Mailing List Archive

Binding Devices to Windows PV Drivers
Dear Xen Users, 
I want to bind one of my network interfaces to the network PV driver on Windows Guest OS. Dom0 OS is Ubuntu. I can do PCIe passthrough but this is not what I want. 
Can you help me or share if there is such documentation related to that?Thanks,
Re: Binding Devices to Windows PV Drivers [ In reply to ]
Am 04.01.2023 um 09:31 schrieb nihal dede bagci:
> Dear Xen Users,
>
> I want to bind one of my network interfaces to the network PV driver on
> Windows Guest OS. Dom0 OS is Ubuntu. I can do PCIe passthrough but this
> is not what I want.
>
> Can you help me or share if there is such documentation related to that?
> Thanks,

If I understand your goal correctly, you need to create a networking
bridge, assign the NIC to this bridge, and assign this bridge to the
Windows DomU. If you don't assign this bridge to any other DomU or Dom0,
no other VM than the Windows DomU will use the NIC.

https://wiki.xenproject.org/wiki/Xen_Networking

Just out of curiosity: Why don't you want to use PCI passthrough?
Re: Binding Devices to Windows PV Drivers [ In reply to ]
Actually, I want to understand the usage of Windows PV drivers starting with network. I understand that by using bridges, I can connect PV network driver to NIC right?
What about other Windows PV drivers defined in https://xenproject.org/downloads/windows-pv-drivers/windows-pv-drivers-9-series/windows-pv-drivers-9-0-0/ ?
For example how to connect console devices (/dev/ttyS)? Do I need to write driver for that?For non-PCI devices defined in BIOS ACPI, what should be done to control them on Windows DomU?Thanks, 

Am 04.01.2023 um 09:31 schrieb nihal dede bagci:
> Dear Xen Users,
>
> I want to bind one of my network interfaces to the network PV driver on
> Windows Guest OS. Dom0 OS is Ubuntu. I can do PCIe passthrough but this
> is not what I want.
>
> Can you help me or share if there is such documentation related to that?
> Thanks,

If I understand your goal correctly, you need to create a networking
bridge, assign the NIC to this bridge, and assign this bridge to the
Windows DomU. If you don't assign this bridge to any other DomU or Dom0,
no other VM than the Windows DomU will use the NIC.

https://wiki.xenproject.org/wiki/Xen_Networking

Just out of curiosity: Why don't you want to use PCI passthrough?
Re: Binding Devices to Windows PV Drivers [ In reply to ]
Am 05.01.2023 um 08:00 schrieb nihal dede bagci:
> Actually, I want to understand the usage of Windows PV drivers starting
> with network. I understand that by using bridges, I can connect PV
> network driver to NIC right?

According to my limited knowledge, each PV driver consists of a backend
provided by Xen (e.g. netback) and a frontend running in the DomU (e.g.
netfront). The backend is responsible for the communication with the
hardware, e.g. via the network bridge. The frontend provides the device
which appears as a ordinary network device in the DomU. Both communicate
with each other to provide functionality. For more information, please
have a look at the available documentation, e.g.
https://wiki.xenproject.org/wiki/Xen_Networking.

> What about other Windows PV drivers defined in
> https://xenproject.org/downloads/windows-pv-drivers/windows-pv-drivers-9-series/windows-pv-drivers-9-0-0/ <https://xenproject.org/downloads/windows-pv-drivers/windows-pv-drivers-9-series/windows-pv-drivers-9-0-0/> ?
>
> For example how to connect console devices (/dev/ttyS)? Do I need to
> write driver for that?
> For non-PCI devices defined in BIOS ACPI, what should be done to control
> them on Windows DomU?
> Thanks,

Sorry, these questions go beyond my knowledge. I am not sure that what I
understand you want to achieve is possible with out-of-the-box Xen
resources. However, as already pointed out, the Xen wiki would probably
be a good first information source for you.

May I also kindly point you to the mailing list netiquette, where among
other things it is suggested to use bottom-posting?
https://wiki.xenproject.org/wiki/Xen_Users_Netiquette

> Am 04.01.2023 um 09:31 schrieb nihal dede bagci:
> > Dear Xen Users,
> >
> > I want to bind one of my network interfaces to the network PV driver on
> > Windows Guest OS. Dom0 OS is Ubuntu. I can do PCIe passthrough but this
> > is not what I want.
> >
> > Can you help me or share if there is such documentation related to that?
> > Thanks,
>
> If I understand your goal correctly, you need to create a networking
> bridge, assign the NIC to this bridge, and assign this bridge to the
> Windows DomU. If you don't assign this bridge to any other DomU or Dom0,
> no other VM than the Windows DomU will use the NIC.
>
> https://wiki.xenproject.org/wiki/Xen_Networking
> <https://wiki.xenproject.org/wiki/Xen_Networking>
>
> Just out of curiosity: Why don't you want to use PCI passthrough?
>