This document discusses using paravirtualized devices in Linux guests running on Xen in HVM (hardware virtual machine) mode. It offers the benefits of HVM like installing the same as native while also providing access to fast paravirtualized devices. Initial support added xenbus and grant table support while later enhancements added ballooning, spinlocks, and interrupt/MSI remapping. Benchmarks show PV on HVM performs close to PV guests for PV-favored workloads and far ahead for nested paging workloads. PV on HVM provides a spectrum of performance between HVM and PV guests.

1. Linux PV on HVM
paravirtualized interfaces in HVM guests
Stefano Stabellini

2. Linux as a guests: problems
Linux PV guests have limitations:
- difficult “different” to install
- some performance issue on 64 bit
- limited set of virtual hardware
Linux HVM guests:
- install the same way as native
- very slow

3. Linux PV on HVM: the solution
- install the same way as native
- PC-like hardware
- access to fast paravirtualized devices
- exploit nested paging

4. Linux PV on HVM: initial feats
Initial version in Linux 2.6.36:
- introduce the xen platform device driver
- add support for HVM hypercalls, xenbus and
grant table
- enables blkfront, netfront and PV timers
- add support to PV suspend/resume
- the vector callback mechanism

5. Old style event injection

6. Receiving an interrupt
do_IRQ
handle_fasteoi_irq
handle_irq_event
xen_evtchn_do_upcall
ack_apic_level ← >=3 VMEXIT

7. The new vector callback

8. Receiving a vector callback
xen_evtchn_do_upcall

9. Linux PV on HVM: newer feats
Later enhancements (2.6.37+):
- ballooning
- PV spinlocks
- PV IPIs
- Interrupt remapping onto event channels
- MSI remapping onto event channels

10. Interrupt remapping

11. MSI remapping

12. PV spectrum
HVM guests Classic Enhanced Hybrid PV PV guests
PV on HVM PV on HVM on HVM
Boot emulated emulated emulated paravirtualized
sequence
Memory hardware hardware hardware paravirtualized
Interrupts emulated emulated paravirtualized paravirtualized
Timers emulated emulated paravirtualized paravirtualized
Spinlocks emulated emulated paravirtualized paravirtualized
Disk emulated paravirtualized paravirtualized paravirtualized
Network emulated paravirtualized paravirtualized paravirtualized
Privileged hardware hardware hardware paravirtualized
operations

13. Benchmarks: the setup
Hardware setup:
Dell PowerEdge R710
CPU: dual Intel Xeon E5520 quad core CPUs @ 2.27GHz
RAM: 22GB
Software setup:
Xen 4.1, 64 bit
Dom0 Linux 2.6.32, 64 bit
DomU Linux 3.0 rc4, 8GB of memory, 8 vcpus

14. PCI passthrough: benchmark
PCI passthrough of an Intel Gigabit NIC
CPU usage: the lower the better:
200
180
160
140
120
100
CPU usage domU
80
CPU usage dom0
60
40
20
0
interrupt remapping no interrupt remapping

15. Kernbench
Results: percentage of native, the lower the better
140
135
130
125
120
115
110
105
100
95
90
PV on HVM 64 bit PV on HVM 32 bit HVM 64 bit HVM 32 bit PV 64 bit PV 32 bit

16. Kernbench
Results: percentage of native, the lower the better
140
135
130
125
120
115
110
105
100
95
90
PV on HVM 32 bit HVM 64 bit PV 64 bit
PV on HVM 64 bit KVM 64 bit HVM 32 bit PV 32 bit

17. PBZIP2
Results: percentage of native, the lower the better
160
150
140
130
120
110
100
PV on HVM 64 bit PV 64 bit PV on HVM 32 bit PV 32 bit

18. PBZIP2
Results: percentage of native, the lower the better
160
150
140
130
120
110
100
KVM 64 bit PV on HVM 64 bit PV 64 bit PV on HVM 32 bit PV 32 bit

19. SPECjbb2005
Results: percentage of native, the higher the better
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
PV 64 bit PV on HVM 64 bit

20. SPECjbb2005
Results: percentage of native, the higher the better
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
PV 64 bit PV on HVM 64 bit KVM 64 bit

21. Iperf tcp
Results: gbit/sec, the higher the better
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
PV 64 bit PV on HVM 64 bit PV on HVM 32 bit PV 32 bit HVM 64 bit HVM 32 bit

22. Iperf tcp
Results: gbit/sec, the higher the better
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
PV 64 bit PV on HVM 64 bit KVM 64 bit PV on HVM 32 bit PV 32 bit HVM 64 bit HVM 32 bit

23. Conclusions
PV on HVM guests are very close to PV guests
in benchmarks that favor PV MMUs
PV on HVM guests are far ahead of PV guests
in benchmarks that favor nested paging

24. Questions?