Re: [PATCH] x86/kvm: Reorder PV spinlock checks for dedicated CPU case

[Sean Christopherson]

On Fri, Jul 18, 2025, lirongqing wrote:
> From: Li RongQing <lirongqing@xxxxxxxxx>
> 
> When a vCPU has a dedicated physical CPU, typically, the hypervisor
> disables the HLT exit too, 

But certainly not always.  E.g. the hypervisor may disable MWAIT exiting but not
HLT exiting, so that the hypervisor can take action if a guest kernel refuses to
use MWAIT for whatever reason.

I assume native qspinlocks outperform virt_spin_lock() irrespective of HLT exiting
when the vCPU has a dedicated pCPU?  If so, it's probably worth calling that out
in the changelog, e.g. to assuage any fears/concerns about this being undesirable
for setups with KVM_HINTS_REALTIME *and* KVM_FEATURE_PV_UNHALT.

> rendering the KVM_FEATURE_PV_UNHALT feature unavailable, and
> virt_spin_lock_key is expected to be disabled in this configuration, but:
> 
> The problematic execution flow caused the enabled virt_spin_lock_key:
> - First check PV_UNHALT
> - Then check dedicated CPUs
> 
> So change the order:
> - First check dedicated CPUs
> - Then check PV_UNHALT
> 
> This ensures virt_spin_lock_key is disable when dedicated physical
> CPUs are available and HLT exit is disabled, and this will gives a
> pretty performance boost at high contention level
> 
> Signed-off-by: Li RongQing <lirongqing@xxxxxxxxx>
> ---
>  arch/x86/kernel/kvm.c | 20 ++++++++++----------
>  1 file changed, 10 insertions(+), 10 deletions(-)
> 
> diff --git a/arch/x86/kernel/kvm.c b/arch/x86/kernel/kvm.c
> index 921c1c7..9cda79f 100644
> --- a/arch/x86/kernel/kvm.c
> +++ b/arch/x86/kernel/kvm.c
> @@ -1073,16 +1073,6 @@ static void kvm_wait(u8 *ptr, u8 val)
>  void __init kvm_spinlock_init(void)
>  {
>  	/*
> -	 * In case host doesn't support KVM_FEATURE_PV_UNHALT there is still an
> -	 * advantage of keeping virt_spin_lock_key enabled: virt_spin_lock() is
> -	 * preferred over native qspinlock when vCPU is preempted.
> -	 */
> -	if (!kvm_para_has_feature(KVM_FEATURE_PV_UNHALT)) {
> -		pr_info("PV spinlocks disabled, no host support\n");
> -		return;
> -	}
> -
> -	/*
>  	 * Disable PV spinlocks and use native qspinlock when dedicated pCPUs
>  	 * are available.
>  	 */
> @@ -1101,6 +1091,16 @@ void __init kvm_spinlock_init(void)
>  		goto out;
>  	}
>  
> +	/*
> +	 * In case host doesn't support KVM_FEATURE_PV_UNHALT there is still an
> +	 * advantage of keeping virt_spin_lock_key enabled: virt_spin_lock() is
> +	 * preferred over native qspinlock when vCPU is preempted.
> +	 */
> +	if (!kvm_para_has_feature(KVM_FEATURE_PV_UNHALT)) {
> +		pr_info("PV spinlocks disabled, no host support\n");
> +		return;
> +	}
> +
>  	pr_info("PV spinlocks enabled\n");
>  
>  	__pv_init_lock_hash();
> -- 
> 2.9.4
>