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			{{About message}}

	{{Historical}}		{{Historical}}
	This page will provide introductory context on where to begin reading. It will aim to give you a sense of primitives or foundational concepts used for GPU Virtualization.		This page will provide introductory context on where to begin reading. It will aim to give you a sense of primitives or foundational concepts used for GPU Virtualization.

WikiBot: Add historical banner (2026 documentation update)

2026-10-12T04:23:13Z

Add historical banner (2026 documentation update)

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:23, 12 October 2026
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			{{Historical}}
	This page will provide introductory context on where to begin reading. It will aim to give you a sense of primitives or foundational concepts used for GPU Virtualization.		This page will provide introductory context on where to begin reading. It will aim to give you a sense of primitives or foundational concepts used for GPU Virtualization.

Arthur at 03:21, 19 January 2023

2023-01-19T03:21:02Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:21, 19 January 2023
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	=== GPU Drivers ===		=== GPU Drivers ===
	GPUs need software to communicate from a host computer system to the device - this software is called a GPU Driver and it typically interacts with the device using [[wikipedia:Memory-mapped_I/O\|MMIO or Memory Mapped IO]]. MMIO is a set of operations used to allow normal CPU instructions to address registers in RAM in order to communicate with the PCI-e device. In the context of virtualization these registers must be presented into the device in a way that the guest operating system expects. Typically this is accomplished using [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#All_Modes VFIO or Virtual Function IO]. VFIO is used for many methods of virtualizing the device~~. This includes~~ discrete assignment, ~~software virtualization, and firmware virtualization~~.		GPUs need software to communicate from a host computer system to the device - this software is called a GPU Driver and it typically interacts with the device using [[wikipedia:Memory-mapped_I/O\|MMIO or Memory Mapped IO]]. MMIO is a set of operations used to allow normal CPU instructions to address registers in RAM in order to communicate with the PCI-e device. In the context of virtualization these registers must be presented into the device in a way that the guest operating system expects. Typically this is accomplished using [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#All_Modes VFIO or Virtual Function IO]. VFIO is used for many methods of virtualizing the device including discrete assignment of a physical device, or virtual (partitioned) device assignment created with or without hardware assistance.

	=== IOMMU ===		=== IOMMU ===
	[[wikipedia:Memory_management_unit\|MMU or Memory Management Units]] handle hardware ~~enforcement~~ access to [[wikipedia:Memory_paging\|memory paging]] in computer systems. In the context of virtualized MMIO (Memory Mapped Input Output) devices an MMU is required to hardware enforce access to virtual devices (a [[wikipedia:Input–output_memory_management_unit\|Memory Management Unit for Input Output is known as an IOMMU]]). In the case of VFIO, groups of IOMMU devices ([https://vfio.blogspot.com/2014/08/iommu-groups-inside-and-out.html IOMMU Groups]) are used to control access to the device. These IOMMU Groups often represent individual devices or sub-devices (in the context of [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#Mdev_Mode Unassisted Virtualization (VFIO-Mdev)], [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#SR-IOV_Mode Hardware-Assisted Virtualization (SR-IOV)], or [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#SIOV_Mode Hardware-Assisted Paravirtualization]) which may be bound to a VFIO bus driver (such as [https://docs.kernel.org/driver-api/vfio.html#vfio-bus-driver-api vfio-pci]) which results in a [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#Binding_VFIO_devices VFIO Group] (unit of ownership).		[[wikipedia:Memory_management_unit\|MMU or Memory Management Units]] handle hardware enforced access to [[wikipedia:Memory_paging\|memory paging]] in computer systems. In the context of virtualized MMIO (Memory Mapped Input Output) devices an MMU is required to hardware enforce access to virtual devices (a [[wikipedia:Input–output_memory_management_unit\|Memory Management Unit for Input Output is known as an IOMMU]]). In the case of VFIO, groups of IOMMU devices ([https://vfio.blogspot.com/2014/08/iommu-groups-inside-and-out.html IOMMU Groups]) are used to control access to the device. These IOMMU Groups often represent individual devices or sub-devices (in the context of [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#Mdev_Mode Unassisted Virtualization (VFIO-Mdev)], [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#SR-IOV_Mode Hardware-Assisted Virtualization (SR-IOV)], or [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#SIOV_Mode Hardware-Assisted Paravirtualization]) which may be bound to a VFIO bus driver (such as [https://docs.kernel.org/driver-api/vfio.html#vfio-bus-driver-api vfio-pci]) which results in a [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#Binding_VFIO_devices VFIO Group] (unit of ownership).

	=== Virtualization vs. Paravirtualization ===		=== Virtualization vs. Paravirtualization ===

Arthur: /* IOMMU */

2022-12-21T23:02:04Z

IOMMU

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	=== IOMMU ===		=== IOMMU ===
	[[wikipedia:Memory_management_unit\|MMU or Memory Management Units]] handle hardware enforcement access to [[wikipedia:Memory_paging\|memory paging]] in computer systems. In the context of virtualized MMIO (Memory Mapped Input Output) devices an MMU is required to hardware enforce access to virtual devices (a [[wikipedia:Input–output_memory_management_unit\|Memory Management Unit for Input Output is known as an IOMMU]]). In the case of VFIO, groups of IOMMU devices ([https://vfio.blogspot.com/2014/08/iommu-groups-inside-and-out.html IOMMU Groups]) are used to control access to the device. These IOMMU Groups often represent individual devices or sub-devices (in the context of [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#Mdev_Mode Unassisted Virtualization], [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#SR-IOV_Mode Hardware-Assisted Virtualization], or [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#SIOV_Mode Hardware-Assisted Paravirtualization]) which may be bound to a VFIO bus driver (such as [https://docs.kernel.org/driver-api/vfio.html#vfio-bus-driver-api vfio-pci]) which results in a [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#Binding_VFIO_devices VFIO Group] (unit of ownership).		[[wikipedia:Memory_management_unit\|MMU or Memory Management Units]] handle hardware enforcement access to [[wikipedia:Memory_paging\|memory paging]] in computer systems. In the context of virtualized MMIO (Memory Mapped Input Output) devices an MMU is required to hardware enforce access to virtual devices (a [[wikipedia:Input–output_memory_management_unit\|Memory Management Unit for Input Output is known as an IOMMU]]). In the case of VFIO, groups of IOMMU devices ([https://vfio.blogspot.com/2014/08/iommu-groups-inside-and-out.html IOMMU Groups]) are used to control access to the device. These IOMMU Groups often represent individual devices or sub-devices (in the context of [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#Mdev_Mode Unassisted Virtualization (VFIO-Mdev)], [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#SR-IOV_Mode Hardware-Assisted Virtualization (SR-IOV)], or [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#SIOV_Mode Hardware-Assisted Paravirtualization]) which may be bound to a VFIO bus driver (such as [https://docs.kernel.org/driver-api/vfio.html#vfio-bus-driver-api vfio-pci]) which results in a [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#Binding_VFIO_devices VFIO Group] (unit of ownership).

	=== Virtualization vs. Paravirtualization ===		=== Virtualization vs. Paravirtualization ===

Arthur: /* IOMMU */

2022-12-21T23:00:49Z

IOMMU

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:00, 21 December 2022
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	=== IOMMU ===		=== IOMMU ===
	[[wikipedia:Memory_management_unit\|MMU or Memory Management Units]] handle hardware enforcement access to [[wikipedia:Memory_paging\|memory paging]] in computer systems. In the context of virtualized MMIO (Memory Mapped Input Output) devices an MMU is required to hardware enforce access to virtual devices (a [[wikipedia:Input–output_memory_management_unit\|Memory Management Unit for Input Output or IOMMU]]). In the case of VFIO, groups of IOMMU devices ([https://vfio.blogspot.com/2014/08/iommu-groups-inside-and-out.html IOMMU Groups]) are used to control access to the device. These IOMMU Groups often represent individual devices or sub-devices (in the context of [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#Mdev_Mode Unassisted Virtualization], [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#SR-IOV_Mode Hardware-Assisted Virtualization], or [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#SIOV_Mode Hardware-Assisted Paravirtualization]) which may be bound to a VFIO bus driver (such as [https://docs.kernel.org/driver-api/vfio.html#vfio-bus-driver-api vfio-pci]) which results in a [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#Binding_VFIO_devices VFIO Group] (unit of ownership).		[[wikipedia:Memory_management_unit\|MMU or Memory Management Units]] handle hardware enforcement access to [[wikipedia:Memory_paging\|memory paging]] in computer systems. In the context of virtualized MMIO (Memory Mapped Input Output) devices an MMU is required to hardware enforce access to virtual devices (a [[wikipedia:Input–output_memory_management_unit\|Memory Management Unit for Input Output is known as an IOMMU]]). In the case of VFIO, groups of IOMMU devices ([https://vfio.blogspot.com/2014/08/iommu-groups-inside-and-out.html IOMMU Groups]) are used to control access to the device. These IOMMU Groups often represent individual devices or sub-devices (in the context of [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#Mdev_Mode Unassisted Virtualization], [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#SR-IOV_Mode Hardware-Assisted Virtualization], or [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#SIOV_Mode Hardware-Assisted Paravirtualization]) which may be bound to a VFIO bus driver (such as [https://docs.kernel.org/driver-api/vfio.html#vfio-bus-driver-api vfio-pci]) which results in a [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#Binding_VFIO_devices VFIO Group] (unit of ownership).

	=== Virtualization vs. Paravirtualization ===		=== Virtualization vs. Paravirtualization ===

Arthur: /* IOMMU */

2022-12-21T22:59:44Z

IOMMU

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:59, 21 December 2022
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	=== IOMMU ===		=== IOMMU ===
	[[wikipedia:Memory_management_unit\|MMU or Memory Management Units]] handle hardware enforcement access to [[wikipedia:Memory_paging\|memory paging]] in computer systems. In the context of virtualized Memory Mapped Input Output devices an MMU is required to hardware enforce access to virtual devices (a [[wikipedia:Input–output_memory_management_unit\|Memory Management Unit for Input Output or IOMMU]]). In the case of VFIO, groups of IOMMU devices ([https://vfio.blogspot.com/2014/08/iommu-groups-inside-and-out.html IOMMU Groups]) are used to control access to the device. These IOMMU Groups often represent individual devices or sub-devices (in the context of [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#Mdev_Mode Unassisted Virtualization], [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#SR-IOV_Mode Hardware-Assisted Virtualization], or [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#SIOV_Mode Hardware-Assisted Paravirtualization]) which may be bound to a VFIO bus driver (such as [https://docs.kernel.org/driver-api/vfio.html#vfio-bus-driver-api vfio-pci]) which results in a [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#Binding_VFIO_devices VFIO Group] (unit of ownership).		[[wikipedia:Memory_management_unit\|MMU or Memory Management Units]] handle hardware enforcement access to [[wikipedia:Memory_paging\|memory paging]] in computer systems. In the context of virtualized MMIO (Memory Mapped Input Output) devices an MMU is required to hardware enforce access to virtual devices (a [[wikipedia:Input–output_memory_management_unit\|Memory Management Unit for Input Output or IOMMU]]). In the case of VFIO, groups of IOMMU devices ([https://vfio.blogspot.com/2014/08/iommu-groups-inside-and-out.html IOMMU Groups]) are used to control access to the device. These IOMMU Groups often represent individual devices or sub-devices (in the context of [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#Mdev_Mode Unassisted Virtualization], [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#SR-IOV_Mode Hardware-Assisted Virtualization], or [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#SIOV_Mode Hardware-Assisted Paravirtualization]) which may be bound to a VFIO bus driver (such as [https://docs.kernel.org/driver-api/vfio.html#vfio-bus-driver-api vfio-pci]) which results in a [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#Binding_VFIO_devices VFIO Group] (unit of ownership).

	=== Virtualization vs. Paravirtualization ===		=== Virtualization vs. Paravirtualization ===

Arthur: /* IOMMU */

2022-12-21T22:56:38Z

IOMMU

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:56, 21 December 2022
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	=== IOMMU ===		=== IOMMU ===
	[[wikipedia:Memory_management_unit\|MMU or Memory Management Units]] handle hardware enforcement access to [[wikipedia:Memory_paging\|memory paging]] in computer systems. In the context of virtualized Memory Mapped Input Output devices an MMU is required to hardware enforce access to virtual devices (an [[wikipedia:Input–output_memory_management_unit\|Memory Management Unit for Input Output or IOMMU]]). In the case of VFIO, groups of IOMMU devices ([https://vfio.blogspot.com/2014/08/iommu-groups-inside-and-out.html IOMMU Groups]) are used to control access to the device. These IOMMU Groups often represent individual devices or sub-devices (in the context of [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#Mdev_Mode Unassisted Virtualization], [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#SR-IOV_Mode Hardware-Assisted Virtualization], or [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#SIOV_Mode Hardware-Assisted Paravirtualization]) which may be bound to a VFIO bus driver (such as [https://docs.kernel.org/driver-api/vfio.html#vfio-bus-driver-api vfio-pci]) which results in a [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#Binding_VFIO_devices VFIO Group] (unit of ownership).		[[wikipedia:Memory_management_unit\|MMU or Memory Management Units]] handle hardware enforcement access to [[wikipedia:Memory_paging\|memory paging]] in computer systems. In the context of virtualized Memory Mapped Input Output devices an MMU is required to hardware enforce access to virtual devices (a [[wikipedia:Input–output_memory_management_unit\|Memory Management Unit for Input Output or IOMMU]]). In the case of VFIO, groups of IOMMU devices ([https://vfio.blogspot.com/2014/08/iommu-groups-inside-and-out.html IOMMU Groups]) are used to control access to the device. These IOMMU Groups often represent individual devices or sub-devices (in the context of [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#Mdev_Mode Unassisted Virtualization], [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#SR-IOV_Mode Hardware-Assisted Virtualization], or [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#SIOV_Mode Hardware-Assisted Paravirtualization]) which may be bound to a VFIO bus driver (such as [https://docs.kernel.org/driver-api/vfio.html#vfio-bus-driver-api vfio-pci]) which results in a [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#Binding_VFIO_devices VFIO Group] (unit of ownership).

	=== Virtualization vs. Paravirtualization ===		=== Virtualization vs. Paravirtualization ===

Arthur: /* IOMMU */

2022-12-21T22:56:23Z

IOMMU

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:56, 21 December 2022
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	=== IOMMU ===		=== IOMMU ===
	[[wikipedia:Memory_management_unit\|MMU or Memory Management Units]] handle hardware enforcement access to [[wikipedia:Memory_paging\|memory paging]] in computer systems. In the context of virtualized Memory Mapped Input Output devices an MMU is required to hardware enforce access to virtual devices (an [[wikipedia:Input–output_memory_management_unit\|~~Input Output~~ Memory Management Unit or IOMMU]]). In the case of VFIO, groups of IOMMU devices ([https://vfio.blogspot.com/2014/08/iommu-groups-inside-and-out.html IOMMU Groups]) are used to control access to the device. These IOMMU Groups often represent individual devices or sub-devices (in the context of [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#Mdev_Mode Unassisted Virtualization], [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#SR-IOV_Mode Hardware-Assisted Virtualization], or [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#SIOV_Mode Hardware-Assisted Paravirtualization]) which may be bound to a VFIO bus driver (such as [https://docs.kernel.org/driver-api/vfio.html#vfio-bus-driver-api vfio-pci]) which results in a [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#Binding_VFIO_devices VFIO Group] (unit of ownership).		[[wikipedia:Memory_management_unit\|MMU or Memory Management Units]] handle hardware enforcement access to [[wikipedia:Memory_paging\|memory paging]] in computer systems. In the context of virtualized Memory Mapped Input Output devices an MMU is required to hardware enforce access to virtual devices (an [[wikipedia:Input–output_memory_management_unit\|Memory Management Unit for Input Output or IOMMU]]). In the case of VFIO, groups of IOMMU devices ([https://vfio.blogspot.com/2014/08/iommu-groups-inside-and-out.html IOMMU Groups]) are used to control access to the device. These IOMMU Groups often represent individual devices or sub-devices (in the context of [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#Mdev_Mode Unassisted Virtualization], [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#SR-IOV_Mode Hardware-Assisted Virtualization], or [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#SIOV_Mode Hardware-Assisted Paravirtualization]) which may be bound to a VFIO bus driver (such as [https://docs.kernel.org/driver-api/vfio.html#vfio-bus-driver-api vfio-pci]) which results in a [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#Binding_VFIO_devices VFIO Group] (unit of ownership).

	=== Virtualization vs. Paravirtualization ===		=== Virtualization vs. Paravirtualization ===

Arthur: /* GPU Drivers */

2022-12-21T22:54:52Z

GPU Drivers

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:54, 21 December 2022
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	=== GPU Drivers ===		=== GPU Drivers ===
	GPUs need software to communicate from a host computer system to the device ~~(of course)~~ - this software is called a GPU Driver and it typically interacts with the device using [[wikipedia:Memory-mapped_I/O\|MMIO or Memory Mapped IO]]. MMIO is a set of operations used to allow normal CPU instructions to address registers in RAM in order to communicate with the PCI-e device. In the context of virtualization these registers must be presented into the device in a way that the guest operating system expects. Typically this is accomplished using [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#All_Modes VFIO or Virtual Function IO]. VFIO is used for many methods of virtualizing the device. This includes discrete assignment, software virtualization, and firmware virtualization.		GPUs need software to communicate from a host computer system to the device - this software is called a GPU Driver and it typically interacts with the device using [[wikipedia:Memory-mapped_I/O\|MMIO or Memory Mapped IO]]. MMIO is a set of operations used to allow normal CPU instructions to address registers in RAM in order to communicate with the PCI-e device. In the context of virtualization these registers must be presented into the device in a way that the guest operating system expects. Typically this is accomplished using [https://open-iov.org/index.php/Virtual_I/O_Internals#All_Modes VFIO or Virtual Function IO]. VFIO is used for many methods of virtualizing the device. This includes discrete assignment, software virtualization, and firmware virtualization.

	=== IOMMU ===		=== IOMMU ===

Arthur at 22:27, 12 December 2022

2022-12-12T22:27:02Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:27, 12 December 2022
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	This page will provide introductory context on where to begin reading. It will aim to give you a sense of primitives or foundational concepts used for GPU Virtualization.		This page will provide introductory context on where to begin reading. It will aim to give you a sense of primitives or foundational concepts used for GPU Virtualization.

	== ~~Primarives~~ ==		== Terminology ==
			To get started with basic terminology around IO Virtualization read the [[Glossary]] page. This will get you familiar with a few terms and concepts used in IO Virtualization documentation.

			== Primitives ==
	The primitives section will cover a few notes on the basics of virtualizing a GPU or IO device.		The primitives section will cover a few notes on the basics of virtualizing a GPU or IO device.