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diff --git a/Documentation/virt/hyperv/clocks.rst b/Documentation/virt/hyperv/clocks.rst new file mode 100644 index 000000000000..2da2879fad52 --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/virt/hyperv/clocks.rst @@ -0,0 +1,73 @@ +.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0 + +Clocks and Timers +================= + +arm64 +----- +On arm64, Hyper-V virtualizes the ARMv8 architectural system counter +and timer. Guest VMs use this virtualized hardware as the Linux +clocksource and clockevents via the standard arm_arch_timer.c +driver, just as they would on bare metal. Linux vDSO support for the +architectural system counter is functional in guest VMs on Hyper-V. +While Hyper-V also provides a synthetic system clock and four synthetic +per-CPU timers as described in the TLFS, they are not used by the +Linux kernel in a Hyper-V guest on arm64. However, older versions +of Hyper-V for arm64 only partially virtualize the ARMv8 +architectural timer, such that the timer does not generate +interrupts in the VM. Because of this limitation, running current +Linux kernel versions on these older Hyper-V versions requires an +out-of-tree patch to use the Hyper-V synthetic clocks/timers instead. + +x86/x64 +------- +On x86/x64, Hyper-V provides guest VMs with a synthetic system clock +and four synthetic per-CPU timers as described in the TLFS. Hyper-V +also provides access to the virtualized TSC via the RDTSC and +related instructions. These TSC instructions do not trap to +the hypervisor and so provide excellent performance in a VM. +Hyper-V performs TSC calibration, and provides the TSC frequency +to the guest VM via a synthetic MSR. Hyper-V initialization code +in Linux reads this MSR to get the frequency, so it skips TSC +calibration and sets tsc_reliable. Hyper-V provides virtualized +versions of the PIT (in Hyper-V Generation 1 VMs only), local +APIC timer, and RTC. Hyper-V does not provide a virtualized HPET in +guest VMs. + +The Hyper-V synthetic system clock can be read via a synthetic MSR, +but this access traps to the hypervisor. As a faster alternative, +the guest can configure a memory page to be shared between the guest +and the hypervisor. Hyper-V populates this memory page with a +64-bit scale value and offset value. To read the synthetic clock +value, the guest reads the TSC and then applies the scale and offset +as described in the Hyper-V TLFS. The resulting value advances +at a constant 10 MHz frequency. In the case of a live migration +to a host with a different TSC frequency, Hyper-V adjusts the +scale and offset values in the shared page so that the 10 MHz +frequency is maintained. + +Starting with Windows Server 2022 Hyper-V, Hyper-V uses hardware +support for TSC frequency scaling to enable live migration of VMs +across Hyper-V hosts where the TSC frequency may be different. +When a Linux guest detects that this Hyper-V functionality is +available, it prefers to use Linux's standard TSC-based clocksource. +Otherwise, it uses the clocksource for the Hyper-V synthetic system +clock implemented via the shared page (identified as +"hyperv_clocksource_tsc_page"). + +The Hyper-V synthetic system clock is available to user space via +vDSO, and gettimeofday() and related system calls can execute +entirely in user space. The vDSO is implemented by mapping the +shared page with scale and offset values into user space. User +space code performs the same algorithm of reading the TSC and +appying the scale and offset to get the constant 10 MHz clock. + +Linux clockevents are based on Hyper-V synthetic timer 0. While +Hyper-V offers 4 synthetic timers for each CPU, Linux only uses +timer 0. Interrupts from stimer0 are recorded on the "HVS" line in +/proc/interrupts. Clockevents based on the virtualized PIT and +local APIC timer also work, but the Hyper-V synthetic timer is +preferred. + +The driver for the Hyper-V synthetic system clock and timers is +drivers/clocksource/hyperv_timer.c. |