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x86: Virtualization: Gabriel Laskar

The document discusses CPU virtualization and KVM. It explains the basics of virtualization, how KVM leverages Linux APIs to provide virtualization, and provides code examples for setting up virtual machines and virtual CPUs using the KVM API.

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Djadja
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47 views

x86: Virtualization: Gabriel Laskar

The document discusses CPU virtualization and KVM. It explains the basics of virtualization, how KVM leverages Linux APIs to provide virtualization, and provides code examples for setting up virtual machines and virtual CPUs using the KVM API.

Uploaded by

Djadja
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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x86 : Virtualization

Gabriel Laskar <[email protected]>


Basics : What is it ?

● Virtual Machine
● Hypervisor
● Virtual machine monitor

2
Basics : Virtualization vs Emulation

● CPU Emulation : Interpret code in order to execute the


same behavior
● CPU Virtualization : Execute on real hardware, but in a
controlled way

3
VM Requirements

« For any conventional third generation computer, a


virtual machine monitor may be constructed if the set of
sensitive instructions for that computer is a subset of
privileged instructions »
-- Popek & Goldberg

4
Virtualization Solutions

● Xen
● Qemu/KVM
● VMWare ESX
● VMWare Workstation
● VirtualBox

5
Other Kind of Virtualization

● Paravirtualization
● Containers

6
CPU Virtualization

● Run the VMM at a higher level of privilege


● Sensitive instructions will trap and the VMM will
emulate them.

7
Virtualize the “unvirtualizable”

● Binary Rewriting
● Para-virtualization
● HVM

8
Rings & Virtualization

9
vt-x

● root vs non-root mode


● VMCS
● Instructions
● What can trap ?

10
vt-x : instructions

● vmptrld, vmptrst
● vmclear
● vmread, vmwrite
● vmlaunch, vmresume
● vmxoff, vmxon
● invept, invvpid
● vmcall, vmfunc

11
EPT

● No Shadow Page Tables


● A second translation Layer
● translation : physical → guest-physical

12
Memory Virtualization
● shadow page tables
● EPT

13
Example Hypervisor: Qemu/KVM

● KVM is the Linux Hypervisor


● Splitted in 2 parts :
○ kvm : kernel module
○ qemu : device emulation, vm setup

14
KVM

● Leverage Linux APIs & subsystems for Virtualization


● 3 modules : kvm.ko, kvm-intel.ko, kvm-amd.ko
● code size :
○ ~7kloc arch-independant code
○ ~33kloc arch-dependant code for x86 (~8k for arm)

15
KVM

● Expose virtualization api to the userland


● Use only Hardware virtualization instructions
● small size
● reuse linux apis when possible (scheduling, memory
management, events, ...)

16
Qemu

● Use also in Xen


● VM creation
● Device emulation

17
KVM Api

● VM creation
● Memory assignation
● irq chip
● launch a cpu
● devices

18
/dev/kvm

● /dev/kvm expose an anonymous virtual filesystem for


the hypervisor
● Every resources are managed through a fd :
○ kvm configuration
○ vm management
○ vcpu management

19
/dev/kvm : system fd

● ioctl(fd, KVM_CREATE_VM)
● ioctl(fd, KVM_GET_VCPU_MMAP_SIZE)
● ioctl(fd, KVM_GET_MSR_INDEX_LIST)
● ioctl(fd, KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION)

20
kvm extensions

● Multiple architectures and capabilities (and kvm


versions)
● Extension system, in order to know what is available
● Around 115 extension (as of 4.1)
● Check for extension before use:
○ ioctl(kvm_fd, KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION, KVM_CAP_IRQCHIP);

21
Example : vm creation
int fd_kvm = open("/dev/kvm", O_RDWR);
int kvm_run_size = ioctl(fd_kvm, KVM_GET_VCPU_MMAP_SIZE,
0);

int fd_vm = ioctl(fd_kvm, KVM_CREATE_VM, 0);

// add space for v8086 TSS (3 pages)


ioctl(fd_vm, KVM_SET_TSS_ADDR, 0xffffd000);
// add space for identity map for vcpu real mode
ioctl(fd_vm, KVM_SET_IDENTITY_MAP_ADDR, 0xffffc000);

ioctl(fd_vm, KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP, 0);


22
/dev/kvm : vm fd

● KVM_CREATE_VCPU
● KVM_SET_USER_MEMORY_REGION
● KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP (extension)
● KVM_{GET,SET}_DEBUGREGS
● KVM_GET_DIRTY_LOG

23
Example : Memory Assignation
// set memory region
void *addr = mmap(NULL, 10 * MB, PROT_READ | PROT_WRITE,
MAP_ANONYMOUS | MAP_PRIVATE, -1, 0);

struct kvm_userspace_memory_region region = {


.slot = 0,
.flags = 0,
.guest_phys_addr = 0x100000,
.memory_size = 10 * MB,
.userspace_addr = (__u64)addr
};

ioctl(fd_vm, KVM_SET_USER_MEMORY_REGION, &region);

24
/dev/kvm : VCPU fd

● KVM_RUN
● KVM_{GET,SET}_REGS
● KVM_{GET,SET}_SREGS
● KVM_TRANSLATE
● KVM_INTERRUPT (without local apic)
● KVM_{GET,SET}_MSRS
● KVM_SET_CPUID

25
Example : VCPU Creation & setup
int fd_vcpu = ioctl(fd_vm, KVM_CREATE_VCPU, 0);

struct kvm_sregs sregs;


ioctl(fd_vcpu, KVM_GET_SREGS, &sregs);

#define set_segment(Seg, Base, Limit, G) \


do { \
Seg.base = Base; \ sregs.cr0 |= 0x01;
Seg.limit = Limit; \
Seg.g = G; \ ioctl(fd_vcpu, KVM_SET_SREGS, &sregs);
} while (0)
struct kvm_regs regs;
ioctl(fd_vcpu, KVM_GET_REGS, &regs);
set_segment(sregs.cs, 0x0, 0xffffffff, 1); regs.rflags = 0x02;
set_segment(sregs.ds, 0x0, 0xffffffff, 1); regs.rip = 0x00100f00;
set_segment(sregs.ss, 0x0, 0xffffffff, 1); ioctl(fd_vcpu, KVM_SET_REGS, &regs);

sregs.cs.db = 1;
sregs.ss.db = 1;

26
Example : Run VM
struct kvm_run *run_state =
mmap(0, kvm_run_size, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE,
MAP_PRIVATE,
fd_vcpu, 0);

for (;;) {
int res = ioctl(fd_vcpu, KVM_RUN, 0);

switch (run_state->exit_reason) {
/* … */
}
}
27
Exit Reasons

● KVM_EXIT_EXCEPTION
● KVM_EXIT_IO
● KVM_EXIT_MMIO
● KVM_EXIT_SHUTDOWN
● ...

28
Port IO
case KVM_EXIT_IO:
if (run_state->io.port == CONSOLE_PORT
&& run_state->io.direction == KVM_EXIT_IO_OUT)
{

__u64 offset = run_state->io.data_offset;


__u32 size = run_state->io.size;

write(STDOUT_FILENO,
(char*)run_state + offset, size);
}
break;
29
More? Where is the documentation?
● linux source code:
○ include/uapi/linux/kvm.h
○ Documentation/virtual/kvm/api.txt
○ virt/kvm/
○ arch/x86/kvm/
○ arch/arm/kvm/
● qemu source code
● kvmtool:
○ https://raw.githubusercontent.com/penberg/linux-
kvm/master/tools/kvm/README
● As usual Intel® 64 and IA-32 Architectures Software
Developer Manuals
30

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