Re: [PATCH v2 07/45] arm64: mpam: Context switch the MPAM registers

Jonathan Cameron
2026-01-05T17:05:07Z

On Fri, 19 Dec 2025 18:11:09 +0000
Ben Horgan <ben.horgan@arm.com> wrote:

> From: James Morse <james.morse@arm.com>
>
> MPAM allows traffic in the SoC to be labeled by the OS, these labels are
> used to apply policy in caches and bandwidth regulators, and to monitor
> traffic in the SoC. The label is made up of a PARTID and PMG value. The x86
> equivalent calls these CLOSID and RMID, but they don't map precisely.
>
> MPAM has two CPU system registers that is used to hold the PARTID and PMG
> values that traffic generated at each exception level will use. These can
> be set per-task by the resctrl file system. (resctrl is the defacto
> interface for controlling this stuff).
>
> Add a helper to switch this.
>
> struct task_struct's separate CLOSID and RMID fields are insufficient to
> implement resctrl using MPAM, as resctrl can change the PARTID (CLOSID) and
> PMG (sort of like the RMID) separately. On x86, the rmid is an independent
> number, so a race that writes a mismatched closid and rmid into hardware is
> benign. On arm64, the pmg bits extend the partid.
> (i.e. partid-5 has a pmg-0 that is not the same as partid-6's pmg-0). In
> this case, mismatching the values will 'dirty' a pmg value that resctrl
> believes is clean, and is not tracking with its 'limbo' code.
>
> To avoid this, the partid and pmg are always read and written as a pair.
> Instead of making struct task_struct's closid and rmid fields an
> endian-unsafe union, add the value to struct thread_info and always use
> READ_ONCE()/WRITE_ONCE() when accessing this field.
I'm still hammering on this one ;)

The comment below is better way of putting that it would basically leave
some fields that look like they can be used which can't. Given they
are under ifdef CONFIG_X86_CPU_RESCTRL anyway it would be very odd
to use a union. Would just be a new appropriately ifdef protected variable
right next to them in the file. I'd be tempted to just drop the bit
about union and say why it makes sense to instead put it in
struct thread_info (basically because it's arch specific and we can
avoid even more ifdef mess?)

>
> Resctrl allows a per-cpu 'default' value to be set, this overrides the
> values when scheduling a task in the default control-group, which has
> PARTID 0. The way 'code data prioritisation' gets emulated means the
> register value for the default group needs to be a variable.
>
> The current system register value is kept in a per-cpu variable to avoid
> writing to the system register if the value isn't going to change. Writes
> to this register may reset the hardware state for regulating bandwidth.
>
> Finally, there is no reason to context switch these registers unless there
> is a driver changing the values in struct task_struct. Hide the whole thing
> behind a static key. This also allows the driver to disable MPAM in
> response to errors reported by hardware. Move the existing static key to
> belong to the arch code, as in the future the MPAM driver may become a
> loadable module.
>
> All this should depend on whether there is an MPAM driver, hide it behind
> CONFIG_ARM64_MPAM.
>
> CC: Amit Singh Tomar <amitsinght@marvell.com>
> Signed-off-by: James Morse <james.morse@arm.com>
> Signed-off-by: Ben Horgan <ben.horgan@arm.com>
> ---
> CONFIG_MPAM -> CONFIG_ARM64_MPAM in commit message
> Remove extra DECLARE_STATIC_KEY_FALSE
> Function name in comment, __mpam_sched_in() -> mpam_thread_switch()
> Remove unused headers
> Expand comment (Jonathan)
> ---
> arch/arm64/Kconfig | 2 +
> arch/arm64/include/asm/mpam.h | 73 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> arch/arm64/include/asm/thread_info.h | 3 ++
> arch/arm64/kernel/Makefile | 1 +
> arch/arm64/kernel/mpam.c | 13 +++++
> arch/arm64/kernel/process.c | 7 +++
> drivers/resctrl/mpam_devices.c | 2 -
> drivers/resctrl/mpam_internal.h | 4 +-
> 8 files changed, 101 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)
> create mode 100644 arch/arm64/include/asm/mpam.h
> create mode 100644 arch/arm64/kernel/mpam.c
>

> diff --git a/arch/arm64/include/asm/mpam.h b/arch/arm64/include/asm/mpam.h
> new file mode 100644
> index 000000000000..2ab3dca6977c
> --- /dev/null
> +++ b/arch/arm64/include/asm/mpam.h

> +/*
> + * The resctrl filesystem writes to the partid/pmg values for threads and CPUs,
> + * which may race with reads in mpam_thread_switch(). Ensure only one of the old
> + * or new values are used. Particular care should be taken with the pmg field as
> + * mpam_thread_switch() may read a partid and pmg that don't match, causing this
> + * value to be stored with cache allocations, despite being considered 'free' by
> + * resctrl.
> + *
> + * A value in struct thread_info is used instead of struct task_struct as the
> + * cpu's u64 register format is used. In struct task_struct there are two u32,
> + * rmid and closid for the x86 case, but as we can't use them here do something
> + * else. Creating a union would mean only accesses from the created u64 would be
> + * endian safe and so be less clear.

I'd just put this as something:
* The closid and rmid in task_struct can't be directly reused as a u64 is needed.
* As such, a suitable variable in struct thread_info is used instead with the
* benefit of that being clearly an architecture specific location.

or be more cynical and keep it for the patch description only. To me location
of this u64 doesn't really feel like a design decision we need to record for the ages.

With something like the suggested text, or the paragraph just dropped
Reviewed-by: Jonathan Cameron <jonathan.cameron@huawei.com>

> + */
> +static inline u64 mpam_get_regval(struct task_struct *tsk)
> +{
> +#ifdef CONFIG_ARM64_MPAM
> + return READ_ONCE(task_thread_info(tsk)->mpam_partid_pmg);
> +#else
> + return 0;
> +#endif
> +}