Project Setup

Assignment 1

1. VMWare Workstation Setup

   • Download and install VMware Workstation.

2. Create a Virtual Machine

   • Download the Ubuntu ISO.
   • Create a Virtual Machine in VMware Workstation for Ubuntu.

3. Enable Nested Virtualization

   • In the VM settings, select nested virtualization capabilities.

4. Fork the Linux Repository

   • Fork the original Linux repository from Linus Torvalds' GitHub.

5. Check VM's Virtualization Capabilities

   • Inside the VM, check virtualization capabilities using the command cat /proc/cpuinfo.

6. Install Git

   • Install Git on the VM using the command sudo apt-get install git.

7. Clone the Forked Repository

   • Clone the forked Linux repository from your GitHub account.

8. Edit Source Code

   • Navigate to the cloned repository using cd linux.
   • In cmpe283-1.c, add sections of code for primary procbased controls, secondary procbased controls, entry, and exit controls based on the SDM.

9. Create a Folder for Your Module

   • Create a folder named cmpe283 and place the modified cmpe283-1.c file and the Makefile inside it.

10. Kernel Building and Installation

    • Run the following commands in sequence:
      • make menuconfig (do not save any changes in the UI and exit)
      • cp /boot/config-<current version> (replace <current version> with the version from uname -a)
      • make oldconfig (press Enter to answer all questions)
      • make prepare
      • make -j <number of cores> (e.g., make -j 4)
      • If you encounter an error related to 'debian/canonical-certs.pem', edit the .config file and set the system trusted keys and revocation keys strings to empty.
      • make -j <number of cores> (e.g., make -j 4)
      • sudo make INSTALL_MOD_STRIP=1 modules_install
      • sudo make install
      • sudo reboot

11. Check Kernel Version

    • After the reboot, run uname -a to check that the kernel version has changed.

12. Load and Test Your Module

    • Change directory to the cmpe283 folder.
    • Run make to compile your module.
    • After a successful compile, check that the .ko file is created using lsmod | grep cmpe283.
    • Insert your module with sudo insmod cmpe283-1.ko.

13. View Module Information

    • Run dmesg to view capability information for all the MSR defined in cmpe283-1.c under the heading "Module Start."

14. Remove Your Module

    • To remove the module, run sudo rmmod cmpe283-1.
    • Check the exit message with dmesg ("Module Exits").

Assignment 2

1. Start with Assignment 1 Setup

2. Modify the cpuid.c and vmx.c Files

   • Make the necessary modifications to the cpuid.c and vmx.c files based on the requirements for tracking exits.

3. Compile and Install the Kernel

   • Run the following commands:
     • make -j 4 modules
     • make INSTALL_MOD_STRIP=1 modules_install && make install

4. Unload Existing KVM Modules

   • Run lsmod | grep kvm.
   • If modules are loaded, run rmmod kvm and rmmod kvm_intel.

5. Load KVM Module

   • Run modprobe kvm.

6. Install Virtual Machine Manager

   • Install Virtual Machine Manager from the Ubuntu Software Center.

7. Create an Inner VM

   • Download an Ubuntu ISO and install an Ubuntu VM inside your existing VM (inner VM).

8. Install cpuid Package

   • Inside the inner VM, install the cpuid package using sudo apt-get install cpuid.

9. Test Modifications

   • Use the cpuid commands to observe the total exits and exit reasons as described in Assignment 2.

Assignment 3

1. Start with Assignment 2 Setup

2. Modify Kernel Code

   • Make edits to linux/arch/x86/kvm/cpuid.c and linux/arch/x86/kvm/vmx/vmx.c to add CPUID leaf nodes for reporting exit times.

3. Compile and Install the Kernel

   • Follow the steps to compile and install the modified kernel as described in Assignment 2.

4. Test Modifications

   • Inside the inner VM, use the new CPUID leaf nodes to report exit times.

Assignment 4

1. Start with Assignment 3 Setup

2. Run dmesg to Print Exit Counts

   • Run dmesg to print counts for exit reasons.

3. Analyze Exit Counts

   • Compare the exit counts between nested paging and shadow paging.

4. Record Observations

   • Record any changes in exit counts and reasons between the two paging methods.