Getting Started Guide for ACRN Hybrid Mode

ACRN hypervisor supports a hybrid scenario where the User VM (such as Zephyr or Ubuntu) runs in a pre-launched VM or in a post-launched VM that is launched by a Device model in the Service VM.

Figure 18 The Hybrid scenario on the Intel NUC

The following guidelines describe how to set up the ACRN hypervisor hybrid scenario on the Intel NUC, as shown in Figure 18.

Note

All build operations are done directly on the target. Building the artifacts (ACRN hypervisor, kernel, tools and Zephyr) on a separate development machine can be done but is not described in this document.

Set-up base installation

• Use the Intel NUC Kit NUC7i7DNHE.

• Connect to the serial port as described in Connecting to the serial port.

• Install Ubuntu 18.04 on your SATA device or on the NVME disk of your Intel NUC.

Prepare the Zephyr image

Prepare the Zephyr kernel that you will run in VM0 later.

• Follow step 1 from the Run Zephyr as the User VM instructions

  Note

  We only need the binary Zephyr kernel, not the entire zephyr.img

• Copy the zephyr/zephyr.bin to the /boot folder:

  sudo cp zephyr/zephyr.bin /boot
  

Set-up ACRN on your device

• Follow the instructions in Build ACRN From Source to build ACRN using the hybrid scenario. Here is the build command-line for the Intel NUC Kit NUC7i7DNHE:

  make BOARD=nuc7i7dnb SCENARIO=hybrid
  

• Install the ACRN hypervisor and tools

  cd ~/acrn-hypervisor # Or wherever your sources are
  sudo make install
  sudo cp build/hypervisor/acrn.bin /boot
  sudo cp build/hypervisor/acpi/ACPI_VM0.bin /boot
  

• Build and install the ACRN kernel

  cd ~/acrn-kernel # Or where your ACRN kernel sources are
  cp kernel_config_uefi_sos .config
  make olddefconfig
  make
  sudo make modules_install
  sudo cp arch/x86/boot/bzImage /boot/bzImage
  

Update Ubuntu GRUB

Perform the following to update Ubuntu GRUB so it can boot the hypervisor and load the kernel image:

1. Append the following configuration in the /etc/grub.d/40_custom file:

   menuentry 'ACRN hypervisor Hybrid Scenario' --id ACRN_Hybrid --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-simple-e23c76ae-b06d-4a6e-ad42-46b8eedfd7d3' {
      recordfail
      load_video
      gfxmode $linux_gfx_mode
      insmod gzio
      insmod part_gpt
      insmod ext2
      echo 'Loading hypervisor Hybrid scenario ...'
      multiboot2 /boot/acrn.bin
      module2 /boot/zephyr.bin xxxxxx
      module2 /boot/bzImage yyyyyy
      module2 /boot/ACPI_VM0.bin ACPI_VM0
   
   }
   

   Note

   The module /boot/zephyr.bin is the VM0 (Zephyr) kernel file. The param xxxxxx is VM0’s kernel file tag and must exactly match the kern_mod of VM0, which is configured in the misc/config_tools/data/nuc7i7dnb/hybrid.xml file. The multiboot module /boot/bzImage is the Service VM kernel file. The param yyyyyy is the bzImage tag and must exactly match the kern_mod of VM1 in the misc/config_tools/data/nuc7i7dnb/hybrid.xml file. The kernel command-line arguments used to boot the Service VM are bootargs of VM1 in the misc/config_tools/data/nuc7i7dnb/hybrid.xml. The module /boot/ACPI_VM0.bin is the binary of ACPI tables for pre-launched VM0 (Zephyr). The parameter ACPI_VM0 is VM0’s ACPI tag and should not be modified.

2. Modify the /etc/default/grub file as follows to make the GRUB menu visible when booting:

   GRUB_DEFAULT=ACRN_Hybrid
   GRUB_TIMEOUT=5
   # GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT=0
   GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT_QUIET=false
   

3. Update GRUB:

   $ sudo update-grub
   

4. Reboot the Intel NUC. Select the ACRN hypervisor Hybrid Scenario entry to boot the ACRN hypervisor on the Intel NUC’s display. The GRUB loader will boot the hypervisor, and the hypervisor will start the VMs automatically.

Hybrid Scenario Startup Check

1. Use these steps to verify that the hypervisor is properly running:

   1. Log in to the ACRN hypervisor shell from the serial console.

   2. Use the vm_list command to verify that the pre-launched VM and Service VM are launched successfully.

2. Use these steps to verify all VMs are running properly:

   1. Use the vm_console 0 to switch to VM0 (Zephyr) console. It will display Hello world! acrn.

   2. Enter Ctrl + Space to return to the ACRN hypervisor shell.

   3. Use the vm_console 1 command to switch to the VM1 (Service VM) console.

   4. Verify that the VM1’s Service VM can boot and you can log in.

   5. ssh to VM1 and launch the post-launched VM2 using the ACRN device model launch script.

   6. Go to the Service VM console, and enter Ctrl + Space to return to the ACRN hypervisor shell.

   7. Use the vm_console 2 command to switch to the VM2 (User VM) console.

   8. Verify that VM2 can boot and you can log in.

Refer to the ACRN Shell Commands for more information about available commands.