Yes, this is something new.
I'm using KVM+libvirt for lab automation, and it's vastly better than Xen -- which is rarely used in HVM mode (the only configuration in which it has support for unmodified guests). Simpler, cleaner, less arcane and more flexible (having its userspace components based on QEmu), KVM still supports paravirtual device drivers but can run full virtualization until the guest installs them -- unlike Xen's paravirtualization where the guest kernel needs to be written appropriately from the bootloader up.
KVM is Good Stuff (tm); it's also included in new upstream versions of the Linux kernel.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
