[vfio-users] Hyperthreading and kvm

José Ramón Muñoz Pekkarinen koalinux at gmail.com
Sat Aug 22 18:03:16 UTC 2015


	Hi,

	I still think this is misleading as long as ovmf seems to use seabios for 
compatibility mode, and all the vgas should then be working correctly. I 
cannot try qxl though as I have to cross build spice then to have the 
dependency build to have qxl in qemu.

	Any other idea?

	BR.

	José.

On Saturday 22 August 2015 12:21:16 Jonathan Panozzo wrote:
> You actually don’t need to use a spice server to use QXL.  You can use QXL
> as an alternative graphics adapter and still use VNC as the remote graphics
> server.
> > On Aug 22, 2015, at 12:17 PM, José Ramón Muñoz Pekkarinen 
<koalinux at gmail.com> wrote:
> > 	Hi,
> > 	
> > 	Is it any other like vmware valid? I didn't try to install spice in my
> > 
> > setup.
> > 
> > 	BR.
> > 	
> > 	José.
> > 
> > On Saturday 22 August 2015 20:11:01 Blank Field wrote:
> >>> -vga cirrus
> >> 
> >> ...
> >> dude.
> >> You need QXL-VGA. Cirrus is.. deprecated, i think.
> >> 
> >> 2015-08-22 20:02 GMT+03:00 José Ramón Muñoz <koalinux at gmail.com>:
> >>>        Hi,
> >>> 
> >>>        I gave it a try today with no success. The launch command was:
> >>> /qemu-system-x86_64 -enable-kvm -vga cirrus -cpu host -smp
> >>> 4,cores=4,threads=1
> >>> -m 4096 \
> >>> 
> >>>        -netdev user,id=user.0 -device e1000,netdev=user.0 \
> >>>        -usb -usbdevice tablet \
> >>>        -drive
> >>>        if=pflash,format=raw,readonly,file=/usr/share/edk2.git/ovmf-
> >>> 
> >>> x64/OVMF_CODE-with-csm.fd \
> >>> 
> >>>        -drive if=pflash,format=raw,file=/usr/share/edk2.git/ovmf-
> >>> 
> >>> x64/Windows_ovmf_vars_x64.fd \
> >>> 
> >>>        -drive
> >>> 
> >>> file=/dev/koalita/koalitavm,format=raw,cache=none,aio=native,if=virtio
> >>> 
> >>>        I tried to launch it using the virtio disk, the ide disk, and
> >>> 
> >>> empty disk
> >>> with the windows 7 installer, and even without disk to see if the cdrom
> >>> launchs ok.
> >>> 
> >>>        Best regards.
> >>>        
> >>>        José.
> >>> 
> >>> On Wednesday 19 August 2015 23:23:43 Blank Field wrote:
> >>>> The need of Q35 is overrated. Usually you need it for booting from sata
> >>>> controllers or something.
> >>>> For our use 440fx works better.
> >>>> I've used windows 7 on my machine. All you need to do is to follow the
> >>> 
> >>> OVMF
> >>> 
> >>>> whitepaper:
> >>>> http://www.linux-kvm.org/downloads/lersek/ovmf-whitepaper-c770f8c.txt
> >>>> 
> >>>> 2015-08-19 20:35 GMT+03:00 José Ramón Muñoz <koalinux at gmail.com>:
> >>>>>        Hi,
> >>>>>        
> >>>>>        Sorry for not replying to all, I wrote from the phone and
> >>>>>        sometimes
> >>>>> 
> >>>>> happens.
> >>>>> 
> >>>>>        About the ovmf stuff, I would give it a try just in case I
> >>> 
> >>> didn't
> >>> 
> >>>>> read the
> >>>>> Alex Williamson post that explained that I need windows > win7 to be
> >>> 
> >>> able
> >>> 
> >>>>> to
> >>>>> use it. I'm still not planning to upgrade it to windows 10.
> >>>>> 
> >>>>>        How about q35? I tried to launch it but it seems to yield a
> >>>>> 
> >>>>> beautiful
> >>>>> BSOD because of the ati drivers not being expanded. Do anyone uses it
> >>>>> regularly?
> >>>>> 
> >>>>>        BR.
> >>>>>        
> >>>>>        José.
> >>>>> 
> >>>>> On Wednesday 19 August 2015 20:12:23 Blank Field wrote:
> >>>>>> Please, use the reply-all button. Include "vfio-users at redhat.com"
> >>>>> 
> >>>>> address
> >>>>> 
> >>>>>> in the "to:" field.
> >>>>>> 
> >>>>>>>   So, I got it right that using OVMF my setup can work reliably?
> >>>>>>>   I
> >>>>>>>   was
> >>>>>> 
> >>>>>> considering to build it but it seems to be not so straight forward
> >>>>>> in
> >>>>>> Gentoo.
> >>>>>> 
> >>>>>> I haven't tried doing this on gentoo, but you can try using "alien"
> >>> 
> >>> to
> >>> 
> >>>>> use
> >>>>> 
> >>>>>> RPMs from kraxel.org
> >>>>>> https://www.kraxel.org/repos/
> >>>>>> Also, i recall there was just plain binary files builds from
> >>>>>> jenkins,
> >>>>> 
> >>>>> lurk
> >>>>> 
> >>>>>> around and see if you can make yourself an ebuild with an overlay.
> >>>>>> Also, there's a xen-tools package which has OVMF USE-flag, try
> >>>>> 
> >>>>> researching
> >>>>> 
> >>>>>> this.
> >>>>>> And i think i saw an user-created portage overlay with the OVMF
> >>> 
> >>> package
> >>> 
> >>>>> in
> >>>>> 
> >>>>>> there.
> >>>>>> 
> >>>>>> I think plain libvirt and virt-manager should already be in the main
> >>>>>> portage tree.
> >>>>>> 
> >>>>>> 2015-08-19 6:16 GMT+03:00 José Ramón Muñoz Pekkarinen <
> >>>>> 
> >>>>> koalinux at gmail.com>:
> >>>>>>>     Hi,
> >>>>>>>    
> >>>>>>>    So, I got it right that using OVMF my setup can work reliably?
> >>> 
> >>> I
> >>> 
> >>>>> was
> >>>>> 
> >>>>>>> considering to build it but it seems to be not so straight forward
> >>> 
> >>> in
> >>> 
> >>>>>>> Gentoo.
> >>>>>>> 
> >>>>>>>    BR.
> >>>>>>>    
> >>>>>>>    José
> >>>>>>> 
> >>>>>>> On Aug 19, 2015 3:09 AM, "Blank Field" <ihatethisfield at gmail.com>
> >>>>> 
> >>>>> wrote:
> >>>>>>>> Well, that sounds like the first time i've got it working.
> >>>>>>>> Sooo, i've managed to make it work back then with just x-vga and
> >>>>>>>> qemu.
> >>>>>>>> It worked. Sometimes.
> >>>>>>>> Sometimes it crashed the host.
> >>>>>>>> Sometimes it froze the VM and messed up the GPU.
> >>>>>>>> I did a foolish research with no results whatsoever, but i've
> >>>>>>>> made
> >>>>>>>> one
> >>>>>>>> observation - if the firefox is started and it eats a ton of
> >>> 
> >>> memory,
> >>> 
> >>>>>>>> i
> >>>>>>>> have
> >>>>>>>> better chances to run the VM right.
> >>>>>>>> However, i've dropped that way and went the OVMF way, avoiding
> >>>>>>>> the
> >>>>> 
> >>>>> VGA.
> >>>>> 
> >>>>>>>> Check the dmesg, maybe you're more lucky than me with the
> >>> 
> >>> motherboard
> >>> 
> >>>>> and
> >>>>> 
> >>>>>>>> it's just the GPU that freezes. Also, i'd check the temperatures.
> >>>>>>>> 
> >>>>>>>> 2015-08-19 0:25 GMT+03:00 José Ramón Muñoz <koalinux at gmail.com>:
> >>>>>>>>>        Hi,
> >>>>>>>>>        
> >>>>>>>>>        I'm using and APU a8-7650k, and apart that from time to
> >>> 
> >>> time
> >>> 
> >>>>> the
> >>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>> win7
> >>>>>>>>> guest decides to freeze, so many times during boot time, and
> >>>>>>>>> ocassionally
> >>>>>>>>> during gaming, I'm fairly happy with the performance. The passed
> >>>>> 
> >>>>> through
> >>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>> gpu
> >>>>>>>>> is a HD5670 and I managed to play games like MGS Ground Zeroes,
> >>>>> 
> >>>>> Blades
> >>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>> of
> >>>>>>>>> times, and currently DAO: Origins.
> >>>>>>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>>        Best regards.
> >>>>>>>>>        
> >>>>>>>>>        José.
> >>>>>>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>> On Wednesday 19 August 2015 00:09:09 Blank Field wrote:
> >>>>>>>>>> Use "Reply All" button. Include the mailing list in the "to:"
> >>>>> 
> >>>>> field.
> >>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>>>> I'm currently running an A10-5700 with a discrete Nvidia
> >>>>>>>>>>> card,
> >>>>>>>>>>> and
> >>>>>>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>> I've
> >>>>>>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>>> got a LMDE2 install in which I'm preparing to do an
> >>> 
> >>> experimental
> >>> 
> >>>>> W10
> >>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>> VM.
> >>>>>>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>>> So, according to your experience, I shouldn't expect much with
> >>>>>>>>>> this
> >>>>>>>>>> processor, then?
> >>>>>>>>>> http://pastebin.com/rEhebfQM
> >>>>>>>>>> It will work. But it has taken a year for me to figure out how
> >>> 
> >>> to
> >>> 
> >>>>> make
> >>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>> it
> >>>>>>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>>> work.
> >>>>>>>>>> The pastebin link is my currently working domain xml.
> >>>>>>>>>> Two asus HD7750 on an asus F2A55+Athlon X4 750k (Trinity).
> >>>>>>>>>> The kernel and module parameters are:
> >>>>>>>>>> options kvm-amd npt=1 nested=0
> >>>>>>>>>> options kvm ignore_msrs=0 allow_unsafe_assigned_interrupts=0
> >>>>>>>>>> options vfio_iommu_type1 disable_hugepages=1
> >>>>> 
> >>>>> allow_unsafe_interrupts=0
> >>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>>> CMDLINE:
> >>>>>>>>>> nofb pci-stub.ids=1022:780d,1002:683f,1002:aab0
> >>>>>>>>>> enable_mtrr_cleanup
> >>>>>>>>>> amd_iommu_dump=1 iommu=pt acpi_enforce_resources=lax
> >>>>>>>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>>> Try doing it with nested=1
> >>>>>>>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>>> If you will use libvirt, that should work 100%, as i have
> >>> 
> >>> almost
> >>> 
> >>>>> the
> >>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>> same
> >>>>>>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>>> CPU.
> >>>>>>>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>>> 2015-08-18 23:57 GMT+03:00 ALG Bass <olorin12 at gmail.com>:
> >>>>>>>>>>> Gotcha. So it would be better if I got the i7.
> >>>>>>>>>>> I'm currently running an A10-5700 with a discrete Nvidia
> >>> 
> >>> card,
> >>> 
> >>>>> and
> >>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>> I've
> >>>>>>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>>>> got a LMDE2 install in which I'm preparing to do an
> >>> 
> >>> experimental
> >>> 
> >>>>> W10
> >>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>> VM.
> >>>>>>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>>>> So, according to your experience, I shouldn't expect much
> >>> 
> >>> with
> >>> 
> >>>>> this
> >>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>>>> processor, then?
> >>>>>>>>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>>>> On Tue, Aug 18, 2015 at 3:46 PM, Blank Field <
> >>>>>>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>> ihatethisfield at gmail.com>
> >>>>>>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>>>> wrote:
> >>>>>>>>>>>> Hyperthreading on host means MORE cores which you can
> >>> 
> >>> commit to
> >>> 
> >>>>> the
> >>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>> VM.
> >>>>>>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>>>>> More cores = more performance.
> >>>>>>>>>>>> It is good for you.
> >>>>>>>>>>>> For the host it doesn't matter logical or physical. For the
> >>> 
> >>> VM,
> >>> 
> >>>>>>>>> you'd
> >>>>>>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>>>>> want to pin "pairs" of cores, so there would be less CPU
> >>> 
> >>> cache
> >>> 
> >>>>>>>>> issues.
> >>>>>>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>>>>> Like, assign a core and it's sibling instead of two
> >>>>>>>>>>>> separate
> >>>>> 
> >>>>> cores.
> >>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>>>>> I use AMD Athlon X4 750k which is based off A10-5700, and
> >>> 
> >>> it's
> >>> 
> >>>>>>>>> working
> >>>>>>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>>>>> very unstable.
> >>>>>>>>>>>> The only way to get it working - use OVMF without VGA and
> >>>>>>>>>>>> do
> >>>>>>>>>>>> not
> >>>>>>>>>>>> use
> >>>>>>>>>>>> hugepages.
> >>>>>>>>>>>> That's all.
> >>>>>>>>>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>>>>> P.S.
> >>>>>>>>>>>> Oh well, here we go again.
> >>>>>>>>>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>>>>> 2015-08-18 22:26 GMT+03:00 ALG Bass <olorin12 at gmail.com>:
> >>>>>>>>>>>>> Hi all, new to this list, kvm, and vfio. I've been
> >>> 
> >>> researching
> >>> 
> >>>>>>>>> this for
> >>>>>>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>>>>>> about a week.
> >>>>>>>>>>>>> I'm also going to be building a computer in the near
> >>> 
> >>> future,
> >>> 
> >>>>>>>>>>>>> so
> >>>>>>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>> I've got
> >>>>>>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>>>>>> a quick two part question:
> >>>>>>>>>>>>> Does the hyperthreading on i7 series Intel processors make
> >>> 
> >>> a
> >>> 
> >>>>>>>>> significant
> >>>>>>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>>>>>> difference in running Windows in a VM, such that it's a
> >>>>> 
> >>>>> noticeable
> >>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>>>>>> increase
> >>>>>>>>>>>>> in performance over an i5? And, does anyone here run
> >>> 
> >>> Windows
> >>> 
> >>>>> in a
> >>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>> VM
> >>>>>>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>>>>>> using
> >>>>>>>>>>>>> an AMD A-series APU like the 7700k, and how is the
> >>>>>>>>>>>>> performance?
> >>>>>>>>>>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>>>>>> Thank you!
> >>>>>>>>>>>>> 
> >>>>>>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
> >>>>>>>>>>>>> vfio-users mailing list
> >>>>>>>>>>>>> vfio-users at redhat.com
> >>>>>>>>>>>>> https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/vfio-users
> > 
> > _______________________________________________
> > vfio-users mailing list
> > vfio-users at redhat.com
> > https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/vfio-users





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