Message ID | 20241009092850.197575-1-nikunj@amd.com (mailing list archive) |
---|---|
Headers | show |
Series | Add Secure TSC support for SNP guests | expand |
On 10/9/24 02:28, Nikunj A Dadhania wrote: > Secure TSC allows guests to securely use RDTSC/RDTSCP instructions as the > parameters being used cannot be changed by hypervisor once the guest is > launched. More details in the AMD64 APM Vol 2, Section "Secure TSC". > > In order to enable secure TSC, SEV-SNP guests need to send a TSC_INFO guest > message before the APs are booted. Superficially, this seems kinda silly. If you ask someone, do you want more security or less, they usually say "more". Why do guests need to turn this on instead of just always having a secure TSC? There must be _some_ compromise, either backward compatibility or performance or...
On 10/9/2024 9:38 PM, Dave Hansen wrote: > On 10/9/24 02:28, Nikunj A Dadhania wrote: >> Secure TSC allows guests to securely use RDTSC/RDTSCP instructions as the >> parameters being used cannot be changed by hypervisor once the guest is >> launched. More details in the AMD64 APM Vol 2, Section "Secure TSC". >> >> In order to enable secure TSC, SEV-SNP guests need to send a TSC_INFO guest >> message before the APs are booted. > > Superficially, this seems kinda silly. If you ask someone, do you want > more security or less, they usually say "more". All SNP features are opt-in by default. The option is left to the VMM. It is similar to having a legacy vs secure VM, the option is left to the user. > Why do guests need to turn this on instead of just always having a > secure TSC? There must be _some_ compromise, either backward > compatibility or performance or... Secure TSC has been there since the introduction of Milan when SEV-SNP was introduced. It wasnt enabled in the kernel yet. Regards Nikunj