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Configure a host

Follow the instructions on this page to configure a system as a KVM virtualization host (hypervisor) that is capable of running TD protected guests (VMs).

Hardware Requirements

Operating System

Download and install the latest CentOS Stream 9 x86_64 image from the CentOS website.

Packages

  1. Add the Virt SIG TDX package repository to the system by running the command below which will create /etc/yum.repos.d/tdx.repo:

    echo "[tdx]
name=CentOS TDX
metalink=https://mirrors.centos.org/metalink?repo=centos-virt-sig-tdx-devel-\$releasever-stream&arch=\$basearch&protocol=https
gpgcheck=0
enabled=1" | sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/tdx.repo

    Alternatively, you can manually create the repo file yourself in /etc/yum.repos.d/ with the content below: 

    [tdx]
name=CentOS TDX
metalink=https://mirrors.centos.org/metalink?repo=centos-virt-sig-tdx-devel-$releasever-stream&arch=$basearch&protocol=https
gpgcheck=0
enabled=1

  2. Install the TDX host packages:

    dnf install \
kernel-tdx \
qemu-kvm-tdx \
libvirt-tdx

UEFI (BIOS) settings

The system needs to have certain UEFI (BIOS) settings configured for TDX. Below are paths from Intel's reference UEFI. Note: UEFI settings and locations may vary by vendor.

  1. Enable Software Guard Extension (SGX)

    • Go to EDKII MENU -> Socket Configuration -> Processor Configuration -> Software Guard Extension (SGX)
      • Set SW Guard Extensions (SGX) to Enable

  2. Enable TDX and TME/MKTME

    • Go to EDKII MENU -> Socket Configuration -> Processor Configuration -> TME, TME-MT, TDX
    • Set Total Memory Encryption (TME) to Enable
    • Set Total Memory Encryption Bypass to Enable (optional; for best host and non-TDVM performance)
    • Set Total Memory Encryption Multi-Tenant (TME-MT) to Enable
    • Set TME-MT memory integrity to Disable
    • Set Trust Domain Extension (TDX) to Enable
    • Set the TME-MT/TDX key split to a non zero value
    • Set TDX Secure Arbitration Mode Loader (SEAM Loader) to Enable. This allows loading SEAMLDR and TDX modules from the ESP or BIOS.

Verification

  1. Reboot the system and verify the running kernel version matches the one provided in the Virt SIG TDX repo:

    Print the kernel version being privded in the Virt SIG repository: 

    dnf repository-packages tdx list kernel

    Print the name of the running kernel: 

    uname -r

  2. Verify that TDX is enabled using the dmesg command:

    sudo dmesg | grep -i tdx

    Example output: 

    [ 0.276580] tdx: BIOS enabled: private KeyID range [64, 128)

  3. Reload kvm_intel module with tdx=1 to enable TDX in KVM:

    sudo rmmod kvm_intel
sudo modprobe kvm_intel tdx=1

    To enable TDX by default at boot use one of the options below:

    • Option 1: Add kvm_intel.tdx=1 into host kernel cmdline. For example: 
      sudo grubby --update-kernel=ALL --args=kvm_intel.tdx=1
    • Option 2: Add options kvm_intel tdx=1 into a /etc/modprobe.d/ drop-in file. For example: 
      echo "options kvm_intel tdx=1" | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/tdx.conf

  4. Verify TDX is initialized on the host by checking for new output from the dmesg command:

    sudo dmesg | grep -i tdx

    Example output: 

    [ 0.276580] tdx: BIOS enabled: private KeyID range [64, 128)
[ 1171.427593] tdx: TDX module: attributes 0x0, vendor_id 0x8086, major_version 1, minor_version 5,  build_date 20230420, build_num 507
[ 1171.427600] tdx: CMR: [0x100000, 0x77800000)
[ 1171.427602] tdx: CMR: [0x100000000, 0x107a000000)
[ 1171.427603] tdx: CMR: [0x1080000000, 0x207c000000)
[ 1171.427604] tdx: CMR: [0x2080000000, 0x307c000000)
[ 1171.427606] tdx: CMR: [0x3080000000, 0x407c000000)
[ 1172.577580] tdx: 1050644 KBs allocated for PAMT.
[ 1172.577589] tdx: module initialized.

The system is now configured as a KVM host capable of hosting and securing TD guests. See Run a TDX guest next.