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authorLinus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org>2008-04-27 19:13:52 +0200
committerLinus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org>2008-04-27 19:13:52 +0200
commit42cadc86008aae0fd9ff31642dc01ed50723cf32 (patch)
treeb05d4c8f0561bad5a0183a89fb23ce4c8ee1653c /Documentation/powerpc/kvm_440.txt
parentMerge git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/bart/ide-2.6 (diff)
parentKVM: kill file->f_count abuse in kvm (diff)
downloadlinux-42cadc86008aae0fd9ff31642dc01ed50723cf32.tar.xz
linux-42cadc86008aae0fd9ff31642dc01ed50723cf32.zip
Merge branch 'kvm-updates-2.6.26' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/avi/kvm
* 'kvm-updates-2.6.26' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/avi/kvm: (147 commits) KVM: kill file->f_count abuse in kvm KVM: MMU: kvm_pv_mmu_op should not take mmap_sem KVM: SVM: remove selective CR0 comment KVM: SVM: remove now obsolete FIXME comment KVM: SVM: disable CR8 intercept when tpr is not masking interrupts KVM: SVM: sync V_TPR with LAPIC.TPR if CR8 write intercept is disabled KVM: export kvm_lapic_set_tpr() to modules KVM: SVM: sync TPR value to V_TPR field in the VMCB KVM: ppc: PowerPC 440 KVM implementation KVM: Add MAINTAINERS entry for PowerPC KVM KVM: ppc: Add DCR access information to struct kvm_run ppc: Export tlb_44x_hwater for KVM KVM: Rename debugfs_dir to kvm_debugfs_dir KVM: x86 emulator: fix lea to really get the effective address KVM: x86 emulator: fix smsw and lmsw with a memory operand KVM: x86 emulator: initialize src.val and dst.val for register operands KVM: SVM: force a new asid when initializing the vmcb KVM: fix kvm_vcpu_kick vs __vcpu_run race KVM: add ioctls to save/store mpstate KVM: Rename VCPU_MP_STATE_* to KVM_MP_STATE_* ...
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+Hollis Blanchard <hollisb@us.ibm.com>
+15 Apr 2008
+
+Various notes on the implementation of KVM for PowerPC 440:
+
+To enforce isolation, host userspace, guest kernel, and guest userspace all
+run at user privilege level. Only the host kernel runs in supervisor mode.
+Executing privileged instructions in the guest traps into KVM (in the host
+kernel), where we decode and emulate them. Through this technique, unmodified
+440 Linux kernels can be run (slowly) as guests. Future performance work will
+focus on reducing the overhead and frequency of these traps.
+
+The usual code flow is started from userspace invoking an "run" ioctl, which
+causes KVM to switch into guest context. We use IVPR to hijack the host
+interrupt vectors while running the guest, which allows us to direct all
+interrupts to kvmppc_handle_interrupt(). At this point, we could either
+- handle the interrupt completely (e.g. emulate "mtspr SPRG0"), or
+- let the host interrupt handler run (e.g. when the decrementer fires), or
+- return to host userspace (e.g. when the guest performs device MMIO)
+
+Address spaces: We take advantage of the fact that Linux doesn't use the AS=1
+address space (in host or guest), which gives us virtual address space to use
+for guest mappings. While the guest is running, the host kernel remains mapped
+in AS=0, but the guest can only use AS=1 mappings.
+
+TLB entries: The TLB entries covering the host linear mapping remain
+present while running the guest. This reduces the overhead of lightweight
+exits, which are handled by KVM running in the host kernel. We keep three
+copies of the TLB:
+ - guest TLB: contents of the TLB as the guest sees it
+ - shadow TLB: the TLB that is actually in hardware while guest is running
+ - host TLB: to restore TLB state when context switching guest -> host
+When a TLB miss occurs because a mapping was not present in the shadow TLB,
+but was present in the guest TLB, KVM handles the fault without invoking the
+guest. Large guest pages are backed by multiple 4KB shadow pages through this
+mechanism.
+
+IO: MMIO and DCR accesses are emulated by userspace. We use virtio for network
+and block IO, so those drivers must be enabled in the guest. It's possible
+that some qemu device emulation (e.g. e1000 or rtl8139) may also work with
+little effort.