[PATCH v7 18/36] KVM: x86: Factor out kvm_use_master_clock()

David Woodhouse <[email protected]> Tue, 28 Jul 2026 15:39:58 +0100
Newsgroups gmane.comp.emulators.xen.devel,gmane.comp.emulators.kvm.devel,gmane.linux.documentation,gmane.linux.kernel
Message-ID <[email protected]>
From: David Woodhouse <[email protected]>

Both kvm_track_tsc_matching() and pvclock_update_vm_gtod_copy() make a
decision about whether the KVM clock should be in master clock mode.
They used *different* criteria for the decision though. This isn't
really a problem; it only has the potential to cause unnecessary
invocations of KVM_REQ_MASTERCLOCK_UPDATE if the masterclock was
disabled due to TSC going backwards, or the guest using the old MSR.
But it isn't pretty.

Factor the decision out to a single function. And document the
historical reason why it's disabled for guests that use the old
MSR_KVM_SYSTEM_TIME.

Signed-off-by: David Woodhouse <[email protected]>
Reviewed-by: Paul Durrant <[email protected]>
---
 arch/x86/kvm/x86.c | 40 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++----------
 1 file changed, 30 insertions(+), 10 deletions(-)

diff --git a/arch/x86/kvm/x86.c b/arch/x86/kvm/x86.c
index 7615e1cd5835..ce80ee808777 100644
--- a/arch/x86/kvm/x86.c
+++ b/arch/x86/kvm/x86.c
@@ -1099,11 +1099,30 @@ static inline bool gtod_is_based_on_tsc(int mode)
 {
 	return mode == VDSO_CLOCKMODE_TSC || mode == VDSO_CLOCKMODE_HVCLOCK;
 }
-#endif
+
+static bool kvm_use_master_clock(struct kvm *kvm)
+{
+	struct kvm_arch *ka = &kvm->arch;
+
+	/*
+	 * The 'old kvmclock' check is a workaround (from 2015) for a
+	 * SUSE 2.6.16 kernel that didn't boot if the system_time in
+	 * its kvmclock was too far behind the current time. So the
+	 * mode of just setting the reference point and allowing time
+	 * to proceed linearly from there makes it fail to boot.
+	 * Despite that being kind of the *point* of the way the clock
+	 * is exposed to the guest. By coincidence, the offending
+	 * kernels used the old MSR_KVM_SYSTEM_TIME, which was moved
+	 * only because it resided in the wrong number range. So the
+	 * workaround is activated for *all* guests using the old MSR.
+	 */
+	return ka->all_vcpus_matched_freq &&
+		!ka->backwards_tsc_observed &&
+		!ka->boot_vcpu_runs_old_kvmclock;
+}
 
 static void kvm_track_tsc_matching(struct kvm_vcpu *vcpu, bool update_mclock)
 {
-#ifdef CONFIG_X86_64
 	struct kvm_arch *ka = &vcpu->kvm->arch;
 	struct pvclock_gtod_data *gtod = &pvclock_gtod_data;
 	bool prev_matched_tsc = ka->all_vcpus_matched_tsc;
@@ -1141,7 +1160,7 @@ static void kvm_track_tsc_matching(struct kvm_vcpu *vcpu, bool update_mclock)
 	 * are fine — each vCPU's pvclock has its own tsc_timestamp that
 	 * accounts for its offset.
 	 */
-	bool use_master_clock = ka->all_vcpus_matched_freq &&
+	bool use_master_clock = kvm_use_master_clock(vcpu->kvm) &&
 				gtod_is_based_on_tsc(gtod->clock.vclock_mode);
 
 	/*
@@ -1156,8 +1175,11 @@ static void kvm_track_tsc_matching(struct kvm_vcpu *vcpu, bool update_mclock)
 	trace_kvm_track_tsc(vcpu->vcpu_id, ka->nr_vcpus_matched_tsc,
 			    atomic_read(&vcpu->kvm->online_vcpus),
 		            ka->use_master_clock, gtod->clock.vclock_mode);
-#endif
 }
+#else
+static inline void kvm_track_tsc_matching(struct kvm_vcpu *vcpu,
+					  bool new_generation) {}
+#endif
 
 /*
  * Multiply tsc by a fixed point number represented by ratio.
@@ -1655,10 +1677,9 @@ static void pvclock_update_vm_gtod_copy(struct kvm *kvm)
 #ifdef CONFIG_X86_64
 	struct kvm_arch *ka = &kvm->arch;
 	int vclock_mode;
-	bool host_tsc_clocksource, vcpus_matched;
+	bool host_tsc_clocksource;
 
 	lockdep_assert_held(&kvm->arch.tsc_write_lock);
-	vcpus_matched = ka->all_vcpus_matched_freq;
 
 	/*
 	 * If the host uses TSC clock, then passthrough TSC as stable
@@ -1668,9 +1689,8 @@ static void pvclock_update_vm_gtod_copy(struct kvm *kvm)
 					&ka->master_kernel_ns,
 					&ka->master_cycle_now);
 
-	ka->use_master_clock = host_tsc_clocksource && vcpus_matched
-				&& !ka->backwards_tsc_observed
-				&& !ka->boot_vcpu_runs_old_kvmclock;
+	ka->use_master_clock = host_tsc_clocksource &&
+				kvm_use_master_clock(kvm);
 
 	if (ka->use_master_clock) {
 		u64 tsc_hz;
@@ -1698,7 +1718,7 @@ static void pvclock_update_vm_gtod_copy(struct kvm *kvm)
 
 	vclock_mode = pvclock_gtod_data.clock.vclock_mode;
 	trace_kvm_update_master_clock(ka->use_master_clock, vclock_mode,
-					vcpus_matched);
+					ka->all_vcpus_matched_freq);
 #endif
 }
 
-- 
2.55.0