Re: [patch 21/32] NTB/msi: Convert to msi_on_each_desc()

[Jason Gunthorpe]

On Sun, Dec 12, 2021 at 08:44:46AM +0200, Mika Penttilä wrote:

> > /*
> >   * The MSIX mappable capability informs that MSIX data of a BAR can be mmapped
> >   * which allows direct access to non-MSIX registers which happened to be within
> >   * the same system page.
> >   *
> >   * Even though the userspace gets direct access to the MSIX data, the existing
> >   * VFIO_DEVICE_SET_IRQS interface must still be used for MSIX configuration.
> >   */
> > #define VFIO_REGION_INFO_CAP_MSIX_MAPPABLE      3
> > 
> > IIRC this was introduced for PPC when a device has MSI-X in the same BAR as
> > other MMIO registers. Trapping MSI-X leads to performance downgrade on
> > accesses to adjacent registers. MSI-X can be mapped by userspace because
> > PPC already uses a hypercall mechanism for interrupt. Though unclear about
> > the detail it sounds a similar usage as proposed here.
> > 
> > Thanks
> > Kevin
>
> I see  VFIO_REGION_INFO_CAP_MSIX_MAPPABLE is always set so if msix table is
> in its own bar, qemu never traps/emulates the access. 

It is some backwards compat, the kernel always sets it to indicate a
new kernel, that doesn't mean qemu doesn't trap.

As the comment says, ""VFIO_DEVICE_SET_IRQS interface must still be
used for MSIX configuration"" so there is no way qemu can meet that
without either trapping the MSI page or using a special hypercall
(ppc)

Jason