ABSTRACT:
In this paper, we will present our research work on improving the
real-time qualities the Linux hypervisor KVM can provide to its
guests. We will specifically focus on a new paravirtualized scheduling
interface. It allows guests to influence the scheduling parameters of
their virtual CPUs (VCPU) on the host. This, in turn, enables the
Linux host to account for real-time load inside guest systems by
prioritizing VCPUs properly so that batch load both in other guests as
well as on the host itself does not unacceptably interfere.
We will introduce the design of our paravirtual scheduling interface as well as selected implementation aspects. Based on experimental results and theoretical analysis, we will discuss which real-time guarantees KVM is able to provide, what PREEMPT-RT can additionally contribute to this, and sketch potential future improvements.