Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
Providing interrupts from an input-output memory management unit to guest operating systems

Abstract:

An electronic device includes a processor that executes a guest operating system; a memory having a guest portion that is reserved for storing data and information to be accessed by the guest operating system; and an input-output memory management unit (IOMMU). The IOMMU performs operations for signaling an interrupt to the guest operating system. For these operations, the IOMMU acquires, from an entry in an interrupt remapping table associated with the guest operating system, a location in a virtual advanced programmable interrupt controller (APIC) backing page for the guest operating system in the guest portion of the memory. The IOMMU then writes information about the interrupt to the location in the virtual APIC backing page. The IOMMU next communicates an indication of the interrupt to the guest operating system.