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authorFuad Tabba <fuad.tabba@linux.dev>2026-09-22 19:14:30 +0100
committerWill Deacon <will@kernel.org>2026-09-23 12:34:30 +0000
commit2bc6b218717b9d08f466f88209251d54bc09b207 (patch)
treecb91c941eccb15f94cbec4e96aa3a9c8736b5d66 /Documentation/virt/hyperv/clocks.rst
downloadlinux-stable-2bc6b218717b9d08f466f88209251d54bc09b207.tar.gz
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arm64/boot: Disable trapping of PMZR_EL0 writes to EL2grafted
__init_el2_fgt2() writes one mask to both HDFGRTR2_EL2 and HDFGWTR2_EL2. PMZR_EL0 is write-only, so its trap bit, nPMZR_EL0, exists only in HDFGWTR2_EL2 and is therefore never set: a PMZR_EL0 write from the host traps to EL2, where the nVHE hypervisor has no handler and BUG()s. The kernel never writes PMZR_EL0, but kernel.perf_user_access=1 has the PMU driver set PMUSERENR_EL0.UEN for a task with a user-read event, so a write from EL0 reaches the trap and takes the host down without a panic message. Accumulate the HDFGWTR2_EL2 bits separately, as __init_el2_fgt() already does for HDFGWTR_EL2, and set nPMZR_EL0 with the other FEAT_PMUv3p9 bits. Fixes: 858c7bfcb35e1 ("arm64/boot: Enable EL2 requirements for FEAT_PMUv3p9") Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org Signed-off-by: Fuad Tabba <fuad.tabba@linux.dev> Reviewed-by: Anshuman Khandual <anshuman.khandual@arm.com> Reviewed-by: Oliver Upton <oupton@kernel.org> Signed-off-by: Will Deacon <will@kernel.org>
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+.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+
+Clocks and Timers
+=================
+
+arm64
+-----
+On arm64, Hyper-V virtualizes the ARMv8 architectural system counter
+and timer. Guest VMs use this virtualized hardware as the Linux
+clocksource and clockevents via the standard arm_arch_timer.c
+driver, just as they would on bare metal. Linux vDSO support for the
+architectural system counter is functional in guest VMs on Hyper-V.
+While Hyper-V also provides a synthetic system clock and four synthetic
+per-CPU timers as described in the TLFS, they are not used by the
+Linux kernel in a Hyper-V guest on arm64. However, older versions
+of Hyper-V for arm64 only partially virtualize the ARMv8
+architectural timer, such that the timer does not generate
+interrupts in the VM. Because of this limitation, running current
+Linux kernel versions on these older Hyper-V versions requires an
+out-of-tree patch to use the Hyper-V synthetic clocks/timers instead.
+
+x86/x64
+-------
+On x86/x64, Hyper-V provides guest VMs with a synthetic system clock
+and four synthetic per-CPU timers as described in the TLFS. Hyper-V
+also provides access to the virtualized TSC via the RDTSC and
+related instructions. These TSC instructions do not trap to
+the hypervisor and so provide excellent performance in a VM.
+Hyper-V performs TSC calibration, and provides the TSC frequency
+to the guest VM via a synthetic MSR. Hyper-V initialization code
+in Linux reads this MSR to get the frequency, so it skips TSC
+calibration and sets tsc_reliable. Hyper-V provides virtualized
+versions of the PIT (in Hyper-V Generation 1 VMs only), local
+APIC timer, and RTC. Hyper-V does not provide a virtualized HPET in
+guest VMs.
+
+The Hyper-V synthetic system clock can be read via a synthetic MSR,
+but this access traps to the hypervisor. As a faster alternative,
+the guest can configure a memory page to be shared between the guest
+and the hypervisor. Hyper-V populates this memory page with a
+64-bit scale value and offset value. To read the synthetic clock
+value, the guest reads the TSC and then applies the scale and offset
+as described in the Hyper-V TLFS. The resulting value advances
+at a constant 10 MHz frequency. In the case of a live migration
+to a host with a different TSC frequency, Hyper-V adjusts the
+scale and offset values in the shared page so that the 10 MHz
+frequency is maintained.
+
+Starting with Windows Server 2022 Hyper-V, Hyper-V uses hardware
+support for TSC frequency scaling to enable live migration of VMs
+across Hyper-V hosts where the TSC frequency may be different.
+When a Linux guest detects that this Hyper-V functionality is
+available, it prefers to use Linux's standard TSC-based clocksource.
+Otherwise, it uses the clocksource for the Hyper-V synthetic system
+clock implemented via the shared page (identified as
+"hyperv_clocksource_tsc_page").
+
+The Hyper-V synthetic system clock is available to user space via
+vDSO, and gettimeofday() and related system calls can execute
+entirely in user space. The vDSO is implemented by mapping the
+shared page with scale and offset values into user space. User
+space code performs the same algorithm of reading the TSC and
+applying the scale and offset to get the constant 10 MHz clock.
+
+Linux clockevents are based on Hyper-V synthetic timer 0 (stimer0).
+While Hyper-V offers 4 synthetic timers for each CPU, Linux only uses
+timer 0. In older versions of Hyper-V, an interrupt from stimer0
+results in a VMBus control message that is demultiplexed by
+vmbus_isr() as described in the Documentation/virt/hyperv/vmbus.rst
+documentation. In newer versions of Hyper-V, stimer0 interrupts can
+be mapped to an architectural interrupt, which is referred to as
+"Direct Mode". Linux prefers to use Direct Mode when available. Since
+x86/x64 doesn't support per-CPU interrupts, Direct Mode statically
+allocates an x86 interrupt vector (HYPERV_STIMER0_VECTOR) across all CPUs
+and explicitly codes it to call the stimer0 interrupt handler. Hence
+interrupts from stimer0 are recorded on the "HVS" line in /proc/interrupts
+rather than being associated with a Linux IRQ. Clockevents based on the
+virtualized PIT and local APIC timer also work, but Hyper-V stimer0
+is preferred.
+
+The driver for the Hyper-V synthetic system clock and timers is
+drivers/clocksource/hyperv_timer.c.