Re: [PATCH kvmtool v4 15/15] arm64: smccc: Start sending PSCI to userspace

From: Aneesh Kumar K . V
Date: Thu Jan 08 2026 - 21:37:19 EST


Marc Zyngier <maz@xxxxxxxxxx> writes:

> On Tue, 30 Sep 2025 11:31:30 +0100,
> Suzuki K Poulose <suzuki.poulose@xxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>> From: Oliver Upton <oliver.upton@xxxxxxxxx>
>>
>> kvmtool now has a PSCI implementation that complies with v1.0 of the
>> specification. Use the SMCCC filter to start sending these calls out to
>> userspace for further handling. While at it, shut the door on the
>> legacy, KVM-specific v0.1 functions.
>>
>> Signed-off-by: Oliver Upton <oliver.upton@xxxxxxxxx>
>> Signed-off-by: Suzuki K Poulose <suzuki.poulose@xxxxxxx>
>> ---
>> arm64/include/kvm/kvm-config-arch.h | 8 +++++--
>> arm64/smccc.c | 37 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>> 2 files changed, 43 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)
>>
>> diff --git a/arm64/include/kvm/kvm-config-arch.h b/arm64/include/kvm/kvm-config-arch.h
>> index ee031f01..3158fadf 100644
>> --- a/arm64/include/kvm/kvm-config-arch.h
>> +++ b/arm64/include/kvm/kvm-config-arch.h
>> @@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ struct kvm_config_arch {
>> u64 fw_addr;
>> unsigned int sve_max_vq;
>> bool no_pvtime;
>> + bool in_kernel_smccc;
>> };
>>
>> int irqchip_parser(const struct option *opt, const char *arg, int unset);
>> @@ -52,11 +53,14 @@ int sve_vl_parser(const struct option *opt, const char *arg, int unset);
>> "Force virtio devices to use PCI as their default " \
>> "transport (Deprecated: Use --virtio-transport " \
>> "option instead)", virtio_transport_parser, kvm), \
>> - OPT_CALLBACK('\0', "irqchip", &(cfg)->irqchip, \
>> + OPT_CALLBACK('\0', "irqchip", &(cfg)->irqchip, \
>> "[gicv2|gicv2m|gicv3|gicv3-its]", \
>> "Type of interrupt controller to emulate in the guest", \
>> irqchip_parser, NULL), \
>> OPT_U64('\0', "firmware-address", &(cfg)->fw_addr, \
>> - "Address where firmware should be loaded"),
>> + "Address where firmware should be loaded"), \
>> + OPT_BOOLEAN('\0', "in-kernel-smccc", &(cfg)->in_kernel_smccc, \
>> + "Disable userspace handling of SMCCC, instead" \
>> + " relying on the in-kernel implementation"),
>>
>
> nit: this really is about PSCI, not SMCCC. The fact that we use the
> SMCCC interface to route PSCI calls is an implementation detail,
> really. The other thing is that this is a change in default behaviour,
> and I'd rather keep in-kernel PSCI to be the default, specially given
> that this otherwise silently fails on old kernels.
>
> To that effect, I'd suggest the following instead:
>
> + OPT_BOOLEAN('\0', "psci", &(cfg)->userspace_psci, \
> + "Request userspace handling of PSCI, instead" \
> + " relying on the in-kernel implementation"),
>
> and the code modified accordingly.
>

The same option will also be used to handle RHI or may be we could say
--realm implies userspace_psci = true?

-aneesh