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From: David Woodhouse <dwmw2@infradead.org>
To: kvm@vger.kernel.org
Cc: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org, linux-kselftest@vger.kernel.org,
	linux-doc@vger.kernel.org, xen-devel@lists.xenproject.org,
	x86@kernel.org, Paolo Bonzini <pbonzini@redhat.com>,
	Sean Christopherson <seanjc@google.com>,
	Paul Durrant <paul@xen.org>,
	Vitaly Kuznetsov <vkuznets@redhat.com>,
	Thomas Gleixner <tglx@kernel.org>, Ingo Molnar <mingo@redhat.com>,
	Borislav Petkov <bp@alien8.de>,
	Dave Hansen <dave.hansen@linux.intel.com>,
	"H . Peter Anvin" <hpa@zytor.com>,
	Jonathan Corbet <corbet@lwn.net>,
	Shuah Khan <skhan@linuxfoundation.org>,
	Juergen Gross <jgross@suse.com>,
	Boris Ostrovsky <boris.ostrovsky@oracle.com>,
	Jonathan Cameron <jic23@kernel.org>,
	Sascha Bischoff <Sascha.Bischoff@arm.com>,
	Marc Zyngier <maz@kernel.org>, Joey Gouly <joey.gouly@arm.com>,
	Jack Allister <jalliste@amazon.com>,
	Dongli Zhang <dongli.zhang@oracle.com>,
	joe.jin@oracle.com, David Woodhouse <dwmw@amazon.co.uk>
Subject: [PATCH v11 05/23] KVM: x86: Factor out kvm_use_master_clock()
Date: Thu,  5 Nov 2026 07:49:36 -0800	[thread overview]
Message-ID: <20261105154955.2525419-6-dwmw2@infradead.org> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <20261105154955.2525419-1-dwmw2@infradead.org>

From: David Woodhouse <dwmw@amazon.co.uk>

Both kvm_track_tsc_matching() and pvclock_update_vm_gtod_copy() make a
decision about whether the KVM clock should be in master clock mode.
They used *different* criteria for the decision though. This isn't
really a problem; it only has the potential to cause unnecessary
invocations of KVM_REQ_MASTERCLOCK_UPDATE if the masterclock was
disabled due to TSC going backwards, or the guest using the old MSR.
But it isn't pretty.

Factor the decision out to a single function. And document the
historical reason why it's disabled for guests that use the old
MSR_KVM_SYSTEM_TIME.

Signed-off-by: David Woodhouse <dwmw@amazon.co.uk>
Reviewed-by: Paul Durrant <paul@xen.org>
---
 arch/x86/kvm/x86.c | 40 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++----------
 1 file changed, 30 insertions(+), 10 deletions(-)

diff --git a/arch/x86/kvm/x86.c b/arch/x86/kvm/x86.c
index 38fcb1d75661..4c3fce29e2af 100644
--- a/arch/x86/kvm/x86.c
+++ b/arch/x86/kvm/x86.c
@@ -1112,11 +1112,30 @@ static inline bool gtod_is_based_on_tsc(int mode)
 {
 	return mode == VDSO_CLOCKMODE_TSC || mode == VDSO_CLOCKMODE_HVCLOCK;
 }
-#endif
+
+static bool kvm_use_master_clock(struct kvm *kvm)
+{
+	struct kvm_arch *ka = &kvm->arch;
+
+	/*
+	 * The 'old kvmclock' check is a workaround (from 2015) for a
+	 * SUSE 2.6.16 kernel that didn't boot if the system_time in
+	 * its kvmclock was too far behind the current time. So the
+	 * mode of just setting the reference point and allowing time
+	 * to proceed linearly from there makes it fail to boot.
+	 * Despite that being kind of the *point* of the way the clock
+	 * is exposed to the guest. By coincidence, the offending
+	 * kernels used the old MSR_KVM_SYSTEM_TIME, which was moved
+	 * only because it resided in the wrong number range. So the
+	 * workaround is activated for *all* guests using the old MSR.
+	 */
+	return ka->all_vcpus_matched_freq &&
+		!ka->backwards_tsc_observed &&
+		!ka->boot_vcpu_runs_old_kvmclock;
+}
 
 static void kvm_track_tsc_matching(struct kvm_vcpu *vcpu, bool update_mclock)
 {
-#ifdef CONFIG_X86_64
 	struct kvm_arch *ka = &vcpu->kvm->arch;
 	struct pvclock_gtod_data *gtod = &pvclock_gtod_data;
 	bool prev_matched_tsc = ka->all_vcpus_matched_tsc;
@@ -1162,7 +1181,7 @@ static void kvm_track_tsc_matching(struct kvm_vcpu *vcpu, bool update_mclock)
 	 * are fine — each vCPU's pvclock has its own tsc_timestamp that
 	 * accounts for its offset.
 	 */
-	bool use_master_clock = ka->all_vcpus_matched_freq &&
+	bool use_master_clock = kvm_use_master_clock(vcpu->kvm) &&
 				gtod_is_based_on_tsc(gtod->clock.vclock_mode);
 
 	/*
@@ -1177,8 +1196,11 @@ static void kvm_track_tsc_matching(struct kvm_vcpu *vcpu, bool update_mclock)
 	trace_kvm_track_tsc(vcpu->vcpu_id, ka->nr_vcpus_matched_tsc,
 			    atomic_read(&vcpu->kvm->online_vcpus),
 		            ka->use_master_clock, gtod->clock.vclock_mode);
-#endif
 }
+#else
+static inline void kvm_track_tsc_matching(struct kvm_vcpu *vcpu,
+					  bool update_mclock) {}
+#endif
 
 /*
  * Multiply tsc by a fixed point number represented by ratio.
@@ -1640,10 +1662,9 @@ static void pvclock_update_vm_gtod_copy(struct kvm *kvm)
 #ifdef CONFIG_X86_64
 	struct kvm_arch *ka = &kvm->arch;
 	int vclock_mode;
-	bool host_tsc_clocksource, vcpus_matched;
+	bool host_tsc_clocksource;
 
 	lockdep_assert_held(&kvm->arch.tsc_write_lock);
-	vcpus_matched = ka->all_vcpus_matched_freq;
 
 	/*
 	 * If the host uses TSC clock, then passthrough TSC as stable
@@ -1653,9 +1674,8 @@ static void pvclock_update_vm_gtod_copy(struct kvm *kvm)
 					&ka->master_kernel_ns,
 					&ka->master_cycle_now);
 
-	ka->use_master_clock = host_tsc_clocksource && vcpus_matched
-				&& !ka->backwards_tsc_observed
-				&& !ka->boot_vcpu_runs_old_kvmclock;
+	ka->use_master_clock = host_tsc_clocksource &&
+				kvm_use_master_clock(kvm);
 
 	if (ka->use_master_clock) {
 		u64 tsc_hz;
@@ -1683,7 +1703,7 @@ static void pvclock_update_vm_gtod_copy(struct kvm *kvm)
 
 	vclock_mode = pvclock_gtod_data.clock.vclock_mode;
 	trace_kvm_update_master_clock(ka->use_master_clock, vclock_mode,
-					vcpus_matched);
+					ka->all_vcpus_matched_freq);
 #endif
 }
 
-- 
2.43.0


  parent reply	other threads:[~2026-11-05 15:50 UTC|newest]

Thread overview: 24+ messages / expand[flat|nested]  mbox.gz  Atom feed  top
2026-11-05 15:49 [PATCH v11 00/23] KVM: x86: Cleaning up the KVM clock mess, part 2 David Woodhouse
2026-11-05 15:49 ` [PATCH v11 01/23] KVM: x86: Improve synchronization in kvm_synchronize_tsc() David Woodhouse
2026-11-05 15:49 ` [PATCH v11 02/23] KVM: x86: Kill last_tsc_{nsec,write,offset} fields David Woodhouse
2026-11-05 15:49 ` [PATCH v11 03/23] KVM: x86: Replace nr_vcpus_matched_tsc count with all_vcpus_matched_tsc bool David Woodhouse
2026-11-05 15:49 ` [PATCH v11 04/23] KVM: x86: Allow KVM master clock mode when TSCs are offset from each other David Woodhouse
2026-11-05 15:49 ` David Woodhouse [this message]
2026-11-05 15:49 ` [PATCH v11 06/23] KVM: x86: Avoid gratuitous global clock updates David Woodhouse
2026-11-05 15:49 ` [PATCH v11 07/23] KVM: x86: Avoid redundant masterclock updates from multiple vCPUs David Woodhouse
2026-11-05 15:49 ` [PATCH v11 08/23] KVM: x86: Re-synchronize TSC after KVM_SET_TSC_KHZ David Woodhouse
2026-11-05 15:49 ` [PATCH v11 09/23] KVM: x86: Cache host vclock_mode for masterclock eligibility checks David Woodhouse
2026-11-05 15:49 ` [PATCH v11 10/23] KVM: x86: Remove pvclock_gtod_data and private timekeeping code David Woodhouse
2026-11-05 15:49 ` [PATCH v11 11/23] KVM: x86: Activate master clock from kvm_arch_init_vm() David Woodhouse
2026-11-05 15:49 ` [PATCH v11 12/23] UAPI: x86: Move pvclock-abi to UAPI for x86 platforms David Woodhouse
2026-11-05 15:49 ` [PATCH v11 13/23] KVM: selftests: Use UAPI pvclock-abi.h in xen_shinfo_test David Woodhouse
2026-11-05 15:49 ` [PATCH v11 14/23] KVM: x86: Add KVM_[GS]ET_CLOCK_GUEST for accurate KVM clock migration David Woodhouse
2026-11-05 15:49 ` [PATCH v11 15/23] KVM: selftests: Add library helpers for clock and TSC-offset ioctls David Woodhouse
2026-11-05 15:49 ` [PATCH v11 16/23] KVM: x86: Add KVM_VCPU_TSC_SCALE and fix the documentation on TSC migration David Woodhouse
2026-11-05 15:49 ` [PATCH v11 17/23] KVM: selftests: Add KVM/PV clock selftest to prove timer correction David Woodhouse
2026-11-05 15:49 ` [PATCH v11 18/23] KVM: selftests: Add master clock offset test David Woodhouse
2026-11-05 15:49 ` [PATCH v11 19/23] KVM: selftests: Add Xen/generic CPUID timing leaf test David Woodhouse
2026-11-05 15:49 ` [PATCH v11 20/23] KVM: selftests: Add Xen runstate migration test David Woodhouse
2026-11-05 15:49 ` [PATCH v11 21/23] KVM: selftests: Test that the first user TSC write is honoured exactly David Woodhouse
2026-11-05 15:49 ` [PATCH v11 22/23] KVM: x86/xen: Drop open-coded fallback clock read in kvm_xen_start_timer() David Woodhouse
2026-11-05 15:49 ` [PATCH v11 23/23] KVM: x86: Use a single time snapshot in kvm_vm_ioctl_set_clock() David Woodhouse

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