MicroVMs are fundamentally stripped-down virtual machines. They strip away all the legacy hardware emulation found in traditional VMs (like virtual BIOS, USB controllers, and audio/graphics devices) to leave only the absolute minimum required to boot a minimal Linux kernel and run a specific workload. This architectural minimalism provides massive performance and resource benefits compared to traditional VMs.
| Feature | VM | MicroVM |
|---|---|---|
| Boot Time | Minutes | ~100–150 milliseconds |
| Memory Footprint | Hundreds of MBs to GBs | ~5 MB overhead per instance |
| Hardware Emulation | Full hardware stack (PCI, BIOS, USB) | Minimal (virtio-net, virtio-block, serial) |