Just as bare metal systems may benefit from updated drivers for their existing (or newly added) hardware, the emulation of hardware in virtual machines may change or may be better leveraged by OS/2-based guests (OS/2 Warp, eCS, or ArcaOS) by utilizing the latest drivers available from Arca Noae.

We have seen instances where virtual machines are configured with a sort of “set it and forget it” mindset on the part of the user, believing that hypervisor updates will not impact configured virtual machines. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Various hypervisors (VirtualBox, etc.) may indeed alter the emulated PC BIOS and emulated firmware for other components (networking, USB, etc.).

If your virtual machines are running ArcaOS, keeping your ArcaOS Support & Maintenance subscriptions in force and applying the latest available updates will not only keep your drivers up to date, but the ArcaOS kernel, as well. In addition, other components of ArcaOS which affect usability may also be updated through subscription downloads (ArcaOS Desktop, bundled applications, etc.).

If your virtual machines are still running OS/2 Warp 4 or eComStation, keeping your OS/2 & eCS Drivers & Software subscriptions in force will allow you to keep your drivers current, as well as any other included content. (Note that kernel updates are not included in the OS/2 & eCS Drivers & Software subscription, as the ArcaOS kernel itself is not licensed for use with any distribution other than ArcaOS. If you have a need for the advanced features provided by the ArcaOS kernel, the best upgrade path is to purchase a license for ArcaOS.)

In conclusion, simply consider that virtual machines are, from the point of view of the operating system, just computers, after all, just like their bare metal counterparts.