Documentation/virt/ne_overview.rst

16 application then runs in a separate VM than the primary VM, namely an enclave.
23 The resources that are allocated for the enclave, such as memory and CPUs, are
24 carved out of the primary VM. Each enclave is mapped to a process running in the
29 1. An enclave abstraction process - a user space process running in the primary
31 enclave VM (that's 2 below).
37 maps to an enclave start PCI command. The PCI device commands are then
42 2. The enclave itself - a VM running on the same host as the primary VM that
44 for the enclave VM. An enclave does not have persistent storage attached.
46 The memory regions carved out of the primary VM and given to an enclave need to
49 user space [2][3][7]. The memory size for an enclave needs to be at least
50 64 MiB. The enclave memory and CPUs need to be from the same NUMA node.
52 An enclave runs on dedicated cores. CPU 0 and its CPU siblings need to remain
57 An enclave communicates with the primary VM via a local communication channel,
59 while the enclave VM has a virtio-mmio vsock emulated device. The vsock device
60 uses eventfd for signaling. The enclave VM sees the usual interfaces - local
64 The application that runs in the enclave needs to be packaged in an enclave
66 enclave VM. The enclave VM has its own kernel and follows the standard Linux
73 Hash values are computed for the entire enclave image (EIF), the kernel and
74 ramdisk(s). That's used, for example, to check that the enclave image that is
75 loaded in the enclave VM is the one that was intended to be run.
79 enclave; KMS is an example of service that NE is integrated with and that checks
82 The enclave image (EIF) is loaded in the enclave memory at offset 8 MiB. The
83 init process in the enclave connects to the vsock CID of the primary VM and a
85 used to check in the primary VM that the enclave has booted. The CID of the
88 If the enclave VM crashes or gracefully exits, an interrupt event is received by
89 the NE driver. This event is sent further to the user space enclave process
91 enclave process can exit.