Currently with libvirt and qemu/kvm to use the generic ethernet interface you have to use the workarounds listed in http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/How_to_debug_Virtualization_problems#Errors... . This is required since the current method relies on qemu to create the TAP interface. This was reported in the past as https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=593903 , https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=593903 and https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=559154 . The tickets were closed with the work around stated as the fix. I have created a patch to fix the issue above and avoid the work around from the Fedora wiki requiring qemu to run as root, clear_emulator_capabilities = 1 to be set in qemu.conf, and to put SELinux into permissive mode. All three are required on Fedora 15 for a generic ethernet interface to work. This work around places the host and guests in a much more vulnerable state. I have written this against the version that ships with Fedora 15 (libvirt-0.8.8). I looked at the latest code and it appears not much has changed and I should be able to clean up the patch and apply it to the trunk. If there is interest I will clean up the patch and submit it to the list for review. The code changes it so that the TAP interface is created by libvirt and then the file descriptor is passed to qemu. Much like what is done when using bridged networking. This is done using fd= instead of ifname= just like with the bridged networking. The script= parameter is not supported with fd= so I will assume the old method will still need to be supported for backwards compatibility. What would be the best way to implement the config xml? I have not changed any xml config code yet and am looking for input on the best method. A couple of options I can think of are below. Current example which uses ifname= listed for reference (http://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsNICSEthernet) <interface type='ethernet'> <target dev='tap0'/> <script path='/etc/qemu-ifup'/> </interface> Option 1: Proposed change would be that if there is no script parameter it is assumed that fd= is used instead of ifname= and if script= is present then use ifname= Would use fd= after the patch. <interface type='ethernet'> <target dev='tap0'/> </interface> Would use ifname= after patch since it has a script= parameter. If a script parameter is needed the work around would still need to be in place. <interface type='ethernet'> <target dev='tap0'/> <script path='/etc/qemu-ifup'/> </interface> Option 2: Adding a mode parameter to the <target /> tag. mode could be either fd or ifname. If the mode is ifname then <script path=''/> would be valid. If the mode is left off and there is no script parameter than I would propose that fd= be used. If that would be an issue then ifname= could be used if the mode parameter is left off. <interface type='ethernet'> <target dev='tap0' mode='fd'/> </interface> Option 3: Something completely different then above ;-) I like option 1 unless anyone sees an issue with that method. For example this would allow for use of openvswitch with libvirt and I am sure other types of setups while still leaving sVirt enabled. I have tested a patched libvirt with an openvswitch setup. You create the TAP interface with libvirt in this manner and then add those TAP interfaces to openvswitch assigning VLANs and other attributes as needed. I am not proposing this as the long term supported method for openvswitch integration, but this allows for much more flexible networking with out sacrificing security or backwards compatibility. Thanks, Tyler Coumbes