Virtualizing Time

What this episode covers

Jordan Hendricks from Oxide Computer Company explains the complex engineering challenges of virtualizing the x86 Timestamp Counter (TSC) to enable live migration of virtual machines. She details how frequency variances between physical hosts require precise offset and multiplier calculations, and describes writing a Rust-based simulator to verify the math before implementing it in the Beehive hypervisor. The discussion covers the necessity of handling these timekeeping nuances to prevent guest OS errors during migration between Intel and AMD hardware.