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-rw-r--r--Documentation/virtual/kvm/api.txt16
1 files changed, 15 insertions, 1 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/virtual/kvm/api.txt b/Documentation/virtual/kvm/api.txt
index 6cd63a9010fb..4714f282a43e 100644
--- a/Documentation/virtual/kvm/api.txt
+++ b/Documentation/virtual/kvm/api.txt
@@ -612,6 +612,20 @@ On some architectures it is required that an interrupt controller model has
been previously created with KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP. Note that edge-triggered
interrupts require the level to be set to 1 and then back to 0.
+On real hardware, interrupt pins can be active-low or active-high. This
+does not matter for the level field of struct kvm_irq_level: 1 always
+means active (asserted), 0 means inactive (deasserted).
+
+x86 allows the operating system to program the interrupt polarity
+(active-low/active-high) for level-triggered interrupts, and KVM used
+to consider the polarity. However, due to bitrot in the handling of
+active-low interrupts, the above convention is now valid on x86 too.
+This is signaled by KVM_CAP_X86_IOAPIC_POLARITY_IGNORED. Userspace
+should not present interrupts to the guest as active-low unless this
+capability is present (or unless it is not using the in-kernel irqchip,
+of course).
+
+
ARM/arm64 can signal an interrupt either at the CPU level, or at the
in-kernel irqchip (GIC), and for in-kernel irqchip can tell the GIC to
use PPIs designated for specific cpus. The irq field is interpreted
@@ -628,7 +642,7 @@ The irq_type field has the following values:
(The irq_id field thus corresponds nicely to the IRQ ID in the ARM GIC specs)
-In both cases, level is used to raise/lower the line.
+In both cases, level is used to assert/deassert the line.
struct kvm_irq_level {
union {