From f41dd67da6460588f541edee6c2344743c8e3bdc Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Yan-Jie Wang Date: Wed, 3 May 2023 16:15:31 +0800 Subject: [PATCH] docs: clarify KVM related kernel parameters' descriptions The descriptions of certain KVM related kernel parameters can be confusing. They state "Disable ...," which may make people think that setting them to 1 will disable the associated feature when in fact the opposite is true. This commit addresses this issue by revising the descriptions of these parameters by using "Control..." rather than "Enable/Disable...". 1==enabled or 0==disabled can be communicated by the description of default value such as "1 (enabled)" or "0 (disabled)". Also update the description of KVM's default value for kvm-intel.nested as it is enabled by default. Signed-off-by: Yan-Jie Wang Signed-off-by: Jonathan Corbet Link: https://lore.kernel.org/r/20230503081530.19956-1-yanjiewtw@gmail.com --- Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt | 53 ++++++++++++++----------- 1 file changed, 29 insertions(+), 24 deletions(-) diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt b/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt index 430d0ef..b0e4195 100644 --- a/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt +++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt @@ -2561,12 +2561,13 @@ If the value is 0 (the default), KVM will pick a period based on the ratio, such that a page is zapped after 1 hour on average. - kvm-amd.nested= [KVM,AMD] Allow nested virtualization in KVM/SVM. - Default is 1 (enabled) + kvm-amd.nested= [KVM,AMD] Control nested virtualization feature in + KVM/SVM. Default is 1 (enabled). - kvm-amd.npt= [KVM,AMD] Disable nested paging (virtualized MMU) - for all guests. - Default is 1 (enabled) if in 64-bit or 32-bit PAE mode. + kvm-amd.npt= [KVM,AMD] Control KVM's use of Nested Page Tables, + a.k.a. Two-Dimensional Page Tables. Default is 1 + (enabled). Disable by KVM if hardware lacks support + for NPT. kvm-arm.mode= [KVM,ARM] Select one of KVM/arm64's modes of operation. @@ -2612,30 +2613,33 @@ Format: Default: 5 - kvm-intel.ept= [KVM,Intel] Disable extended page tables - (virtualized MMU) support on capable Intel chips. - Default is 1 (enabled) + kvm-intel.ept= [KVM,Intel] Control KVM's use of Extended Page Tables, + a.k.a. Two-Dimensional Page Tables. Default is 1 + (enabled). Disable by KVM if hardware lacks support + for EPT. kvm-intel.emulate_invalid_guest_state= - [KVM,Intel] Disable emulation of invalid guest state. - Ignored if kvm-intel.enable_unrestricted_guest=1, as - guest state is never invalid for unrestricted guests. - This param doesn't apply to nested guests (L2), as KVM - never emulates invalid L2 guest state. - Default is 1 (enabled) + [KVM,Intel] Control whether to emulate invalid guest + state. Ignored if kvm-intel.enable_unrestricted_guest=1, + as guest state is never invalid for unrestricted + guests. This param doesn't apply to nested guests (L2), + as KVM never emulates invalid L2 guest state. + Default is 1 (enabled). kvm-intel.flexpriority= - [KVM,Intel] Disable FlexPriority feature (TPR shadow). - Default is 1 (enabled) + [KVM,Intel] Control KVM's use of FlexPriority feature + (TPR shadow). Default is 1 (enabled). Disalbe by KVM if + hardware lacks support for it. kvm-intel.nested= - [KVM,Intel] Enable VMX nesting (nVMX). - Default is 0 (disabled) + [KVM,Intel] Control nested virtualization feature in + KVM/VMX. Default is 1 (enabled). kvm-intel.unrestricted_guest= - [KVM,Intel] Disable unrestricted guest feature - (virtualized real and unpaged mode) on capable - Intel chips. Default is 1 (enabled) + [KVM,Intel] Control KVM's use of unrestricted guest + feature (virtualized real and unpaged mode). Default + is 1 (enabled). Disable by KVM if EPT is disabled or + hardware lacks support for it. kvm-intel.vmentry_l1d_flush=[KVM,Intel] Mitigation for L1 Terminal Fault CVE-2018-3620. @@ -2649,9 +2653,10 @@ Default is cond (do L1 cache flush in specific instances) - kvm-intel.vpid= [KVM,Intel] Disable Virtual Processor Identification - feature (tagged TLBs) on capable Intel chips. - Default is 1 (enabled) + kvm-intel.vpid= [KVM,Intel] Control KVM's use of Virtual Processor + Identification feature (tagged TLBs). Default is 1 + (enabled). Disable by KVM if hardware lacks support + for it. l1d_flush= [X86,INTEL] Control mitigation for L1D based snooping vulnerability. -- 2.7.4