Kernel Module
#############
This kernel module implements a basic interface to the IVSHMEM device
for LookingGlass when using LookingGlass in VM->VM mode.
Additionally, in VM->host mode, it can be used to generate a shared
memory device on the host machine that supports dmabuf.
Compiling (Manual)
------------------
Make sure you have your kernel headers installed first, on Debian/Ubuntu
use the following command::
apt-get install linux-headers-$(uname -r)
Then simply run ``make`` and you're done.
Loading
~~~~~~~
For VM->VM mode, simply run::
insmod kvmfr.ko
For VM->host mode with dmabuf, instead of creating a shared memory file,
load this module with the parameter ``static_size_mb``. For example, a
128 MB shared memory device can be created with::
insmod kvmfr.ko static_size_mb=128
Multiple devices can be created by separating the sizes with commas. For
example, ``static_size_mb=128,64`` would create two kvmfr devices:
``kvmfr0`` would be 128 MB and ``kvmfr1`` would be 64 MB.
.. _compiling--installing-dkms:
Compiling & Installing (DKMS)
-----------------------------
You can install this module into DKMS so that it persists across kernel
upgrades. Simply run::
dkms install .
.. _loading-1:
Loading
~~~~~~~
For VM->VM, simply modprobe the module::
modprobe kvmfr
For VM->host with dmabuf, modprobe with the parameter
``static_size_mb``::
modprobe kvmfr static_size_mb=128
Just like above, multiple devices can be created by separating the sizes
with commas.
Usage
-----
This will create the ``/dev/kvmfr0`` node that represents the KVMFR
interface. To use the interface you need permission to access it by
either creating a udev rule to ensure your user can read and write to
it, or simply change its ownership manually, ie::
sudo chown user:user /dev/kvmfr0
An example udev rule, which you can put in
``/etc/udev/rules.d/99-kvmfr.rules``, is (replace ``user`` with your
username)::
SUBSYSTEM=="kvmfr", OWNER="user", GROUP="kvm", MODE="0660"
Usage with looking glass is simple, you only need to specify the path to
the device node, for example::
./looking-glass-client -f /dev/kvmfr0
You may also use a config file: ``~/.looking-glass-client.ini``, or
``/etc/looking-glass-client.ini``.
.. code:: ini
[app]
shmFile=/dev/kvmfr0
VM->Host
~~~~~~~~
In VM->host mode, use this device in place of the shared memory file.
For example, with ``qemu``, you would use the following arguments::
-device ivshmem-plain,id=shmem0,memdev=looking-glass
-object memory-backend-file,id=looking-glass,mem-path=/dev/kvmfr0,size=128M,share=yes
Note that the ``size`` argument must be the same size as what you passed
to ``static_size_mb`` argument for the kernel module.
``libvirt``
^^^^^^^^^^^
With ``libvirt``, you can use the following XML block:
.. code:: xml
Remember to add
``xmlns:qemu='http://libvirt.org/schemas/domain/qemu/1.0'`` to the
````.
On certain distros, running libvirt this way poses issues with apparmor
and cgroups.
For apparmor, create ``/etc/apparmor.d/local/abstractions/libvirt-qemu`` if
it doesn't exist, and add the following::
# Looking Glass
/dev/kvmfr0 rw,
For cgroups, in ``/etc/libvirt/qemu.conf``, uncomment the
``cgroup_device_acl`` block and add ``/dev/kvmfr0`` to the list. Then
restart ``libvirtd``::
sudo systemctl restart libvirtd.service
.. _systemd_modules_load:
systemd-modules-load
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For convenience, you may load the KVMFR module when starting your computer.
We can use the ``systemd-modules-load.service(8)`` service for this task.
Create a file as ``/etc/modules-load.d/kvmfr.conf`` with the following
contents::
#KVMFR Looking Glass module
kvmfr
This will now run the next time you start your machine.
If you are running in VM->host mode, you must additionally add another file in
``/etc/modprobe.d/kvmfr.conf`` to properly set the size. It should have the
following contents, while adjusting ``static_size_mb`` to your needs::
#KVMFR Looking Glass module
options kvmfr static_size_mb=128