[PATCH v2 8/9] KVM: Implement IPI-aware directed yield candidate selection

From: Wanpeng Li

Date: Thu Dec 18 2025 - 22:54:10 EST


From: Wanpeng Li <wanpengli@xxxxxxxxxxx>

Integrate IPI tracking with directed yield to improve scheduling when
vCPUs spin waiting for IPI responses.

Implement priority-based candidate selection in kvm_vcpu_on_spin()
with three tiers:

Priority 1: Use kvm_vcpu_is_ipi_receiver() to identify confirmed IPI
targets within the recency window, addressing lock holders spinning
on IPI acknowledgment.

Priority 2: Leverage existing kvm_arch_dy_has_pending_interrupt() for
compatibility with arch-specific fast paths.

Priority 3: Fall back to conventional preemption-based logic when
yield_to_kernel_mode is requested, providing a safety net for non-IPI
scenarios.

Add kvm_vcpu_is_good_yield_candidate() helper to consolidate these
checks, preventing over-aggressive boosting while enabling targeted
optimization when IPI patterns are detected.

Performance testing (16 pCPUs host, 16 vCPUs/VM):

Dedup (simlarge):
2 VMs: +47.1% throughput
3 VMs: +28.1% throughput
4 VMs: +1.7% throughput

VIPS (simlarge):
2 VMs: +26.2% throughput
3 VMs: +12.7% throughput
4 VMs: +6.0% throughput

Gains stem from effective directed yield when vCPUs spin on IPI
delivery, reducing synchronization overhead. The improvement is most
pronounced at moderate overcommit (2-3 VMs) where contention reduction
outweighs context switching cost.

Signed-off-by: Wanpeng Li <wanpengli@xxxxxxxxxxx>
---
virt/kvm/kvm_main.c | 46 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++---------
1 file changed, 37 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-)

diff --git a/virt/kvm/kvm_main.c b/virt/kvm/kvm_main.c
index ff771a872c6d..45ede950314b 100644
--- a/virt/kvm/kvm_main.c
+++ b/virt/kvm/kvm_main.c
@@ -3970,6 +3970,41 @@ bool __weak kvm_vcpu_is_ipi_receiver(struct kvm_vcpu *sender,
return false;
}

+/*
+ * IPI-aware candidate selection for directed yield.
+ *
+ * Priority order:
+ * 1) Confirmed IPI receiver of 'me' within recency window (always boost)
+ * 2) Arch-provided fast pending interrupt hint (user-mode boost)
+ * 3) Kernel-mode yield: preempted-in-kernel vCPU (traditional boost)
+ * 4) Otherwise, be conservative and skip
+ */
+static bool kvm_vcpu_is_good_yield_candidate(struct kvm_vcpu *me,
+ struct kvm_vcpu *vcpu,
+ bool yield_to_kernel_mode)
+{
+ /* Priority 1: recently targeted IPI receiver */
+ if (kvm_vcpu_is_ipi_receiver(me, vcpu))
+ return true;
+
+ /* Priority 2: fast pending-interrupt hint (arch-specific) */
+ if (kvm_arch_dy_has_pending_interrupt(vcpu))
+ return true;
+
+ /*
+ * Minimal preempted gate for remaining cases:
+ * Require that the target has been preempted, and if yielding to
+ * kernel mode, additionally require preempted-in-kernel.
+ */
+ if (!READ_ONCE(vcpu->preempted))
+ return false;
+
+ if (yield_to_kernel_mode && !kvm_arch_vcpu_preempted_in_kernel(vcpu))
+ return false;
+
+ return true;
+}
+
void kvm_vcpu_on_spin(struct kvm_vcpu *me, bool yield_to_kernel_mode)
{
int nr_vcpus, start, i, idx, yielded;
@@ -4017,15 +4052,8 @@ void kvm_vcpu_on_spin(struct kvm_vcpu *me, bool yield_to_kernel_mode)
if (kvm_vcpu_is_blocking(vcpu) && !vcpu_dy_runnable(vcpu))
continue;

- /*
- * Treat the target vCPU as being in-kernel if it has a pending
- * interrupt, as the vCPU trying to yield may be spinning
- * waiting on IPI delivery, i.e. the target vCPU is in-kernel
- * for the purposes of directed yield.
- */
- if (READ_ONCE(vcpu->preempted) && yield_to_kernel_mode &&
- !kvm_arch_dy_has_pending_interrupt(vcpu) &&
- !kvm_arch_vcpu_preempted_in_kernel(vcpu))
+ /* IPI-aware candidate selection */
+ if (!kvm_vcpu_is_good_yield_candidate(me, vcpu, yield_to_kernel_mode))
continue;

if (!kvm_vcpu_eligible_for_directed_yield(vcpu))
--
2.43.0