[RFC qemu-server] add vhost-user-net backend support

[RFC qemu-server] add vhost-user-net backend support

[亮佑中山]

Subject: [RFC qemu-server] add vhost-user-net backend support

Hi,

I'd like to propose adding vhost-user-net backend support to
qemu-server, enabling high-performance userspace networking
with frameworks like FD.io VPP.

Background
----------

Currently, qemu-server supports tap (with optional vhost kernel
acceleration) and user-mode networking via print_netdev_full()
in QemuServer.pm. QEMU itself already supports vhost-user
backends, but qemu-server does not expose this option.

FD.io VPP is a high-performance userspace forwarding engine
originally developed by Cisco and now under the Linux
Foundation. It uses DPDK for kernel bypass and processes
packets in vectors (batches) rather than one at a time,
maximizing CPU cache efficiency.

The performance difference compared to the Linux kernel stack
is substantial [1]:

- L3 forwarding: VPP achieves 14 Mpps (line rate on 10G)
  with just 3 cores, where the Linux kernel needs ~26 cores
  for the same throughput -- roughly a 9x improvement in
  CPU efficiency.

- NAT: VPP reaches 3.2 Mpps with 2 cores, while iptables
  requires ~29 cores for the same rate. VPP can push NAT
  to full line rate with 12 cores.

VPP also provides a rich plugin ecosystem including SRv6,
VXLAN, WireGuard, IPsec, and PPPoE -- all operating at
near-line-rate [2]. Its vhost-user backend enables direct
shared-memory connectivity with VMs, bypassing the kernel
entirely for VM-to-VPP traffic.

For Proxmox users running network-intensive workloads, this
would be a significant upgrade over the current Linux Bridge
or OVS dataplane. Concrete use cases include:

- high-performance East-West forwarding between VMs
- SRv6 traffic steering and encapsulation
- PPPoE Access Concentrator termination at line rate
- high-speed NAT for edge/ISP-like setups
- router VM appliances backed by VPP
- VXLAN overlay networks with lower CPU overhead than
  kernel-based VXLAN encap/decap

Proposed changes
----------------

1) Extend the net device schema in PVE::QemuServer::Network
   to accept a vhost-user socket path as a new backend type.

2) Modify print_netdev_full() to generate the appropriate QEMU
   arguments:
     -chardev socket,id=<id>,path=<socket_path>
     -netdev vhost-user,id=<id>,chardev=<id>

3) Auto-detect available vhost-user sockets (e.g. from a
   running VPP instance exposing an L2 bridge-domain) to
   simplify configuration.

Considerations
--------------

- HA: should work without issues, as vhost-user is a
  host-local configuration.

- live migration: block migration for VMs using vhost-user
  netdevs, since the socket is local to the source host.
  Migration support could be added later if the target host
  can provide a matching socket.

- firewall: reject firewall=1 on vhost-user NICs, since
  traffic bypasses the kernel and pve-firewall rules would
  be silently ineffective.

I have reviewed the qemu-server source on git.proxmox.com and
believe the change is fairly contained. Happy to write and
submit a patch if there is interest.

This was also discussed on the Proxmox forum:
https://forum.proxmox.com/threads/interest-in-vpp-vector-packet-processing-as-a-dataplane-option-for-proxmox.181530/

Feedback on the approach or any design constraints I should be
aware of would be appreciated.

[1]
https://blog.apnic.net/2020/04/17/kernel-bypass-networking-with-fd-io-and-vpp/
[2] https://fd.io/docs/vpp/v2101/whatisvpp/performance
[3] https://fd.io/docs/whitepapers/FDioVPPwhitepaperJuly2017.pdf

Signed-off-by: Ryosuke Nakayama <ryosuke.nakayama@ryskn.com>