A method and apparatus for constructing host processor soft devices
independent of the host processor operating system are provided. In one
embodiment, a driver of a soft device is implemented in a virtual machine
monitor (VMM), and the soft device is made available for use by one or
more virtual machines coupled to the VMM. In an alternative embodiment, a
software component of a soft device is implemented in a first virtual
machine that is coupled to a VMM, and the soft device is made available
for use by a second virtual machine coupled to the VMM.