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| -rw-r--r-- | docs/system/i386/kvm-pv.rst | 100 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | docs/system/target-i386.rst | 1 |
2 files changed, 101 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/docs/system/i386/kvm-pv.rst b/docs/system/i386/kvm-pv.rst new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1e5a992 --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/system/i386/kvm-pv.rst @@ -0,0 +1,100 @@ +Paravirtualized KVM features +============================ + +Description +----------- + +In some cases when implementing hardware interfaces in software is slow, ``KVM`` +implements its own paravirtualized interfaces. + +Setup +----- + +Paravirtualized ``KVM`` features are represented as CPU flags. The following +features are enabled by default for any CPU model when ``KVM`` acceleration is +enabled: + +- ``kvmclock`` +- ``kvm-nopiodelay`` +- ``kvm-asyncpf`` +- ``kvm-steal-time`` +- ``kvm-pv-eoi`` +- ``kvmclock-stable-bit`` + +``kvm-msi-ext-dest-id`` feature is enabled by default in x2apic mode with split +irqchip (e.g. "-machine ...,kernel-irqchip=split -cpu ...,x2apic"). + +Note: when CPU model ``host`` is used, QEMU passes through all supported +paravirtualized ``KVM`` features to the guest. + +Existing features +----------------- + +``kvmclock`` + Expose a ``KVM`` specific paravirtualized clocksource to the guest. Supported + since Linux v2.6.26. + +``kvm-nopiodelay`` + The guest doesn't need to perform delays on PIO operations. Supported since + Linux v2.6.26. + +``kvm-mmu`` + This feature is deprecated. + +``kvm-asyncpf`` + Enable asynchronous page fault mechanism. Supported since Linux v2.6.38. + Note: since Linux v5.10 the feature is deprecated and not enabled by ``KVM``. + Use ``kvm-asyncpf-int`` instead. + +``kvm-steal-time`` + Enable stolen (when guest vCPU is not running) time accounting. Supported + since Linux v3.1. + +``kvm-pv-eoi`` + Enable paravirtualized end-of-interrupt signaling. Supported since Linux + v3.10. + +``kvm-pv-unhalt`` + Enable paravirtualized spinlocks support. Supported since Linux v3.12. + +``kvm-pv-tlb-flush`` + Enable paravirtualized TLB flush mechanism. Supported since Linux v4.16. + +``kvm-pv-ipi`` + Enable paravirtualized IPI mechanism. Supported since Linux v4.19. + +``kvm-poll-control`` + Enable host-side polling on HLT control from the guest. Supported since Linux + v5.10. + +``kvm-pv-sched-yield`` + Enable paravirtualized sched yield feature. Supported since Linux v5.10. + +``kvm-asyncpf-int`` + Enable interrupt based asynchronous page fault mechanism. Supported since Linux + v5.10. + +``kvm-msi-ext-dest-id`` + Support 'Extended Destination ID' for external interrupts. The feature allows + to use up to 32768 CPUs without IRQ remapping (but other limits may apply making + the number of supported vCPUs for a given configuration lower). Supported since + Linux v5.10. + +``kvmclock-stable-bit`` + Tell the guest that guest visible TSC value can be fully trusted for kvmclock + computations and no warps are expected. Supported since Linux v2.6.35. + +Supplementary features +---------------------- + +``kvm-pv-enforce-cpuid`` + Limit the supported paravirtualized feature set to the exposed features only. + Note, by default, ``KVM`` allows the guest to use all currently supported + paravirtualized features even when they were not announced in guest visible + CPUIDs. Supported since Linux v5.10. + + +Useful links +------------ + +Please refer to Documentation/virt/kvm in Linux for additional details. diff --git a/docs/system/target-i386.rst b/docs/system/target-i386.rst index 6a86d63..4daa53c 100644 --- a/docs/system/target-i386.rst +++ b/docs/system/target-i386.rst @@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ Architectural features :maxdepth: 1 i386/cpu + i386/kvm-pv i386/sgx .. _pcsys_005freq: |