Hypervisor Virtual Console (hvc) backends for PowerVM, z/VM, Xen, RISC-V, and ARM
A generic serial-style console layer that lets a Linux guest talk to its hypervisor or firmware instead of a physical UART. Backends cover IBM PowerVM and PowerNV partitions, IBM z/VM IUCV mainframe consoles, Xen guests, RISC-V SBI firmware consoles, and the ARM debug channel — how admins get a login prompt on virtualised or headless systems.
recommendation
It should stay in the kernel because the underlying platforms are very much alive: IBM is still selling Power10 and Power11 systems in 2025 with PowerVM and HMC-based virtual terminals, z/VM and Xen guests continue to rely on it, and RISC-V SBI consoles are growing rather than shrinking. The code is also actively maintained, with stable-tree activity on hvc_console.c as recently as late 2025.
repository signals
sources
- lore.kernel.org
`drivers/tty/hvc/hvc_console.c` still received upstream/stable traffic in late 2025, indicating the subsystem is maintained rather than abandoned.
- ibm.com
Current IBM Power10 documentation still describes HMC virtual terminal access for Linux logical partitions, which maps directly to active hvc use on modern Power systems.
- ibm.com
IBM documentation references PowerVM deployments on Power9, Power10, and Power11 environments, showing the underlying virtualization platform remains current in 2025.
- ibm.com
IBM support documentation updated in 2025 describes current vHMC offerings, reinforcing that PowerVM/HMC-based virtual-console environments are still being newly deployed.
codex reasoning notes (technical)
`drivers/tty/hvc` is a real driver directory: Kconfig/Makefile enumerate multiple hardware/firmware backends under the generic hypervisor virtual console layer. Lore evidence came from `mcp__lore_http__.lore_file_timeline` on `drivers/tty/hvc/hvc_console.c`, which returned late-2025 stable activity and a nontrivial 2021-2025 patch histogram. Deployment evidence came from web search results on IBM docs/support pages showing current PowerVM/HMC usage on Power10/Power11-era systems. I found no usable evidence of an upstream removal push in the successful queries; combined with ongoing maintenance and still-current host platforms, this points to keep rather than deprecate.