HV Syscall Reference
HV Syscalls
lv1_allocate_memory (0)
Create a memory region in the Hypervisor Virtual Address Space (vas)
Kernel Call
result = lv1_allocate_memory( /*IN*/ size, page_size_exp, 0, flags, /*OUT*/ &addr, &muid );
Parameters
| Inputs | |
|---|---|
| Register | Description |
| R3 | size - of the region to allocate, must be a multiple of page_size |
| R4 | page_size_exp - where required page_size = 2 ^ page_size_exp |
| R5 | 0 - Unknown, see notes |
| R6 | flags - (from linux/include/asm-powerpc/lv1call.h) bit 63: transferability: TF_NO = 0×00, TF_YES = 0×01 |
| Outputs | |
| Register | Description |
| R3 | Status - 0 = OK, LV1_RESOURCE_SHORTAGE (-2), LV1_NO_ENTRY (-6), LV1_DUPLICATE_ENTRY (-7) |
| R4 | addr - LPAR Address of region |
| R5 | muid - Unknown, unused by Kernel |
Notes:
page_size_exp takes values of 12 (page_size = 4K) to 21 (page_size = 2M) before LV1_RESOURCE_SHORTAGE (-2) is returned under a fully booted Linux OS. Higher values (24, page_size = 16M) can be found in the actual kernel source and can presumably be made before the OS has fully booted. page_size_exp values below 12 cause a return status of LV1_ILLEGAL_PARAMETER_VALUE (-17).
Input R5 was speculated to be the initialization value for the allocated region, but appears not to be the case. Values other than 0 or 1 appear to return a status of LV1_NO_ENTRY (-6), though a valid value of page_size_exp appears to be checked first (-17 is returned for invalid values of page_size_exp, regardless of the value of R5).
Allocations with flags = 0×00, 0×01, 0×02, 0×03 and 0×04 were successful though the effects of the flags could not be tested at this point. Allocations with flags >= 0×400 return LV1_ILLEGAL_PARAMETER_VALUE.
Initial tests allocating memory with flags = 0×08 (ADDR_0, presumably request physical address rather than logical partition address) result in a status of LV1_DUPLICATE_ENTRY (-7). This and the previous return value of -6 suggest an association with a database of some kind (repository values or memory maps?). It appears that some form of allocation may be taking place as LV1_ILLEGAL_PARAMETER_VALUE and LV1_RESOURCE_SHORTAGE are reported for invalid input parameters, rather than LV1_DUPLICATE_ENTRY.
For all successful allocations so far, output muid (R5) = 1
lv1_write_htab_entry (1)
Write an entry to the hash page table.
Kernel Call
result = lv1_write_htab_entry( /*IN*/ vas_id, slot, va, pa );
Parameters
| Inputs | |
|---|---|
| Register | Description |
| R3 | vas_id - virtual address space id (0 for current) |
| R4 | slot - table slot to write entry to |
| R5 | va - first half of PTE |
| R6 | pa - second half of PTE, except RPN is replaced with LPAR address |
| Outputs | |
| Register | Description |
| R3 | Status - 0 = OK, Other values are unknown, but indicate failure. |
lv1_construct_virtual_address_space (2)
Construct a PPE virtual address space.
Kernel Call
result = lv1_construct_virtual_address_space( /*IN*/ htab_size, number_of_sizes, page_sizes, /*OUT*/ &vas_id, &act_htab_size );
Parameters
| Inputs | |
|---|---|
| Register | Description |
| R3 | htab_size - must be 18, 19 or 20 (256KB, 512KB or 1MB) |
| R4 | number_of_sizes - How many page sizes are specified in page_sizes |
| R5 | page_sizes - see notes |
| Outputs | |
| Register | Description |
| R3 | Status - 0 = OK, Other values are unknown, but indicate failure. |
| R4 | vas_id - virtual address space id |
| R5 | act_htab_size - actual hash table size? |
Notes:
Page sizes are specified as the power of two for the desired sizes. Each power of two is stored as an 8 bit field in page_sizes, starting from the MSB.
The “pages_sizes” parameter is set in “mm.c” using the following function:
page_sizes = make_page_sizes(PAGE_SHIFT_16M, PAGE_SHIFT_64K);
static unsigned long make_page_sizes(unsigned long a, unsigned long b)
{
return (a << 56) | (b << 48);
}