linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH 0/5] x86: Impplement support for unaccepted memory

lists.openwall.net		lists / announce owl-users owl-dev john-users john-dev passwdqc-users yescrypt popa3d-users / oss-security kernel-hardening musl sabotage tlsify passwords / crypt-dev xvendor / Bugtraq Full-Disclosure linux-kernel linux-netdev linux-ext4 linux-hardening PHC
Open Source and information security mailing list archives

Hash Suite: Windows password security audit tool. GUI, reports in PDF.

[<prev] [next>] [<thread-prev] [thread-next>] [day] [month] [year] [list]

Date:   Tue, 10 Aug 2021 07:08:58 -0700
From:   Dave Hansen <dave.hansen@...el.com>
To:     "Kirill A. Shutemov" <kirill@...temov.name>,
        Borislav Petkov <bp@...en8.de>,
        Andy Lutomirski <luto@...nel.org>,
        Sean Christopherson <seanjc@...gle.com>,
        Andrew Morton <akpm@...ux-foundation.org>,
        Joerg Roedel <jroedel@...e.de>
Cc:     Andi Kleen <ak@...ux.intel.com>,
        Kuppuswamy Sathyanarayanan 
        <sathyanarayanan.kuppuswamy@...ux.intel.com>,
        David Rientjes <rientjes@...gle.com>,
        Vlastimil Babka <vbabka@...e.cz>,
        Tom Lendacky <thomas.lendacky@....com>,
        Thomas Gleixner <tglx@...utronix.de>,
        Peter Zijlstra <peterz@...radead.org>,
        Paolo Bonzini <pbonzini@...hat.com>,
        Ingo Molnar <mingo@...hat.com>,
        Varad Gautam <varad.gautam@...e.com>,
        Dario Faggioli <dfaggioli@...e.com>, x86@...nel.org,
        linux-mm@...ck.org, linux-coco@...ts.linux.dev,
        linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org,
        "Kirill A. Shutemov" <kirill.shutemov@...ux.intel.com>
Subject: Re: [PATCH 0/5] x86: Impplement support for unaccepted memory

On 8/9/21 11:26 PM, Kirill A. Shutemov wrote:
> UEFI Specification version 2.9 introduces concept of memory acceptance:
> Some Virtual Machine platforms, such as Intel TDX or AMD SEV-SNP,
> requiring memory to be accepted before it can be used by the guest.
> Accepting happens via a protocol specific for the Virtrual Machine
> platform.
> 
> Accepting memory is costly and it makes VMM allocate memory for the
> accepted guest physical address range. We don't want to accept all memory
> upfront.

This could use a bit more explanation.  Any VM is likely to *eventually*
touch all its memory, so it's not like a VMM has a long-term advantage
by delaying this.

So, it must have to do with resource use at boot.  Is this to help boot
times?

I had expected this series, but I also expected it to be connected to
CONFIG_DEFERRED_STRUCT_PAGE_INIT somehow.  Could you explain a bit how
this problem is different and demands a totally orthogonal solution?

For instance, what prevents us from declaring: "Memory is accepted at
the time that its 'struct page' is initialized" ?  Then, we use all the
infrastructure we already have for DEFERRED_STRUCT_PAGE_INIT.

This series isn't too onerous, but I do want to make sure that we're not
reinventing the wheel.