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+The Definitive KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) API Documentation
+===================================================================
+
+1. General description
+
+The kvm API is a set of ioctls that are issued to control various aspects
+of a virtual machine. The ioctls belong to three classes
+
+ - System ioctls: These query and set global attributes which affect the
+ whole kvm subsystem. In addition a system ioctl is used to create
+ virtual machines
+
+ - VM ioctls: These query and set attributes that affect an entire virtual
+ machine, for example memory layout. In addition a VM ioctl is used to
+ create virtual cpus (vcpus).
+
+ Only run VM ioctls from the same process (address space) that was used
+ to create the VM.
+
+ - vcpu ioctls: These query and set attributes that control the operation
+ of a single virtual cpu.
+
+ Only run vcpu ioctls from the same thread that was used to create the
+ vcpu.
+
+2. File descritpors
+
+The kvm API is centered around file descriptors. An initial
+open("/dev/kvm") obtains a handle to the kvm subsystem; this handle
+can be used to issue system ioctls. A KVM_CREATE_VM ioctl on this
+handle will create a VM file descripror which can be used to issue VM
+ioctls. A KVM_CREATE_VCPU ioctl on a VM fd will create a virtual cpu
+and return a file descriptor pointing to it. Finally, ioctls on a vcpu
+fd can be used to control the vcpu, including the important task of
+actually running guest code.
+
+In general file descriptors can be migrated among processes by means
+of fork() and the SCM_RIGHTS facility of unix domain socket. These
+kinds of tricks are explicitly not supported by kvm. While they will
+not cause harm to the host, their actual behavior is not guaranteed by
+the API. The only supported use is one virtual machine per process,
+and one vcpu per thread.
+
+3. Extensions
+
+As of Linux 2.6.22, the KVM ABI has been stabilized: no backward
+incompatible change are allowed. However, there is an extension
+facility that allows backward-compatible extensions to the API to be
+queried and used.
+
+The extension mechanism is not based on on the Linux version number.
+Instead, kvm defines extension identifiers and a facility to query
+whether a particular extension identifier is available. If it is, a
+set of ioctls is available for application use.
+
+4. API description
+
+This section describes ioctls that can be used to control kvm guests.
+For each ioctl, the following information is provided along with a
+description:
+
+ Capability: which KVM extension provides this ioctl. Can be 'basic',
+ which means that is will be provided by any kernel that supports
+ API version 12 (see section 4.1), or a KVM_CAP_xyz constant, which
+ means availability needs to be checked with KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION
+ (see section 4.4).
+
+ Architectures: which instruction set architectures provide this ioctl.
+ x86 includes both i386 and x86_64.
+
+ Type: system, vm, or vcpu.
+
+ Parameters: what parameters are accepted by the ioctl.
+
+ Returns: the return value. General error numbers (EBADF, ENOMEM, EINVAL)
+ are not detailed, but errors with specific meanings are.
+
+4.1 KVM_GET_API_VERSION
+
+Capability: basic
+Architectures: all
+Type: system ioctl
+Parameters: none
+Returns: the constant KVM_API_VERSION (=12)
+
+This identifies the API version as the stable kvm API. It is not
+expected that this number will change. However, Linux 2.6.20 and
+2.6.21 report earlier versions; these are not documented and not
+supported. Applications should refuse to run if KVM_GET_API_VERSION
+returns a value other than 12. If this check passes, all ioctls
+described as 'basic' will be available.
+
+4.2 KVM_CREATE_VM
+
+Capability: basic
+Architectures: all
+Type: system ioctl
+Parameters: none
+Returns: a VM fd that can be used to control the new virtual machine.
+
+The new VM has no virtual cpus and no memory. An mmap() of a VM fd
+will access the virtual machine's physical address space; offset zero
+corresponds to guest physical address zero. Use of mmap() on a VM fd
+is discouraged if userspace memory allocation (KVM_CAP_USER_MEMORY) is
+available.
+
+4.3 KVM_GET_MSR_INDEX_LIST
+
+Capability: basic
+Architectures: x86
+Type: system
+Parameters: struct kvm_msr_list (in/out)
+Returns: 0 on success; -1 on error
+Errors:
+ E2BIG: the msr index list is to be to fit in the array specified by
+ the user.
+
+struct kvm_msr_list {
+ __u32 nmsrs; /* number of msrs in entries */
+ __u32 indices[0];
+};
+
+This ioctl returns the guest msrs that are supported. The list varies
+by kvm version and host processor, but does not change otherwise. The
+user fills in the size of the indices array in nmsrs, and in return
+kvm adjusts nmsrs to reflect the actual number of msrs and fills in
+the indices array with their numbers.
+
+4.4 KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION
+
+Capability: basic
+Architectures: all
+Type: system ioctl
+Parameters: extension identifier (KVM_CAP_*)
+Returns: 0 if unsupported; 1 (or some other positive integer) if supported
+
+The API allows the application to query about extensions to the core
+kvm API. Userspace passes an extension identifier (an integer) and
+receives an integer that describes the extension availability.
+Generally 0 means no and 1 means yes, but some extensions may report
+additional information in the integer return value.
+
+4.5 KVM_GET_VCPU_MMAP_SIZE
+
+Capability: basic
+Architectures: all
+Type: system ioctl
+Parameters: none
+Returns: size of vcpu mmap area, in bytes
+
+The KVM_RUN ioctl (cf.) communicates with userspace via a shared
+memory region. This ioctl returns the size of that region. See the
+KVM_RUN documentation for details.
+
+4.6 KVM_SET_MEMORY_REGION
+
+Capability: basic
+Architectures: all
+Type: vm ioctl
+Parameters: struct kvm_memory_region (in)
+Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
+
+struct kvm_memory_region {
+ __u32 slot;
+ __u32 flags;
+ __u64 guest_phys_addr;
+ __u64 memory_size; /* bytes */
+};
+
+/* for kvm_memory_region::flags */
+#define KVM_MEM_LOG_DIRTY_PAGES 1UL
+
+This ioctl allows the user to create or modify a guest physical memory
+slot. When changing an existing slot, it may be moved in the guest
+physical memory space, or its flags may be modified. It may not be
+resized. Slots may not overlap.
+
+The flags field supports just one flag, KVM_MEM_LOG_DIRTY_PAGES, which
+instructs kvm to keep track of writes to memory within the slot. See
+the KVM_GET_DIRTY_LOG ioctl.
+
+It is recommended to use the KVM_SET_USER_MEMORY_REGION ioctl instead
+of this API, if available. This newer API allows placing guest memory
+at specified locations in the host address space, yielding better
+control and easy access.
+
+4.6 KVM_CREATE_VCPU
+
+Capability: basic
+Architectures: all
+Type: vm ioctl
+Parameters: vcpu id (apic id on x86)
+Returns: vcpu fd on success, -1 on error
+
+This API adds a vcpu to a virtual machine. The vcpu id is a small integer
+in the range [0, max_vcpus).
+
+4.7 KVM_GET_DIRTY_LOG (vm ioctl)
+
+Capability: basic
+Architectures: x86
+Type: vm ioctl
+Parameters: struct kvm_dirty_log (in/out)
+Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
+
+/* for KVM_GET_DIRTY_LOG */
+struct kvm_dirty_log {
+ __u32 slot;
+ __u32 padding;
+ union {
+ void __user *dirty_bitmap; /* one bit per page */
+ __u64 padding;
+ };
+};
+
+Given a memory slot, return a bitmap containing any pages dirtied
+since the last call to this ioctl. Bit 0 is the first page in the
+memory slot. Ensure the entire structure is cleared to avoid padding
+issues.
+
+4.8 KVM_SET_MEMORY_ALIAS
+
+Capability: basic
+Architectures: x86
+Type: vm ioctl
+Parameters: struct kvm_memory_alias (in)
+Returns: 0 (success), -1 (error)
+
+struct kvm_memory_alias {
+ __u32 slot; /* this has a different namespace than memory slots */
+ __u32 flags;
+ __u64 guest_phys_addr;
+ __u64 memory_size;
+ __u64 target_phys_addr;
+};
+
+Defines a guest physical address space region as an alias to another
+region. Useful for aliased address, for example the VGA low memory
+window. Should not be used with userspace memory.
+
+4.9 KVM_RUN
+
+Capability: basic
+Architectures: all
+Type: vcpu ioctl
+Parameters: none
+Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
+Errors:
+ EINTR: an unmasked signal is pending
+
+This ioctl is used to run a guest virtual cpu. While there are no
+explicit parameters, there is an implicit parameter block that can be
+obtained by mmap()ing the vcpu fd at offset 0, with the size given by
+KVM_GET_VCPU_MMAP_SIZE. The parameter block is formatted as a 'struct
+kvm_run' (see below).
+
+4.10 KVM_GET_REGS
+
+Capability: basic
+Architectures: all
+Type: vcpu ioctl
+Parameters: struct kvm_regs (out)
+Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
+
+Reads the general purpose registers from the vcpu.
+
+/* x86 */
+struct kvm_regs {
+ /* out (KVM_GET_REGS) / in (KVM_SET_REGS) */
+ __u64 rax, rbx, rcx, rdx;
+ __u64 rsi, rdi, rsp, rbp;
+ __u64 r8, r9, r10, r11;
+ __u64 r12, r13, r14, r15;
+ __u64 rip, rflags;
+};
+
+4.11 KVM_SET_REGS
+
+Capability: basic
+Architectures: all
+Type: vcpu ioctl
+Parameters: struct kvm_regs (in)
+Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
+
+Writes the general purpose registers into the vcpu.
+
+See KVM_GET_REGS for the data structure.
+
+4.12 KVM_GET_SREGS
+
+Capability: basic
+Architectures: x86
+Type: vcpu ioctl
+Parameters: struct kvm_sregs (out)
+Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
+
+Reads special registers from the vcpu.
+
+/* x86 */
+struct kvm_sregs {
+ struct kvm_segment cs, ds, es, fs, gs, ss;
+ struct kvm_segment tr, ldt;
+ struct kvm_dtable gdt, idt;
+ __u64 cr0, cr2, cr3, cr4, cr8;
+ __u64 efer;
+ __u64 apic_base;
+ __u64 interrupt_bitmap[(KVM_NR_INTERRUPTS + 63) / 64];
+};
+
+interrupt_bitmap is a bitmap of pending external interrupts. At most
+one bit may be set. This interrupt has been acknowledged by the APIC
+but not yet injected into the cpu core.
+
+4.13 KVM_SET_SREGS
+
+Capability: basic
+Architectures: x86
+Type: vcpu ioctl
+Parameters: struct kvm_sregs (in)
+Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
+
+Writes special registers into the vcpu. See KVM_GET_SREGS for the
+data structures.
+
+4.14 KVM_TRANSLATE
+
+Capability: basic
+Architectures: x86
+Type: vcpu ioctl
+Parameters: struct kvm_translation (in/out)
+Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
+
+Translates a virtual address according to the vcpu's current address
+translation mode.
+
+struct kvm_translation {
+ /* in */
+ __u64 linear_address;
+
+ /* out */
+ __u64 physical_address;
+ __u8 valid;
+ __u8 writeable;
+ __u8 usermode;
+ __u8 pad[5];
+};
+
+4.15 KVM_INTERRUPT
+
+Capability: basic
+Architectures: x86
+Type: vcpu ioctl
+Parameters: struct kvm_interrupt (in)
+Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
+
+Queues a hardware interrupt vector to be injected. This is only
+useful if in-kernel local APIC is not used.
+
+/* for KVM_INTERRUPT */
+struct kvm_interrupt {
+ /* in */
+ __u32 irq;
+};
+
+Note 'irq' is an interrupt vector, not an interrupt pin or line.
+
+4.16 KVM_DEBUG_GUEST
+
+Capability: basic
+Architectures: none
+Type: vcpu ioctl
+Parameters: none)
+Returns: -1 on error
+
+Support for this has been removed. Use KVM_SET_GUEST_DEBUG instead.
+
+4.17 KVM_GET_MSRS
+
+Capability: basic
+Architectures: x86
+Type: vcpu ioctl
+Parameters: struct kvm_msrs (in/out)
+Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
+
+Reads model-specific registers from the vcpu. Supported msr indices can
+be obtained using KVM_GET_MSR_INDEX_LIST.
+
+struct kvm_msrs {
+ __u32 nmsrs; /* number of msrs in entries */
+ __u32 pad;
+
+ struct kvm_msr_entry entries[0];
+};
+
+struct kvm_msr_entry {
+ __u32 index;
+ __u32 reserved;
+ __u64 data;
+};
+
+Application code should set the 'nmsrs' member (which indicates the
+size of the entries array) and the 'index' member of each array entry.
+kvm will fill in the 'data' member.
+
+4.18 KVM_SET_MSRS
+
+Capability: basic
+Architectures: x86
+Type: vcpu ioctl
+Parameters: struct kvm_msrs (in)
+Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
+
+Writes model-specific registers to the vcpu. See KVM_GET_MSRS for the
+data structures.
+
+Application code should set the 'nmsrs' member (which indicates the
+size of the entries array), and the 'index' and 'data' members of each
+array entry.
+
+4.19 KVM_SET_CPUID
+
+Capability: basic
+Architectures: x86
+Type: vcpu ioctl
+Parameters: struct kvm_cpuid (in)
+Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
+
+Defines the vcpu responses to the cpuid instruction. Applications
+should use the KVM_SET_CPUID2 ioctl if available.
+
+
+struct kvm_cpuid_entry {
+ __u32 function;
+ __u32 eax;
+ __u32 ebx;
+ __u32 ecx;
+ __u32 edx;
+ __u32 padding;
+};
+
+/* for KVM_SET_CPUID */
+struct kvm_cpuid {
+ __u32 nent;
+ __u32 padding;
+ struct kvm_cpuid_entry entries[0];
+};
+
+4.20 KVM_SET_SIGNAL_MASK
+
+Capability: basic
+Architectures: x86
+Type: vcpu ioctl
+Parameters: struct kvm_signal_mask (in)
+Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
+
+Defines which signals are blocked during execution of KVM_RUN. This
+signal mask temporarily overrides the threads signal mask. Any
+unblocked signal received (except SIGKILL and SIGSTOP, which retain
+their traditional behaviour) will cause KVM_RUN to return with -EINTR.
+
+Note the signal will only be delivered if not blocked by the original
+signal mask.
+
+/* for KVM_SET_SIGNAL_MASK */
+struct kvm_signal_mask {
+ __u32 len;
+ __u8 sigset[0];
+};
+
+4.21 KVM_GET_FPU
+
+Capability: basic
+Architectures: x86
+Type: vcpu ioctl
+Parameters: struct kvm_fpu (out)
+Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
+
+Reads the floating point state from the vcpu.
+
+/* for KVM_GET_FPU and KVM_SET_FPU */
+struct kvm_fpu {
+ __u8 fpr[8][16];
+ __u16 fcw;
+ __u16 fsw;
+ __u8 ftwx; /* in fxsave format */
+ __u8 pad1;
+ __u16 last_opcode;
+ __u64 last_ip;
+ __u64 last_dp;
+ __u8 xmm[16][16];
+ __u32 mxcsr;
+ __u32 pad2;
+};
+
+4.22 KVM_SET_FPU
+
+Capability: basic
+Architectures: x86
+Type: vcpu ioctl
+Parameters: struct kvm_fpu (in)
+Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
+
+Writes the floating point state to the vcpu.
+
+/* for KVM_GET_FPU and KVM_SET_FPU */
+struct kvm_fpu {
+ __u8 fpr[8][16];
+ __u16 fcw;
+ __u16 fsw;
+ __u8 ftwx; /* in fxsave format */
+ __u8 pad1;
+ __u16 last_opcode;
+ __u64 last_ip;
+ __u64 last_dp;
+ __u8 xmm[16][16];
+ __u32 mxcsr;
+ __u32 pad2;
+};
+
+5. The kvm_run structure
+
+Application code obtains a pointer to the kvm_run structure by
+mmap()ing a vcpu fd. From that point, application code can control
+execution by changing fields in kvm_run prior to calling the KVM_RUN
+ioctl, and obtain information about the reason KVM_RUN returned by
+looking up structure members.
+
+struct kvm_run {
+ /* in */
+ __u8 request_interrupt_window;
+
+Request that KVM_RUN return when it becomes possible to inject external
+interrupts into the guest. Useful in conjunction with KVM_INTERRUPT.
+
+ __u8 padding1[7];
+
+ /* out */
+ __u32 exit_reason;
+
+When KVM_RUN has returned successfully (return value 0), this informs
+application code why KVM_RUN has returned. Allowable values for this
+field are detailed below.
+
+ __u8 ready_for_interrupt_injection;
+
+If request_interrupt_window has been specified, this field indicates
+an interrupt can be injected now with KVM_INTERRUPT.
+
+ __u8 if_flag;
+
+The value of the current interrupt flag. Only valid if in-kernel
+local APIC is not used.
+
+ __u8 padding2[2];
+
+ /* in (pre_kvm_run), out (post_kvm_run) */
+ __u64 cr8;
+
+The value of the cr8 register. Only valid if in-kernel local APIC is
+not used. Both input and output.
+
+ __u64 apic_base;
+
+The value of the APIC BASE msr. Only valid if in-kernel local
+APIC is not used. Both input and output.
+
+ union {
+ /* KVM_EXIT_UNKNOWN */
+ struct {
+ __u64 hardware_exit_reason;
+ } hw;
+
+If exit_reason is KVM_EXIT_UNKNOWN, the vcpu has exited due to unknown
+reasons. Further architecture-specific information is available in
+hardware_exit_reason.
+
+ /* KVM_EXIT_FAIL_ENTRY */
+ struct {
+ __u64 hardware_entry_failure_reason;
+ } fail_entry;
+
+If exit_reason is KVM_EXIT_FAIL_ENTRY, the vcpu could not be run due
+to unknown reasons. Further architecture-specific information is
+available in hardware_entry_failure_reason.
+
+ /* KVM_EXIT_EXCEPTION */
+ struct {
+ __u32 exception;
+ __u32 error_code;
+ } ex;
+
+Unused.
+
+ /* KVM_EXIT_IO */
+ struct {
+#define KVM_EXIT_IO_IN 0
+#define KVM_EXIT_IO_OUT 1
+ __u8 direction;
+ __u8 size; /* bytes */
+ __u16 port;
+ __u32 count;
+ __u64 data_offset; /* relative to kvm_run start */
+ } io;
+
+If exit_reason is KVM_EXIT_IO_IN or KVM_EXIT_IO_OUT, then the vcpu has
+executed a port I/O instruction which could not be satisfied by kvm.
+data_offset describes where the data is located (KVM_EXIT_IO_OUT) or
+where kvm expects application code to place the data for the next
+KVM_RUN invocation (KVM_EXIT_IO_IN). Data format is a patcked array.
+
+ struct {
+ struct kvm_debug_exit_arch arch;
+ } debug;
+
+Unused.
+
+ /* KVM_EXIT_MMIO */
+ struct {
+ __u64 phys_addr;
+ __u8 data[8];
+ __u32 len;
+ __u8 is_write;
+ } mmio;
+
+If exit_reason is KVM_EXIT_MMIO or KVM_EXIT_IO_OUT, then the vcpu has
+executed a memory-mapped I/O instruction which could not be satisfied
+by kvm. The 'data' member contains the written data if 'is_write' is
+true, and should be filled by application code otherwise.
+
+ /* KVM_EXIT_HYPERCALL */
+ struct {
+ __u64 nr;
+ __u64 args[6];
+ __u64 ret;
+ __u32 longmode;
+ __u32 pad;
+ } hypercall;
+
+Unused.
+
+ /* KVM_EXIT_TPR_ACCESS */
+ struct {
+ __u64 rip;
+ __u32 is_write;
+ __u32 pad;
+ } tpr_access;
+
+To be documented (KVM_TPR_ACCESS_REPORTING).
+
+ /* KVM_EXIT_S390_SIEIC */
+ struct {
+ __u8 icptcode;
+ __u64 mask; /* psw upper half */
+ __u64 addr; /* psw lower half */
+ __u16 ipa;
+ __u32 ipb;
+ } s390_sieic;
+
+s390 specific.
+
+ /* KVM_EXIT_S390_RESET */
+#define KVM_S390_RESET_POR 1
+#define KVM_S390_RESET_CLEAR 2
+#define KVM_S390_RESET_SUBSYSTEM 4
+#define KVM_S390_RESET_CPU_INIT 8
+#define KVM_S390_RESET_IPL 16
+ __u64 s390_reset_flags;
+
+s390 specific.
+
+ /* KVM_EXIT_DCR */
+ struct {
+ __u32 dcrn;
+ __u32 data;
+ __u8 is_write;
+ } dcr;
+
+powerpc specific.
+
+ /* Fix the size of the union. */
+ char padding[256];
+ };
+};
Document the basic API corresponding to the 2.6.22 release. Signed-off-by: Avi Kivity <avi@redhat.com> --- Documentation/kvm/api.txt | 683 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 files changed, 683 insertions(+), 0 deletions(-) create mode 100644 Documentation/kvm/api.txt