[PATCH v3 02/15] dt/bindings: Update binding for PM domain idle states

Brendan Jackman
2016-08-12T09:47:44Z

Hi Lina

On 11/08/16 22:10, Lina Iyer wrote:
> On Wed, Aug 10 2016 at 12:09 -0600, Sudeep Holla wrote:
>>
>>
>> On 10/08/16 17:40, Lina Iyer wrote:
>>> Hi Sudeep,
>>>
>>> On Wed, Aug 10 2016 at 09:15 -0600, Sudeep Holla wrote:
>>>> Hi Lina,
>>>>
>>>> I have few concerns mainly due to the lack of description and not the
>>>> binding per say.
>>
>> [...]
>>
>>> It is pretty clear that CPUs cannot not define the domain idle states.
>>> Domains define their own idle states. Just as you mention above. CPU is
>>> just a single component in its domain. There may be other devices like
>>> PMUs, Coresights etc that also may have a say in the idle state the
>>> domain may be put in, when the devices are idle. As such, adding domain
>>> idle states to the CPU's idle state property is not appropriate.
>>>
>>
>> No I am not saying we need to add domain idle states to the CPU's idle
>> state property. I am saying we need to remove cpu-idle-states or ignore
>> it when PD is present. And get all the idle state information for PD.
>>
>> I am objecting the split we are creating across CPU and higher level
>> power domains. And this binding document is incomplete as it skips all
>> those details. We just need PD handle in CPU and no idle state
>> information there. Create PD hierarchy and have all idle state
>> information at one place.
>>
> Let me think about this a bit and see what I can come up with.
>
>>> Our kernel has runtime PM for devices and then there is CPUidle, both
>>> are diverging without one knowing about the other. We have to start
>>> unifying them inorder to have better holistic power management in the
>>> SoC. To that regard, we have to start imagining CPUs as just another
>>> device, albeit a special device. But for our purposes in determining
>>> domain idle state, it will just be a device attached to the domain.
>>>
>>
>> Absolutely agree on that. No arguments. I am asking to go a step ahead
>> to include even cpu/core level power domains not just cluster/higher
>> level domains.
>>
>>>> We need to have all the idle state information at one place and in this
>>>> case PD seems more appropriate instead of splitting them across.
>>>>
>>> That approach isn't correct. Where will we put the idle states of other
>>> devices that are also part of the domain? We are thinking about a model,
>>> where every device defines its own idle states and we define
>>> relationships between those idle states and their parents' idle states.
>>
>> Yes I understand. You confused me here. Won't that be one-to-one
>> relationship ? If not, how is that dealt in the current bindings ?
>>
>>> Ofcourse, devices don't have idle states today, but that is something we
>>> have been pondering over.
>>>
>>
>> Yes we these binding should be easily extensible, I don't see any issue.
>>
>>>> We can also keep the code clean and not break compatibility. Whenever
>>>> both PD and CPU contains idle-states, PD must take precedence.
>>>>
>>> Why?
>>> The CPU and PD states are orthogonal. While the PD state is dependent on
>>> the CPU state, the latter is not true. Devices determine their own
>>> states. Based on the individual device states, we then determine the
>>> state of the parent and bubble up on the hierarchy.
>>>
>>
>> I may be missing something. Now with your example in the binding, if
>> another device shares the cluster PD, can it have different idle states?
>> If so how does it map ?
>>
>>
>> In general whatever binding we come up must not just address OS
>> coordinated mode. Also I was thinking to have better coverage in the
>> description by having a bit more complex system like:
>>
>> cluster0
>> CLUSTER_RET(Retention)
>> CLUSTER_PG(Power Gate)
>> core0
>> CORE_RET
>> CORE_PG
>> core1
>> CORE_RET
>> CORE_PG
>>
>> cluster1
>> CLUSTER_RET
>> CLUSTER_PG
>> core0
>> CORE_RET
>> CORE_PG
>> core1
>> CORE_RET
>> CORE_PG
>>
>> Platform Co-ordinate supports the following states and we should be
>> able to determine that from the binding:
>>
>> CORE_RET
>> CORE_PG
>> CORE_RET + CLUSTER_RET
>
> The problem that we have to sove here is knowing that CORE_RET +
> CLUSTER_PG (hypothetically) an invalid combination. Kevin and
> I debated it in the earlier RFC and we dont have a good way to solve
> this generically for all devices.
>

This is interesting. I had been working on the assumption that a parent
power domain cannot enter any idle state until its children were all in
their deepest idle state. I now realise that it's easy to imagine
platforms where this isn't the case.

However, I don't understand how your current bindings solve this issue
and why using domain-power-states for all states (i.e. ignoring
cpu-idle-states and putting CPU idle states in the domain-idle-states of
a per-CPU power domain - I believe this is what Sudeep is suggesting)
makes it any more difficult.

Could you link to this previous discussion you mentioned? I'm having
trouble finding it (R.I.P Gmane).

>> CORE_PG + CLUSTER_RET
>> CORE_PG + CLUSTER_PG
>>
>>
> Thanks,
> Lina
>

Cheers,
Brendan
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