1 The Definitive KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) API Documentation
2 ===================================================================
7 The kvm API is a set of ioctls that are issued to control various aspects
8 of a virtual machine. The ioctls belong to three classes
10 - System ioctls: These query and set global attributes which affect the
11 whole kvm subsystem. In addition a system ioctl is used to create
14 - VM ioctls: These query and set attributes that affect an entire virtual
15 machine, for example memory layout. In addition a VM ioctl is used to
16 create virtual cpus (vcpus) and devices.
18 Only run VM ioctls from the same process (address space) that was used
21 - vcpu ioctls: These query and set attributes that control the operation
22 of a single virtual cpu.
24 Only run vcpu ioctls from the same thread that was used to create the
27 - device ioctls: These query and set attributes that control the operation
30 device ioctls must be issued from the same process (address space) that
31 was used to create the VM.
36 The kvm API is centered around file descriptors. An initial
37 open("/dev/kvm") obtains a handle to the kvm subsystem; this handle
38 can be used to issue system ioctls. A KVM_CREATE_VM ioctl on this
39 handle will create a VM file descriptor which can be used to issue VM
40 ioctls. A KVM_CREATE_VCPU or KVM_CREATE_DEVICE ioctl on a VM fd will
41 create a virtual cpu or device and return a file descriptor pointing to
42 the new resource. Finally, ioctls on a vcpu or device fd can be used
43 to control the vcpu or device. For vcpus, this includes the important
44 task of actually running guest code.
46 In general file descriptors can be migrated among processes by means
47 of fork() and the SCM_RIGHTS facility of unix domain socket. These
48 kinds of tricks are explicitly not supported by kvm. While they will
49 not cause harm to the host, their actual behavior is not guaranteed by
50 the API. The only supported use is one virtual machine per process,
51 and one vcpu per thread.
57 As of Linux 2.6.22, the KVM ABI has been stabilized: no backward
58 incompatible change are allowed. However, there is an extension
59 facility that allows backward-compatible extensions to the API to be
62 The extension mechanism is not based on the Linux version number.
63 Instead, kvm defines extension identifiers and a facility to query
64 whether a particular extension identifier is available. If it is, a
65 set of ioctls is available for application use.
71 This section describes ioctls that can be used to control kvm guests.
72 For each ioctl, the following information is provided along with a
75 Capability: which KVM extension provides this ioctl. Can be 'basic',
76 which means that is will be provided by any kernel that supports
77 API version 12 (see section 4.1), a KVM_CAP_xyz constant, which
78 means availability needs to be checked with KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION
79 (see section 4.4), or 'none' which means that while not all kernels
80 support this ioctl, there's no capability bit to check its
81 availability: for kernels that don't support the ioctl,
82 the ioctl returns -ENOTTY.
84 Architectures: which instruction set architectures provide this ioctl.
85 x86 includes both i386 and x86_64.
87 Type: system, vm, or vcpu.
89 Parameters: what parameters are accepted by the ioctl.
91 Returns: the return value. General error numbers (EBADF, ENOMEM, EINVAL)
92 are not detailed, but errors with specific meanings are.
95 4.1 KVM_GET_API_VERSION
101 Returns: the constant KVM_API_VERSION (=12)
103 This identifies the API version as the stable kvm API. It is not
104 expected that this number will change. However, Linux 2.6.20 and
105 2.6.21 report earlier versions; these are not documented and not
106 supported. Applications should refuse to run if KVM_GET_API_VERSION
107 returns a value other than 12. If this check passes, all ioctls
108 described as 'basic' will be available.
116 Parameters: machine type identifier (KVM_VM_*)
117 Returns: a VM fd that can be used to control the new virtual machine.
119 The new VM has no virtual cpus and no memory. An mmap() of a VM fd
120 will access the virtual machine's physical address space; offset zero
121 corresponds to guest physical address zero. Use of mmap() on a VM fd
122 is discouraged if userspace memory allocation (KVM_CAP_USER_MEMORY) is
124 You most certainly want to use 0 as machine type.
126 In order to create user controlled virtual machines on S390, check
127 KVM_CAP_S390_UCONTROL and use the flag KVM_VM_S390_UCONTROL as
128 privileged user (CAP_SYS_ADMIN).
131 4.3 KVM_GET_MSR_INDEX_LIST, KVM_GET_MSR_FEATURE_INDEX_LIST
133 Capability: basic, KVM_CAP_GET_MSR_FEATURES for KVM_GET_MSR_FEATURE_INDEX_LIST
136 Parameters: struct kvm_msr_list (in/out)
137 Returns: 0 on success; -1 on error
139 EFAULT: the msr index list cannot be read from or written to
140 E2BIG: the msr index list is to be to fit in the array specified by
143 struct kvm_msr_list {
144 __u32 nmsrs; /* number of msrs in entries */
148 The user fills in the size of the indices array in nmsrs, and in return
149 kvm adjusts nmsrs to reflect the actual number of msrs and fills in the
150 indices array with their numbers.
152 KVM_GET_MSR_INDEX_LIST returns the guest msrs that are supported. The list
153 varies by kvm version and host processor, but does not change otherwise.
155 Note: if kvm indicates supports MCE (KVM_CAP_MCE), then the MCE bank MSRs are
156 not returned in the MSR list, as different vcpus can have a different number
157 of banks, as set via the KVM_X86_SETUP_MCE ioctl.
159 KVM_GET_MSR_FEATURE_INDEX_LIST returns the list of MSRs that can be passed
160 to the KVM_GET_MSRS system ioctl. This lets userspace probe host capabilities
161 and processor features that are exposed via MSRs (e.g., VMX capabilities).
162 This list also varies by kvm version and host processor, but does not change
166 4.4 KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION
168 Capability: basic, KVM_CAP_CHECK_EXTENSION_VM for vm ioctl
170 Type: system ioctl, vm ioctl
171 Parameters: extension identifier (KVM_CAP_*)
172 Returns: 0 if unsupported; 1 (or some other positive integer) if supported
174 The API allows the application to query about extensions to the core
175 kvm API. Userspace passes an extension identifier (an integer) and
176 receives an integer that describes the extension availability.
177 Generally 0 means no and 1 means yes, but some extensions may report
178 additional information in the integer return value.
180 Based on their initialization different VMs may have different capabilities.
181 It is thus encouraged to use the vm ioctl to query for capabilities (available
182 with KVM_CAP_CHECK_EXTENSION_VM on the vm fd)
184 4.5 KVM_GET_VCPU_MMAP_SIZE
190 Returns: size of vcpu mmap area, in bytes
192 The KVM_RUN ioctl (cf.) communicates with userspace via a shared
193 memory region. This ioctl returns the size of that region. See the
194 KVM_RUN documentation for details.
197 4.6 KVM_SET_MEMORY_REGION
202 Parameters: struct kvm_memory_region (in)
203 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
205 This ioctl is obsolete and has been removed.
213 Parameters: vcpu id (apic id on x86)
214 Returns: vcpu fd on success, -1 on error
216 This API adds a vcpu to a virtual machine. No more than max_vcpus may be added.
217 The vcpu id is an integer in the range [0, max_vcpu_id).
219 The recommended max_vcpus value can be retrieved using the KVM_CAP_NR_VCPUS of
220 the KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION ioctl() at run-time.
221 The maximum possible value for max_vcpus can be retrieved using the
222 KVM_CAP_MAX_VCPUS of the KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION ioctl() at run-time.
224 If the KVM_CAP_NR_VCPUS does not exist, you should assume that max_vcpus is 4
226 If the KVM_CAP_MAX_VCPUS does not exist, you should assume that max_vcpus is
227 same as the value returned from KVM_CAP_NR_VCPUS.
229 The maximum possible value for max_vcpu_id can be retrieved using the
230 KVM_CAP_MAX_VCPU_ID of the KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION ioctl() at run-time.
232 If the KVM_CAP_MAX_VCPU_ID does not exist, you should assume that max_vcpu_id
233 is the same as the value returned from KVM_CAP_MAX_VCPUS.
235 On powerpc using book3s_hv mode, the vcpus are mapped onto virtual
236 threads in one or more virtual CPU cores. (This is because the
237 hardware requires all the hardware threads in a CPU core to be in the
238 same partition.) The KVM_CAP_PPC_SMT capability indicates the number
239 of vcpus per virtual core (vcore). The vcore id is obtained by
240 dividing the vcpu id by the number of vcpus per vcore. The vcpus in a
241 given vcore will always be in the same physical core as each other
242 (though that might be a different physical core from time to time).
243 Userspace can control the threading (SMT) mode of the guest by its
244 allocation of vcpu ids. For example, if userspace wants
245 single-threaded guest vcpus, it should make all vcpu ids be a multiple
246 of the number of vcpus per vcore.
248 For virtual cpus that have been created with S390 user controlled virtual
249 machines, the resulting vcpu fd can be memory mapped at page offset
250 KVM_S390_SIE_PAGE_OFFSET in order to obtain a memory map of the virtual
251 cpu's hardware control block.
254 4.8 KVM_GET_DIRTY_LOG (vm ioctl)
259 Parameters: struct kvm_dirty_log (in/out)
260 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
262 /* for KVM_GET_DIRTY_LOG */
263 struct kvm_dirty_log {
267 void __user *dirty_bitmap; /* one bit per page */
272 Given a memory slot, return a bitmap containing any pages dirtied
273 since the last call to this ioctl. Bit 0 is the first page in the
274 memory slot. Ensure the entire structure is cleared to avoid padding
277 If KVM_CAP_MULTI_ADDRESS_SPACE is available, bits 16-31 specifies
278 the address space for which you want to return the dirty bitmap.
279 They must be less than the value that KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION returns for
280 the KVM_CAP_MULTI_ADDRESS_SPACE capability.
283 4.9 KVM_SET_MEMORY_ALIAS
288 Parameters: struct kvm_memory_alias (in)
289 Returns: 0 (success), -1 (error)
291 This ioctl is obsolete and has been removed.
300 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
302 EINTR: an unmasked signal is pending
304 This ioctl is used to run a guest virtual cpu. While there are no
305 explicit parameters, there is an implicit parameter block that can be
306 obtained by mmap()ing the vcpu fd at offset 0, with the size given by
307 KVM_GET_VCPU_MMAP_SIZE. The parameter block is formatted as a 'struct
308 kvm_run' (see below).
314 Architectures: all except ARM, arm64
316 Parameters: struct kvm_regs (out)
317 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
319 Reads the general purpose registers from the vcpu.
323 /* out (KVM_GET_REGS) / in (KVM_SET_REGS) */
324 __u64 rax, rbx, rcx, rdx;
325 __u64 rsi, rdi, rsp, rbp;
326 __u64 r8, r9, r10, r11;
327 __u64 r12, r13, r14, r15;
333 /* out (KVM_GET_REGS) / in (KVM_SET_REGS) */
344 Architectures: all except ARM, arm64
346 Parameters: struct kvm_regs (in)
347 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
349 Writes the general purpose registers into the vcpu.
351 See KVM_GET_REGS for the data structure.
357 Architectures: x86, ppc
359 Parameters: struct kvm_sregs (out)
360 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
362 Reads special registers from the vcpu.
366 struct kvm_segment cs, ds, es, fs, gs, ss;
367 struct kvm_segment tr, ldt;
368 struct kvm_dtable gdt, idt;
369 __u64 cr0, cr2, cr3, cr4, cr8;
372 __u64 interrupt_bitmap[(KVM_NR_INTERRUPTS + 63) / 64];
375 /* ppc -- see arch/powerpc/include/uapi/asm/kvm.h */
377 interrupt_bitmap is a bitmap of pending external interrupts. At most
378 one bit may be set. This interrupt has been acknowledged by the APIC
379 but not yet injected into the cpu core.
385 Architectures: x86, ppc
387 Parameters: struct kvm_sregs (in)
388 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
390 Writes special registers into the vcpu. See KVM_GET_SREGS for the
399 Parameters: struct kvm_translation (in/out)
400 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
402 Translates a virtual address according to the vcpu's current address
405 struct kvm_translation {
407 __u64 linear_address;
410 __u64 physical_address;
421 Architectures: x86, ppc, mips
423 Parameters: struct kvm_interrupt (in)
424 Returns: 0 on success, negative on failure.
426 Queues a hardware interrupt vector to be injected.
428 /* for KVM_INTERRUPT */
429 struct kvm_interrupt {
436 Returns: 0 on success,
437 -EEXIST if an interrupt is already enqueued
438 -EINVAL the the irq number is invalid
439 -ENXIO if the PIC is in the kernel
440 -EFAULT if the pointer is invalid
442 Note 'irq' is an interrupt vector, not an interrupt pin or line. This
443 ioctl is useful if the in-kernel PIC is not used.
447 Queues an external interrupt to be injected. This ioctl is overleaded
448 with 3 different irq values:
452 This injects an edge type external interrupt into the guest once it's ready
453 to receive interrupts. When injected, the interrupt is done.
455 b) KVM_INTERRUPT_UNSET
457 This unsets any pending interrupt.
459 Only available with KVM_CAP_PPC_UNSET_IRQ.
461 c) KVM_INTERRUPT_SET_LEVEL
463 This injects a level type external interrupt into the guest context. The
464 interrupt stays pending until a specific ioctl with KVM_INTERRUPT_UNSET
467 Only available with KVM_CAP_PPC_IRQ_LEVEL.
469 Note that any value for 'irq' other than the ones stated above is invalid
470 and incurs unexpected behavior.
474 Queues an external interrupt to be injected into the virtual CPU. A negative
475 interrupt number dequeues the interrupt.
486 Support for this has been removed. Use KVM_SET_GUEST_DEBUG instead.
491 Capability: basic (vcpu), KVM_CAP_GET_MSR_FEATURES (system)
493 Type: system ioctl, vcpu ioctl
494 Parameters: struct kvm_msrs (in/out)
495 Returns: number of msrs successfully returned;
498 When used as a system ioctl:
499 Reads the values of MSR-based features that are available for the VM. This
500 is similar to KVM_GET_SUPPORTED_CPUID, but it returns MSR indices and values.
501 The list of msr-based features can be obtained using KVM_GET_MSR_FEATURE_INDEX_LIST
504 When used as a vcpu ioctl:
505 Reads model-specific registers from the vcpu. Supported msr indices can
506 be obtained using KVM_GET_MSR_INDEX_LIST in a system ioctl.
509 __u32 nmsrs; /* number of msrs in entries */
512 struct kvm_msr_entry entries[0];
515 struct kvm_msr_entry {
521 Application code should set the 'nmsrs' member (which indicates the
522 size of the entries array) and the 'index' member of each array entry.
523 kvm will fill in the 'data' member.
531 Parameters: struct kvm_msrs (in)
532 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
534 Writes model-specific registers to the vcpu. See KVM_GET_MSRS for the
537 Application code should set the 'nmsrs' member (which indicates the
538 size of the entries array), and the 'index' and 'data' members of each
547 Parameters: struct kvm_cpuid (in)
548 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
550 Defines the vcpu responses to the cpuid instruction. Applications
551 should use the KVM_SET_CPUID2 ioctl if available.
554 struct kvm_cpuid_entry {
563 /* for KVM_SET_CPUID */
567 struct kvm_cpuid_entry entries[0];
571 4.21 KVM_SET_SIGNAL_MASK
576 Parameters: struct kvm_signal_mask (in)
577 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
579 Defines which signals are blocked during execution of KVM_RUN. This
580 signal mask temporarily overrides the threads signal mask. Any
581 unblocked signal received (except SIGKILL and SIGSTOP, which retain
582 their traditional behaviour) will cause KVM_RUN to return with -EINTR.
584 Note the signal will only be delivered if not blocked by the original
587 /* for KVM_SET_SIGNAL_MASK */
588 struct kvm_signal_mask {
599 Parameters: struct kvm_fpu (out)
600 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
602 Reads the floating point state from the vcpu.
604 /* for KVM_GET_FPU and KVM_SET_FPU */
609 __u8 ftwx; /* in fxsave format */
625 Parameters: struct kvm_fpu (in)
626 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
628 Writes the floating point state to the vcpu.
630 /* for KVM_GET_FPU and KVM_SET_FPU */
635 __u8 ftwx; /* in fxsave format */
646 4.24 KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP
648 Capability: KVM_CAP_IRQCHIP, KVM_CAP_S390_IRQCHIP (s390)
649 Architectures: x86, ARM, arm64, s390
652 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
654 Creates an interrupt controller model in the kernel.
655 On x86, creates a virtual ioapic, a virtual PIC (two PICs, nested), and sets up
656 future vcpus to have a local APIC. IRQ routing for GSIs 0-15 is set to both
657 PIC and IOAPIC; GSI 16-23 only go to the IOAPIC.
658 On ARM/arm64, a GICv2 is created. Any other GIC versions require the usage of
659 KVM_CREATE_DEVICE, which also supports creating a GICv2. Using
660 KVM_CREATE_DEVICE is preferred over KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP for GICv2.
661 On s390, a dummy irq routing table is created.
663 Note that on s390 the KVM_CAP_S390_IRQCHIP vm capability needs to be enabled
664 before KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP can be used.
669 Capability: KVM_CAP_IRQCHIP
670 Architectures: x86, arm, arm64
672 Parameters: struct kvm_irq_level
673 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
675 Sets the level of a GSI input to the interrupt controller model in the kernel.
676 On some architectures it is required that an interrupt controller model has
677 been previously created with KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP. Note that edge-triggered
678 interrupts require the level to be set to 1 and then back to 0.
680 On real hardware, interrupt pins can be active-low or active-high. This
681 does not matter for the level field of struct kvm_irq_level: 1 always
682 means active (asserted), 0 means inactive (deasserted).
684 x86 allows the operating system to program the interrupt polarity
685 (active-low/active-high) for level-triggered interrupts, and KVM used
686 to consider the polarity. However, due to bitrot in the handling of
687 active-low interrupts, the above convention is now valid on x86 too.
688 This is signaled by KVM_CAP_X86_IOAPIC_POLARITY_IGNORED. Userspace
689 should not present interrupts to the guest as active-low unless this
690 capability is present (or unless it is not using the in-kernel irqchip,
694 ARM/arm64 can signal an interrupt either at the CPU level, or at the
695 in-kernel irqchip (GIC), and for in-kernel irqchip can tell the GIC to
696 use PPIs designated for specific cpus. The irq field is interpreted
699 Â bits: | 31 ... 24 | 23 ... 16 | 15 ... 0 |
700 field: | irq_type | vcpu_index | irq_id |
702 The irq_type field has the following values:
703 - irq_type[0]: out-of-kernel GIC: irq_id 0 is IRQ, irq_id 1 is FIQ
704 - irq_type[1]: in-kernel GIC: SPI, irq_id between 32 and 1019 (incl.)
705 (the vcpu_index field is ignored)
706 - irq_type[2]: in-kernel GIC: PPI, irq_id between 16 and 31 (incl.)
708 (The irq_id field thus corresponds nicely to the IRQ ID in the ARM GIC specs)
710 In both cases, level is used to assert/deassert the line.
712 struct kvm_irq_level {
715 __s32 status; /* not used for KVM_IRQ_LEVEL */
717 __u32 level; /* 0 or 1 */
723 Capability: KVM_CAP_IRQCHIP
726 Parameters: struct kvm_irqchip (in/out)
727 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
729 Reads the state of a kernel interrupt controller created with
730 KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP into a buffer provided by the caller.
733 __u32 chip_id; /* 0 = PIC1, 1 = PIC2, 2 = IOAPIC */
736 char dummy[512]; /* reserving space */
737 struct kvm_pic_state pic;
738 struct kvm_ioapic_state ioapic;
745 Capability: KVM_CAP_IRQCHIP
748 Parameters: struct kvm_irqchip (in)
749 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
751 Sets the state of a kernel interrupt controller created with
752 KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP from a buffer provided by the caller.
755 __u32 chip_id; /* 0 = PIC1, 1 = PIC2, 2 = IOAPIC */
758 char dummy[512]; /* reserving space */
759 struct kvm_pic_state pic;
760 struct kvm_ioapic_state ioapic;
765 4.28 KVM_XEN_HVM_CONFIG
767 Capability: KVM_CAP_XEN_HVM
770 Parameters: struct kvm_xen_hvm_config (in)
771 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
773 Sets the MSR that the Xen HVM guest uses to initialize its hypercall
774 page, and provides the starting address and size of the hypercall
775 blobs in userspace. When the guest writes the MSR, kvm copies one
776 page of a blob (32- or 64-bit, depending on the vcpu mode) to guest
779 struct kvm_xen_hvm_config {
792 Capability: KVM_CAP_ADJUST_CLOCK
795 Parameters: struct kvm_clock_data (out)
796 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
798 Gets the current timestamp of kvmclock as seen by the current guest. In
799 conjunction with KVM_SET_CLOCK, it is used to ensure monotonicity on scenarios
802 When KVM_CAP_ADJUST_CLOCK is passed to KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION, it returns the
803 set of bits that KVM can return in struct kvm_clock_data's flag member.
805 The only flag defined now is KVM_CLOCK_TSC_STABLE. If set, the returned
806 value is the exact kvmclock value seen by all VCPUs at the instant
807 when KVM_GET_CLOCK was called. If clear, the returned value is simply
808 CLOCK_MONOTONIC plus a constant offset; the offset can be modified
809 with KVM_SET_CLOCK. KVM will try to make all VCPUs follow this clock,
810 but the exact value read by each VCPU could differ, because the host
813 struct kvm_clock_data {
814 __u64 clock; /* kvmclock current value */
822 Capability: KVM_CAP_ADJUST_CLOCK
825 Parameters: struct kvm_clock_data (in)
826 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
828 Sets the current timestamp of kvmclock to the value specified in its parameter.
829 In conjunction with KVM_GET_CLOCK, it is used to ensure monotonicity on scenarios
832 struct kvm_clock_data {
833 __u64 clock; /* kvmclock current value */
839 4.31 KVM_GET_VCPU_EVENTS
841 Capability: KVM_CAP_VCPU_EVENTS
842 Extended by: KVM_CAP_INTR_SHADOW
845 Parameters: struct kvm_vcpu_event (out)
846 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
848 Gets currently pending exceptions, interrupts, and NMIs as well as related
851 struct kvm_vcpu_events {
881 Only two fields are defined in the flags field:
883 - KVM_VCPUEVENT_VALID_SHADOW may be set in the flags field to signal that
884 interrupt.shadow contains a valid state.
886 - KVM_VCPUEVENT_VALID_SMM may be set in the flags field to signal that
887 smi contains a valid state.
889 4.32 KVM_SET_VCPU_EVENTS
891 Capability: KVM_CAP_VCPU_EVENTS
892 Extended by: KVM_CAP_INTR_SHADOW
895 Parameters: struct kvm_vcpu_event (in)
896 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
898 Set pending exceptions, interrupts, and NMIs as well as related states of the
901 See KVM_GET_VCPU_EVENTS for the data structure.
903 Fields that may be modified asynchronously by running VCPUs can be excluded
904 from the update. These fields are nmi.pending, sipi_vector, smi.smm,
905 smi.pending. Keep the corresponding bits in the flags field cleared to
906 suppress overwriting the current in-kernel state. The bits are:
908 KVM_VCPUEVENT_VALID_NMI_PENDING - transfer nmi.pending to the kernel
909 KVM_VCPUEVENT_VALID_SIPI_VECTOR - transfer sipi_vector
910 KVM_VCPUEVENT_VALID_SMM - transfer the smi sub-struct.
912 If KVM_CAP_INTR_SHADOW is available, KVM_VCPUEVENT_VALID_SHADOW can be set in
913 the flags field to signal that interrupt.shadow contains a valid state and
914 shall be written into the VCPU.
916 KVM_VCPUEVENT_VALID_SMM can only be set if KVM_CAP_X86_SMM is available.
919 4.33 KVM_GET_DEBUGREGS
921 Capability: KVM_CAP_DEBUGREGS
924 Parameters: struct kvm_debugregs (out)
925 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
927 Reads debug registers from the vcpu.
929 struct kvm_debugregs {
938 4.34 KVM_SET_DEBUGREGS
940 Capability: KVM_CAP_DEBUGREGS
943 Parameters: struct kvm_debugregs (in)
944 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
946 Writes debug registers into the vcpu.
948 See KVM_GET_DEBUGREGS for the data structure. The flags field is unused
949 yet and must be cleared on entry.
952 4.35 KVM_SET_USER_MEMORY_REGION
954 Capability: KVM_CAP_USER_MEM
957 Parameters: struct kvm_userspace_memory_region (in)
958 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
960 struct kvm_userspace_memory_region {
963 __u64 guest_phys_addr;
964 __u64 memory_size; /* bytes */
965 __u64 userspace_addr; /* start of the userspace allocated memory */
968 /* for kvm_memory_region::flags */
969 #define KVM_MEM_LOG_DIRTY_PAGES (1UL << 0)
970 #define KVM_MEM_READONLY (1UL << 1)
972 This ioctl allows the user to create or modify a guest physical memory
973 slot. When changing an existing slot, it may be moved in the guest
974 physical memory space, or its flags may be modified. It may not be
975 resized. Slots may not overlap in guest physical address space.
977 If KVM_CAP_MULTI_ADDRESS_SPACE is available, bits 16-31 of "slot"
978 specifies the address space which is being modified. They must be
979 less than the value that KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION returns for the
980 KVM_CAP_MULTI_ADDRESS_SPACE capability. Slots in separate address spaces
981 are unrelated; the restriction on overlapping slots only applies within
984 Memory for the region is taken starting at the address denoted by the
985 field userspace_addr, which must point at user addressable memory for
986 the entire memory slot size. Any object may back this memory, including
987 anonymous memory, ordinary files, and hugetlbfs.
989 It is recommended that the lower 21 bits of guest_phys_addr and userspace_addr
990 be identical. This allows large pages in the guest to be backed by large
993 The flags field supports two flags: KVM_MEM_LOG_DIRTY_PAGES and
994 KVM_MEM_READONLY. The former can be set to instruct KVM to keep track of
995 writes to memory within the slot. See KVM_GET_DIRTY_LOG ioctl to know how to
996 use it. The latter can be set, if KVM_CAP_READONLY_MEM capability allows it,
997 to make a new slot read-only. In this case, writes to this memory will be
998 posted to userspace as KVM_EXIT_MMIO exits.
1000 When the KVM_CAP_SYNC_MMU capability is available, changes in the backing of
1001 the memory region are automatically reflected into the guest. For example, an
1002 mmap() that affects the region will be made visible immediately. Another
1003 example is madvise(MADV_DROP).
1005 It is recommended to use this API instead of the KVM_SET_MEMORY_REGION ioctl.
1006 The KVM_SET_MEMORY_REGION does not allow fine grained control over memory
1007 allocation and is deprecated.
1010 4.36 KVM_SET_TSS_ADDR
1012 Capability: KVM_CAP_SET_TSS_ADDR
1015 Parameters: unsigned long tss_address (in)
1016 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1018 This ioctl defines the physical address of a three-page region in the guest
1019 physical address space. The region must be within the first 4GB of the
1020 guest physical address space and must not conflict with any memory slot
1021 or any mmio address. The guest may malfunction if it accesses this memory
1024 This ioctl is required on Intel-based hosts. This is needed on Intel hardware
1025 because of a quirk in the virtualization implementation (see the internals
1026 documentation when it pops into existence).
1031 Capability: KVM_CAP_ENABLE_CAP, KVM_CAP_ENABLE_CAP_VM
1032 Architectures: x86 (only KVM_CAP_ENABLE_CAP_VM),
1033 mips (only KVM_CAP_ENABLE_CAP), ppc, s390
1034 Type: vcpu ioctl, vm ioctl (with KVM_CAP_ENABLE_CAP_VM)
1035 Parameters: struct kvm_enable_cap (in)
1036 Returns: 0 on success; -1 on error
1038 +Not all extensions are enabled by default. Using this ioctl the application
1039 can enable an extension, making it available to the guest.
1041 On systems that do not support this ioctl, it always fails. On systems that
1042 do support it, it only works for extensions that are supported for enablement.
1044 To check if a capability can be enabled, the KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION ioctl should
1047 struct kvm_enable_cap {
1051 The capability that is supposed to get enabled.
1055 A bitfield indicating future enhancements. Has to be 0 for now.
1059 Arguments for enabling a feature. If a feature needs initial values to
1060 function properly, this is the place to put them.
1065 The vcpu ioctl should be used for vcpu-specific capabilities, the vm ioctl
1066 for vm-wide capabilities.
1068 4.38 KVM_GET_MP_STATE
1070 Capability: KVM_CAP_MP_STATE
1071 Architectures: x86, s390, arm, arm64
1073 Parameters: struct kvm_mp_state (out)
1074 Returns: 0 on success; -1 on error
1076 struct kvm_mp_state {
1080 Returns the vcpu's current "multiprocessing state" (though also valid on
1081 uniprocessor guests).
1083 Possible values are:
1085 - KVM_MP_STATE_RUNNABLE: the vcpu is currently running [x86,arm/arm64]
1086 - KVM_MP_STATE_UNINITIALIZED: the vcpu is an application processor (AP)
1087 which has not yet received an INIT signal [x86]
1088 - KVM_MP_STATE_INIT_RECEIVED: the vcpu has received an INIT signal, and is
1089 now ready for a SIPI [x86]
1090 - KVM_MP_STATE_HALTED: the vcpu has executed a HLT instruction and
1091 is waiting for an interrupt [x86]
1092 - KVM_MP_STATE_SIPI_RECEIVED: the vcpu has just received a SIPI (vector
1093 accessible via KVM_GET_VCPU_EVENTS) [x86]
1094 - KVM_MP_STATE_STOPPED: the vcpu is stopped [s390,arm/arm64]
1095 - KVM_MP_STATE_CHECK_STOP: the vcpu is in a special error state [s390]
1096 - KVM_MP_STATE_OPERATING: the vcpu is operating (running or halted)
1098 - KVM_MP_STATE_LOAD: the vcpu is in a special load/startup state
1101 On x86, this ioctl is only useful after KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP. Without an
1102 in-kernel irqchip, the multiprocessing state must be maintained by userspace on
1103 these architectures.
1107 The only states that are valid are KVM_MP_STATE_STOPPED and
1108 KVM_MP_STATE_RUNNABLE which reflect if the vcpu is paused or not.
1110 4.39 KVM_SET_MP_STATE
1112 Capability: KVM_CAP_MP_STATE
1113 Architectures: x86, s390, arm, arm64
1115 Parameters: struct kvm_mp_state (in)
1116 Returns: 0 on success; -1 on error
1118 Sets the vcpu's current "multiprocessing state"; see KVM_GET_MP_STATE for
1121 On x86, this ioctl is only useful after KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP. Without an
1122 in-kernel irqchip, the multiprocessing state must be maintained by userspace on
1123 these architectures.
1127 The only states that are valid are KVM_MP_STATE_STOPPED and
1128 KVM_MP_STATE_RUNNABLE which reflect if the vcpu should be paused or not.
1130 4.40 KVM_SET_IDENTITY_MAP_ADDR
1132 Capability: KVM_CAP_SET_IDENTITY_MAP_ADDR
1135 Parameters: unsigned long identity (in)
1136 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1138 This ioctl defines the physical address of a one-page region in the guest
1139 physical address space. The region must be within the first 4GB of the
1140 guest physical address space and must not conflict with any memory slot
1141 or any mmio address. The guest may malfunction if it accesses this memory
1144 This ioctl is required on Intel-based hosts. This is needed on Intel hardware
1145 because of a quirk in the virtualization implementation (see the internals
1146 documentation when it pops into existence).
1149 4.41 KVM_SET_BOOT_CPU_ID
1151 Capability: KVM_CAP_SET_BOOT_CPU_ID
1154 Parameters: unsigned long vcpu_id
1155 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1157 Define which vcpu is the Bootstrap Processor (BSP). Values are the same
1158 as the vcpu id in KVM_CREATE_VCPU. If this ioctl is not called, the default
1164 Capability: KVM_CAP_XSAVE
1167 Parameters: struct kvm_xsave (out)
1168 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1174 This ioctl would copy current vcpu's xsave struct to the userspace.
1179 Capability: KVM_CAP_XSAVE
1182 Parameters: struct kvm_xsave (in)
1183 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1189 This ioctl would copy userspace's xsave struct to the kernel.
1194 Capability: KVM_CAP_XCRS
1197 Parameters: struct kvm_xcrs (out)
1198 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1209 struct kvm_xcr xcrs[KVM_MAX_XCRS];
1213 This ioctl would copy current vcpu's xcrs to the userspace.
1218 Capability: KVM_CAP_XCRS
1221 Parameters: struct kvm_xcrs (in)
1222 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1233 struct kvm_xcr xcrs[KVM_MAX_XCRS];
1237 This ioctl would set vcpu's xcr to the value userspace specified.
1240 4.46 KVM_GET_SUPPORTED_CPUID
1242 Capability: KVM_CAP_EXT_CPUID
1245 Parameters: struct kvm_cpuid2 (in/out)
1246 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1251 struct kvm_cpuid_entry2 entries[0];
1254 #define KVM_CPUID_FLAG_SIGNIFCANT_INDEX BIT(0)
1255 #define KVM_CPUID_FLAG_STATEFUL_FUNC BIT(1)
1256 #define KVM_CPUID_FLAG_STATE_READ_NEXT BIT(2)
1258 struct kvm_cpuid_entry2 {
1269 This ioctl returns x86 cpuid features which are supported by both the hardware
1270 and kvm. Userspace can use the information returned by this ioctl to
1271 construct cpuid information (for KVM_SET_CPUID2) that is consistent with
1272 hardware, kernel, and userspace capabilities, and with user requirements (for
1273 example, the user may wish to constrain cpuid to emulate older hardware,
1274 or for feature consistency across a cluster).
1276 Userspace invokes KVM_GET_SUPPORTED_CPUID by passing a kvm_cpuid2 structure
1277 with the 'nent' field indicating the number of entries in the variable-size
1278 array 'entries'. If the number of entries is too low to describe the cpu
1279 capabilities, an error (E2BIG) is returned. If the number is too high,
1280 the 'nent' field is adjusted and an error (ENOMEM) is returned. If the
1281 number is just right, the 'nent' field is adjusted to the number of valid
1282 entries in the 'entries' array, which is then filled.
1284 The entries returned are the host cpuid as returned by the cpuid instruction,
1285 with unknown or unsupported features masked out. Some features (for example,
1286 x2apic), may not be present in the host cpu, but are exposed by kvm if it can
1287 emulate them efficiently. The fields in each entry are defined as follows:
1289 function: the eax value used to obtain the entry
1290 index: the ecx value used to obtain the entry (for entries that are
1292 flags: an OR of zero or more of the following:
1293 KVM_CPUID_FLAG_SIGNIFCANT_INDEX:
1294 if the index field is valid
1295 KVM_CPUID_FLAG_STATEFUL_FUNC:
1296 if cpuid for this function returns different values for successive
1297 invocations; there will be several entries with the same function,
1298 all with this flag set
1299 KVM_CPUID_FLAG_STATE_READ_NEXT:
1300 for KVM_CPUID_FLAG_STATEFUL_FUNC entries, set if this entry is
1301 the first entry to be read by a cpu
1302 eax, ebx, ecx, edx: the values returned by the cpuid instruction for
1303 this function/index combination
1305 The TSC deadline timer feature (CPUID leaf 1, ecx[24]) is always returned
1306 as false, since the feature depends on KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP for local APIC
1307 support. Instead it is reported via
1309 ioctl(KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION, KVM_CAP_TSC_DEADLINE_TIMER)
1311 if that returns true and you use KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP, or if you emulate the
1312 feature in userspace, then you can enable the feature for KVM_SET_CPUID2.
1315 4.47 KVM_PPC_GET_PVINFO
1317 Capability: KVM_CAP_PPC_GET_PVINFO
1320 Parameters: struct kvm_ppc_pvinfo (out)
1321 Returns: 0 on success, !0 on error
1323 struct kvm_ppc_pvinfo {
1329 This ioctl fetches PV specific information that need to be passed to the guest
1330 using the device tree or other means from vm context.
1332 The hcall array defines 4 instructions that make up a hypercall.
1334 If any additional field gets added to this structure later on, a bit for that
1335 additional piece of information will be set in the flags bitmap.
1337 The flags bitmap is defined as:
1339 /* the host supports the ePAPR idle hcall
1340 #define KVM_PPC_PVINFO_FLAGS_EV_IDLE (1<<0)
1342 4.48 KVM_ASSIGN_PCI_DEVICE (deprecated)
1347 Parameters: struct kvm_assigned_pci_dev (in)
1348 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1350 Assigns a host PCI device to the VM.
1352 struct kvm_assigned_pci_dev {
1353 __u32 assigned_dev_id;
1363 The PCI device is specified by the triple segnr, busnr, and devfn.
1364 Identification in succeeding service requests is done via assigned_dev_id. The
1365 following flags are specified:
1367 /* Depends on KVM_CAP_IOMMU */
1368 #define KVM_DEV_ASSIGN_ENABLE_IOMMU (1 << 0)
1369 /* The following two depend on KVM_CAP_PCI_2_3 */
1370 #define KVM_DEV_ASSIGN_PCI_2_3 (1 << 1)
1371 #define KVM_DEV_ASSIGN_MASK_INTX (1 << 2)
1373 If KVM_DEV_ASSIGN_PCI_2_3 is set, the kernel will manage legacy INTx interrupts
1374 via the PCI-2.3-compliant device-level mask, thus enable IRQ sharing with other
1375 assigned devices or host devices. KVM_DEV_ASSIGN_MASK_INTX specifies the
1376 guest's view on the INTx mask, see KVM_ASSIGN_SET_INTX_MASK for details.
1378 The KVM_DEV_ASSIGN_ENABLE_IOMMU flag is a mandatory option to ensure
1379 isolation of the device. Usages not specifying this flag are deprecated.
1381 Only PCI header type 0 devices with PCI BAR resources are supported by
1382 device assignment. The user requesting this ioctl must have read/write
1383 access to the PCI sysfs resource files associated with the device.
1386 ENOTTY: kernel does not support this ioctl
1388 Other error conditions may be defined by individual device types or
1389 have their standard meanings.
1392 4.49 KVM_DEASSIGN_PCI_DEVICE (deprecated)
1397 Parameters: struct kvm_assigned_pci_dev (in)
1398 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1400 Ends PCI device assignment, releasing all associated resources.
1402 See KVM_ASSIGN_PCI_DEVICE for the data structure. Only assigned_dev_id is
1403 used in kvm_assigned_pci_dev to identify the device.
1406 ENOTTY: kernel does not support this ioctl
1408 Other error conditions may be defined by individual device types or
1409 have their standard meanings.
1411 4.50 KVM_ASSIGN_DEV_IRQ (deprecated)
1413 Capability: KVM_CAP_ASSIGN_DEV_IRQ
1416 Parameters: struct kvm_assigned_irq (in)
1417 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1419 Assigns an IRQ to a passed-through device.
1421 struct kvm_assigned_irq {
1422 __u32 assigned_dev_id;
1423 __u32 host_irq; /* ignored (legacy field) */
1431 The following flags are defined:
1433 #define KVM_DEV_IRQ_HOST_INTX (1 << 0)
1434 #define KVM_DEV_IRQ_HOST_MSI (1 << 1)
1435 #define KVM_DEV_IRQ_HOST_MSIX (1 << 2)
1437 #define KVM_DEV_IRQ_GUEST_INTX (1 << 8)
1438 #define KVM_DEV_IRQ_GUEST_MSI (1 << 9)
1439 #define KVM_DEV_IRQ_GUEST_MSIX (1 << 10)
1441 It is not valid to specify multiple types per host or guest IRQ. However, the
1442 IRQ type of host and guest can differ or can even be null.
1445 ENOTTY: kernel does not support this ioctl
1447 Other error conditions may be defined by individual device types or
1448 have their standard meanings.
1451 4.51 KVM_DEASSIGN_DEV_IRQ (deprecated)
1453 Capability: KVM_CAP_ASSIGN_DEV_IRQ
1456 Parameters: struct kvm_assigned_irq (in)
1457 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1459 Ends an IRQ assignment to a passed-through device.
1461 See KVM_ASSIGN_DEV_IRQ for the data structure. The target device is specified
1462 by assigned_dev_id, flags must correspond to the IRQ type specified on
1463 KVM_ASSIGN_DEV_IRQ. Partial deassignment of host or guest IRQ is allowed.
1466 4.52 KVM_SET_GSI_ROUTING
1468 Capability: KVM_CAP_IRQ_ROUTING
1469 Architectures: x86 s390 arm arm64
1471 Parameters: struct kvm_irq_routing (in)
1472 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1474 Sets the GSI routing table entries, overwriting any previously set entries.
1476 On arm/arm64, GSI routing has the following limitation:
1477 - GSI routing does not apply to KVM_IRQ_LINE but only to KVM_IRQFD.
1479 struct kvm_irq_routing {
1482 struct kvm_irq_routing_entry entries[0];
1485 No flags are specified so far, the corresponding field must be set to zero.
1487 struct kvm_irq_routing_entry {
1493 struct kvm_irq_routing_irqchip irqchip;
1494 struct kvm_irq_routing_msi msi;
1495 struct kvm_irq_routing_s390_adapter adapter;
1496 struct kvm_irq_routing_hv_sint hv_sint;
1501 /* gsi routing entry types */
1502 #define KVM_IRQ_ROUTING_IRQCHIP 1
1503 #define KVM_IRQ_ROUTING_MSI 2
1504 #define KVM_IRQ_ROUTING_S390_ADAPTER 3
1505 #define KVM_IRQ_ROUTING_HV_SINT 4
1508 - KVM_MSI_VALID_DEVID: used along with KVM_IRQ_ROUTING_MSI routing entry
1509 type, specifies that the devid field contains a valid value. The per-VM
1510 KVM_CAP_MSI_DEVID capability advertises the requirement to provide
1511 the device ID. If this capability is not available, userspace should
1512 never set the KVM_MSI_VALID_DEVID flag as the ioctl might fail.
1515 struct kvm_irq_routing_irqchip {
1520 struct kvm_irq_routing_msi {
1530 If KVM_MSI_VALID_DEVID is set, devid contains a unique device identifier
1531 for the device that wrote the MSI message. For PCI, this is usually a
1532 BFD identifier in the lower 16 bits.
1534 On x86, address_hi is ignored unless the KVM_X2APIC_API_USE_32BIT_IDS
1535 feature of KVM_CAP_X2APIC_API capability is enabled. If it is enabled,
1536 address_hi bits 31-8 provide bits 31-8 of the destination id. Bits 7-0 of
1537 address_hi must be zero.
1539 struct kvm_irq_routing_s390_adapter {
1543 __u32 summary_offset;
1547 struct kvm_irq_routing_hv_sint {
1552 4.53 KVM_ASSIGN_SET_MSIX_NR (deprecated)
1557 Parameters: struct kvm_assigned_msix_nr (in)
1558 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1560 Set the number of MSI-X interrupts for an assigned device. The number is
1561 reset again by terminating the MSI-X assignment of the device via
1562 KVM_DEASSIGN_DEV_IRQ. Calling this service more than once at any earlier
1565 struct kvm_assigned_msix_nr {
1566 __u32 assigned_dev_id;
1571 #define KVM_MAX_MSIX_PER_DEV 256
1574 4.54 KVM_ASSIGN_SET_MSIX_ENTRY (deprecated)
1579 Parameters: struct kvm_assigned_msix_entry (in)
1580 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1582 Specifies the routing of an MSI-X assigned device interrupt to a GSI. Setting
1583 the GSI vector to zero means disabling the interrupt.
1585 struct kvm_assigned_msix_entry {
1586 __u32 assigned_dev_id;
1588 __u16 entry; /* The index of entry in the MSI-X table */
1593 ENOTTY: kernel does not support this ioctl
1595 Other error conditions may be defined by individual device types or
1596 have their standard meanings.
1599 4.55 KVM_SET_TSC_KHZ
1601 Capability: KVM_CAP_TSC_CONTROL
1604 Parameters: virtual tsc_khz
1605 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1607 Specifies the tsc frequency for the virtual machine. The unit of the
1611 4.56 KVM_GET_TSC_KHZ
1613 Capability: KVM_CAP_GET_TSC_KHZ
1617 Returns: virtual tsc-khz on success, negative value on error
1619 Returns the tsc frequency of the guest. The unit of the return value is
1620 KHz. If the host has unstable tsc this ioctl returns -EIO instead as an
1626 Capability: KVM_CAP_IRQCHIP
1629 Parameters: struct kvm_lapic_state (out)
1630 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1632 #define KVM_APIC_REG_SIZE 0x400
1633 struct kvm_lapic_state {
1634 char regs[KVM_APIC_REG_SIZE];
1637 Reads the Local APIC registers and copies them into the input argument. The
1638 data format and layout are the same as documented in the architecture manual.
1640 If KVM_X2APIC_API_USE_32BIT_IDS feature of KVM_CAP_X2APIC_API is
1641 enabled, then the format of APIC_ID register depends on the APIC mode
1642 (reported by MSR_IA32_APICBASE) of its VCPU. x2APIC stores APIC ID in
1643 the APIC_ID register (bytes 32-35). xAPIC only allows an 8-bit APIC ID
1644 which is stored in bits 31-24 of the APIC register, or equivalently in
1645 byte 35 of struct kvm_lapic_state's regs field. KVM_GET_LAPIC must then
1646 be called after MSR_IA32_APICBASE has been set with KVM_SET_MSR.
1648 If KVM_X2APIC_API_USE_32BIT_IDS feature is disabled, struct kvm_lapic_state
1649 always uses xAPIC format.
1654 Capability: KVM_CAP_IRQCHIP
1657 Parameters: struct kvm_lapic_state (in)
1658 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1660 #define KVM_APIC_REG_SIZE 0x400
1661 struct kvm_lapic_state {
1662 char regs[KVM_APIC_REG_SIZE];
1665 Copies the input argument into the Local APIC registers. The data format
1666 and layout are the same as documented in the architecture manual.
1668 The format of the APIC ID register (bytes 32-35 of struct kvm_lapic_state's
1669 regs field) depends on the state of the KVM_CAP_X2APIC_API capability.
1670 See the note in KVM_GET_LAPIC.
1675 Capability: KVM_CAP_IOEVENTFD
1678 Parameters: struct kvm_ioeventfd (in)
1679 Returns: 0 on success, !0 on error
1681 This ioctl attaches or detaches an ioeventfd to a legal pio/mmio address
1682 within the guest. A guest write in the registered address will signal the
1683 provided event instead of triggering an exit.
1685 struct kvm_ioeventfd {
1687 __u64 addr; /* legal pio/mmio address */
1688 __u32 len; /* 0, 1, 2, 4, or 8 bytes */
1694 For the special case of virtio-ccw devices on s390, the ioevent is matched
1695 to a subchannel/virtqueue tuple instead.
1697 The following flags are defined:
1699 #define KVM_IOEVENTFD_FLAG_DATAMATCH (1 << kvm_ioeventfd_flag_nr_datamatch)
1700 #define KVM_IOEVENTFD_FLAG_PIO (1 << kvm_ioeventfd_flag_nr_pio)
1701 #define KVM_IOEVENTFD_FLAG_DEASSIGN (1 << kvm_ioeventfd_flag_nr_deassign)
1702 #define KVM_IOEVENTFD_FLAG_VIRTIO_CCW_NOTIFY \
1703 (1 << kvm_ioeventfd_flag_nr_virtio_ccw_notify)
1705 If datamatch flag is set, the event will be signaled only if the written value
1706 to the registered address is equal to datamatch in struct kvm_ioeventfd.
1708 For virtio-ccw devices, addr contains the subchannel id and datamatch the
1711 With KVM_CAP_IOEVENTFD_ANY_LENGTH, a zero length ioeventfd is allowed, and
1712 the kernel will ignore the length of guest write and may get a faster vmexit.
1713 The speedup may only apply to specific architectures, but the ioeventfd will
1718 Capability: KVM_CAP_SW_TLB
1721 Parameters: struct kvm_dirty_tlb (in)
1722 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1724 struct kvm_dirty_tlb {
1729 This must be called whenever userspace has changed an entry in the shared
1730 TLB, prior to calling KVM_RUN on the associated vcpu.
1732 The "bitmap" field is the userspace address of an array. This array
1733 consists of a number of bits, equal to the total number of TLB entries as
1734 determined by the last successful call to KVM_CONFIG_TLB, rounded up to the
1735 nearest multiple of 64.
1737 Each bit corresponds to one TLB entry, ordered the same as in the shared TLB
1740 The array is little-endian: the bit 0 is the least significant bit of the
1741 first byte, bit 8 is the least significant bit of the second byte, etc.
1742 This avoids any complications with differing word sizes.
1744 The "num_dirty" field is a performance hint for KVM to determine whether it
1745 should skip processing the bitmap and just invalidate everything. It must
1746 be set to the number of set bits in the bitmap.
1749 4.61 KVM_ASSIGN_SET_INTX_MASK (deprecated)
1751 Capability: KVM_CAP_PCI_2_3
1754 Parameters: struct kvm_assigned_pci_dev (in)
1755 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1757 Allows userspace to mask PCI INTx interrupts from the assigned device. The
1758 kernel will not deliver INTx interrupts to the guest between setting and
1759 clearing of KVM_ASSIGN_SET_INTX_MASK via this interface. This enables use of
1760 and emulation of PCI 2.3 INTx disable command register behavior.
1762 This may be used for both PCI 2.3 devices supporting INTx disable natively and
1763 older devices lacking this support. Userspace is responsible for emulating the
1764 read value of the INTx disable bit in the guest visible PCI command register.
1765 When modifying the INTx disable state, userspace should precede updating the
1766 physical device command register by calling this ioctl to inform the kernel of
1767 the new intended INTx mask state.
1769 Note that the kernel uses the device INTx disable bit to internally manage the
1770 device interrupt state for PCI 2.3 devices. Reads of this register may
1771 therefore not match the expected value. Writes should always use the guest
1772 intended INTx disable value rather than attempting to read-copy-update the
1773 current physical device state. Races between user and kernel updates to the
1774 INTx disable bit are handled lazily in the kernel. It's possible the device
1775 may generate unintended interrupts, but they will not be injected into the
1778 See KVM_ASSIGN_DEV_IRQ for the data structure. The target device is specified
1779 by assigned_dev_id. In the flags field, only KVM_DEV_ASSIGN_MASK_INTX is
1783 4.62 KVM_CREATE_SPAPR_TCE
1785 Capability: KVM_CAP_SPAPR_TCE
1786 Architectures: powerpc
1788 Parameters: struct kvm_create_spapr_tce (in)
1789 Returns: file descriptor for manipulating the created TCE table
1791 This creates a virtual TCE (translation control entry) table, which
1792 is an IOMMU for PAPR-style virtual I/O. It is used to translate
1793 logical addresses used in virtual I/O into guest physical addresses,
1794 and provides a scatter/gather capability for PAPR virtual I/O.
1796 /* for KVM_CAP_SPAPR_TCE */
1797 struct kvm_create_spapr_tce {
1802 The liobn field gives the logical IO bus number for which to create a
1803 TCE table. The window_size field specifies the size of the DMA window
1804 which this TCE table will translate - the table will contain one 64
1805 bit TCE entry for every 4kiB of the DMA window.
1807 When the guest issues an H_PUT_TCE hcall on a liobn for which a TCE
1808 table has been created using this ioctl(), the kernel will handle it
1809 in real mode, updating the TCE table. H_PUT_TCE calls for other
1810 liobns will cause a vm exit and must be handled by userspace.
1812 The return value is a file descriptor which can be passed to mmap(2)
1813 to map the created TCE table into userspace. This lets userspace read
1814 the entries written by kernel-handled H_PUT_TCE calls, and also lets
1815 userspace update the TCE table directly which is useful in some
1819 4.63 KVM_ALLOCATE_RMA
1821 Capability: KVM_CAP_PPC_RMA
1822 Architectures: powerpc
1824 Parameters: struct kvm_allocate_rma (out)
1825 Returns: file descriptor for mapping the allocated RMA
1827 This allocates a Real Mode Area (RMA) from the pool allocated at boot
1828 time by the kernel. An RMA is a physically-contiguous, aligned region
1829 of memory used on older POWER processors to provide the memory which
1830 will be accessed by real-mode (MMU off) accesses in a KVM guest.
1831 POWER processors support a set of sizes for the RMA that usually
1832 includes 64MB, 128MB, 256MB and some larger powers of two.
1834 /* for KVM_ALLOCATE_RMA */
1835 struct kvm_allocate_rma {
1839 The return value is a file descriptor which can be passed to mmap(2)
1840 to map the allocated RMA into userspace. The mapped area can then be
1841 passed to the KVM_SET_USER_MEMORY_REGION ioctl to establish it as the
1842 RMA for a virtual machine. The size of the RMA in bytes (which is
1843 fixed at host kernel boot time) is returned in the rma_size field of
1844 the argument structure.
1846 The KVM_CAP_PPC_RMA capability is 1 or 2 if the KVM_ALLOCATE_RMA ioctl
1847 is supported; 2 if the processor requires all virtual machines to have
1848 an RMA, or 1 if the processor can use an RMA but doesn't require it,
1849 because it supports the Virtual RMA (VRMA) facility.
1854 Capability: KVM_CAP_USER_NMI
1858 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1860 Queues an NMI on the thread's vcpu. Note this is well defined only
1861 when KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP has not been called, since this is an interface
1862 between the virtual cpu core and virtual local APIC. After KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP
1863 has been called, this interface is completely emulated within the kernel.
1865 To use this to emulate the LINT1 input with KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP, use the
1866 following algorithm:
1869 - read the local APIC's state (KVM_GET_LAPIC)
1870 - check whether changing LINT1 will queue an NMI (see the LVT entry for LINT1)
1871 - if so, issue KVM_NMI
1874 Some guests configure the LINT1 NMI input to cause a panic, aiding in
1878 4.65 KVM_S390_UCAS_MAP
1880 Capability: KVM_CAP_S390_UCONTROL
1883 Parameters: struct kvm_s390_ucas_mapping (in)
1884 Returns: 0 in case of success
1886 The parameter is defined like this:
1887 struct kvm_s390_ucas_mapping {
1893 This ioctl maps the memory at "user_addr" with the length "length" to
1894 the vcpu's address space starting at "vcpu_addr". All parameters need to
1895 be aligned by 1 megabyte.
1898 4.66 KVM_S390_UCAS_UNMAP
1900 Capability: KVM_CAP_S390_UCONTROL
1903 Parameters: struct kvm_s390_ucas_mapping (in)
1904 Returns: 0 in case of success
1906 The parameter is defined like this:
1907 struct kvm_s390_ucas_mapping {
1913 This ioctl unmaps the memory in the vcpu's address space starting at
1914 "vcpu_addr" with the length "length". The field "user_addr" is ignored.
1915 All parameters need to be aligned by 1 megabyte.
1918 4.67 KVM_S390_VCPU_FAULT
1920 Capability: KVM_CAP_S390_UCONTROL
1923 Parameters: vcpu absolute address (in)
1924 Returns: 0 in case of success
1926 This call creates a page table entry on the virtual cpu's address space
1927 (for user controlled virtual machines) or the virtual machine's address
1928 space (for regular virtual machines). This only works for minor faults,
1929 thus it's recommended to access subject memory page via the user page
1930 table upfront. This is useful to handle validity intercepts for user
1931 controlled virtual machines to fault in the virtual cpu's lowcore pages
1932 prior to calling the KVM_RUN ioctl.
1935 4.68 KVM_SET_ONE_REG
1937 Capability: KVM_CAP_ONE_REG
1940 Parameters: struct kvm_one_reg (in)
1941 Returns: 0 on success, negative value on failure
1943 struct kvm_one_reg {
1948 Using this ioctl, a single vcpu register can be set to a specific value
1949 defined by user space with the passed in struct kvm_one_reg, where id
1950 refers to the register identifier as described below and addr is a pointer
1951 to a variable with the respective size. There can be architecture agnostic
1952 and architecture specific registers. Each have their own range of operation
1953 and their own constants and width. To keep track of the implemented
1954 registers, find a list below:
1956 Arch | Register | Width (bits)
1958 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_HIOR | 64
1959 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_IAC1 | 64
1960 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_IAC2 | 64
1961 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_IAC3 | 64
1962 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_IAC4 | 64
1963 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_DAC1 | 64
1964 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_DAC2 | 64
1965 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_DABR | 64
1966 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_DSCR | 64
1967 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_PURR | 64
1968 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_SPURR | 64
1969 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_DAR | 64
1970 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_DSISR | 32
1971 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_AMR | 64
1972 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_UAMOR | 64
1973 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_MMCR0 | 64
1974 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_MMCR1 | 64
1975 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_MMCRA | 64
1976 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_MMCR2 | 64
1977 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_MMCRS | 64
1978 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_SIAR | 64
1979 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_SDAR | 64
1980 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_SIER | 64
1981 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_PMC1 | 32
1982 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_PMC2 | 32
1983 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_PMC3 | 32
1984 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_PMC4 | 32
1985 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_PMC5 | 32
1986 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_PMC6 | 32
1987 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_PMC7 | 32
1988 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_PMC8 | 32
1989 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_FPR0 | 64
1991 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_FPR31 | 64
1992 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_VR0 | 128
1994 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_VR31 | 128
1995 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_VSR0 | 128
1997 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_VSR31 | 128
1998 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_FPSCR | 64
1999 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_VSCR | 32
2000 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_VPA_ADDR | 64
2001 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_VPA_SLB | 128
2002 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_VPA_DTL | 128
2003 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_EPCR | 32
2004 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_EPR | 32
2005 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TCR | 32
2006 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TSR | 32
2007 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_OR_TSR | 32
2008 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_CLEAR_TSR | 32
2009 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_MAS0 | 32
2010 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_MAS1 | 32
2011 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_MAS2 | 64
2012 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_MAS7_3 | 64
2013 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_MAS4 | 32
2014 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_MAS6 | 32
2015 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_MMUCFG | 32
2016 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TLB0CFG | 32
2017 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TLB1CFG | 32
2018 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TLB2CFG | 32
2019 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TLB3CFG | 32
2020 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TLB0PS | 32
2021 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TLB1PS | 32
2022 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TLB2PS | 32
2023 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TLB3PS | 32
2024 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_EPTCFG | 32
2025 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_ICP_STATE | 64
2026 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TB_OFFSET | 64
2027 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_SPMC1 | 32
2028 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_SPMC2 | 32
2029 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_IAMR | 64
2030 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TFHAR | 64
2031 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TFIAR | 64
2032 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TEXASR | 64
2033 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_FSCR | 64
2034 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_PSPB | 32
2035 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_EBBHR | 64
2036 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_EBBRR | 64
2037 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_BESCR | 64
2038 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TAR | 64
2039 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_DPDES | 64
2040 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_DAWR | 64
2041 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_DAWRX | 64
2042 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_CIABR | 64
2043 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_IC | 64
2044 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_VTB | 64
2045 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_CSIGR | 64
2046 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TACR | 64
2047 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TCSCR | 64
2048 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_PID | 64
2049 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_ACOP | 64
2050 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_VRSAVE | 32
2051 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_LPCR | 32
2052 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_LPCR_64 | 64
2053 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_PPR | 64
2054 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_ARCH_COMPAT | 32
2055 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_DABRX | 32
2056 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_WORT | 64
2057 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_SPRG9 | 64
2058 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_DBSR | 32
2059 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TM_GPR0 | 64
2061 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TM_GPR31 | 64
2062 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TM_VSR0 | 128
2064 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TM_VSR63 | 128
2065 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TM_CR | 64
2066 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TM_LR | 64
2067 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TM_CTR | 64
2068 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TM_FPSCR | 64
2069 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TM_AMR | 64
2070 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TM_PPR | 64
2071 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TM_VRSAVE | 64
2072 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TM_VSCR | 32
2073 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TM_DSCR | 64
2074 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TM_TAR | 64
2075 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TM_XER | 64
2077 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_R0 | 64
2079 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_R31 | 64
2080 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_HI | 64
2081 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_LO | 64
2082 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_PC | 64
2083 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_INDEX | 32
2084 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_CONTEXT | 64
2085 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_USERLOCAL | 64
2086 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_PAGEMASK | 32
2087 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_WIRED | 32
2088 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_HWRENA | 32
2089 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_BADVADDR | 64
2090 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_COUNT | 32
2091 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_ENTRYHI | 64
2092 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_COMPARE | 32
2093 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_STATUS | 32
2094 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_CAUSE | 32
2095 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_EPC | 64
2096 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_PRID | 32
2097 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_CONFIG | 32
2098 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_CONFIG1 | 32
2099 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_CONFIG2 | 32
2100 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_CONFIG3 | 32
2101 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_CONFIG4 | 32
2102 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_CONFIG5 | 32
2103 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_CONFIG7 | 32
2104 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_ERROREPC | 64
2105 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_KSCRATCH1 | 64
2106 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_KSCRATCH2 | 64
2107 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_KSCRATCH3 | 64
2108 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_KSCRATCH4 | 64
2109 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_KSCRATCH5 | 64
2110 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_KSCRATCH6 | 64
2111 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_COUNT_CTL | 64
2112 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_COUNT_RESUME | 64
2113 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_COUNT_HZ | 64
2114 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_FPR_32(0..31) | 32
2115 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_FPR_64(0..31) | 64
2116 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_VEC_128(0..31) | 128
2117 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_FCR_IR | 32
2118 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_FCR_CSR | 32
2119 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_MSA_IR | 32
2120 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_MSA_CSR | 32
2122 ARM registers are mapped using the lower 32 bits. The upper 16 of that
2123 is the register group type, or coprocessor number:
2125 ARM core registers have the following id bit patterns:
2126 0x4020 0000 0010 <index into the kvm_regs struct:16>
2128 ARM 32-bit CP15 registers have the following id bit patterns:
2129 0x4020 0000 000F <zero:1> <crn:4> <crm:4> <opc1:4> <opc2:3>
2131 ARM 64-bit CP15 registers have the following id bit patterns:
2132 0x4030 0000 000F <zero:1> <zero:4> <crm:4> <opc1:4> <zero:3>
2134 ARM CCSIDR registers are demultiplexed by CSSELR value:
2135 0x4020 0000 0011 00 <csselr:8>
2137 ARM 32-bit VFP control registers have the following id bit patterns:
2138 0x4020 0000 0012 1 <regno:12>
2140 ARM 64-bit FP registers have the following id bit patterns:
2141 0x4030 0000 0012 0 <regno:12>
2143 ARM firmware pseudo-registers have the following bit pattern:
2144 0x4030 0000 0014 <regno:16>
2147 arm64 registers are mapped using the lower 32 bits. The upper 16 of
2148 that is the register group type, or coprocessor number:
2150 arm64 core/FP-SIMD registers have the following id bit patterns. Note
2151 that the size of the access is variable, as the kvm_regs structure
2152 contains elements ranging from 32 to 128 bits. The index is a 32bit
2153 value in the kvm_regs structure seen as a 32bit array.
2154 0x60x0 0000 0010 <index into the kvm_regs struct:16>
2156 arm64 CCSIDR registers are demultiplexed by CSSELR value:
2157 0x6020 0000 0011 00 <csselr:8>
2159 arm64 system registers have the following id bit patterns:
2160 0x6030 0000 0013 <op0:2> <op1:3> <crn:4> <crm:4> <op2:3>
2162 arm64 firmware pseudo-registers have the following bit pattern:
2163 0x6030 0000 0014 <regno:16>
2166 MIPS registers are mapped using the lower 32 bits. The upper 16 of that is
2167 the register group type:
2169 MIPS core registers (see above) have the following id bit patterns:
2170 0x7030 0000 0000 <reg:16>
2172 MIPS CP0 registers (see KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_* above) have the following id bit
2173 patterns depending on whether they're 32-bit or 64-bit registers:
2174 0x7020 0000 0001 00 <reg:5> <sel:3> (32-bit)
2175 0x7030 0000 0001 00 <reg:5> <sel:3> (64-bit)
2177 MIPS KVM control registers (see above) have the following id bit patterns:
2178 0x7030 0000 0002 <reg:16>
2180 MIPS FPU registers (see KVM_REG_MIPS_FPR_{32,64}() above) have the following
2181 id bit patterns depending on the size of the register being accessed. They are
2182 always accessed according to the current guest FPU mode (Status.FR and
2183 Config5.FRE), i.e. as the guest would see them, and they become unpredictable
2184 if the guest FPU mode is changed. MIPS SIMD Architecture (MSA) vector
2185 registers (see KVM_REG_MIPS_VEC_128() above) have similar patterns as they
2186 overlap the FPU registers:
2187 0x7020 0000 0003 00 <0:3> <reg:5> (32-bit FPU registers)
2188 0x7030 0000 0003 00 <0:3> <reg:5> (64-bit FPU registers)
2189 0x7040 0000 0003 00 <0:3> <reg:5> (128-bit MSA vector registers)
2191 MIPS FPU control registers (see KVM_REG_MIPS_FCR_{IR,CSR} above) have the
2192 following id bit patterns:
2193 0x7020 0000 0003 01 <0:3> <reg:5>
2195 MIPS MSA control registers (see KVM_REG_MIPS_MSA_{IR,CSR} above) have the
2196 following id bit patterns:
2197 0x7020 0000 0003 02 <0:3> <reg:5>
2200 4.69 KVM_GET_ONE_REG
2202 Capability: KVM_CAP_ONE_REG
2205 Parameters: struct kvm_one_reg (in and out)
2206 Returns: 0 on success, negative value on failure
2208 This ioctl allows to receive the value of a single register implemented
2209 in a vcpu. The register to read is indicated by the "id" field of the
2210 kvm_one_reg struct passed in. On success, the register value can be found
2211 at the memory location pointed to by "addr".
2213 The list of registers accessible using this interface is identical to the
2217 4.70 KVM_KVMCLOCK_CTRL
2219 Capability: KVM_CAP_KVMCLOCK_CTRL
2220 Architectures: Any that implement pvclocks (currently x86 only)
2223 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
2225 This signals to the host kernel that the specified guest is being paused by
2226 userspace. The host will set a flag in the pvclock structure that is checked
2227 from the soft lockup watchdog. The flag is part of the pvclock structure that
2228 is shared between guest and host, specifically the second bit of the flags
2229 field of the pvclock_vcpu_time_info structure. It will be set exclusively by
2230 the host and read/cleared exclusively by the guest. The guest operation of
2231 checking and clearing the flag must an atomic operation so
2232 load-link/store-conditional, or equivalent must be used. There are two cases
2233 where the guest will clear the flag: when the soft lockup watchdog timer resets
2234 itself or when a soft lockup is detected. This ioctl can be called any time
2235 after pausing the vcpu, but before it is resumed.
2240 Capability: KVM_CAP_SIGNAL_MSI
2241 Architectures: x86 arm64
2243 Parameters: struct kvm_msi (in)
2244 Returns: >0 on delivery, 0 if guest blocked the MSI, and -1 on error
2246 Directly inject a MSI message. Only valid with in-kernel irqchip that handles
2258 flags: KVM_MSI_VALID_DEVID: devid contains a valid value. The per-VM
2259 KVM_CAP_MSI_DEVID capability advertises the requirement to provide
2260 the device ID. If this capability is not available, userspace
2261 should never set the KVM_MSI_VALID_DEVID flag as the ioctl might fail.
2263 If KVM_MSI_VALID_DEVID is set, devid contains a unique device identifier
2264 for the device that wrote the MSI message. For PCI, this is usually a
2265 BFD identifier in the lower 16 bits.
2267 On x86, address_hi is ignored unless the KVM_X2APIC_API_USE_32BIT_IDS
2268 feature of KVM_CAP_X2APIC_API capability is enabled. If it is enabled,
2269 address_hi bits 31-8 provide bits 31-8 of the destination id. Bits 7-0 of
2270 address_hi must be zero.
2273 4.71 KVM_CREATE_PIT2
2275 Capability: KVM_CAP_PIT2
2278 Parameters: struct kvm_pit_config (in)
2279 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
2281 Creates an in-kernel device model for the i8254 PIT. This call is only valid
2282 after enabling in-kernel irqchip support via KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP. The following
2283 parameters have to be passed:
2285 struct kvm_pit_config {
2292 #define KVM_PIT_SPEAKER_DUMMY 1 /* emulate speaker port stub */
2294 PIT timer interrupts may use a per-VM kernel thread for injection. If it
2295 exists, this thread will have a name of the following pattern:
2297 kvm-pit/<owner-process-pid>
2299 When running a guest with elevated priorities, the scheduling parameters of
2300 this thread may have to be adjusted accordingly.
2302 This IOCTL replaces the obsolete KVM_CREATE_PIT.
2307 Capability: KVM_CAP_PIT_STATE2
2310 Parameters: struct kvm_pit_state2 (out)
2311 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
2313 Retrieves the state of the in-kernel PIT model. Only valid after
2314 KVM_CREATE_PIT2. The state is returned in the following structure:
2316 struct kvm_pit_state2 {
2317 struct kvm_pit_channel_state channels[3];
2324 /* disable PIT in HPET legacy mode */
2325 #define KVM_PIT_FLAGS_HPET_LEGACY 0x00000001
2327 This IOCTL replaces the obsolete KVM_GET_PIT.
2332 Capability: KVM_CAP_PIT_STATE2
2335 Parameters: struct kvm_pit_state2 (in)
2336 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
2338 Sets the state of the in-kernel PIT model. Only valid after KVM_CREATE_PIT2.
2339 See KVM_GET_PIT2 for details on struct kvm_pit_state2.
2341 This IOCTL replaces the obsolete KVM_SET_PIT.
2344 4.74 KVM_PPC_GET_SMMU_INFO
2346 Capability: KVM_CAP_PPC_GET_SMMU_INFO
2347 Architectures: powerpc
2350 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
2352 This populates and returns a structure describing the features of
2353 the "Server" class MMU emulation supported by KVM.
2354 This can in turn be used by userspace to generate the appropriate
2355 device-tree properties for the guest operating system.
2357 The structure contains some global information, followed by an
2358 array of supported segment page sizes:
2360 struct kvm_ppc_smmu_info {
2364 struct kvm_ppc_one_seg_page_size sps[KVM_PPC_PAGE_SIZES_MAX_SZ];
2367 The supported flags are:
2369 - KVM_PPC_PAGE_SIZES_REAL:
2370 When that flag is set, guest page sizes must "fit" the backing
2371 store page sizes. When not set, any page size in the list can
2372 be used regardless of how they are backed by userspace.
2374 - KVM_PPC_1T_SEGMENTS
2375 The emulated MMU supports 1T segments in addition to the
2378 The "slb_size" field indicates how many SLB entries are supported
2380 The "sps" array contains 8 entries indicating the supported base
2381 page sizes for a segment in increasing order. Each entry is defined
2384 struct kvm_ppc_one_seg_page_size {
2385 __u32 page_shift; /* Base page shift of segment (or 0) */
2386 __u32 slb_enc; /* SLB encoding for BookS */
2387 struct kvm_ppc_one_page_size enc[KVM_PPC_PAGE_SIZES_MAX_SZ];
2390 An entry with a "page_shift" of 0 is unused. Because the array is
2391 organized in increasing order, a lookup can stop when encoutering
2394 The "slb_enc" field provides the encoding to use in the SLB for the
2395 page size. The bits are in positions such as the value can directly
2396 be OR'ed into the "vsid" argument of the slbmte instruction.
2398 The "enc" array is a list which for each of those segment base page
2399 size provides the list of supported actual page sizes (which can be
2400 only larger or equal to the base page size), along with the
2401 corresponding encoding in the hash PTE. Similarly, the array is
2402 8 entries sorted by increasing sizes and an entry with a "0" shift
2403 is an empty entry and a terminator:
2405 struct kvm_ppc_one_page_size {
2406 __u32 page_shift; /* Page shift (or 0) */
2407 __u32 pte_enc; /* Encoding in the HPTE (>>12) */
2410 The "pte_enc" field provides a value that can OR'ed into the hash
2411 PTE's RPN field (ie, it needs to be shifted left by 12 to OR it
2412 into the hash PTE second double word).
2416 Capability: KVM_CAP_IRQFD
2417 Architectures: x86 s390 arm arm64
2419 Parameters: struct kvm_irqfd (in)
2420 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
2422 Allows setting an eventfd to directly trigger a guest interrupt.
2423 kvm_irqfd.fd specifies the file descriptor to use as the eventfd and
2424 kvm_irqfd.gsi specifies the irqchip pin toggled by this event. When
2425 an event is triggered on the eventfd, an interrupt is injected into
2426 the guest using the specified gsi pin. The irqfd is removed using
2427 the KVM_IRQFD_FLAG_DEASSIGN flag, specifying both kvm_irqfd.fd
2430 With KVM_CAP_IRQFD_RESAMPLE, KVM_IRQFD supports a de-assert and notify
2431 mechanism allowing emulation of level-triggered, irqfd-based
2432 interrupts. When KVM_IRQFD_FLAG_RESAMPLE is set the user must pass an
2433 additional eventfd in the kvm_irqfd.resamplefd field. When operating
2434 in resample mode, posting of an interrupt through kvm_irq.fd asserts
2435 the specified gsi in the irqchip. When the irqchip is resampled, such
2436 as from an EOI, the gsi is de-asserted and the user is notified via
2437 kvm_irqfd.resamplefd. It is the user's responsibility to re-queue
2438 the interrupt if the device making use of it still requires service.
2439 Note that closing the resamplefd is not sufficient to disable the
2440 irqfd. The KVM_IRQFD_FLAG_RESAMPLE is only necessary on assignment
2441 and need not be specified with KVM_IRQFD_FLAG_DEASSIGN.
2443 On arm/arm64, gsi routing being supported, the following can happen:
2444 - in case no routing entry is associated to this gsi, injection fails
2445 - in case the gsi is associated to an irqchip routing entry,
2446 irqchip.pin + 32 corresponds to the injected SPI ID.
2447 - in case the gsi is associated to an MSI routing entry, the MSI
2448 message and device ID are translated into an LPI (support restricted
2449 to GICv3 ITS in-kernel emulation).
2451 4.76 KVM_PPC_ALLOCATE_HTAB
2453 Capability: KVM_CAP_PPC_ALLOC_HTAB
2454 Architectures: powerpc
2456 Parameters: Pointer to u32 containing hash table order (in/out)
2457 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
2459 This requests the host kernel to allocate an MMU hash table for a
2460 guest using the PAPR paravirtualization interface. This only does
2461 anything if the kernel is configured to use the Book 3S HV style of
2462 virtualization. Otherwise the capability doesn't exist and the ioctl
2463 returns an ENOTTY error. The rest of this description assumes Book 3S
2466 There must be no vcpus running when this ioctl is called; if there
2467 are, it will do nothing and return an EBUSY error.
2469 The parameter is a pointer to a 32-bit unsigned integer variable
2470 containing the order (log base 2) of the desired size of the hash
2471 table, which must be between 18 and 46. On successful return from the
2472 ioctl, it will have been updated with the order of the hash table that
2475 If no hash table has been allocated when any vcpu is asked to run
2476 (with the KVM_RUN ioctl), the host kernel will allocate a
2477 default-sized hash table (16 MB).
2479 If this ioctl is called when a hash table has already been allocated,
2480 the kernel will clear out the existing hash table (zero all HPTEs) and
2481 return the hash table order in the parameter. (If the guest is using
2482 the virtualized real-mode area (VRMA) facility, the kernel will
2483 re-create the VMRA HPTEs on the next KVM_RUN of any vcpu.)
2485 4.77 KVM_S390_INTERRUPT
2489 Type: vm ioctl, vcpu ioctl
2490 Parameters: struct kvm_s390_interrupt (in)
2491 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
2493 Allows to inject an interrupt to the guest. Interrupts can be floating
2494 (vm ioctl) or per cpu (vcpu ioctl), depending on the interrupt type.
2496 Interrupt parameters are passed via kvm_s390_interrupt:
2498 struct kvm_s390_interrupt {
2504 type can be one of the following:
2506 KVM_S390_SIGP_STOP (vcpu) - sigp stop; optional flags in parm
2507 KVM_S390_PROGRAM_INT (vcpu) - program check; code in parm
2508 KVM_S390_SIGP_SET_PREFIX (vcpu) - sigp set prefix; prefix address in parm
2509 KVM_S390_RESTART (vcpu) - restart
2510 KVM_S390_INT_CLOCK_COMP (vcpu) - clock comparator interrupt
2511 KVM_S390_INT_CPU_TIMER (vcpu) - CPU timer interrupt
2512 KVM_S390_INT_VIRTIO (vm) - virtio external interrupt; external interrupt
2513 parameters in parm and parm64
2514 KVM_S390_INT_SERVICE (vm) - sclp external interrupt; sclp parameter in parm
2515 KVM_S390_INT_EMERGENCY (vcpu) - sigp emergency; source cpu in parm
2516 KVM_S390_INT_EXTERNAL_CALL (vcpu) - sigp external call; source cpu in parm
2517 KVM_S390_INT_IO(ai,cssid,ssid,schid) (vm) - compound value to indicate an
2518 I/O interrupt (ai - adapter interrupt; cssid,ssid,schid - subchannel);
2519 I/O interruption parameters in parm (subchannel) and parm64 (intparm,
2520 interruption subclass)
2521 KVM_S390_MCHK (vm, vcpu) - machine check interrupt; cr 14 bits in parm,
2522 machine check interrupt code in parm64 (note that
2523 machine checks needing further payload are not
2524 supported by this ioctl)
2526 Note that the vcpu ioctl is asynchronous to vcpu execution.
2528 4.78 KVM_PPC_GET_HTAB_FD
2530 Capability: KVM_CAP_PPC_HTAB_FD
2531 Architectures: powerpc
2533 Parameters: Pointer to struct kvm_get_htab_fd (in)
2534 Returns: file descriptor number (>= 0) on success, -1 on error
2536 This returns a file descriptor that can be used either to read out the
2537 entries in the guest's hashed page table (HPT), or to write entries to
2538 initialize the HPT. The returned fd can only be written to if the
2539 KVM_GET_HTAB_WRITE bit is set in the flags field of the argument, and
2540 can only be read if that bit is clear. The argument struct looks like
2543 /* For KVM_PPC_GET_HTAB_FD */
2544 struct kvm_get_htab_fd {
2550 /* Values for kvm_get_htab_fd.flags */
2551 #define KVM_GET_HTAB_BOLTED_ONLY ((__u64)0x1)
2552 #define KVM_GET_HTAB_WRITE ((__u64)0x2)
2554 The `start_index' field gives the index in the HPT of the entry at
2555 which to start reading. It is ignored when writing.
2557 Reads on the fd will initially supply information about all
2558 "interesting" HPT entries. Interesting entries are those with the
2559 bolted bit set, if the KVM_GET_HTAB_BOLTED_ONLY bit is set, otherwise
2560 all entries. When the end of the HPT is reached, the read() will
2561 return. If read() is called again on the fd, it will start again from
2562 the beginning of the HPT, but will only return HPT entries that have
2563 changed since they were last read.
2565 Data read or written is structured as a header (8 bytes) followed by a
2566 series of valid HPT entries (16 bytes) each. The header indicates how
2567 many valid HPT entries there are and how many invalid entries follow
2568 the valid entries. The invalid entries are not represented explicitly
2569 in the stream. The header format is:
2571 struct kvm_get_htab_header {
2577 Writes to the fd create HPT entries starting at the index given in the
2578 header; first `n_valid' valid entries with contents from the data
2579 written, then `n_invalid' invalid entries, invalidating any previously
2580 valid entries found.
2582 4.79 KVM_CREATE_DEVICE
2584 Capability: KVM_CAP_DEVICE_CTRL
2586 Parameters: struct kvm_create_device (in/out)
2587 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
2589 ENODEV: The device type is unknown or unsupported
2590 EEXIST: Device already created, and this type of device may not
2591 be instantiated multiple times
2593 Other error conditions may be defined by individual device types or
2594 have their standard meanings.
2596 Creates an emulated device in the kernel. The file descriptor returned
2597 in fd can be used with KVM_SET/GET/HAS_DEVICE_ATTR.
2599 If the KVM_CREATE_DEVICE_TEST flag is set, only test whether the
2600 device type is supported (not necessarily whether it can be created
2603 Individual devices should not define flags. Attributes should be used
2604 for specifying any behavior that is not implied by the device type
2607 struct kvm_create_device {
2608 __u32 type; /* in: KVM_DEV_TYPE_xxx */
2609 __u32 fd; /* out: device handle */
2610 __u32 flags; /* in: KVM_CREATE_DEVICE_xxx */
2613 4.80 KVM_SET_DEVICE_ATTR/KVM_GET_DEVICE_ATTR
2615 Capability: KVM_CAP_DEVICE_CTRL, KVM_CAP_VM_ATTRIBUTES for vm device,
2616 KVM_CAP_VCPU_ATTRIBUTES for vcpu device
2617 Type: device ioctl, vm ioctl, vcpu ioctl
2618 Parameters: struct kvm_device_attr
2619 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
2621 ENXIO: The group or attribute is unknown/unsupported for this device
2622 or hardware support is missing.
2623 EPERM: The attribute cannot (currently) be accessed this way
2624 (e.g. read-only attribute, or attribute that only makes
2625 sense when the device is in a different state)
2627 Other error conditions may be defined by individual device types.
2629 Gets/sets a specified piece of device configuration and/or state. The
2630 semantics are device-specific. See individual device documentation in
2631 the "devices" directory. As with ONE_REG, the size of the data
2632 transferred is defined by the particular attribute.
2634 struct kvm_device_attr {
2635 __u32 flags; /* no flags currently defined */
2636 __u32 group; /* device-defined */
2637 __u64 attr; /* group-defined */
2638 __u64 addr; /* userspace address of attr data */
2641 4.81 KVM_HAS_DEVICE_ATTR
2643 Capability: KVM_CAP_DEVICE_CTRL, KVM_CAP_VM_ATTRIBUTES for vm device,
2644 KVM_CAP_VCPU_ATTRIBUTES for vcpu device
2645 Type: device ioctl, vm ioctl, vcpu ioctl
2646 Parameters: struct kvm_device_attr
2647 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
2649 ENXIO: The group or attribute is unknown/unsupported for this device
2650 or hardware support is missing.
2652 Tests whether a device supports a particular attribute. A successful
2653 return indicates the attribute is implemented. It does not necessarily
2654 indicate that the attribute can be read or written in the device's
2655 current state. "addr" is ignored.
2657 4.82 KVM_ARM_VCPU_INIT
2660 Architectures: arm, arm64
2662 Parameters: struct kvm_vcpu_init (in)
2663 Returns: 0 on success; -1 on error
2665 Â EINVAL: Â Â Â the target is unknown, or the combination of features is invalid.
2666 Â ENOENT: Â Â Â a features bit specified is unknown.
2668 This tells KVM what type of CPU to present to the guest, and what
2669 optional features it should have. Â This will cause a reset of the cpu
2670 registers to their initial values. Â If this is not called, KVM_RUN will
2671 return ENOEXEC for that vcpu.
2673 Note that because some registers reflect machine topology, all vcpus
2674 should be created before this ioctl is invoked.
2676 Userspace can call this function multiple times for a given vcpu, including
2677 after the vcpu has been run. This will reset the vcpu to its initial
2678 state. All calls to this function after the initial call must use the same
2679 target and same set of feature flags, otherwise EINVAL will be returned.
2682 - KVM_ARM_VCPU_POWER_OFF: Starts the CPU in a power-off state.
2683 Depends on KVM_CAP_ARM_PSCI. If not set, the CPU will be powered on
2684 and execute guest code when KVM_RUN is called.
2685 - KVM_ARM_VCPU_EL1_32BIT: Starts the CPU in a 32bit mode.
2686 Depends on KVM_CAP_ARM_EL1_32BIT (arm64 only).
2687 - KVM_ARM_VCPU_PSCI_0_2: Emulate PSCI v0.2 (or a future revision
2688 backward compatible with v0.2) for the CPU.
2689 Depends on KVM_CAP_ARM_PSCI_0_2.
2690 - KVM_ARM_VCPU_PMU_V3: Emulate PMUv3 for the CPU.
2691 Depends on KVM_CAP_ARM_PMU_V3.
2694 4.83 KVM_ARM_PREFERRED_TARGET
2697 Architectures: arm, arm64
2699 Parameters: struct struct kvm_vcpu_init (out)
2700 Returns: 0 on success; -1 on error
2702 ENODEV: no preferred target available for the host
2704 This queries KVM for preferred CPU target type which can be emulated
2705 by KVM on underlying host.
2707 The ioctl returns struct kvm_vcpu_init instance containing information
2708 about preferred CPU target type and recommended features for it. The
2709 kvm_vcpu_init->features bitmap returned will have feature bits set if
2710 the preferred target recommends setting these features, but this is
2713 The information returned by this ioctl can be used to prepare an instance
2714 of struct kvm_vcpu_init for KVM_ARM_VCPU_INIT ioctl which will result in
2715 in VCPU matching underlying host.
2718 4.84 KVM_GET_REG_LIST
2721 Architectures: arm, arm64, mips
2723 Parameters: struct kvm_reg_list (in/out)
2724 Returns: 0 on success; -1 on error
2726 Â E2BIG: Â Â Â Â the reg index list is too big to fit in the array specified by
2727 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â the user (the number required will be written into n).
2729 struct kvm_reg_list {
2730 __u64 n; /* number of registers in reg[] */
2734 This ioctl returns the guest registers that are supported for the
2735 KVM_GET_ONE_REG/KVM_SET_ONE_REG calls.
2738 4.85 KVM_ARM_SET_DEVICE_ADDR (deprecated)
2740 Capability: KVM_CAP_ARM_SET_DEVICE_ADDR
2741 Architectures: arm, arm64
2743 Parameters: struct kvm_arm_device_address (in)
2744 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
2746 ENODEV: The device id is unknown
2747 ENXIO: Device not supported on current system
2748 EEXIST: Address already set
2749 E2BIG: Address outside guest physical address space
2750 EBUSY: Address overlaps with other device range
2752 struct kvm_arm_device_addr {
2757 Specify a device address in the guest's physical address space where guests
2758 can access emulated or directly exposed devices, which the host kernel needs
2759 to know about. The id field is an architecture specific identifier for a
2762 ARM/arm64 divides the id field into two parts, a device id and an
2763 address type id specific to the individual device.
2765 Â bits: | 63 ... 32 | 31 ... 16 | 15 ... 0 |
2766 field: | 0x00000000 | device id | addr type id |
2768 ARM/arm64 currently only require this when using the in-kernel GIC
2769 support for the hardware VGIC features, using KVM_ARM_DEVICE_VGIC_V2
2770 as the device id. When setting the base address for the guest's
2771 mapping of the VGIC virtual CPU and distributor interface, the ioctl
2772 must be called after calling KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP, but before calling
2773 KVM_RUN on any of the VCPUs. Calling this ioctl twice for any of the
2774 base addresses will return -EEXIST.
2776 Note, this IOCTL is deprecated and the more flexible SET/GET_DEVICE_ATTR API
2777 should be used instead.
2780 4.86 KVM_PPC_RTAS_DEFINE_TOKEN
2782 Capability: KVM_CAP_PPC_RTAS
2785 Parameters: struct kvm_rtas_token_args
2786 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
2788 Defines a token value for a RTAS (Run Time Abstraction Services)
2789 service in order to allow it to be handled in the kernel. The
2790 argument struct gives the name of the service, which must be the name
2791 of a service that has a kernel-side implementation. If the token
2792 value is non-zero, it will be associated with that service, and
2793 subsequent RTAS calls by the guest specifying that token will be
2794 handled by the kernel. If the token value is 0, then any token
2795 associated with the service will be forgotten, and subsequent RTAS
2796 calls by the guest for that service will be passed to userspace to be
2799 4.87 KVM_SET_GUEST_DEBUG
2801 Capability: KVM_CAP_SET_GUEST_DEBUG
2802 Architectures: x86, s390, ppc, arm64
2804 Parameters: struct kvm_guest_debug (in)
2805 Returns: 0 on success; -1 on error
2807 struct kvm_guest_debug {
2810 struct kvm_guest_debug_arch arch;
2813 Set up the processor specific debug registers and configure vcpu for
2814 handling guest debug events. There are two parts to the structure, the
2815 first a control bitfield indicates the type of debug events to handle
2816 when running. Common control bits are:
2818 - KVM_GUESTDBG_ENABLE: guest debugging is enabled
2819 - KVM_GUESTDBG_SINGLESTEP: the next run should single-step
2821 The top 16 bits of the control field are architecture specific control
2822 flags which can include the following:
2824 - KVM_GUESTDBG_USE_SW_BP: using software breakpoints [x86, arm64]
2825 - KVM_GUESTDBG_USE_HW_BP: using hardware breakpoints [x86, s390, arm64]
2826 - KVM_GUESTDBG_INJECT_DB: inject DB type exception [x86]
2827 - KVM_GUESTDBG_INJECT_BP: inject BP type exception [x86]
2828 - KVM_GUESTDBG_EXIT_PENDING: trigger an immediate guest exit [s390]
2830 For example KVM_GUESTDBG_USE_SW_BP indicates that software breakpoints
2831 are enabled in memory so we need to ensure breakpoint exceptions are
2832 correctly trapped and the KVM run loop exits at the breakpoint and not
2833 running off into the normal guest vector. For KVM_GUESTDBG_USE_HW_BP
2834 we need to ensure the guest vCPUs architecture specific registers are
2835 updated to the correct (supplied) values.
2837 The second part of the structure is architecture specific and
2838 typically contains a set of debug registers.
2840 For arm64 the number of debug registers is implementation defined and
2841 can be determined by querying the KVM_CAP_GUEST_DEBUG_HW_BPS and
2842 KVM_CAP_GUEST_DEBUG_HW_WPS capabilities which return a positive number
2843 indicating the number of supported registers.
2845 When debug events exit the main run loop with the reason
2846 KVM_EXIT_DEBUG with the kvm_debug_exit_arch part of the kvm_run
2847 structure containing architecture specific debug information.
2849 4.88 KVM_GET_EMULATED_CPUID
2851 Capability: KVM_CAP_EXT_EMUL_CPUID
2854 Parameters: struct kvm_cpuid2 (in/out)
2855 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
2860 struct kvm_cpuid_entry2 entries[0];
2863 The member 'flags' is used for passing flags from userspace.
2865 #define KVM_CPUID_FLAG_SIGNIFCANT_INDEX BIT(0)
2866 #define KVM_CPUID_FLAG_STATEFUL_FUNC BIT(1)
2867 #define KVM_CPUID_FLAG_STATE_READ_NEXT BIT(2)
2869 struct kvm_cpuid_entry2 {
2880 This ioctl returns x86 cpuid features which are emulated by
2881 kvm.Userspace can use the information returned by this ioctl to query
2882 which features are emulated by kvm instead of being present natively.
2884 Userspace invokes KVM_GET_EMULATED_CPUID by passing a kvm_cpuid2
2885 structure with the 'nent' field indicating the number of entries in
2886 the variable-size array 'entries'. If the number of entries is too low
2887 to describe the cpu capabilities, an error (E2BIG) is returned. If the
2888 number is too high, the 'nent' field is adjusted and an error (ENOMEM)
2889 is returned. If the number is just right, the 'nent' field is adjusted
2890 to the number of valid entries in the 'entries' array, which is then
2893 The entries returned are the set CPUID bits of the respective features
2894 which kvm emulates, as returned by the CPUID instruction, with unknown
2895 or unsupported feature bits cleared.
2897 Features like x2apic, for example, may not be present in the host cpu
2898 but are exposed by kvm in KVM_GET_SUPPORTED_CPUID because they can be
2899 emulated efficiently and thus not included here.
2901 The fields in each entry are defined as follows:
2903 function: the eax value used to obtain the entry
2904 index: the ecx value used to obtain the entry (for entries that are
2906 flags: an OR of zero or more of the following:
2907 KVM_CPUID_FLAG_SIGNIFCANT_INDEX:
2908 if the index field is valid
2909 KVM_CPUID_FLAG_STATEFUL_FUNC:
2910 if cpuid for this function returns different values for successive
2911 invocations; there will be several entries with the same function,
2912 all with this flag set
2913 KVM_CPUID_FLAG_STATE_READ_NEXT:
2914 for KVM_CPUID_FLAG_STATEFUL_FUNC entries, set if this entry is
2915 the first entry to be read by a cpu
2916 eax, ebx, ecx, edx: the values returned by the cpuid instruction for
2917 this function/index combination
2919 4.89 KVM_S390_MEM_OP
2921 Capability: KVM_CAP_S390_MEM_OP
2924 Parameters: struct kvm_s390_mem_op (in)
2925 Returns: = 0 on success,
2926 < 0 on generic error (e.g. -EFAULT or -ENOMEM),
2927 > 0 if an exception occurred while walking the page tables
2929 Read or write data from/to the logical (virtual) memory of a VCPU.
2931 Parameters are specified via the following structure:
2933 struct kvm_s390_mem_op {
2934 __u64 gaddr; /* the guest address */
2935 __u64 flags; /* flags */
2936 __u32 size; /* amount of bytes */
2937 __u32 op; /* type of operation */
2938 __u64 buf; /* buffer in userspace */
2939 __u8 ar; /* the access register number */
2940 __u8 reserved[31]; /* should be set to 0 */
2943 The type of operation is specified in the "op" field. It is either
2944 KVM_S390_MEMOP_LOGICAL_READ for reading from logical memory space or
2945 KVM_S390_MEMOP_LOGICAL_WRITE for writing to logical memory space. The
2946 KVM_S390_MEMOP_F_CHECK_ONLY flag can be set in the "flags" field to check
2947 whether the corresponding memory access would create an access exception
2948 (without touching the data in the memory at the destination). In case an
2949 access exception occurred while walking the MMU tables of the guest, the
2950 ioctl returns a positive error number to indicate the type of exception.
2951 This exception is also raised directly at the corresponding VCPU if the
2952 flag KVM_S390_MEMOP_F_INJECT_EXCEPTION is set in the "flags" field.
2954 The start address of the memory region has to be specified in the "gaddr"
2955 field, and the length of the region in the "size" field. "buf" is the buffer
2956 supplied by the userspace application where the read data should be written
2957 to for KVM_S390_MEMOP_LOGICAL_READ, or where the data that should be written
2958 is stored for a KVM_S390_MEMOP_LOGICAL_WRITE. "buf" is unused and can be NULL
2959 when KVM_S390_MEMOP_F_CHECK_ONLY is specified. "ar" designates the access
2960 register number to be used.
2962 The "reserved" field is meant for future extensions. It is not used by
2963 KVM with the currently defined set of flags.
2965 4.90 KVM_S390_GET_SKEYS
2967 Capability: KVM_CAP_S390_SKEYS
2970 Parameters: struct kvm_s390_skeys
2971 Returns: 0 on success, KVM_S390_GET_KEYS_NONE if guest is not using storage
2972 keys, negative value on error
2974 This ioctl is used to get guest storage key values on the s390
2975 architecture. The ioctl takes parameters via the kvm_s390_skeys struct.
2977 struct kvm_s390_skeys {
2980 __u64 skeydata_addr;
2985 The start_gfn field is the number of the first guest frame whose storage keys
2988 The count field is the number of consecutive frames (starting from start_gfn)
2989 whose storage keys to get. The count field must be at least 1 and the maximum
2990 allowed value is defined as KVM_S390_SKEYS_ALLOC_MAX. Values outside this range
2991 will cause the ioctl to return -EINVAL.
2993 The skeydata_addr field is the address to a buffer large enough to hold count
2994 bytes. This buffer will be filled with storage key data by the ioctl.
2996 4.91 KVM_S390_SET_SKEYS
2998 Capability: KVM_CAP_S390_SKEYS
3001 Parameters: struct kvm_s390_skeys
3002 Returns: 0 on success, negative value on error
3004 This ioctl is used to set guest storage key values on the s390
3005 architecture. The ioctl takes parameters via the kvm_s390_skeys struct.
3006 See section on KVM_S390_GET_SKEYS for struct definition.
3008 The start_gfn field is the number of the first guest frame whose storage keys
3011 The count field is the number of consecutive frames (starting from start_gfn)
3012 whose storage keys to get. The count field must be at least 1 and the maximum
3013 allowed value is defined as KVM_S390_SKEYS_ALLOC_MAX. Values outside this range
3014 will cause the ioctl to return -EINVAL.
3016 The skeydata_addr field is the address to a buffer containing count bytes of
3017 storage keys. Each byte in the buffer will be set as the storage key for a
3018 single frame starting at start_gfn for count frames.
3020 Note: If any architecturally invalid key value is found in the given data then
3021 the ioctl will return -EINVAL.
3025 Capability: KVM_CAP_S390_INJECT_IRQ
3028 Parameters: struct kvm_s390_irq (in)
3029 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
3031 EINVAL: interrupt type is invalid
3032 type is KVM_S390_SIGP_STOP and flag parameter is invalid value
3033 type is KVM_S390_INT_EXTERNAL_CALL and code is bigger
3034 than the maximum of VCPUs
3035 EBUSY: type is KVM_S390_SIGP_SET_PREFIX and vcpu is not stopped
3036 type is KVM_S390_SIGP_STOP and a stop irq is already pending
3037 type is KVM_S390_INT_EXTERNAL_CALL and an external call interrupt
3040 Allows to inject an interrupt to the guest.
3042 Using struct kvm_s390_irq as a parameter allows
3043 to inject additional payload which is not
3044 possible via KVM_S390_INTERRUPT.
3046 Interrupt parameters are passed via kvm_s390_irq:
3048 struct kvm_s390_irq {
3051 struct kvm_s390_io_info io;
3052 struct kvm_s390_ext_info ext;
3053 struct kvm_s390_pgm_info pgm;
3054 struct kvm_s390_emerg_info emerg;
3055 struct kvm_s390_extcall_info extcall;
3056 struct kvm_s390_prefix_info prefix;
3057 struct kvm_s390_stop_info stop;
3058 struct kvm_s390_mchk_info mchk;
3063 type can be one of the following:
3065 KVM_S390_SIGP_STOP - sigp stop; parameter in .stop
3066 KVM_S390_PROGRAM_INT - program check; parameters in .pgm
3067 KVM_S390_SIGP_SET_PREFIX - sigp set prefix; parameters in .prefix
3068 KVM_S390_RESTART - restart; no parameters
3069 KVM_S390_INT_CLOCK_COMP - clock comparator interrupt; no parameters
3070 KVM_S390_INT_CPU_TIMER - CPU timer interrupt; no parameters
3071 KVM_S390_INT_EMERGENCY - sigp emergency; parameters in .emerg
3072 KVM_S390_INT_EXTERNAL_CALL - sigp external call; parameters in .extcall
3073 KVM_S390_MCHK - machine check interrupt; parameters in .mchk
3076 Note that the vcpu ioctl is asynchronous to vcpu execution.
3078 4.94 KVM_S390_GET_IRQ_STATE
3080 Capability: KVM_CAP_S390_IRQ_STATE
3083 Parameters: struct kvm_s390_irq_state (out)
3084 Returns: >= number of bytes copied into buffer,
3085 -EINVAL if buffer size is 0,
3086 -ENOBUFS if buffer size is too small to fit all pending interrupts,
3087 -EFAULT if the buffer address was invalid
3089 This ioctl allows userspace to retrieve the complete state of all currently
3090 pending interrupts in a single buffer. Use cases include migration
3091 and introspection. The parameter structure contains the address of a
3092 userspace buffer and its length:
3094 struct kvm_s390_irq_state {
3101 Userspace passes in the above struct and for each pending interrupt a
3102 struct kvm_s390_irq is copied to the provided buffer.
3104 If -ENOBUFS is returned the buffer provided was too small and userspace
3105 may retry with a bigger buffer.
3107 4.95 KVM_S390_SET_IRQ_STATE
3109 Capability: KVM_CAP_S390_IRQ_STATE
3112 Parameters: struct kvm_s390_irq_state (in)
3113 Returns: 0 on success,
3114 -EFAULT if the buffer address was invalid,
3115 -EINVAL for an invalid buffer length (see below),
3116 -EBUSY if there were already interrupts pending,
3117 errors occurring when actually injecting the
3118 interrupt. See KVM_S390_IRQ.
3120 This ioctl allows userspace to set the complete state of all cpu-local
3121 interrupts currently pending for the vcpu. It is intended for restoring
3122 interrupt state after a migration. The input parameter is a userspace buffer
3123 containing a struct kvm_s390_irq_state:
3125 struct kvm_s390_irq_state {
3131 The userspace memory referenced by buf contains a struct kvm_s390_irq
3132 for each interrupt to be injected into the guest.
3133 If one of the interrupts could not be injected for some reason the
3136 len must be a multiple of sizeof(struct kvm_s390_irq). It must be > 0
3137 and it must not exceed (max_vcpus + 32) * sizeof(struct kvm_s390_irq),
3138 which is the maximum number of possibly pending cpu-local interrupts.
3142 Capability: KVM_CAP_X86_SMM
3146 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
3148 Queues an SMI on the thread's vcpu.
3150 4.97 KVM_CAP_PPC_MULTITCE
3152 Capability: KVM_CAP_PPC_MULTITCE
3156 This capability means the kernel is capable of handling hypercalls
3157 H_PUT_TCE_INDIRECT and H_STUFF_TCE without passing those into the user
3158 space. This significantly accelerates DMA operations for PPC KVM guests.
3159 User space should expect that its handlers for these hypercalls
3160 are not going to be called if user space previously registered LIOBN
3161 in KVM (via KVM_CREATE_SPAPR_TCE or similar calls).
3163 In order to enable H_PUT_TCE_INDIRECT and H_STUFF_TCE use in the guest,
3164 user space might have to advertise it for the guest. For example,
3165 IBM pSeries (sPAPR) guest starts using them if "hcall-multi-tce" is
3166 present in the "ibm,hypertas-functions" device-tree property.
3168 The hypercalls mentioned above may or may not be processed successfully
3169 in the kernel based fast path. If they can not be handled by the kernel,
3170 they will get passed on to user space. So user space still has to have
3171 an implementation for these despite the in kernel acceleration.
3173 This capability is always enabled.
3175 4.98 KVM_CREATE_SPAPR_TCE_64
3177 Capability: KVM_CAP_SPAPR_TCE_64
3178 Architectures: powerpc
3180 Parameters: struct kvm_create_spapr_tce_64 (in)
3181 Returns: file descriptor for manipulating the created TCE table
3183 This is an extension for KVM_CAP_SPAPR_TCE which only supports 32bit
3184 windows, described in 4.62 KVM_CREATE_SPAPR_TCE
3186 This capability uses extended struct in ioctl interface:
3188 /* for KVM_CAP_SPAPR_TCE_64 */
3189 struct kvm_create_spapr_tce_64 {
3193 __u64 offset; /* in pages */
3194 __u64 size; /* in pages */
3197 The aim of extension is to support an additional bigger DMA window with
3198 a variable page size.
3199 KVM_CREATE_SPAPR_TCE_64 receives a 64bit window size, an IOMMU page shift and
3200 a bus offset of the corresponding DMA window, @size and @offset are numbers
3203 @flags are not used at the moment.
3205 The rest of functionality is identical to KVM_CREATE_SPAPR_TCE.
3207 4.98 KVM_REINJECT_CONTROL
3209 Capability: KVM_CAP_REINJECT_CONTROL
3212 Parameters: struct kvm_reinject_control (in)
3213 Returns: 0 on success,
3214 -EFAULT if struct kvm_reinject_control cannot be read,
3215 -ENXIO if KVM_CREATE_PIT or KVM_CREATE_PIT2 didn't succeed earlier.
3217 i8254 (PIT) has two modes, reinject and !reinject. The default is reinject,
3218 where KVM queues elapsed i8254 ticks and monitors completion of interrupt from
3219 vector(s) that i8254 injects. Reinject mode dequeues a tick and injects its
3220 interrupt whenever there isn't a pending interrupt from i8254.
3221 !reinject mode injects an interrupt as soon as a tick arrives.
3223 struct kvm_reinject_control {
3228 pit_reinject = 0 (!reinject mode) is recommended, unless running an old
3229 operating system that uses the PIT for timing (e.g. Linux 2.4.x).
3231 5. The kvm_run structure
3232 ------------------------
3234 Application code obtains a pointer to the kvm_run structure by
3235 mmap()ing a vcpu fd. From that point, application code can control
3236 execution by changing fields in kvm_run prior to calling the KVM_RUN
3237 ioctl, and obtain information about the reason KVM_RUN returned by
3238 looking up structure members.
3242 __u8 request_interrupt_window;
3244 Request that KVM_RUN return when it becomes possible to inject external
3245 interrupts into the guest. Useful in conjunction with KVM_INTERRUPT.
3252 When KVM_RUN has returned successfully (return value 0), this informs
3253 application code why KVM_RUN has returned. Allowable values for this
3254 field are detailed below.
3256 __u8 ready_for_interrupt_injection;
3258 If request_interrupt_window has been specified, this field indicates
3259 an interrupt can be injected now with KVM_INTERRUPT.
3263 The value of the current interrupt flag. Only valid if in-kernel
3264 local APIC is not used.
3268 More architecture-specific flags detailing state of the VCPU that may
3269 affect the device's behavior. The only currently defined flag is
3270 KVM_RUN_X86_SMM, which is valid on x86 machines and is set if the
3271 VCPU is in system management mode.
3273 /* in (pre_kvm_run), out (post_kvm_run) */
3276 The value of the cr8 register. Only valid if in-kernel local APIC is
3277 not used. Both input and output.
3281 The value of the APIC BASE msr. Only valid if in-kernel local
3282 APIC is not used. Both input and output.
3285 /* KVM_EXIT_UNKNOWN */
3287 __u64 hardware_exit_reason;
3290 If exit_reason is KVM_EXIT_UNKNOWN, the vcpu has exited due to unknown
3291 reasons. Further architecture-specific information is available in
3292 hardware_exit_reason.
3294 /* KVM_EXIT_FAIL_ENTRY */
3296 __u64 hardware_entry_failure_reason;
3299 If exit_reason is KVM_EXIT_FAIL_ENTRY, the vcpu could not be run due
3300 to unknown reasons. Further architecture-specific information is
3301 available in hardware_entry_failure_reason.
3303 /* KVM_EXIT_EXCEPTION */
3313 #define KVM_EXIT_IO_IN 0
3314 #define KVM_EXIT_IO_OUT 1
3316 __u8 size; /* bytes */
3319 __u64 data_offset; /* relative to kvm_run start */
3322 If exit_reason is KVM_EXIT_IO, then the vcpu has
3323 executed a port I/O instruction which could not be satisfied by kvm.
3324 data_offset describes where the data is located (KVM_EXIT_IO_OUT) or
3325 where kvm expects application code to place the data for the next
3326 KVM_RUN invocation (KVM_EXIT_IO_IN). Data format is a packed array.
3328 /* KVM_EXIT_DEBUG */
3330 struct kvm_debug_exit_arch arch;
3333 If the exit_reason is KVM_EXIT_DEBUG, then a vcpu is processing a debug event
3334 for which architecture specific information is returned.
3344 If exit_reason is KVM_EXIT_MMIO, then the vcpu has
3345 executed a memory-mapped I/O instruction which could not be satisfied
3346 by kvm. The 'data' member contains the written data if 'is_write' is
3347 true, and should be filled by application code otherwise.
3349 The 'data' member contains, in its first 'len' bytes, the value as it would
3350 appear if the VCPU performed a load or store of the appropriate width directly
3353 NOTE: For KVM_EXIT_IO, KVM_EXIT_MMIO, KVM_EXIT_OSI, KVM_EXIT_PAPR and
3354 KVM_EXIT_EPR the corresponding
3355 operations are complete (and guest state is consistent) only after userspace
3356 has re-entered the kernel with KVM_RUN. The kernel side will first finish
3357 incomplete operations and then check for pending signals. Userspace
3358 can re-enter the guest with an unmasked signal pending to complete
3361 /* KVM_EXIT_HYPERCALL */
3370 Unused. This was once used for 'hypercall to userspace'. To implement
3371 such functionality, use KVM_EXIT_IO (x86) or KVM_EXIT_MMIO (all except s390).
3372 Note KVM_EXIT_IO is significantly faster than KVM_EXIT_MMIO.
3374 /* KVM_EXIT_TPR_ACCESS */
3381 To be documented (KVM_TPR_ACCESS_REPORTING).
3383 /* KVM_EXIT_S390_SIEIC */
3386 __u64 mask; /* psw upper half */
3387 __u64 addr; /* psw lower half */
3394 /* KVM_EXIT_S390_RESET */
3395 #define KVM_S390_RESET_POR 1
3396 #define KVM_S390_RESET_CLEAR 2
3397 #define KVM_S390_RESET_SUBSYSTEM 4
3398 #define KVM_S390_RESET_CPU_INIT 8
3399 #define KVM_S390_RESET_IPL 16
3400 __u64 s390_reset_flags;
3404 /* KVM_EXIT_S390_UCONTROL */
3406 __u64 trans_exc_code;
3410 s390 specific. A page fault has occurred for a user controlled virtual
3411 machine (KVM_VM_S390_UNCONTROL) on it's host page table that cannot be
3412 resolved by the kernel.
3413 The program code and the translation exception code that were placed
3414 in the cpu's lowcore are presented here as defined by the z Architecture
3415 Principles of Operation Book in the Chapter for Dynamic Address Translation
3425 Deprecated - was used for 440 KVM.
3432 MOL uses a special hypercall interface it calls 'OSI'. To enable it, we catch
3433 hypercalls and exit with this exit struct that contains all the guest gprs.
3435 If exit_reason is KVM_EXIT_OSI, then the vcpu has triggered such a hypercall.
3436 Userspace can now handle the hypercall and when it's done modify the gprs as
3437 necessary. Upon guest entry all guest GPRs will then be replaced by the values
3440 /* KVM_EXIT_PAPR_HCALL */
3447 This is used on 64-bit PowerPC when emulating a pSeries partition,
3448 e.g. with the 'pseries' machine type in qemu. It occurs when the
3449 guest does a hypercall using the 'sc 1' instruction. The 'nr' field
3450 contains the hypercall number (from the guest R3), and 'args' contains
3451 the arguments (from the guest R4 - R12). Userspace should put the
3452 return code in 'ret' and any extra returned values in args[].
3453 The possible hypercalls are defined in the Power Architecture Platform
3454 Requirements (PAPR) document available from www.power.org (free
3455 developer registration required to access it).
3457 /* KVM_EXIT_S390_TSCH */
3459 __u16 subchannel_id;
3460 __u16 subchannel_nr;
3467 s390 specific. This exit occurs when KVM_CAP_S390_CSS_SUPPORT has been enabled
3468 and TEST SUBCHANNEL was intercepted. If dequeued is set, a pending I/O
3469 interrupt for the target subchannel has been dequeued and subchannel_id,
3470 subchannel_nr, io_int_parm and io_int_word contain the parameters for that
3471 interrupt. ipb is needed for instruction parameter decoding.
3478 On FSL BookE PowerPC chips, the interrupt controller has a fast patch
3479 interrupt acknowledge path to the core. When the core successfully
3480 delivers an interrupt, it automatically populates the EPR register with
3481 the interrupt vector number and acknowledges the interrupt inside
3482 the interrupt controller.
3484 In case the interrupt controller lives in user space, we need to do
3485 the interrupt acknowledge cycle through it to fetch the next to be
3486 delivered interrupt vector using this exit.
3488 It gets triggered whenever both KVM_CAP_PPC_EPR are enabled and an
3489 external interrupt has just been delivered into the guest. User space
3490 should put the acknowledged interrupt vector into the 'epr' field.
3492 /* KVM_EXIT_SYSTEM_EVENT */
3494 #define KVM_SYSTEM_EVENT_SHUTDOWN 1
3495 #define KVM_SYSTEM_EVENT_RESET 2
3496 #define KVM_SYSTEM_EVENT_CRASH 3
3501 If exit_reason is KVM_EXIT_SYSTEM_EVENT then the vcpu has triggered
3502 a system-level event using some architecture specific mechanism (hypercall
3503 or some special instruction). In case of ARM/ARM64, this is triggered using
3504 HVC instruction based PSCI call from the vcpu. The 'type' field describes
3505 the system-level event type. The 'flags' field describes architecture
3506 specific flags for the system-level event.
3508 Valid values for 'type' are:
3509 KVM_SYSTEM_EVENT_SHUTDOWN -- the guest has requested a shutdown of the
3510 VM. Userspace is not obliged to honour this, and if it does honour
3511 this does not need to destroy the VM synchronously (ie it may call
3512 KVM_RUN again before shutdown finally occurs).
3513 KVM_SYSTEM_EVENT_RESET -- the guest has requested a reset of the VM.
3514 As with SHUTDOWN, userspace can choose to ignore the request, or
3515 to schedule the reset to occur in the future and may call KVM_RUN again.
3516 KVM_SYSTEM_EVENT_CRASH -- the guest crash occurred and the guest
3517 has requested a crash condition maintenance. Userspace can choose
3518 to ignore the request, or to gather VM memory core dump and/or
3519 reset/shutdown of the VM.
3521 /* KVM_EXIT_IOAPIC_EOI */
3526 Indicates that the VCPU's in-kernel local APIC received an EOI for a
3527 level-triggered IOAPIC interrupt. This exit only triggers when the
3528 IOAPIC is implemented in userspace (i.e. KVM_CAP_SPLIT_IRQCHIP is enabled);
3529 the userspace IOAPIC should process the EOI and retrigger the interrupt if
3530 it is still asserted. Vector is the LAPIC interrupt vector for which the
3533 struct kvm_hyperv_exit {
3534 #define KVM_EXIT_HYPERV_SYNIC 1
3535 #define KVM_EXIT_HYPERV_HCALL 2
3551 /* KVM_EXIT_HYPERV */
3552 struct kvm_hyperv_exit hyperv;
3553 Indicates that the VCPU exits into userspace to process some tasks
3554 related to Hyper-V emulation.
3555 Valid values for 'type' are:
3556 KVM_EXIT_HYPERV_SYNIC -- synchronously notify user-space about
3557 Hyper-V SynIC state change. Notification is used to remap SynIC
3558 event/message pages and to enable/disable SynIC messages/events processing
3561 /* Fix the size of the union. */
3566 * shared registers between kvm and userspace.
3567 * kvm_valid_regs specifies the register classes set by the host
3568 * kvm_dirty_regs specified the register classes dirtied by userspace
3569 * struct kvm_sync_regs is architecture specific, as well as the
3570 * bits for kvm_valid_regs and kvm_dirty_regs
3572 __u64 kvm_valid_regs;
3573 __u64 kvm_dirty_regs;
3575 struct kvm_sync_regs regs;
3579 If KVM_CAP_SYNC_REGS is defined, these fields allow userspace to access
3580 certain guest registers without having to call SET/GET_*REGS. Thus we can
3581 avoid some system call overhead if userspace has to handle the exit.
3582 Userspace can query the validity of the structure by checking
3583 kvm_valid_regs for specific bits. These bits are architecture specific
3584 and usually define the validity of a groups of registers. (e.g. one bit
3585 for general purpose registers)
3587 Please note that the kernel is allowed to use the kvm_run structure as the
3588 primary storage for certain register types. Therefore, the kernel may use the
3589 values in kvm_run even if the corresponding bit in kvm_dirty_regs is not set.
3595 6. Capabilities that can be enabled on vCPUs
3596 --------------------------------------------
3598 There are certain capabilities that change the behavior of the virtual CPU or
3599 the virtual machine when enabled. To enable them, please see section 4.37.
3600 Below you can find a list of capabilities and what their effect on the vCPU or
3601 the virtual machine is when enabling them.
3603 The following information is provided along with the description:
3605 Architectures: which instruction set architectures provide this ioctl.
3606 x86 includes both i386 and x86_64.
3608 Target: whether this is a per-vcpu or per-vm capability.
3610 Parameters: what parameters are accepted by the capability.
3612 Returns: the return value. General error numbers (EBADF, ENOMEM, EINVAL)
3613 are not detailed, but errors with specific meanings are.
3621 Returns: 0 on success; -1 on error
3623 This capability enables interception of OSI hypercalls that otherwise would
3624 be treated as normal system calls to be injected into the guest. OSI hypercalls
3625 were invented by Mac-on-Linux to have a standardized communication mechanism
3626 between the guest and the host.
3628 When this capability is enabled, KVM_EXIT_OSI can occur.
3631 6.2 KVM_CAP_PPC_PAPR
3636 Returns: 0 on success; -1 on error
3638 This capability enables interception of PAPR hypercalls. PAPR hypercalls are
3639 done using the hypercall instruction "sc 1".
3641 It also sets the guest privilege level to "supervisor" mode. Usually the guest
3642 runs in "hypervisor" privilege mode with a few missing features.
3644 In addition to the above, it changes the semantics of SDR1. In this mode, the
3645 HTAB address part of SDR1 contains an HVA instead of a GPA, as PAPR keeps the
3646 HTAB invisible to the guest.
3648 When this capability is enabled, KVM_EXIT_PAPR_HCALL can occur.
3655 Parameters: args[0] is the address of a struct kvm_config_tlb
3656 Returns: 0 on success; -1 on error
3658 struct kvm_config_tlb {
3665 Configures the virtual CPU's TLB array, establishing a shared memory area
3666 between userspace and KVM. The "params" and "array" fields are userspace
3667 addresses of mmu-type-specific data structures. The "array_len" field is an
3668 safety mechanism, and should be set to the size in bytes of the memory that
3669 userspace has reserved for the array. It must be at least the size dictated
3670 by "mmu_type" and "params".
3672 While KVM_RUN is active, the shared region is under control of KVM. Its
3673 contents are undefined, and any modification by userspace results in
3674 boundedly undefined behavior.
3676 On return from KVM_RUN, the shared region will reflect the current state of
3677 the guest's TLB. If userspace makes any changes, it must call KVM_DIRTY_TLB
3678 to tell KVM which entries have been changed, prior to calling KVM_RUN again
3681 For mmu types KVM_MMU_FSL_BOOKE_NOHV and KVM_MMU_FSL_BOOKE_HV:
3682 - The "params" field is of type "struct kvm_book3e_206_tlb_params".
3683 - The "array" field points to an array of type "struct
3684 kvm_book3e_206_tlb_entry".
3685 - The array consists of all entries in the first TLB, followed by all
3686 entries in the second TLB.
3687 - Within a TLB, entries are ordered first by increasing set number. Within a
3688 set, entries are ordered by way (increasing ESEL).
3689 - The hash for determining set number in TLB0 is: (MAS2 >> 12) & (num_sets - 1)
3690 where "num_sets" is the tlb_sizes[] value divided by the tlb_ways[] value.
3691 - The tsize field of mas1 shall be set to 4K on TLB0, even though the
3692 hardware ignores this value for TLB0.
3694 6.4 KVM_CAP_S390_CSS_SUPPORT
3699 Returns: 0 on success; -1 on error
3701 This capability enables support for handling of channel I/O instructions.
3703 TEST PENDING INTERRUPTION and the interrupt portion of TEST SUBCHANNEL are
3704 handled in-kernel, while the other I/O instructions are passed to userspace.
3706 When this capability is enabled, KVM_EXIT_S390_TSCH will occur on TEST
3707 SUBCHANNEL intercepts.
3709 Note that even though this capability is enabled per-vcpu, the complete
3710 virtual machine is affected.
3716 Parameters: args[0] defines whether the proxy facility is active
3717 Returns: 0 on success; -1 on error
3719 This capability enables or disables the delivery of interrupts through the
3720 external proxy facility.
3722 When enabled (args[0] != 0), every time the guest gets an external interrupt
3723 delivered, it automatically exits into user space with a KVM_EXIT_EPR exit
3724 to receive the topmost interrupt vector.
3726 When disabled (args[0] == 0), behavior is as if this facility is unsupported.
3728 When this capability is enabled, KVM_EXIT_EPR can occur.
3730 6.6 KVM_CAP_IRQ_MPIC
3733 Parameters: args[0] is the MPIC device fd
3734 args[1] is the MPIC CPU number for this vcpu
3736 This capability connects the vcpu to an in-kernel MPIC device.
3738 6.7 KVM_CAP_IRQ_XICS
3742 Parameters: args[0] is the XICS device fd
3743 args[1] is the XICS CPU number (server ID) for this vcpu
3745 This capability connects the vcpu to an in-kernel XICS device.
3747 6.8 KVM_CAP_S390_IRQCHIP
3753 This capability enables the in-kernel irqchip for s390. Please refer to
3754 "4.24 KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP" for details.
3756 6.9 KVM_CAP_MIPS_FPU
3760 Parameters: args[0] is reserved for future use (should be 0).
3762 This capability allows the use of the host Floating Point Unit by the guest. It
3763 allows the Config1.FP bit to be set to enable the FPU in the guest. Once this is
3764 done the KVM_REG_MIPS_FPR_* and KVM_REG_MIPS_FCR_* registers can be accessed
3765 (depending on the current guest FPU register mode), and the Status.FR,
3766 Config5.FRE bits are accessible via the KVM API and also from the guest,
3767 depending on them being supported by the FPU.
3769 6.10 KVM_CAP_MIPS_MSA
3773 Parameters: args[0] is reserved for future use (should be 0).
3775 This capability allows the use of the MIPS SIMD Architecture (MSA) by the guest.
3776 It allows the Config3.MSAP bit to be set to enable the use of MSA by the guest.
3777 Once this is done the KVM_REG_MIPS_VEC_* and KVM_REG_MIPS_MSA_* registers can be
3778 accessed, and the Config5.MSAEn bit is accessible via the KVM API and also from
3781 7. Capabilities that can be enabled on VMs
3782 ------------------------------------------
3784 There are certain capabilities that change the behavior of the virtual
3785 machine when enabled. To enable them, please see section 4.37. Below
3786 you can find a list of capabilities and what their effect on the VM
3787 is when enabling them.
3789 The following information is provided along with the description:
3791 Architectures: which instruction set architectures provide this ioctl.
3792 x86 includes both i386 and x86_64.
3794 Parameters: what parameters are accepted by the capability.
3796 Returns: the return value. General error numbers (EBADF, ENOMEM, EINVAL)
3797 are not detailed, but errors with specific meanings are.
3800 7.1 KVM_CAP_PPC_ENABLE_HCALL
3803 Parameters: args[0] is the sPAPR hcall number
3804 args[1] is 0 to disable, 1 to enable in-kernel handling
3806 This capability controls whether individual sPAPR hypercalls (hcalls)
3807 get handled by the kernel or not. Enabling or disabling in-kernel
3808 handling of an hcall is effective across the VM. On creation, an
3809 initial set of hcalls are enabled for in-kernel handling, which
3810 consists of those hcalls for which in-kernel handlers were implemented
3811 before this capability was implemented. If disabled, the kernel will
3812 not to attempt to handle the hcall, but will always exit to userspace
3813 to handle it. Note that it may not make sense to enable some and
3814 disable others of a group of related hcalls, but KVM does not prevent
3815 userspace from doing that.
3817 If the hcall number specified is not one that has an in-kernel
3818 implementation, the KVM_ENABLE_CAP ioctl will fail with an EINVAL
3821 7.2 KVM_CAP_S390_USER_SIGP
3826 This capability controls which SIGP orders will be handled completely in user
3827 space. With this capability enabled, all fast orders will be handled completely
3833 - CONDITIONAL EMERGENCY SIGNAL
3835 All other orders will be handled completely in user space.
3837 Only privileged operation exceptions will be checked for in the kernel (or even
3838 in the hardware prior to interception). If this capability is not enabled, the
3839 old way of handling SIGP orders is used (partially in kernel and user space).
3841 7.3 KVM_CAP_S390_VECTOR_REGISTERS
3845 Returns: 0 on success, negative value on error
3847 Allows use of the vector registers introduced with z13 processor, and
3848 provides for the synchronization between host and user space. Will
3849 return -EINVAL if the machine does not support vectors.
3851 7.4 KVM_CAP_S390_USER_STSI
3856 This capability allows post-handlers for the STSI instruction. After
3857 initial handling in the kernel, KVM exits to user space with
3858 KVM_EXIT_S390_STSI to allow user space to insert further data.
3860 Before exiting to userspace, kvm handlers should fill in s390_stsi field of
3871 @addr - guest address of STSI SYSIB
3875 @ar - access register number
3877 KVM handlers should exit to userspace with rc = -EREMOTE.
3879 7.5 KVM_CAP_SPLIT_IRQCHIP
3882 Parameters: args[0] - number of routes reserved for userspace IOAPICs
3883 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
3885 Create a local apic for each processor in the kernel. This can be used
3886 instead of KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP if the userspace VMM wishes to emulate the
3887 IOAPIC and PIC (and also the PIT, even though this has to be enabled
3890 This capability also enables in kernel routing of interrupt requests;
3891 when KVM_CAP_SPLIT_IRQCHIP only routes of KVM_IRQ_ROUTING_MSI type are
3892 used in the IRQ routing table. The first args[0] MSI routes are reserved
3893 for the IOAPIC pins. Whenever the LAPIC receives an EOI for these routes,
3894 a KVM_EXIT_IOAPIC_EOI vmexit will be reported to userspace.
3896 Fails if VCPU has already been created, or if the irqchip is already in the
3897 kernel (i.e. KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP has already been called).
3904 Allows use of runtime-instrumentation introduced with zEC12 processor.
3905 Will return -EINVAL if the machine does not support runtime-instrumentation.
3906 Will return -EBUSY if a VCPU has already been created.
3908 7.7 KVM_CAP_X2APIC_API
3911 Parameters: args[0] - features that should be enabled
3912 Returns: 0 on success, -EINVAL when args[0] contains invalid features
3914 Valid feature flags in args[0] are
3916 #define KVM_X2APIC_API_USE_32BIT_IDS (1ULL << 0)
3917 #define KVM_X2APIC_API_DISABLE_BROADCAST_QUIRK (1ULL << 1)
3919 Enabling KVM_X2APIC_API_USE_32BIT_IDS changes the behavior of
3920 KVM_SET_GSI_ROUTING, KVM_SIGNAL_MSI, KVM_SET_LAPIC, and KVM_GET_LAPIC,
3921 allowing the use of 32-bit APIC IDs. See KVM_CAP_X2APIC_API in their
3922 respective sections.
3924 KVM_X2APIC_API_DISABLE_BROADCAST_QUIRK must be enabled for x2APIC to work
3925 in logical mode or with more than 255 VCPUs. Otherwise, KVM treats 0xff
3926 as a broadcast even in x2APIC mode in order to support physical x2APIC
3927 without interrupt remapping. This is undesirable in logical mode,
3928 where 0xff represents CPUs 0-7 in cluster 0.
3930 7.8 KVM_CAP_S390_USER_INSTR0
3935 With this capability enabled, all illegal instructions 0x0000 (2 bytes) will
3936 be intercepted and forwarded to user space. User space can use this
3937 mechanism e.g. to realize 2-byte software breakpoints. The kernel will
3938 not inject an operating exception for these instructions, user space has
3939 to take care of that.
3941 This capability can be enabled dynamically even if VCPUs were already
3942 created and are running.
3944 8. Other capabilities.
3945 ----------------------
3947 This section lists capabilities that give information about other
3948 features of the KVM implementation.
3950 8.1 KVM_CAP_PPC_HWRNG
3954 This capability, if KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION indicates that it is
3955 available, means that that the kernel has an implementation of the
3956 H_RANDOM hypercall backed by a hardware random-number generator.
3957 If present, the kernel H_RANDOM handler can be enabled for guest use
3958 with the KVM_CAP_PPC_ENABLE_HCALL capability.
3960 8.2 KVM_CAP_HYPERV_SYNIC
3963 This capability, if KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION indicates that it is
3964 available, means that that the kernel has an implementation of the
3965 Hyper-V Synthetic interrupt controller(SynIC). Hyper-V SynIC is
3966 used to support Windows Hyper-V based guest paravirt drivers(VMBus).
3968 In order to use SynIC, it has to be activated by setting this
3969 capability via KVM_ENABLE_CAP ioctl on the vcpu fd. Note that this
3970 will disable the use of APIC hardware virtualization even if supported
3971 by the CPU, as it's incompatible with SynIC auto-EOI behavior.