In the web documentation mention that the direct device support is there since libvirt 0.7.7. A Linux kernel 2.6.34 is required for macvtap to be available as standard device. Index: libvirt-plain/docs/formatdomain.html.in =================================================================== --- libvirt-plain.orig/docs/formatdomain.html.in +++ libvirt-plain/docs/formatdomain.html.in @@ -741,8 +741,11 @@ <p> Provides direct attachment of the virtual machine's NIC to the given - physial interface of the host. This setup requires the Linux macvtap - driver to be available. One of the modes 'vepa' + physial interface of the host. + <span class="since">Since 0.7.7 (QEMU and KVM only)</span><br> + This setup requires the Linux macvtap + driver to be available. <span class="since">(Since Linux 2.6.34.)</span> + One of the modes 'vepa' ( <a href="http://www.ieee802.org/1/files/public/docs2009/new-evb-congdon-vepa-modular-0709-v01.pdf"> 'Virtual Ethernet Port Aggregator'</a>), 'bridge' or 'private' can be chosen for the operation mode of the macvtap device, 'vepa'