.. _config-sriov:

======
SR-IOV
======

The purpose of this page is to describe how to enable SR-IOV functionality
available in OpenStack (using OpenStack Networking). This functionality was
first introduced in the OpenStack Juno release. This page intends to serve as
a guide for how to configure OpenStack Networking and OpenStack Compute to
create SR-IOV ports.

The basics
~~~~~~~~~~

PCI-SIG Single Root I/O Virtualization and Sharing (SR-IOV) functionality is
available in OpenStack since the Juno release. The SR-IOV specification
defines a standardized mechanism to virtualize PCIe devices. This mechanism
can virtualize a single PCIe Ethernet controller to appear as multiple PCIe
devices. Each device can be directly assigned to an instance, bypassing the
hypervisor and virtual switch layer. As a result, users are able to achieve
low latency and near-line wire speed.

The following terms are used throughout this document:

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 10 90

   * - Term
     - Definition
   * - PF
     - Physical Function. The physical Ethernet controller that supports
       SR-IOV.
   * - VF
     - Virtual Function. The virtual PCIe device created from a physical
       Ethernet controller.

SR-IOV agent
------------

The SR-IOV agent allows you to set the admin state of ports, configure port
security (enable and disable spoof checking), and configure QoS rate limiting
and minimum bandwidth. You must include the SR-IOV agent on each compute node
using SR-IOV ports.

.. note::

   The SR-IOV agent was optional before Mitaka, and was not enabled by default
   before Liberty.

.. note::

   The ability to control port security and QoS rate limit settings was added
   in Liberty.

Supported Ethernet controllers
------------------------------

The following manufacturers are known to work:

- Intel
- Mellanox
- QLogic

For information on **Mellanox SR-IOV Ethernet ConnectX-3/ConnectX-3 Pro cards**, see
`Mellanox: How To Configure SR-IOV VFs
<https://community.mellanox.com/docs/DOC-1484>`_.

For information on **QLogic SR-IOV Ethernet cards**, see
`User's Guide OpenStack Deployment with SR-IOV Configuration
<http://www.qlogic.com/solutions/Documents/UsersGuide_OpenStack_SR-IOV.pdf>`_.

Using SR-IOV interfaces
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In order to enable SR-IOV, the following steps are required:

#. Create Virtual Functions (Compute)
#. Whitelist PCI devices in nova-compute (Compute)
#. Configure neutron-server (Controller)
#. Configure nova-scheduler (Controller)
#. Enable neutron sriov-agent (Compute)

We recommend using VLAN provider networks for segregation. This way you can
combine instances without SR-IOV ports and instances with SR-IOV ports on a
single network.

.. note::

   Throughout this guide, ``eth3`` is used as the PF and ``physnet2`` is used
   as the provider network configured as a VLAN range. These ports may vary in
   different environments.

Create Virtual Functions (Compute)
----------------------------------

Create the VFs for the network interface that will be used for SR-IOV. We use
``eth3`` as PF, which is also used as the interface for the VLAN provider
network and has access to the private networks of all machines.

.. note::

   The steps detail how to create VFs using Mellanox ConnectX-4 and newer/Intel
   SR-IOV Ethernet cards on an Intel system. Steps may differ for different
   hardware configurations.

#. Ensure SR-IOV and VT-d are enabled in BIOS.

#. Enable IOMMU in Linux by adding ``intel_iommu=on`` to the kernel parameters,
   for example, using GRUB.

#. On each compute node, create the VFs via the PCI SYS interface:

   .. code-block:: console

      # echo '8' > /sys/class/net/eth3/device/sriov_numvfs

   .. note::

      On some PCI devices, observe that when changing the amount of VFs you
      receive the error ``Device or resource busy``. In this case, you must
      first set ``sriov_numvfs`` to ``0``, then set it to your new value.

   .. note::

      A network interface could be used both for PCI passthrough, using the PF,
      and SR-IOV, using the VFs. If the PF is used, the VF number stored in
      the ``sriov_numvfs`` file is lost. If the PF is attached again to the
      operating system, the number of VFs assigned to this interface will be
      zero. To keep the number of VFs always assigned to this interface,
      modify the interfaces configuration file adding an ``ifup`` script
      command.

      In Ubuntu, modifying the ``/etc/network/interfaces`` file:

      .. code-block:: ini

         auto eth3
         iface eth3 inet dhcp
         pre-up echo '4' > /sys/class/net/eth3/device/sriov_numvfs


      In Red Hat, modifying the ``/sbin/ifup-local`` file:

      .. code-block:: bash

         #!/bin/sh
         if [[ "$1" == "eth3" ]]
         then
             echo '4' > /sys/class/net/eth3/device/sriov_numvfs
         fi


   .. warning::

      Alternatively, you can create VFs by passing the ``max_vfs`` to the
      kernel module of your network interface. However, the ``max_vfs``
      parameter has been deprecated, so the PCI SYS interface is the preferred
      method.

   You can determine the maximum number of VFs a PF can support:

   .. code-block:: console

      # cat /sys/class/net/eth3/device/sriov_totalvfs
      63

#. Verify that the VFs have been created and are in ``up`` state:

   .. code-block:: console

      # lspci | grep Ethernet
      82:00.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82599ES 10-Gigabit SFI/SFP+ Network Connection (rev 01)
      82:00.1 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82599ES 10-Gigabit SFI/SFP+ Network Connection (rev 01)
      82:10.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82599 Ethernet Controller Virtual Function (rev 01)
      82:10.2 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82599 Ethernet Controller Virtual Function (rev 01)
      82:10.4 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82599 Ethernet Controller Virtual Function (rev 01)
      82:10.6 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82599 Ethernet Controller Virtual Function (rev 01)
      82:11.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82599 Ethernet Controller Virtual Function (rev 01)
      82:11.2 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82599 Ethernet Controller Virtual Function (rev 01)
      82:11.4 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82599 Ethernet Controller Virtual Function (rev 01)
      82:11.6 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82599 Ethernet Controller Virtual Function (rev 01)

   .. code-block:: console

      # ip link show eth3
      8: eth3: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc mq state UP mode DEFAULT qlen 1000
         link/ether a0:36:9f:8f:3f:b8 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
         vf 0 MAC 00:00:00:00:00:00, spoof checking on, link-state auto
         vf 1 MAC 00:00:00:00:00:00, spoof checking on, link-state auto
         vf 2 MAC 00:00:00:00:00:00, spoof checking on, link-state auto
         vf 3 MAC 00:00:00:00:00:00, spoof checking on, link-state auto
         vf 4 MAC 00:00:00:00:00:00, spoof checking on, link-state auto
         vf 5 MAC 00:00:00:00:00:00, spoof checking on, link-state auto
         vf 6 MAC 00:00:00:00:00:00, spoof checking on, link-state auto
         vf 7 MAC 00:00:00:00:00:00, spoof checking on, link-state auto

   If the interfaces are down, set them to ``up`` before launching a guest,
   otherwise the instance will fail to spawn:

   .. code-block:: console

      # ip link set eth3 up

#. Persist created VFs on reboot:

   .. code-block:: console

      # echo "echo '7' > /sys/class/net/eth3/device/sriov_numvfs" >> /etc/rc.local

   .. note::

      The suggested way of making PCI SYS settings persistent is through
      the ``sysfsutils`` tool. However, this is not available by default on
      many major distributions.

Whitelist PCI devices nova-compute (Compute)
--------------------------------------------

#. Configure which PCI devices the ``nova-compute`` service may use. Edit
   the ``nova.conf`` file:

   .. code-block:: ini

      [default]
      pci_passthrough_whitelist = { "devname": "eth3", "physical_network": "physnet2"}

   This tells the Compute service that all VFs belonging to ``eth3`` are
   allowed to be passed through to instances and belong to the provider network
   ``physnet2``.

   Alternatively the ``pci_passthrough_whitelist`` parameter also supports
   whitelisting by:

   - PCI address: The address uses the same syntax as in ``lspci`` and an
     asterisk (*) can be used to match anything.

     .. code-block:: ini

        pci_passthrough_whitelist = { "address": "[[[[<domain>]:]<bus>]:][<slot>][.[<function>]]", "physical_network": "physnet2" }

     For example, to match any domain, bus 0a, slot 00, and all functions:

     .. code-block:: ini

        pci_passthrough_whitelist = { "address": "*:0a:00.*", "physical_network": "physnet2" }

   - PCI ``vendor_id`` and ``product_id`` as displayed by the Linux utility
     ``lspci``.

     .. code-block:: ini

        pci_passthrough_whitelist = { "vendor_id": "<id>", "product_id": "<id>", "physical_network": "physnet2" }

   If the device defined by the PCI address or ``devname`` corresponds to an
   SR-IOV PF, all VFs under the PF will match the entry. Multiple
   ``pci_passthrough_whitelist`` entries per host are supported.

#. Restart the ``nova-compute`` service for the changes to go into effect.

.. _configure_sriov_neutron_server:

Configure neutron-server (Controller)
-------------------------------------

#. Add ``sriovnicswitch`` as mechanism driver. Edit the ``ml2_conf.ini`` file
   on each controller:

   .. code-block:: ini

      mechanism_drivers = openvswitch,sriovnicswitch

#. Add the ``plugin.ini`` file as a parameter to the ``neutron-server``
   service. Edit the appropriate initialization script to configure the
   ``neutron-server`` service to load the plugin configuration file:

   .. code-block:: bash

      --config-file /etc/neutron/neutron.conf
      --config-file /etc/neutron/plugin.ini

#. Restart the ``neutron-server`` service.

Configure nova-scheduler (Controller)
-------------------------------------

#. On every controller node running the ``nova-scheduler`` service, add
   ``PciPassthroughFilter`` to ``scheduler_default_filters`` to enable
   ``PciPassthroughFilter`` by default.
   Also ensure ``scheduler_available_filters`` parameter under the
   ``[DEFAULT]`` section in ``nova.conf`` is set to ``all_filters``
   to enable all filters provided by the Compute service.

   .. code-block:: ini

      [DEFAULT]
      scheduler_default_filters = RetryFilter, AvailabilityZoneFilter, RamFilter, ComputeFilter, ComputeCapabilitiesFilter, ImagePropertiesFilter, ServerGroupAntiAffinityFilter, ServerGroupAffinityFilter, PciPassthroughFilter
      scheduler_available_filters = nova.scheduler.filters.all_filters

#. Restart the ``nova-scheduler`` service.

Enable neutron sriov-agent (Compute)
-------------------------------------

#. Install the SR-IOV agent.

#. Edit the ``sriov_agent.ini`` file on each compute node. For example:

   .. code-block:: ini

      [securitygroup]
      firewall_driver = neutron.agent.firewall.NoopFirewallDriver

      [sriov_nic]
      physical_device_mappings = physnet2:eth3
      exclude_devices =

   .. note::

      The ``physical_device_mappings`` parameter is not limited to be a 1-1
      mapping between physical networks and NICs. This enables you to map the
      same physical network to more than one NIC. For example, if ``physnet2``
      is connected to ``eth3`` and ``eth4``, then
      ``physnet2:eth3,physnet2:eth4`` is a valid option.

   The ``exclude_devices`` parameter is empty, therefore, all the VFs
   associated with eth3 may be configured by the agent. To exclude specific
   VFs, add them to the ``exclude_devices`` parameter as follows:

   .. code-block:: ini

      exclude_devices = eth1:0000:07:00.2;0000:07:00.3,eth2:0000:05:00.1;0000:05:00.2

#. Ensure the neutron sriov-agent runs successfully:

   .. code-block:: console

      # neutron-sriov-nic-agent \
        --config-file /etc/neutron/neutron.conf \
        --config-file /etc/neutron/plugins/ml2/sriov_agent.ini

#. Enable the neutron sriov-agent service.

   If installing from source, you must configure a daemon file for the init
   system manually.

(Optional) FDB L2 agent extension
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Forwarding DataBase (FDB) population is an L2 agent extension to OVS agent or
Linux bridge. Its objective is to update the FDB table for existing instance
using normal port. This enables communication between SR-IOV instances and
normal instances. The use cases of the FDB population extension are:

* Direct port and normal port instances reside on the same compute node.

* Direct port instance that uses floating IP address and network node
  are located on the same host.

For additional information describing the problem, refer to:
`Virtual switching technologies and Linux bridge.
<http://events.linuxfoundation.org/sites/events/files/slides/LinuxConJapan2014_makita_0.pdf>`_

#. Edit the ``ovs_agent.ini`` or ``linuxbridge_agent.ini`` file on each compute
   node. For example:

   .. code-block:: console

      [agent]
      extensions = fdb

#. Add the FDB section and the ``shared_physical_device_mappings`` parameter.
   This parameter maps each physical port to its physical network name. Each
   physical network can be mapped to several ports:

   .. code-block:: console

      [FDB]
      shared_physical_device_mappings = physnet1:p1p1, physnet1:p1p2

Launching instances with SR-IOV ports
-------------------------------------

Once configuration is complete, you can launch instances with SR-IOV ports.

#. Get the ``id`` of the network where you want the SR-IOV port to be created:

   .. code-block:: console

      $ net_id=`neutron net-show net04 | grep "\ id\ " | awk '{ print $4 }'`

#. Create the SR-IOV port. ``vnic_type=direct`` is used here, but other options
   include ``normal``, ``direct-physical``, and ``macvtap``:

   .. code-block:: console

      $ port_id=`neutron port-create $net_id --name sriov_port --binding:vnic_type direct | grep "\ id\ " | awk '{ print $4 }'`

#. Create the instance. Specify the SR-IOV port created in step two for the
   NIC:

   .. code-block:: console

      $ openstack server create --flavor m1.large --image ubuntu_14.04 --nic port-id=$port_id test-sriov

   .. note::

      There are two ways to attach VFs to an instance. You can create an SR-IOV
      port or use the ``pci_alias`` in the Compute service. For more
      information about using ``pci_alias``, refer to `nova-api configuration
      <https://docs.openstack.org/admin-guide/compute-pci-passthrough.html#configure-nova-api-controller>`__.

SR-IOV with InfiniBand
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The support for SR-IOV with InfiniBand allows a Virtual PCI device (VF) to
be directly mapped to the guest, allowing higher performance and advanced
features such as RDMA (remote direct memory access). To use this feature,
you must:

#. Use InfiniBand enabled network adapters.

#. Run InfiniBand subnet managers to enable InfiniBand fabric.

   All InfiniBand networks must have a subnet manager running for the network
   to function. This is true even when doing a simple network of two
   machines with no switch and the cards are plugged in back-to-back. A
   subnet manager is required for the link on the cards to come up.
   It is possible to have more than one subnet manager. In this case, one
   of them will act as the master, and any other will act as a slave that
   will take over when the master subnet manager fails.

#. Install the ``ebrctl`` utility on the compute nodes.

   Check that ``ebrctl`` is listed somewhere in ``/etc/nova/rootwrap.d/*``:

   .. code-block:: console

      $ grep 'ebrctl' /etc/nova/rootwrap.d/*

   If ``ebrctl`` does not appear in any of the rootwrap files, add this to the
   ``/etc/nova/rootwrap.d/compute.filters`` file in the ``[Filters]`` section.

   .. code-block:: none

      [Filters]
      ebrctl: CommandFilter, ebrctl, root

Known limitations
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

* When using Quality of Service (QoS), ``max_burst_kbps`` (burst over
  ``max_kbps``) is not supported. In addition, ``max_kbps`` is rounded to
  Mbps.
* Security groups are not supported when using SR-IOV, thus, the firewall
  driver must be disabled. This can be done in the ``neutron.conf`` file.

  .. code-block:: ini

     [securitygroup]
     firewall_driver = neutron.agent.firewall.NoopFirewallDriver

* SR-IOV is not integrated into the OpenStack Dashboard (horizon). Users must
  use the CLI or API to configure SR-IOV interfaces.
* Live migration is not supported for instances with SR-IOV ports.

  .. note::

     SR-IOV features may require a specific NIC driver version, depending on the vendor.
     Intel NICs, for example, require ixgbe version 4.4.6 or greater, and ixgbevf version
     3.2.2 or greater.
