Re: [PATCH 19/21] KVM: TDX: Add an ioctl to create initial guest memory

[Paolo Bonzini]

On 9/4/24 05:07, Rick Edgecombe wrote:
> From: Isaku Yamahata <isaku.yamahata@xxxxxxxxx>
>
> Add a new ioctl for the user space VMM to initialize guest memory with the
> specified memory contents.
>
> Because TDX protects the guest's memory, the creation of the initial guest
> memory requires a dedicated TDX module API, TDH.MEM.PAGE.ADD(), instead of
> directly copying the memory contents into the guest's memory in the case of
> the default VM type.
>
> Define a new subcommand, KVM_TDX_INIT_MEM_REGION, of vCPU-scoped
> KVM_MEMORY_ENCRYPT_OP.  Check if the GFN is already pre-allocated, assign
> the guest page in Secure-EPT, copy the initial memory contents into the
> guest memory, and encrypt the guest memory.  Optionally, extend the memory
> measurement of the TDX guest.
>
> Discussion history:

While useful for the reviewers, in the end this is the simplest possible 
userspace API (the one that we started with) and the objections just 
went away because it reuses the infrastructure that was introduced for 
pre-faulting memory.

So I'd replace everything with:

---
The ioctl uses the vCPU file descriptor because of the TDX module's 
requirement that the memory is added to the S-EPT (via TDH.MEM.SEPT.ADD) 
prior to initialization (TDH.MEM.PAGE.ADD).  Accessing the MMU in turn 
requires a vCPU file descriptor, just like for KVM_PRE_FAULT_MEMORY.  In 
fact, the post-populate callback is able to reuse the same logic used by 
KVM_PRE_FAULT_MEMORY, so that userspace can do everything with a single 
ioctl.

Note that this is the only way to invoke TDH.MEM.SEPT.ADD before the TD 
in finalized, as userspace cannot use KVM_PRE_FAULT_MEMORY at that 
point.  This ensures that there cannot be pages in the S-EPT awaiting 
TDH.MEM.PAGE.ADD, which would be treated incorrectly as spurious by 
tdp_mmu_map_handle_target_level() (KVM would see the SPTE as PRESENT, 
but the corresponding S-EPT entry will be !PRESENT).
---

Part of the second paragraph comes from your link [4], 
https://lore.kernel.org/kvm/Ze-TJh0BBOWm9spT@xxxxxxxxxx/, but updated 
for recent changes to KVM_PRE_FAULT_MEMORY.

This drops the historical information that is not particularly relevant 
for the future, it updates what's relevant to mention changes done for 
SEV-SNP, and also preserves most of the other information:

* why the vCPU file descriptor

* the desirability of a single ioctl for userspace

* the relationship between KVM_TDX_INIT_MEM_REGION and KVM_PRE_FAULT_MEMORY

Paolo