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Sat, 8 Aug 2026 16:11:59 +0000 (GMT) From: Amit Machhiwal To: linuxppc-dev@lists.ozlabs.org, Madhavan Srinivasan Cc: Vaibhav Jain , Amit Machhiwal , Anushree Mathur , Paolo Bonzini , Nicholas Piggin , Michael Ellerman , "Christophe Leroy (CS GROUP)" , Jonathan Corbet , Shuah Khan , Ritesh Harjani , kvm@vger.kernel.org, linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org, linux-doc@vger.kernel.org, Harsh Prateek Bora , Gautam Menghani Subject: [PATCH v9 0/4] KVM: PPC: Expose CPU compatibility modes for nested guests Date: Sat, 8 Aug 2026 21:41:44 +0530 Message-ID: <20260808161148.66673-1-amachhiw@linux.ibm.com> X-Mailer: git-send-email 2.50.1 Precedence: bulk X-Mailing-List: linux-doc@vger.kernel.org List-Id: List-Subscribe: List-Unsubscribe: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-TM-AS-GCONF: 00 X-Proofpoint-Reinject: loops=2 maxloops=12 X-Proofpoint-Spam-Details-Enc: AW1haW4tMjYwODA4MDEzNyBTYWx0ZWRfX8xvSi9qKJgGr lPFExvAIhGouIofL/rp/+4cjKdN4iZVsrtURCdmSq5ryqdmPK1CbhqC3MRDJbCPqfisSVEfTqNA iUzJ0C+fXQMWd1bLyMYD8OwdYKt/GbjMStvajCs9HXAm1Is1HRJ99y/lbXNjzqASLn7F/Fu9gtp ECrQqoGpkedZiOMDa5pjZICywzbg+DEgVyhBn/MUcn1oUJjx54dPTyhedMLL7RIPYN0ekZVJlGS qmWh1nhlga5lk5c7nnW/L7MMv/jVXWN3MXUQWUqzRB6/eKht4SJMtO5+nFacL8vMjTeiZZ7NVA6 gR5WCLL+kly6h35jSoxQEi0mvk/dw/406mKpsatVlCKmuDtG2j/OAbmehn5wwHJraUTnifRB+PK 8rWhNqX2gCW+h/IFaTULaPlXgJUhjbQKoy27HzeDyNGhsM7W3VDaDRpH77j2Gpo6Ys5NB5vAgFg uNmvHnpnFiMr38GwzUQ== X-Proofpoint-Spam-Info: AW1haW4tMjYwODA4MDEzNyBTYWx0ZWRfX7qAvNqwGoyZy HDV/+PDWBr7r+d3IV1maHLL3ARG+zLiqlkY9JsDmK3bhBEY7evOwqj9xTHLlszrXzw2M+yIvXGF fVPNbFjWvKML06TpRwl8MZXZ75VyFoM= X-Authority-Analysis: v=2.4 cv=RqD16imK c=1 sm=1 tr=0 ts=6a775559 cx=c_pps a=bLidbwmWQ0KltjZqbj+ezA==:117 a=bLidbwmWQ0KltjZqbj+ezA==:17 a=Sv0fKeRqtYgA:10 a=VkNPw1HP01LnGYTKEx00:22 a=RnoormkPH1_aCDwRdu11:22 a=uAbxVGIbfxUO_5tXvNgY:22 a=VwQbUJbxAAAA:8 a=VnNF1IyMAAAA:8 a=h7u5zJOLz3W6SXC_pSsA:9 X-Proofpoint-GUID: gfVgtX7stDoKXvO6Utm7nMefJPc42dKt X-Proofpoint-ORIG-GUID: IZBMdVmp0olwgQxMDbQVSZYFMpRl7ll4 X-Proofpoint-Virus-Version: vendor=baseguard engine=ICAP:2.0.293,Aquarius:18.0.1176,Hydra:6.1.134,FMLib:17.12.100.49 definitions=2026-08-08_05,2026-08-07_01,2025-10-01_01 X-Proofpoint-Spam-Details: rule=outbound_notspam policy=outbound score=0 phishscore=0 priorityscore=1501 suspectscore=0 lowpriorityscore=0 clxscore=1015 adultscore=0 bulkscore=0 malwarescore=0 impostorscore=0 spamscore=0 classifier=typeunknown authscore=0 authtc= authcc= route=outbound adjust=0 reason=mlx scancount=1 engine=8.22.0-2606150000 definitions=main-2608080137 On POWER systems, newer processor generations can operate in compatibility modes corresponding to earlier generations (e.g., a Power11 system running in Power10 compatibility mode). In such cases, the effective CPU level exposed to guests differs from the physical processor generation. This creates a problem for nested virtualization. When booting a nested KVM guest (L2) inside a host KVM guest (L1) running in a compatibility mode, userspace (e.g., QEMU) may derive the CPU model from the raw hardware PVR and attempt to configure the nested guest accordingly. However, the L1 partition is constrained by the compatibility level negotiated with the hypervisor (L0), and requests exceeding that level are rejected, leading to guest boot failures such as: KVM-NESTEDv2: couldn't set guest wide elements This series provides a mechanism for userspace to query the effective CPU compatibility modes supported by the host, so it can select an appropriate CPU model for nested guests. To achieve this, the series introduces a new KVM capability and ioctl (KVM_CAP_PPC_COMPAT_CAPS / KVM_PPC_GET_COMPAT_CAPS) that expose the compatibility modes supported by the host. Why a new UAPI? =============== While cpu-version is available in /proc/device-tree/cpus//cpu-version on both L1 booted on PowerNV and PowerVM LPARs, the UAPI approach is preferable for several reasons: 1. pHYP (L0) capabilities: On PowerVM, we need to rely on capabilities negotiated with pHYP in KVM, not just device tree properties. The cpu-version property depicts the current compat mode but doesn't point to what all compat modes are supported for the nested guest. 2. procfs dependency: Not all systems run with procfs enabled (CONFIG_PROC_FS is optional). Minimal configurations like buildroot might disable it, but KVM ioctl works regardless since it accesses kernel data structures directly. 3. Kernel validation: The kernel validates and normalizes the compatibility information, ensuring userspace gets validated, consistent data. 4. Abstraction & stability: /proc/device-tree is an implementation detail. The UAPI provides a stable interface that won't break if the underlying mechanism changes. 5. Semantic clarity: KVM_PPC_GET_COMPAT_CAPS clearly expresses what compatibility modes can be used for KVM guests, vs. parsing device tree which requires understanding the semantic meaning of cpu-version. The implementation supports both: - KVM on PowerVM (nested API v2), where compatibility information is served from the cached nested_capabilities value, originally obtained via the H_GUEST_GET_CAPABILITIES hypercall at module init. - KVM on PowerNV (nested API v1), where compatibility is derived from the device tree ("cpu-version") representing the effective processor compatibility level. This allows userspace (e.g., QEMU) to select a CPU model consistent with the host compatibility mode, avoiding mismatches and enabling successful nested guest boot. Note: This series is built on top of patch [1] which must be applied first. Patch [1] ensures arch_compat is validated against the host compatibility mode before this series adds the capability query mechanism. Commit e4de1b9cb3b5 ("powerpc/dt_cpu_ftrs: Set CPU_FTR_P11_PVR for Power11 and later processors") which was also a prerequisite has been merged upstream. Changes in v9: - Simplify versioning paragraph in api.rst: drop the three-case explanation of copy_struct_{from,to}_user() behaviour; keep a single sentence referencing the functions [Ritesh] Patch summary: [1/4] Introduce KVM_CAP_PPC_COMPAT_CAPS and wire up ioctl [2/4] Implement capability retrieval for KVM on PowerVM (API v2) [3/4] Add KVM on PowerNV support (API v1) [4/4] Document the new ioctl Testing (with QEMU v5 patches and on top of patch [1]): KVM APIv1 Testing ================= On P10 PowerNV machine (L0) --------------------------- - P10 L1 KVM guest -> works - P10 nested L2 KVM guest -> works - P9 compat nested L2 KVM guest -> works - P9 compat L1 KVM guest -> works - P9 nested L2 KVM guest -> works On Powernv11 TCG Guest (L0) --------------------------- - P11 PowerNV TCG L0 guest -> works - P11 L1 KVM guest -> works - P11 L2 KVM guest -> works - P10 compat L1 KVM guest -> works - P10 L2 KVM guest -> works - P9 compat L1 KVM guest -> works - P9 L2 KVM guest -> works KVM APIv2 Testing ================= On P11 PowerVM LPAR (L1) ------------------------ - P11 L2 KVM guest -> works - P10 compat L2 KVM guest -> works - P9 compat L2 KVM guest fails to boot as expected - Without QEMU patches but Linux patches - P11 L2 KVM guest -> works - P10 compat L2 KVM guest -> works - P9 compat L2 KVM guest fails to boot as expected - Without Linux patches but QEMU patches - P11 L2 KVM guest -> works - P10 compat L2 KVM guest -> works On P11 LPAR in P10 compat (L1) ------------------------------ - P10 (host compat) L2 KVM guest -> works - Without QEMU patch but Linux patches - P10 guest fails to boot as expected (error: kvm run failed Invalid argument) - Without Linux patch but QEMU patches - P10 guest fails to boot as expected (KVM: unknown exit, hardware reason ffffffffffffffea) On P10 PowerVM LPAR (L1) ------------------------ - P10 L2 KVM guest -> works - P9 compat L2 KVM guest fails to boot as expected TCG pSeries Guest ================= - P11 (default) pSeries guest boots fine ABI Extensibility Testing (struct size 32, extra member) ========================================================= - Newer struct on QEMU, older kernel -> works (kernel returns -E2BIG, QEMU retries with correct size) - New struct on Linux kernel, older QEMU -> works (kernel zero-pads trailing fields, QEMU gets correct data) With this series, nested guests boot successfully in configurations where they previously failed due to compatibility mismatches. Related QEMU series: ==================== QEMU v5 series: https://lore.kernel.org/all/20260804182914.83091-1-amachhiw@linux.ibm.com/ Previous QEMU versions: v4: https://lore.kernel.org/all/20260701052341.62289-1-amachhiw@linux.ibm.com/ v3: https://lore.kernel.org/all/20260616113915.25589-1-amachhiw@linux.ibm.com/ v2: https://lore.kernel.org/all/20260502140021.69712-1-amachhiw@linux.ibm.com/ v1: https://lore.kernel.org/all/20260430061333.37905-1-amachhiw@linux.ibm.com/ Previous versions: ================== v8: https://lore.kernel.org/linuxppc-dev/20260807172433.82045-1-amachhiw@linux.ibm.com/ v7: https://lore.kernel.org/linuxppc-dev/20260806170645.11892-1-amachhiw@linux.ibm.com/ v6: https://lore.kernel.org/linuxppc-dev/20260804180705.59160-1-amachhiw@linux.ibm.com/ v5: https://lore.kernel.org/linuxppc-dev/20260701051409.51820-1-amachhiw@linux.ibm.com/ v4: https://lore.kernel.org/linuxppc-dev/20260616123314.82721-1-amachhiw@linux.ibm.com/ v3: https://lore.kernel.org/linuxppc-dev/20260522152744.55251-1-amachhiw@linux.ibm.com/ v2: https://lore.kernel.org/linuxppc-dev/20260513100755.83195-1-amachhiw@linux.ibm.com/ v1: https://lore.kernel.org/linuxppc-dev/20260430054906.94431-1-amachhiw@linux.ibm.com/ References: =========== [1] https://lore.kernel.org/all/20260714175432.86388-1-amachhiw@linux.ibm.com/ Amit Machhiwal (4): KVM: PPC: Introduce KVM_CAP_PPC_COMPAT_CAPS and wire up ioctl KVM: PPC: Book3S HV: Implement compat CPU capability retrieval for KVM on PowerVM KVM: PPC: Book3S HV: Add support for compat CPU capabilities for KVM on PowerNV KVM: PPC: Document KVM_PPC_GET_COMPAT_CAPS ioctl Documentation/virt/kvm/api.rst | 77 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ arch/powerpc/include/asm/kvm_ppc.h | 1 + arch/powerpc/include/uapi/asm/kvm.h | 18 +++++++ arch/powerpc/kvm/book3s_hv.c | 56 +++++++++++++++++++++ arch/powerpc/kvm/powerpc.c | 78 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ include/uapi/linux/kvm.h | 3 ++ 6 files changed, 233 insertions(+) base-commit: a7c7074b58d28c4206d666a12aa2e33447b3c581 prerequisite-patch-id: 7755786f0e4f415e47065ff1972765008727fe10 -- 2.50.1 (Apple Git-155)