From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Received: from bombadil.infradead.org (bombadil.infradead.org [198.137.202.133]) (using TLSv1.3 with cipher TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384 (256/256 bits) key-exchange X25519 server-signature ECDSA (prime256v1) server-digest SHA256) (No client certificate requested) by smtp.subspace.kernel.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 37723606A319 for ; Thu, 22 Oct 2026 23:17:52 +0000 (UTC) Authentication-Results: smtp.subspace.kernel.org; dkim=pass (2048-bit key, unprotected) header.d=lists.infradead.org header.i=@lists.infradead.org header.a=rsa-sha256 header.s=bombadil.20210309 header.b=gx0fRDUD; dkim=pass (2048-bit key, unprotected) header.d=kernel.org header.i=@kernel.org header.a=rsa-sha256 header.s=k20260515 header.b=jF43IVuv DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; q=dns/txt; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=lists.infradead.org; s=bombadil.20210309; h=Sender:List-Subscribe:List-Help :List-Post:List-Archive:List-Unsubscribe:List-Id:In-Reply-To: Content-Transfer-Encoding:Content-Type:MIME-Version:References:Message-ID: Subject:Cc:To:From:Date:Reply-To:Content-ID:Content-Description:Resent-Date: Resent-From:Resent-Sender:Resent-To:Resent-Cc:Resent-Message-ID: List-Unsubscribe-Post:List-Owner; bh=kfBz61fRoC7Z3igoEcq37wqZzMC4s5u9se9kNfpr59s=; b=gx0fRDUD0IfjAsCcYOLaSmmGQt 8Erf32NNfg+Q9Yvo1FL+fr/OGA8wkatd7UXXTAyrBD0VForvjQIYHuf93V14AVK75Ay8QFh4/KgZd RkIneWphc48AncMml8InsuYG783EgeWf0bkbzP/OBcdY8llQJpCZ/odOyy1XpFNzhqzf8GJmGep31 4exaPhVfZXvU9Cy7VvRTxgyvXa7sCSvzIiMr7suw5PXQysx8K0vTxTD/6adcGrFZUV+TG5jkzdBT5 vJ4bn8d/YTGdiYladclXkqcMBT01EiQRx8OhI5ImLIQ2I0epzPTuKcK+m/nt/nnaFFUQgr/dceALK IHzvnRKg==; Received: from localhost ([::1] helo=bombadil.infradead.org) by bombadil.infradead.org with esmtp (Exim 4.100.1 #2 (Red Hat Linux)) id 1xK22f-0000000F9nk-44rm; Thu, 22 Oct 2026 23:17:49 +0000 Received: from tor.source.kernel.org ([2600:3c04:e001:324:0:1991:8:25]) by bombadil.infradead.org with esmtps (Exim 4.100.1 #2 (Red Hat Linux)) id 1xK22e-0000000F9ne-2Anx for linux-nvme@lists.infradead.org; Thu, 22 Oct 2026 23:17:48 +0000 Received: from smtp.kernel.org (quasi.space.kernel.org [100.103.45.18]) by tor.source.kernel.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 8E1B96022E; Thu, 22 Oct 2026 23:17:47 +0000 (UTC) Received: by smtp.kernel.org (Postfix) with ESMTPSA id 049CB1F01825; Thu, 22 Oct 2026 23:17:46 +0000 (UTC) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=kernel.org; s=k20260515; t=1792711067; bh=kfBz61fRoC7Z3igoEcq37wqZzMC4s5u9se9kNfpr59s=; h=Date:From:To:Cc:Subject:References:In-Reply-To; b=jF43IVuv3l2UaN3yECjR5/T1XZRVtCqftTMnOpa+ZAbEThBgi1h0boIRWF8iz+4gC 2BLgIy6rmgUgpsu2nN+7Ctja4dG88mb6mVEVRiaKNEutxChrByYB8FMb5ac9WmUgS1 JmhbfSwKTBoZJ8iZIWfh2QMsRluYA55yD5htKA2p5qHQF3VJ4UyezzgIQXZ58GNHYe FSurGAzW03U5QcIdZiYOm9K3YhwgVwVUF4HQS86S9dTDlStpP/FQnof5fWRz8BmAbs jEuqfzyT9k5m/FUBYfxdYEqHLM6xLOKnmiYXTAJ2sk5fHGuwqvItRbPl+WjsMzwDzO 1h8I3vU0EwQ0A== Date: Thu, 22 Oct 2026 17:17:45 -0600 From: Keith Busch To: Erwan Velu Cc: Erwan Velu , linux-nvme@lists.infradead.org, axboe@kernel.dk, hch@lst.de, sagi@grimberg.me, linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org Subject: Re: [PATCH] nvme: honor the volatile write cache enable state Message-ID: References: <20261016141208.2641974-1-e.velu@criteo.com> X-Archived-By: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Disposition: inline Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit In-Reply-To: X-BeenThere: linux-nvme@lists.infradead.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.34 Precedence: list List-Id: List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Sender: "Linux-nvme" X-Spam-Status: No, score=-5.9 required=3.0 tests=BAYES_00,DKIMWL_WL_HIGH, DKIM_SIGNED,DKIM_VALID,DKIM_VALID_AU,DKIM_VALID_EF, HEADER_FROM_DIFFERENT_DOMAINS,MAILING_LIST_MULTI,SPF_HELO_NONE, SPF_PASS autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=4.0.1 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 4.0.1 (2024-03-26) on aws-us-west-2-korg-listserv-alma10-1 On Thu, Oct 22, 2026 at 03:27:50PM +0200, Erwan Velu wrote: > Le sam. 17 oct. 2026 à 06:25, Erwan Velu a écrit : > > > > [...] > > > Unfortunately, no: there are contradicting statements here. > [...] > > If you think it makes the commit message clearer, I can send a v2 with > > these numbers, the kernel anitly, and the driver level Flush latency above. > > Hey Keith, > WDYT of these explanations and additional details? > Hope that's better and could be considered for inclusion in the next > releases, maybe as a backport to the stable ones as incorrect > detection of the volatile's cache status can lead to severe > performance impact on this type of drive. I just wanted to see if there was any difference in the controller's Flush behavior when the volatile cache was enabled vs disabled, and this looks like it's the same either way. The Flush should have been a no-op to the device with WCE cleared, so something seems off here. I'm wondering if the device is actually really respecting WCE set to 0 now. That might be tricky to prove, but it wouldn't be the first time a device lied about durability. Not saying that's happening here, but the behavior you're reporting is suspicious: 15usec writes are not physically possible with TLC NAND (your model says BiCS TLC) without a cache, and your controller says your cache is volatile. Anyway, the principle of what you're proposing looks fine to me from a spec standpoint. I'll get this queued up if I don't see any other review feedback or concerns that it's going to corrupt something...