Re: [PATCH v5 08/15] KVM: arm64: Flush the HDBSS buffer on VM exit

[Leonardo Bras <leo.bras@arm.com>]

On Fri, Oct 30, 2026 at 12:57:06PM +0800, Tian Zheng wrote:
> 
> 
> On 10/28/2026 2:13 AM, Leonardo Bras wrote:
> > On Tue, Sep 29, 2026 at 06:36:48PM +0800, Tian Zheng wrote:
> > > From: Eillon <yezhenyu2@huawei.com>
> > > 
> > > HDBSS entries accumulate in the per-vCPU buffer while the guest runs,
> > > and must be drained into the dirty bitmap or dirty ring before
> > > userspace can observe them.
> > > 
> > > Drain the buffer at a single point: kvm_arch_vcpu_ioctl_run() flushes
> > > it on every VM exit, before the exit reason is handled. Flushing
> > > inside the run loop keeps the dirty-ring feedback timely: when a flush
> > > pushes the ring past its soft limit, kvm_dirty_ring_push() raises
> > > KVM_REQ_DIRTY_RING_SOFT_FULL, which check_vcpu_requests() observes at
> > > the top of the next loop iteration, so the vCPU exits to userspace for
> > > the harvest before re-entering the guest.
> > > 
> > > kvm_arch_sync_dirty_log() relies on the exit path to flush: it kicks
> > > vCPUs out of guest mode, and the GET/CLEAR protocol tolerates
> > > concurrent bitmap writes, so the snapshot is complete without extra
> > > synchronization.
> > > 
> > > Signed-off-by: Eillon <yezhenyu2@huawei.com>
> > > Signed-off-by: Tian Zheng <zhengtian10@huawei.com>
> > > ---
> > >   arch/arm64/include/asm/kvm_dirty_bit.h | 15 +++++++++
> > >   arch/arm64/kvm/arm.c                   | 20 ++++++++++++
> > >   arch/arm64/kvm/dirty_bit.c             | 45 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> > >   3 files changed, 80 insertions(+)
> > > 
> > > diff --git a/arch/arm64/include/asm/kvm_dirty_bit.h b/arch/arm64/include/asm/kvm_dirty_bit.h
> > > index fe703f02626b..d828e6b43fe9 100644
> > > --- a/arch/arm64/include/asm/kvm_dirty_bit.h
> > > +++ b/arch/arm64/include/asm/kvm_dirty_bit.h
> > > @@ -13,6 +13,9 @@
> > >   #include <asm/sysreg.h>
> > >   #include <linux/sizes.h>
> > > 
> > > +#define HDBSS_ENTRY_VALID	BIT(0)
> > > +#define HDBSS_ENTRY_IPA	GENMASK_ULL(55, 12)
> > > +
> > >   #define KVM_ARM_HDBSS_DEFAULT_SIZE  PAGE_SIZE
> > >   #define KVM_ARM_HDBSS_MAX_SIZE      SZ_2M
> > > 
> > > @@ -22,7 +25,19 @@ static inline u32 kvm_hdbss_buffer_size(struct kvm *kvm)
> > >   	return kvm->arch.hdbss_buffer_size ?: KVM_ARM_HDBSS_DEFAULT_SIZE;
> > >   }
> > > 
> > > +static inline bool kvm_hdbss_enabled(struct kvm *kvm)
> > > +{
> > > +	return kvm->arch.mmu.vtcr & VTCR_EL2_HDBSS;
> > > +}
> > > +
> > > +static inline bool vcpu_hdbss_enabled(struct kvm_vcpu *vcpu)
> > > +{
> > > +	return vcpu->arch.hw_mmu &&
> > > +		(vcpu->arch.hw_mmu->vtcr & VTCR_EL2_HDBSS);
> > > +}
> > > +
> > 
> > IIUC, arch.mmu is always the canonical s2_mmu, while hw_mmu can be the
> > nested s2_mmu, if enabled.
> > 
> > Was that your intend here?
> > If not, we could use only kvm* version, which can be called with vcpu->kvm.
> > 
> > If it was, then I would like to understand the logic here, as IIUC the
> > buffer is accessible only for the non-nested guest, as it's
> > allocated in a per-vcpu structure. (vcpu->arch)
> > 
> 
> Hi leo,
> 
> Yes, that was the intent. The shadow MMU never carries VTCR_EL2.HDBSS,
> so the flush is naturally skipped when running nested.

Ah, right. If we always test the kvm one, we may enable it for the nested 
guest, which is undesired.

[...]
> 
> > 
> > > @@ -2017,7 +2025,19 @@ long kvm_arch_vcpu_unlocked_ioctl(struct file *filp, unsigned int ioctl,
> > > 
> > >   void kvm_arch_sync_dirty_log(struct kvm *kvm, struct kvm_memory_slot *memslot)
> > >   {
> > > +	unsigned long i;
> > > +	struct kvm_vcpu *vcpu;
> > > 
> > > +	if (!kvm_hdbss_enabled(kvm))
> > > +		return;
> > > +

And then here you check for the L1 VM because during migration the host 
could have dirtied memory, and you want to track that as well.

Makes sense

> > > +	/*
> > > +	 * The buffer is drained on every VM exit, so kicking running
> > > +	 * vCPUs is enough to flush them; the dirty-log GET/CLEAR
> > > +	 * protocol tolerates bits set concurrently with the snapshot.
> > > +	 */
> > > +	kvm_for_each_vcpu(i, vcpu, kvm)
> > > +		kvm_vcpu_kick(vcpu);
> > >   }
> > > 
> > >   static int kvm_vm_ioctl_set_device_addr(struct kvm *kvm,
> > > diff --git a/arch/arm64/kvm/dirty_bit.c b/arch/arm64/kvm/dirty_bit.c
> > > index f9aeb9f34ad0..be0d12555c84 100644
> > > --- a/arch/arm64/kvm/dirty_bit.c
> > > +++ b/arch/arm64/kvm/dirty_bit.c
> > > @@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
> > >   #include <linux/kconfig.h>
> > >   #include <linux/log2.h>
> > >   #include <linux/mm.h>
> > > +#include <linux/srcu.h>
> > > 
> > 
> > Out of curiosity, could you please explain you reasoning on selecting srcu
> > as locking here?
> > 
> > (Like, what are you protecting against, and why srcu is a good choice)
> > 
> 
> kvm_vcpu_mark_page_dirty() resolves the memslot under SRCU
> (kvm_vcpu_gfn_to_memslot), and the flush loop calls it for each entry,
> so the whole loop needs the read lock held.

Oh, right, it's just about getting the memslot... now I see it :)

Thanks!
Leo