[configuration] seamless VFIO switching

5 min readDec 5, 2022

Configuration to go along with this video

Some basic info on the system

What version of Fedora am I using? Fedora 36

[steeve@fedora ~]$ cat /etc/redhat-release 
Fedora release 36 (Thirty Six)

What display manager am I using? gdm (aka gnome-display-manager)

[steeve@fedora ~]$ systemctl status gdm
● gdm.service - GNOME Display Manager
     Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/gdm.service; enabled; vendor prese>
     Active: active (running) since Sun 2022-12-04 19:01:47 EST; 7min ago
   Main PID: 1708 (gdm)
      Tasks: 3 (limit: 18683)
     Memory: 5.9M
        CPU: 93ms
     CGroup: /system.slice/gdm.service
             └─ 1708 /usr/sbin/gdm

Dec 04 19:01:47 fedora systemd[1]: Starting gdm.service - GNOME Display Manager>
Dec 04 19:01:47 fedora systemd[1]: Started gdm.service - GNOME Display Manager.
Dec 04 19:01:53 fedora gdm-password][2270]: gkr-pam: unable to locate daemon co>
Dec 04 19:01:53 fedora gdm-password][2270]: gkr-pam: stashed password to try la>
Dec 04 19:02:04 fedora gdm[1708]: Gdm: Child process -1756 was already dead.

What window windowing environment are you using? Plasma (Wayland)

I select this by clicking the settings icon on the bottom right when signing in with gdm

What hardware are you using?

ASUS TUF Gaming F15 FX507ZE-RS73 15.6" Laptop
CPU: Intel 12700H Processor
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti
RAM: 16GB DDR5–4800
Storag: 512GB NVMe

/home/steeve/.bashrc

# .bashrc

# Source global definitions
if [ -f /etc/bashrc ]; then
 . /etc/bashrc
fi

# User specific environment
if ! [[ "$PATH" =~ "$HOME/.local/bin:$HOME/bin:" ]]
then
    PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$HOME/bin:$PATH"
fi
export PATH

# Uncomment the following line if you don't like systemctl's auto-paging feature:
# export SYSTEMD_PAGER=

# User specific aliases and functions
if [ -d ~/.bashrc.d ]; then
 for rc in ~/.bashrc.d/*; do
  if [ -f "$rc" ]; then
   . "$rc"
  fi
 done
fi

unset rc

alias hows-my-gpu='echo "NVIDIA Dedicated Graphics" | grep "NVIDIA" && lspci -nnk | grep "NVIDIA Corporation GA107M" -A 2 | grep "Kernel driver in use" && echo "Intel Integrated Graphics" | grep "Intel" && lspci -nnk | grep "Intel.*Integrated Graphics Controller" -A 3 | grep "Kernel driver in use" && echo "Confirm which gpu libraries are in use with (active-gpu and active-gpu-prime)" && echo "Enable and disable the dedicated NVIDIA GPU with nvidia-enable and nvidia-disable"'
alias nvidia-enable='sudo virsh nodedev-reattach pci_0000_01_00_0 && echo "GPU reattached (now host ready)" && sudo rmmod vfio_pci vfio_pci_core vfio_iommu_type1 && echo "VFIO drivers removed" && sudo modprobe -i nvidia_modeset nvidia_uvm nvidia && echo "NVIDIA drivers added" && echo "COMPLETED! (confirm success with hows-my-gpu, and active-gpu-prime)"'
alias nvidia-disable='sudo rmmod nvidia_modeset nvidia_uvm nvidia && echo "NVIDIA drivers removed" && sudo modprobe -i vfio_pci vfio_pci_core vfio_iommu_type1 && echo "VFIO drivers added" && sudo virsh nodedev-detach pci_0000_01_00_0 && echo "GPU detached (now vfio ready)" && echo "COMPLETED! (confirm success with hows-my-gpu and active-gpu)"'


alias active-gpu='glxinfo | grep vendor'
alias active-gpu-prime='__NV_PRIME_RENDER_OFFLOAD=1 __GLX_VENDOR_LIBRARY_NAME=nvidia glxinfo | grep vendor'

alias unigine-valley='pushd . && cd ~/Downloads/Unigine_Valley-1.0/ && __NV_PRIME_RENDER_OFFLOAD=1 __GLX_VENDOR_LIBRARY_NAME=nvidia ./valley && popd'

alias looking-glass='looking-glass-client -s -m 97'

win10-vm1 (virtual machine configuration XML)

<domain type="kvm">
  <name>win10-vm1</name>
  <uuid>70cf5bfa-1b44-4ff1-a22f-ad0236b39d17</uuid>
  <metadata>
    <libosinfo:libosinfo xmlns:libosinfo="http://libosinfo.org/xmlns/libvirt/domain/1.0">
      <libosinfo:os id="http://microsoft.com/win/10"/>
    </libosinfo:libosinfo>
  </metadata>
  <memory unit="KiB">8388608</memory>
  <currentMemory unit="KiB">8388608</currentMemory>
  <vcpu placement="static">6</vcpu>
  <os firmware="efi">
    <type arch="x86_64" machine="pc-q35-6.2">hvm</type>
  </os>
  <features>
    <acpi/>
    <apic/>
    <hyperv mode="custom">
      <relaxed state="on"/>
      <vapic state="on"/>
      <spinlocks state="on" retries="8191"/>
    </hyperv>
    <vmport state="off"/>
  </features>
  <cpu mode="host-passthrough" check="none" migratable="on">
    <topology sockets="1" dies="1" cores="6" threads="1"/>
  </cpu>
  <clock offset="localtime">
    <timer name="rtc" tickpolicy="catchup"/>
    <timer name="pit" tickpolicy="delay"/>
    <timer name="hpet" present="no"/>
    <timer name="hypervclock" present="yes"/>
  </clock>
  <on_poweroff>destroy</on_poweroff>
  <on_reboot>restart</on_reboot>
  <on_crash>destroy</on_crash>
  <pm>
    <suspend-to-mem enabled="no"/>
    <suspend-to-disk enabled="no"/>
  </pm>
  <devices>
    <emulator>/usr/bin/qemu-system-x86_64</emulator>
    <disk type="file" device="disk">
      <driver name="qemu" type="qcow2" discard="unmap"/>
      <source file="/var/lib/libvirt/images/win10.qcow2"/>
      <target dev="sda" bus="virtio"/>
      <boot order="1"/>
      <address type="pci" domain="0x0000" bus="0x04" slot="0x00" function="0x0"/>
    </disk>
    <controller type="usb" index="0" model="qemu-xhci" ports="15">
      <address type="pci" domain="0x0000" bus="0x01" slot="0x00" function="0x0"/>
    </controller>
    <controller type="pci" index="0" model="pcie-root"/>
    <controller type="pci" index="1" model="pcie-root-port">
      <model name="pcie-root-port"/>
      <target chassis="1" port="0x10"/>
      <address type="pci" domain="0x0000" bus="0x00" slot="0x02" function="0x0" multifunction="on"/>
    </controller>
    <controller type="pci" index="2" model="pcie-root-port">
      <model name="pcie-root-port"/>
      <target chassis="2" port="0x11"/>
      <address type="pci" domain="0x0000" bus="0x00" slot="0x02" function="0x1"/>
    </controller>
    <controller type="pci" index="3" model="pcie-root-port">
      <model name="pcie-root-port"/>
      <target chassis="3" port="0x12"/>
      <address type="pci" domain="0x0000" bus="0x00" slot="0x02" function="0x2"/>
    </controller>
    <controller type="pci" index="4" model="pcie-root-port">
      <model name="pcie-root-port"/>
      <target chassis="4" port="0x13"/>
      <address type="pci" domain="0x0000" bus="0x00" slot="0x02" function="0x3"/>
    </controller>
    <controller type="pci" index="5" model="pcie-root-port">
      <model name="pcie-root-port"/>
      <target chassis="5" port="0x14"/>
      <address type="pci" domain="0x0000" bus="0x00" slot="0x02" function="0x4"/>
    </controller>
    <controller type="pci" index="6" model="pcie-root-port">
      <model name="pcie-root-port"/>
      <target chassis="6" port="0x15"/>
      <address type="pci" domain="0x0000" bus="0x00" slot="0x02" function="0x5"/>
    </controller>
    <controller type="pci" index="7" model="pcie-root-port">
      <model name="pcie-root-port"/>
      <target chassis="7" port="0x16"/>
      <address type="pci" domain="0x0000" bus="0x00" slot="0x02" function="0x6"/>
    </controller>
    <controller type="pci" index="8" model="pcie-root-port">
      <model name="pcie-root-port"/>
      <target chassis="8" port="0x17"/>
      <address type="pci" domain="0x0000" bus="0x00" slot="0x02" function="0x7"/>
    </controller>
    <controller type="pci" index="9" model="pcie-root-port">
      <model name="pcie-root-port"/>
      <target chassis="9" port="0x18"/>
      <address type="pci" domain="0x0000" bus="0x00" slot="0x03" function="0x0" multifunction="on"/>
    </controller>
    <controller type="pci" index="10" model="pcie-root-port">
      <model name="pcie-root-port"/>
      <target chassis="10" port="0x19"/>
      <address type="pci" domain="0x0000" bus="0x00" slot="0x03" function="0x1"/>
    </controller>
    <controller type="pci" index="11" model="pcie-root-port">
      <model name="pcie-root-port"/>
      <target chassis="11" port="0x1a"/>
      <address type="pci" domain="0x0000" bus="0x00" slot="0x03" function="0x2"/>
    </controller>
    <controller type="pci" index="12" model="pcie-root-port">
      <model name="pcie-root-port"/>
      <target chassis="12" port="0x1b"/>
      <address type="pci" domain="0x0000" bus="0x00" slot="0x03" function="0x3"/>
    </controller>
    <controller type="pci" index="13" model="pcie-root-port">
      <model name="pcie-root-port"/>
      <target chassis="13" port="0x1c"/>
      <address type="pci" domain="0x0000" bus="0x00" slot="0x03" function="0x4"/>
    </controller>
    <controller type="pci" index="14" model="pcie-root-port">
      <model name="pcie-root-port"/>
      <target chassis="14" port="0x1d"/>
      <address type="pci" domain="0x0000" bus="0x00" slot="0x03" function="0x5"/>
    </controller>
    <controller type="pci" index="15" model="pcie-root-port">
      <model name="pcie-root-port"/>
      <target chassis="15" port="0x1e"/>
      <address type="pci" domain="0x0000" bus="0x00" slot="0x03" function="0x6"/>
    </controller>
    <controller type="pci" index="16" model="pcie-to-pci-bridge">
      <model name="pcie-pci-bridge"/>
      <address type="pci" domain="0x0000" bus="0x08" slot="0x00" function="0x0"/>
    </controller>
    <controller type="sata" index="0">
      <address type="pci" domain="0x0000" bus="0x00" slot="0x1f" function="0x2"/>
    </controller>
    <controller type="virtio-serial" index="0">
      <address type="pci" domain="0x0000" bus="0x02" slot="0x00" function="0x0"/>
    </controller>
    <interface type="network">
      <mac address="52:54:00:c7:a5:87"/>
      <source network="default"/>
      <model type="e1000e"/>
      <address type="pci" domain="0x0000" bus="0x07" slot="0x00" function="0x0"/>
    </interface>
    <serial type="pty">
      <target type="isa-serial" port="0">
        <model name="isa-serial"/>
      </target>
    </serial>
    <console type="pty">
      <target type="serial" port="0"/>
    </console>
    <channel type="spicevmc">
      <target type="virtio" name="com.redhat.spice.0"/>
      <address type="virtio-serial" controller="0" bus="0" port="1"/>
    </channel>
    <input type="evdev">
      <source dev="/dev/input/by-id/usb-PixArt_Lenovo_USB_Optical_Mouse-event-mouse"/>
    </input>
    <input type="evdev">
      <source dev="/dev/input/by-path/platform-i8042-serio-0-event-kbd" grab="all" grabToggle="ctrl-ctrl" repeat="on"/>
    </input>
    <input type="tablet" bus="usb">
      <address type="usb" bus="0" port="1"/>
    </input>
    <input type="mouse" bus="ps2"/>
    <input type="keyboard" bus="ps2"/>
    <graphics type="spice" autoport="yes">
      <listen type="address"/>
      <image compression="off"/>
      <gl enable="no"/>
    </graphics>
    <sound model="ich9">
      <address type="pci" domain="0x0000" bus="0x00" slot="0x1b" function="0x0"/>
    </sound>
    <audio id="1" type="spice"/>
    <video>
      <model type="qxl" ram="65536" vram="65536" vgamem="16384" heads="1" primary="yes"/>
      <address type="pci" domain="0x0000" bus="0x00" slot="0x01" function="0x0"/>
    </video>
    <hostdev mode="subsystem" type="pci" managed="yes">
      <source>
        <address domain="0x0000" bus="0x01" slot="0x00" function="0x0"/>
      </source>
      <address type="pci" domain="0x0000" bus="0x05" slot="0x00" function="0x0"/>
    </hostdev>
    <hostdev mode="subsystem" type="pci" managed="yes">
      <source>
        <address domain="0x0000" bus="0x01" slot="0x00" function="0x1"/>
      </source>
      <address type="pci" domain="0x0000" bus="0x06" slot="0x00" function="0x0"/>
    </hostdev>
    <redirdev bus="usb" type="spicevmc">
      <address type="usb" bus="0" port="2"/>
    </redirdev>
    <redirdev bus="usb" type="spicevmc">
      <address type="usb" bus="0" port="3"/>
    </redirdev>
    <memballoon model="none"/>
    <shmem name="looking-glass">
      <model type="ivshmem-plain"/>
      <size unit="M">32</size>
      <address type="pci" domain="0x0000" bus="0x10" slot="0x01" function="0x0"/>
    </shmem>
  </devices>
</domain>

/etc/sysconfig/grub

GRUB_TIMEOUT=5
GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR="$(sed 's, release .*$,,g' /etc/system-release)"
GRUB_DEFAULT=saved
GRUB_DISABLE_SUBMENU=true
GRUB_TERMINAL_OUTPUT="console"
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="rd.driver.blacklist=nouveau modprobe.blacklist=nouveau nvidia-drm.modeset=1 rhgb quiet intel_iommu=on iommu=pt rd.driver.pre=vfio-pci rd.driver.blacklist=nouveau modprobe.blacklist=nouveau nvidia-drm.modeset=1 vfio-pci.ids=10de:25a0,10de:2291 module_blacklist=nouveau"
GRUB_DISABLE_RECOVERY="true"
GRUB_ENABLE_BLSCFG=true

Any other config information I’ve missed here? Let me know in the comments (or in the comments on the youtube video)

[configuration] seamless VFIO switching

Some basic info on the system

/home/steeve/.bashrc

win10-vm1 (virtual machine configuration XML)

/etc/sysconfig/grub

Written by bland_man_studios

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