QEmu Kernel Debugger

A small init system and set of scripts for debugging the Linux kernel in qemu.

Requirements

• qemu - Used to virtualize the target kernel.
  • Install via brew on MacOS or through your package manager on Linux.
• dpkg-deb - Used to extract packages into the initramfs.
  • Install via brew on MacOS or through your package manager on Linux.

Compiling / Setup

1. Checkout and compile a Linux kernel + e1000 driver.
   • cd $KERNEL_PATH
   • make menuconfig (Use default options: exit + save).
   • make -j4 vmlinux
   • make drivers/net/ethernet/intel/e1000/e1000.ko
2. Set KERNEL_PATH in Makefile to the kernel repository.
3. Invoke make to compile the initramfs and setup symlinks for qemu.

Debug Mode

1. Invoke run in debug mode: DEBUG=1 ./run.sh.
2. Start gdb from the repository's root: gdb ./vmlinux.
3. Connect gdb to qemu: target remote :1234.
4. And continue: c.

Normal Mode

1. Invoke run in normal mode: ./run.sh.
2. Kernel will boot.