.qcow2 60G

Then run this qemu command (as non-root user):

qemu-system-aarch64 -machine virt -cpu cortex-a57 -m 2048 -bios qemu-uefi-aarch64.bin \
  -device virtio-gpu-pci \
  -device qemu-xhci -device usb-kbd -device usb-tablet \
  -device virtio-scsi -device scsi-hd,drive=id0 \
  -device virtio-net,netdev=net0 \
  -drive file=foo.qcow2,id=id0,media=disk,format=qcow2,if=none \
  -drive file=openSUSE-Tumbleweed-DVD-aarch64-Snapshot20210203-Media.iso,media=cdrom,format=raw,readonly \
  -netdev user,id=net0,hostfwd=tcp::22222-:22

Notes:

• virtio-gpu-pci seems to work best; UEFI firmware, kernel, and Xorg support it
• you need to add some keyboard and mouse explicitly; these usb devices work fine: qemu-xhci, usb-kbd, usb-tablet
• you could go simply for -cpu max - but the emulation runs much (factor 3) slower with the Tumbleweed image
• the port forwarding (the hostfwd parameter) allows you to connect without having to setup a bridge device; pick any port that suits you, 22222 is just an example

At the boot screen, edit boot options to add:

plymouth=0 console=tty1 sshd=1 password=xxxxx

Boot screen

Note:

• an explicit console=tty1 is needed - else you end up doing a serial console install (the default console is ttyAMA0)

When yast is running, you can connect to the virtual machine running:

ssh -Xl root -p 22222 -o NoHostAuthenticationForLocalhost=yes localhost

The emulation is incredibly slow. You might think it's dead at some spots.

See these timestamps on the serial console

Switch between serial0 and virtio-gpu-pci consoles in qemu when you get bored.

Finally, installation is starting:

2. Testing aarch64 using pre-built images

Get one of the pre-built images. I was using openSUSE-Tumbleweed-ARM-JeOS-efi.aarch64.qcow2 (Snapshot20210203 at the time I'm writing this).

Then run this qemu command (as non-root user):

qemu-system-aarch64 -machine virt -cpu cortex-a57 -m 2048 -bios qemu-uefi-aarch64.bin \
  -device virtio-gpu-pci \
  -device qemu-xhci -device usb-kbd -device usb-tablet \
  -device virtio-scsi -device scsi-hd,drive=id0 \
  -device virtio-net,netdev=net0 \
  -drive file=openSUSE-Tumbleweed-ARM-JeOS-efi.aarch64.qcow2,id=id0,media=disk,format=qcow2,if=none \
  -netdev user,id=net0,hostfwd=tcp::22222-:22

There are (text console) login prompts on both the serial0 and virtio-gpu-pci screens in qemu.

The initial root password is:

Click here

linux

Note:

• Some of the (open)SUSE images have the quiet kernel option set. This may make the boot process appear to be stuck. But it's just really really slow. Consider removing this option if you're of the impatient type.