oxidecomputer / oxidecomputer/propolis

Popping a desc off of a virtio queue should return an error

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Dominant language
Rust
Stars
270
Forks
42
Avg merge
4d 5h
Merged PRs (30d)
6

Description

Today pop_avail is defined like so:

    /// Accummulates a sequence of available descriptors into a `Chain`.
    ///
    /// VirtIO descriptors can be organized into a linked list
    pub fn pop_avail(
        &self,
        chain: &mut Chain,
        mem: &MemCtx,
    ) -> Option<(u16, u32)>

This function likely needs to return Result<Option<(u16, u32), VqError> so we can appropriately handle invalid host/guest state. This means when we detect invalid data from a guest we need to inform the guest that the device needs a reset.

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First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Begin at the Rust pop_avail entry point and trace its callers, especially the handling of Chain, MemCtx, and VqError. Check how invalid guest data is detected and how the device currently communicates reset needs; done means invalid virtio queue state produces the documented error path and informs the guest that reset is required.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
rust
Domain
backend
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
45/100

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