qemu-devel
[Top][All Lists]
Advanced

[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: [Qemu-devel] [RFC PATCH v1 1/1] vGPU core driver : to provide common


From: Neo Jia
Subject: Re: [Qemu-devel] [RFC PATCH v1 1/1] vGPU core driver : to provide common interface for vGPU.
Date: Tue, 16 Feb 2016 21:37:42 -0800
User-agent: Mutt/1.5.24 (2015-08-30)

On Wed, Feb 17, 2016 at 05:04:31AM +0000, Tian, Kevin wrote:
> > From: Neo Jia
> > Sent: Wednesday, February 17, 2016 12:18 PM
> > 
> > On Wed, Feb 17, 2016 at 03:31:24AM +0000, Tian, Kevin wrote:
> > > > From: Neo Jia [mailto:address@hidden
> > > > Sent: Tuesday, February 16, 2016 4:49 PM
> > > >
> > > > On Tue, Feb 16, 2016 at 08:10:42AM +0000, Tian, Kevin wrote:
> > > > > > From: Neo Jia [mailto:address@hidden
> > > > > > Sent: Tuesday, February 16, 2016 3:53 PM
> > > > > >
> > > > > > On Tue, Feb 16, 2016 at 07:40:47AM +0000, Tian, Kevin wrote:
> > > > > > > > From: Neo Jia [mailto:address@hidden
> > > > > > > > Sent: Tuesday, February 16, 2016 3:37 PM
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > On Tue, Feb 16, 2016 at 07:27:09AM +0000, Tian, Kevin wrote:
> > > > > > > > > > From: Neo Jia [mailto:address@hidden
> > > > > > > > > > Sent: Tuesday, February 16, 2016 3:13 PM
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > > On Tue, Feb 16, 2016 at 06:49:30AM +0000, Tian, Kevin wrote:
> > > > > > > > > > > > From: Alex Williamson [mailto:address@hidden
> > > > > > > > > > > > Sent: Thursday, February 04, 2016 3:33 AM
> > > > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > > > > On Wed, 2016-02-03 at 09:28 +0100, Gerd Hoffmann wrote:
> > > > > > > > > > > > >   Hi,
> > > > > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > > > > > > Actually I have a long puzzle in this area. 
> > > > > > > > > > > > > > Definitely libvirt will
> > use
> > > > UUID
> > > > > > to
> > > > > > > > > > > > > > mark a VM. And obviously UUID is not recorded 
> > > > > > > > > > > > > > within KVM.
> > Then
> > > > how
> > > > > > does
> > > > > > > > > > > > > > libvirt talk to KVM based on UUID? It could be a 
> > > > > > > > > > > > > > good reference
> > to
> > > > this
> > > > > > design.
> > > > > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > > > > > libvirt keeps track which qemu instance belongs to 
> > > > > > > > > > > > > which vm.
> > > > > > > > > > > > > qemu also gets started with "-uuid ...", so one can 
> > > > > > > > > > > > > query qemu
> > via
> > > > > > > > > > > > > monitor ("info uuid") to figure what the uuid is.  It 
> > > > > > > > > > > > > is also in the
> > > > > > > > > > > > > smbios tables so the guest can see it in the system 
> > > > > > > > > > > > > information
> > table.
> > > > > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > > > > > The uuid is not visible to the kernel though, the kvm 
> > > > > > > > > > > > > kernel driver
> > > > > > > > > > > > > doesn't know what the uuid is (and neither does 
> > > > > > > > > > > > > vfio).  qemu uses
> > > > file
> > > > > > > > > > > > > handles to talk to both kvm and vfio.  qemu notifies 
> > > > > > > > > > > > > both kvm
> > and
> > > > vfio
> > > > > > > > > > > > > about anything relevant events (guest address space 
> > > > > > > > > > > > > changes
> > etc)
> > > > and
> > > > > > > > > > > > > connects file descriptors (eventfd -> irqfd).
> > > > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > > > > I think the original link to using a VM UUID for the 
> > > > > > > > > > > > vGPU comes from
> > > > > > > > > > > > NVIDIA having a userspace component which might get 
> > > > > > > > > > > > launched
> > from
> > > > a udev
> > > > > > > > > > > > event as the vGPU is created or the set of vGPUs within 
> > > > > > > > > > > > that UUID
> > is
> > > > > > > > > > > > started.  Using the VM UUID then gives them a way to 
> > > > > > > > > > > > associate
> > that
> > > > > > > > > > > > userspace process with a VM instance.  Maybe it could 
> > > > > > > > > > > > register with
> > > > > > > > > > > > libvirt for some sort of service provided for the VM, I 
> > > > > > > > > > > > don't know.
> > > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > > > Intel doesn't have this requirement. It should be enough 
> > > > > > > > > > > as long as
> > > > > > > > > > > libvirt maintains which sysfs vgpu node is associated to 
> > > > > > > > > > > a VM UUID.
> > > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > > > > > qemu needs a sysfs node as handle to the vfio device, 
> > > > > > > > > > > > > something
> > > > > > > > > > > > > like /sys/devices/virtual/vgpu/<name>.  <name> can be 
> > > > > > > > > > > > > a uuid
> > if
> > > > you
> > > > > > want
> > > > > > > > > > > > > have it that way, but it could be pretty much 
> > > > > > > > > > > > > anything.  The sysfs
> > node
> > > > > > > > > > > > > will probably show up as-is in the libvirt xml when 
> > > > > > > > > > > > > assign a vgpu
> > to
> > > > a
> > > > > > > > > > > > > vm.  So the name should be something stable (i.e. 
> > > > > > > > > > > > > when using
> > a uuid
> > > > as
> > > > > > > > > > > > > name you should better not generate a new one on each 
> > > > > > > > > > > > > boot).
> > > > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > > > > Actually I don't think there's really a persistent 
> > > > > > > > > > > > naming issue, that's
> > > > > > > > > > > > probably where we diverge from the SR-IOV model.  
> > > > > > > > > > > > SR-IOV cannot
> > > > > > > > > > > > dynamically add a new VF, it needs to reset the number 
> > > > > > > > > > > > of VFs to
> > zero,
> > > > > > > > > > > > then re-allocate all of them up to the new desired 
> > > > > > > > > > > > count.  That has
> > some
> > > > > > > > > > > > obvious implications.  I think with both vendors here, 
> > > > > > > > > > > > we can
> > > > > > > > > > > > dynamically allocate new vGPUs, so I would expect that 
> > > > > > > > > > > > libvirt would
> > > > > > > > > > > > create each vGPU instance as it's needed.  None would 
> > > > > > > > > > > > be created
> > by
> > > > > > > > > > > > default without user interaction.
> > > > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > > > > Personally I think using a UUID makes sense, but it 
> > > > > > > > > > > > needs to be
> > > > > > > > > > > > userspace policy whether that UUID has any implicit 
> > > > > > > > > > > > meaning like
> > > > > > > > > > > > matching the VM UUID.  Having an index within a UUID 
> > > > > > > > > > > > bothers me
> > a
> > > > bit,
> > > > > > > > > > > > but it doesn't seem like too much of a concession to 
> > > > > > > > > > > > enable the use
> > case
> > > > > > > > > > > > that NVIDIA is trying to achieve.  Thanks,
> > > > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > > > I would prefer to making UUID an optional parameter, 
> > > > > > > > > > > while not tieing
> > > > > > > > > > > sysfs vgpu naming to UUID. This would be more flexible to 
> > > > > > > > > > > different
> > > > > > > > > > > scenarios where UUID might not be required.
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > > Hi Kevin,
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > > Happy Chinese New Year!
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > > I think having UUID as the vgpu device name will allow us 
> > > > > > > > > > to have an
> > gpu
> > > > vendor
> > > > > > > > > > agnostic solution for the upper layer software stack such 
> > > > > > > > > > as QEMU, who
> > is
> > > > > > > > > > supposed to open the device.
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > Qemu can use whatever sysfs path provided to open the device, 
> > > > > > > > > regardless
> > > > > > > > > of whether there is an UUID within the path...
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > Hi Kevin,
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > Then it will provide even more benefit of using UUID as libvirt 
> > > > > > > > can be
> > > > > > > > implemented as gpu vendor agnostic, right? :-)
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > The UUID can be VM UUID or vGPU group object UUID which really 
> > > > > > > > depends
> > on
> > > > the
> > > > > > > > high level software stack, again the benefit is gpu vendor 
> > > > > > > > agnostic.
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > There is case where libvirt is not used while another mgmt. stack 
> > > > > > > doesn't use
> > > > > > > UUID, e.g. in some Xen scenarios. So it's not about GPU vendor 
> > > > > > > agnostic. It's
> > > > > > > about high level mgmt. stack agnostic. That's why we need make 
> > > > > > > UUID as
> > > > > > > optional in this vGPU-core framework.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Hi Kevin,
> > > > > >
> > > > > > As long as you have to create an object to represent vGPU or vGPU 
> > > > > > group, you
> > > > > > will have UUID, no matter which management stack you are going to 
> > > > > > use.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > UUID is the most agnostic way to represent an object, I think.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > (a bit off topic since we are supposed to focus on VFIO on KVM)
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Since now you are talking about Xen, I am very happy to discuss 
> > > > > > that with you.
> > > > > > You can check how Xen has managed its object via UUID in xapi.
> > > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > Well, I'm not the expert in this area. IMHO UUID is just an user level
> > > > > attribute, which can be associated to any sysfs node and managed by
> > > > > mgmt. stack itself, and then the sysfs path can be opened as the
> > > > > bridge between user/kernel. I don't understand the necessity of 
> > > > > binding
> > > > > UUID internally within vGPU core framework here. Alex gave one example
> > > > > of udev, but I didn't quite catch why only UUID can work there. Maybe
> > > > > you can elaborate that requirement.
> > > >
> > > > Hi Kevin,
> > > >
> > > > UUID is just a way to represent an object.
> > > >
> > > > It is not binding, it is just a representation. I think here we are just
> > > > creating a convenient and generic way to represent a virtual gpu device 
> > > > on
> > > > sysfs.
> > > >
> > > > Having the UUID as part of the virtual gpu device name allows us easily 
> > > > find out
> > > > the <vgpu, vgpu_group or VM> mapping.
> > > >
> > > > UUID can be anything, you can always use an UUID to present VMID in the 
> > > > example
> > > > you listed below, so you are actually gaining flexibility by using UUID 
> > > > instead
> > > > of VMID as it can be supported by both KVM and Xen. :-)
> > > >
> > > > Thanks,
> > > > Neo
> > > >
> > >
> > > Thanks Neo. I understand UUID has its merit in many usages. As you
> > > may see from my earlier reply, my main concern is whether it's a must
> > > to record this information within kernel vGPU-core framework. We can
> > > still make it hypervisor agnostic even not using UUID, as long as there's
> > > a unified namespace created for all vgpus, like:
> > >   vgpu-vendor-0, vgpu-vendor-1, ...
> > >
> > > Then high level mgmt. stack can associate UUID to that namespace. So
> > > I hope you can help elaborate below description:
> > >
> > 
> > > > Having the UUID as part of the virtual gpu device name allows us easily 
> > > > find out
> > > > the <vgpu, vgpu_group or VM> mapping.
> > >
> > 
> > Hi Kevin,
> > 
> > The answer is simple, having a UUID as part of the device name will give 
> > you a
> > unique sysfs path that will be opened by QEMU.
> > 
> > vgpu-vendor-0 and vgpu-vendor-1 will not be unique as we can have multiple
> > virtual gpu devices per VM coming from same or different physical devices.
> 
> That is not a problem. We can add physical device info too like 
> vgpu-vendor-0-0,
> vgpu-vendor-1-0, ...
> 
> Please note Qemu doesn't care about the actual name. It just accepts a sysfs 
> path
> to open.

Hi Kevin,

No, I think you are making things even more complicated than it is required,
also it is not generic anymore as you are requiring the QEMU to know more than
he needs to.

The way you name those devices will require QEMU to know the relation
between virtual devices and physical devices. I don't think that is good.

My flow is like this:

libvirt creats a VM object, it will have a UUID. then it will use the UUID to
create virtual gpu devices, then it will pass the UUID to the QEMU (actually
QEMU already has the VM UUID), then it will just open up the unique path.

Also, you need to consider those 0-0 numbers are not generic as the UUID.
> 
> > 
> > If you are worried about losing meaningful name here, we can create a sysfs 
> > file
> > to capture the vendor device description if you like.
> > 
> 
> Having the vgpu name descriptive is more informative imo. User can simply 
> check
> sysfs names to know raw information w/o relying on 3rd party agent to query 
> information around an opaque UUID.
> 

You are actually arguing against your own design here, unfortunately. If you
look at your design carefully, it is your design actually require to have a 3rd
party code to figure out the VM and virtual gpu device relation as it is
never documented in the sysfs. 

In our current design, it doesn't require any 3rd party agent as the VM UUID is
part of the QEMU command already, and the VM UUID is already embedded within the
virtual device path.

Also, it doesn't require 3rd party to retrieve information as the virtual device
will just be a directory, we will have another file within each virtual gpu
device directory, you can always cat the file to retrieve vendor information.

Let's use the UUID-$vgpu_idx as the virtual device directory name plus a vendor
description file within that directory, so we don't lose any additional
information, also capture the VM and virtual device relation.

Thanks,
Neo

> That's why I prefer to making UUID optional. By default vgpu name would be
> some description string, and when UUID is provided, UUID can be appended
> to the string to serve your purpose.
> 
> Thanks
> Kevin
> 



reply via email to

[Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread]