[PATCH v7 0/1] block/blk-mq: use atomic_t for quiesce_depth to avoid lock contention on RT

[PATCH v7 0/1] block/blk-mq: use atomic_t for quiesce_depth to avoid lock contention on RT

[Ionut Nechita (Wind River)]

From: Ionut Nechita <ionut.nechita@windriver.com>

Hi Jens,

This is v7 of the fix for the PREEMPT_RT performance regression caused by
commit 6bda857bcbb86 ("block: fix ordering between checking
QUEUE_FLAG_QUIESCED request adding").

Changes since v6 (May 6):
- Reader-side barrier in blk_mq_run_hw_queue() changed from smp_rmb() to
  smp_mb().  The race closed by commit 6bda857bcbb86 is a store-buffer
  pattern: one CPU inserts a request and then reads the quiesce state,
  another CPU unquiesces and then reads "has pending work".  A full
  barrier is needed on *both* sides, not just a read barrier on the
  reader, so smp_mb() now pairs with the existing writer-side
  smp_mb__after_atomic().  Thanks to Bart Van Assche for pointing out
  that smp_rmb() was insufficient.
- Rewrote the in-code comments and the commit message to spell out which
  ordering the removed q->queue_lock acquisitions provided and how it is
  preserved:
    * blk_mq_quiesce_queue_nowait(): the lock only published the state
      change; the actual visibility/drain guarantee comes from the
      synchronize_srcu()/synchronize_rcu() in blk_mq_wait_quiesce_done()
      that every caller invokes.  The smp_mb__after_atomic() is kept so
      the helper stays self-contained for the few callers that defer
      that wait.
    * blk_mq_unquiesce_queue(): write side of the store-buffer pattern,
      a full barrier between the quiesce_depth store and the
      blk_mq_hctx_has_pending() load (atomic_dec_if_positive() already
      orders the decrement on success; the barrier is spelled out for
      clarity).
    * blk_mq_run_hw_queue(): read side, a full barrier between the
      request insert and the quiesce-state re-check.
- Also note in the changelog that this is the memory-barrier alternative
  commit 6bda857bcbb86's own changelog described (and rejected as
  "harder to maintain"), and that making quiesce_depth atomic_t turns
  the lockless blk_queue_quiesced() read into a clean atomic load
  instead of a plain-int read racing with a spin_lock-protected update.
- Rebased on linux-next (next-20260505).  No other code changes; the
  atomic_t conversion and removal of QUEUE_FLAG_QUIESCED are unchanged
  from v6.

Sebastian's Reviewed-by is carried over: the approach (atomic counter +
barrier instead of the spinlock) is the one he suggested and reviewed;
the only functional change in v7 is upgrading the reader-side barrier to
a full one.

Changes since v5 (Mar 3):
- Rewrote the memory-ordering comments per Bart Van Assche's review.
- Rebased on top of linux-next.  No code-generation changes.

The problem: on PREEMPT_RT, the spinlock_t q->queue_lock that commit
6bda857bcbb86 added to blk_mq_run_hw_queue() converts to a sleeping
rt_mutex.  blk_mq_run_hw_queue() runs from every MSI-X IRQ thread and
hits that lock on the common "nothing pending" path, so all IRQ threads
serialise and go to D-state.  On a Broadcom/LSI MegaRAID 12GSAS/PCIe
Secure SAS39xx (megaraid_sas, 128 MSI-X vectors, 120 hw queues),
throughput drops from 640 MB/s to 153 MB/s.

The fix takes the memory-barrier alternative and folds the quiesce
indicator into quiesce_depth itself: quiesce_depth becomes atomic_t,
QUEUE_FLAG_QUIESCED goes away, and no lock is left on the dispatch hot
path.

v6: https://lore.kernel.org/linux-block/cover.1778048987.git.ionut.nechita@windriver.com/

Ionut Nechita (1):
  block/blk-mq: use atomic_t for quiesce_depth to avoid lock contention
    on RT

 block/blk-core.c       |  1 +
 block/blk-mq-debugfs.c |  1 -
 block/blk-mq.c         | 69 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++----------------
 include/linux/blkdev.h |  9 ++++--
 4 files changed, 50 insertions(+), 30 deletions(-)

-- 
2.54.0

[PATCH v7 1/1] block/blk-mq: use atomic_t for quiesce_depth to avoid lock contention on RT

[Ionut Nechita (Wind River)]

From: Ionut Nechita <ionut.nechita@windriver.com>

On PREEMPT_RT kernels, commit 6bda857bcbb86 ("block: fix ordering
between checking QUEUE_FLAG_QUIESCED request adding") causes a severe
throughput regression on systems with many MSI-X interrupt vectors.

That commit closed a store/load race between blk_mq_run_hw_queue() and
blk_mq_unquiesce_queue() by taking q->queue_lock around the requiesce
re-check in blk_mq_run_hw_queue().  Its changelog noted two ways to fix
the race -- (1) a pair of memory barriers, or (2) the queue_lock -- and
picked (2) because barriers are harder to maintain.

On RT, spinlock_t becomes a sleeping rt_mutex.  blk_mq_run_hw_queue() is
called from every IRQ thread, and the re-check path is hit on the very
common "nothing pending" case, so all IRQ threads end up serialising on
the single q->queue_lock and block in D-state.  On a Broadcom/LSI
MegaRAID 12GSAS/PCIe Secure SAS39xx (megaraid_sas, 128 MSI-X vectors,
120 hw queues) throughput drops from 640 MB/s to 153 MB/s.

Take approach (1) instead, and while at it turn quiesce_depth into the
single source of truth for the quiesce state:

 - quiesce_depth becomes atomic_t and QUEUE_FLAG_QUIESCED is removed;
   blk_queue_quiesced() is now "atomic_read(&q->quiesce_depth) > 0".
   This also makes blk_queue_quiesced(), which is read locklessly from
   the dispatch path, a clean atomic load instead of a plain-int read
   racing with a spin_lock-protected int update.

 - blk_mq_quiesce_queue_nowait() does an atomic_inc() followed by
   smp_mb__after_atomic().  The spin_lock() it used to take only served
   to publish the state change; every caller still follows the quiesce
   with blk_mq_wait_quiesce_done() (synchronize_srcu()/synchronize_rcu()),
   which is what actually drains in-flight dispatchers and makes the new
   state globally visible.  The barrier here just keeps the helper
   self-contained for the few callers that defer that wait.

 - blk_mq_unquiesce_queue() uses atomic_dec_if_positive() (so the
   WARN-on-underflow check and the decrement are one atomic op) followed
   by smp_mb__after_atomic() before blk_mq_run_hw_queues().  This is the
   write side of the race fixed above: a full barrier between the
   quiesce_depth store and the blk_mq_hctx_has_pending() load.

 - blk_mq_run_hw_queue() drops the q->queue_lock around the requiesce
   re-check and uses smp_mb() instead.  This is the read side: a full
   barrier between the just-inserted request (the store that makes
   blk_mq_hctx_has_pending() true) and the quiesce-state load.  A full
   barrier is required on both sides -- this is a classic store-buffer
   pattern -- so smp_mb()/smp_mb__after_atomic() rather than a read
   barrier; with that, at least one of the two racing CPUs observes the
   other's store and the hw queue is not left both un-quiesced and not
   rerun.

No locking remains on the dispatch hot path.

Performance on the RT kernel and the hardware above:
 - Before: 153 MB/s, IRQ threads in D-state on q->queue_lock
 - After:  640 MB/s, no IRQ threads blocked

The non-RT path replaces a queue_lock acquire/release on the re-check
with an smp_mb(), so it should be no worse, and it also stops taking
q->queue_lock from blk_mq_run_hw_queue() entirely.

Suggested-by: Sebastian Andrzej Siewior <bigeasy@linutronix.de>
Reviewed-by: Sebastian Andrzej Siewior <bigeasy@linutronix.de>
Fixes: 6bda857bcbb86 ("block: fix ordering between checking QUEUE_FLAG_QUIESCED request adding")
Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org
Signed-off-by: Ionut Nechita <ionut.nechita@windriver.com>
---
 block/blk-core.c       |  1 +
 block/blk-mq-debugfs.c |  1 -
 block/blk-mq.c         | 69 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++----------------
 include/linux/blkdev.h |  9 ++++--
 4 files changed, 50 insertions(+), 30 deletions(-)

diff --git a/block/blk-core.c b/block/blk-core.c
index 17450058ea6d..1cafcca0975a 100644
--- a/block/blk-core.c
+++ b/block/blk-core.c
@@ -434,6 +434,7 @@ struct request_queue *blk_alloc_queue(struct queue_limits *lim, int node_id)
 	mutex_init(&q->limits_lock);
 	mutex_init(&q->rq_qos_mutex);
 	spin_lock_init(&q->queue_lock);
+	atomic_set(&q->quiesce_depth, 0);
 
 	init_waitqueue_head(&q->mq_freeze_wq);
 	mutex_init(&q->mq_freeze_lock);
diff --git a/block/blk-mq-debugfs.c b/block/blk-mq-debugfs.c
index 047ec887456b..1b0aec3036e6 100644
--- a/block/blk-mq-debugfs.c
+++ b/block/blk-mq-debugfs.c
@@ -89,7 +89,6 @@ static const char *const blk_queue_flag_name[] = {
 	QUEUE_FLAG_NAME(INIT_DONE),
 	QUEUE_FLAG_NAME(STATS),
 	QUEUE_FLAG_NAME(REGISTERED),
-	QUEUE_FLAG_NAME(QUIESCED),
 	QUEUE_FLAG_NAME(RQ_ALLOC_TIME),
 	QUEUE_FLAG_NAME(HCTX_ACTIVE),
 	QUEUE_FLAG_NAME(SQ_SCHED),
diff --git a/block/blk-mq.c b/block/blk-mq.c
index 4c5c16cce4f8..c6aa49de6d1e 100644
--- a/block/blk-mq.c
+++ b/block/blk-mq.c
@@ -260,12 +260,16 @@ EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(blk_mq_unfreeze_queue_non_owner);
  */
 void blk_mq_quiesce_queue_nowait(struct request_queue *q)
 {
-	unsigned long flags;
-
-	spin_lock_irqsave(&q->queue_lock, flags);
-	if (!q->quiesce_depth++)
-		blk_queue_flag_set(QUEUE_FLAG_QUIESCED, q);
-	spin_unlock_irqrestore(&q->queue_lock, flags);
+	atomic_inc(&q->quiesce_depth);
+	/*
+	 * Publish the quiesce_depth increment.  Callers must follow this
+	 * with blk_mq_wait_quiesce_done() (synchronize_srcu()/
+	 * synchronize_rcu()), which is what actually guarantees that any
+	 * in-flight dispatcher has finished and that later dispatchers see
+	 * the queue as quiesced; the barrier here only keeps this helper
+	 * self-contained for the few callers that defer the wait.
+	 */
+	smp_mb__after_atomic();
 }
 EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(blk_mq_quiesce_queue_nowait);
 
@@ -314,21 +318,30 @@ EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(blk_mq_quiesce_queue);
  */
 void blk_mq_unquiesce_queue(struct request_queue *q)
 {
-	unsigned long flags;
-	bool run_queue = false;
+	int depth;
 
-	spin_lock_irqsave(&q->queue_lock, flags);
-	if (WARN_ON_ONCE(q->quiesce_depth <= 0)) {
-		;
-	} else if (!--q->quiesce_depth) {
-		blk_queue_flag_clear(QUEUE_FLAG_QUIESCED, q);
-		run_queue = true;
-	}
-	spin_unlock_irqrestore(&q->queue_lock, flags);
+	depth = atomic_dec_if_positive(&q->quiesce_depth);
+	if (WARN_ON_ONCE(depth < 0))
+		return;
 
-	/* dispatch requests which are inserted during quiescing */
-	if (run_queue)
+	if (depth == 0) {
+		/*
+		 * Full barrier between the quiesce_depth store above and the
+		 * blk_mq_hctx_has_pending() load done from blk_mq_run_hw_queues()
+		 * below.  This pairs with the smp_mb() before the requiesce
+		 * re-check in blk_mq_run_hw_queue(): of the two racing CPUs
+		 * (one inserting a request and then re-checking quiesce state,
+		 * the other unquiescing here and then checking for pending
+		 * work) at least one sees the other's store, so the hw queue
+		 * is not left with a request stranded on a now-running queue.
+		 *
+		 * atomic_dec_if_positive() already orders the decrement on
+		 * success, but spell the barrier out so the pairing is obvious.
+		 */
+		smp_mb__after_atomic();
+		/* dispatch requests which are inserted during quiescing */
 		blk_mq_run_hw_queues(q, true);
+	}
 }
 EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(blk_mq_unquiesce_queue);
 
@@ -2362,17 +2375,21 @@ void blk_mq_run_hw_queue(struct blk_mq_hw_ctx *hctx, bool async)
 
 	need_run = blk_mq_hw_queue_need_run(hctx);
 	if (!need_run) {
-		unsigned long flags;
-
 		/*
-		 * Synchronize with blk_mq_unquiesce_queue(), because we check
-		 * if hw queue is quiesced locklessly above, we need the use
-		 * ->queue_lock to make sure we see the up-to-date status to
-		 * not miss rerunning the hw queue.
+		 * Re-check after a full barrier.  A request may have been
+		 * inserted before this call, while a concurrent
+		 * blk_mq_unquiesce_queue() drops quiesce_depth to zero and
+		 * then runs the hw queues.  This smp_mb() orders the request
+		 * insert (the store that makes blk_mq_hctx_has_pending() true)
+		 * before the requiesce-state load below, and pairs with the
+		 * smp_mb__after_atomic() between the quiesce_depth store and
+		 * the blk_mq_hctx_has_pending() load in blk_mq_unquiesce_queue()
+		 * (and in blk_mq_quiesce_queue_nowait()).  With a full barrier
+		 * on both sides, at least one CPU observes the other's store,
+		 * so the queue is not left both un-quiesced and not rerun.
 		 */
-		spin_lock_irqsave(&hctx->queue->queue_lock, flags);
+		smp_mb();
 		need_run = blk_mq_hw_queue_need_run(hctx);
-		spin_unlock_irqrestore(&hctx->queue->queue_lock, flags);
 
 		if (!need_run)
 			return;
diff --git a/include/linux/blkdev.h b/include/linux/blkdev.h
index 890128cdea1c..5d582c70fb8a 100644
--- a/include/linux/blkdev.h
+++ b/include/linux/blkdev.h
@@ -521,7 +521,8 @@ struct request_queue {
 
 	spinlock_t		queue_lock;
 
-	int			quiesce_depth;
+	/* Atomic quiesce depth - also serves as quiesced indicator (depth > 0) */
+	atomic_t		quiesce_depth;
 
 	struct gendisk		*disk;
 
@@ -666,7 +667,6 @@ enum {
 	QUEUE_FLAG_INIT_DONE,		/* queue is initialized */
 	QUEUE_FLAG_STATS,		/* track IO start and completion times */
 	QUEUE_FLAG_REGISTERED,		/* queue has been registered to a disk */
-	QUEUE_FLAG_QUIESCED,		/* queue has been quiesced */
 	QUEUE_FLAG_RQ_ALLOC_TIME,	/* record rq->alloc_time_ns */
 	QUEUE_FLAG_HCTX_ACTIVE,		/* at least one blk-mq hctx is active */
 	QUEUE_FLAG_SQ_SCHED,		/* single queue style io dispatch */
@@ -704,7 +704,10 @@ void blk_queue_flag_clear(unsigned int flag, struct request_queue *q);
 #define blk_noretry_request(rq) \
 	((rq)->cmd_flags & (REQ_FAILFAST_DEV|REQ_FAILFAST_TRANSPORT| \
 			     REQ_FAILFAST_DRIVER))
-#define blk_queue_quiesced(q)	test_bit(QUEUE_FLAG_QUIESCED, &(q)->queue_flags)
+static inline bool blk_queue_quiesced(struct request_queue *q)
+{
+	return atomic_read(&q->quiesce_depth) > 0;
+}
 #define blk_queue_pm_only(q)	atomic_read(&(q)->pm_only)
 #define blk_queue_registered(q)	test_bit(QUEUE_FLAG_REGISTERED, &(q)->queue_flags)
 #define blk_queue_sq_sched(q)	test_bit(QUEUE_FLAG_SQ_SCHED, &(q)->queue_flags)
-- 
2.54.0

Re: [PATCH v7 1/1] block/blk-mq: use atomic_t for quiesce_depth to avoid lock contention on RT

[Bart Van Assche]

On 5/11/26 11:28 PM, Ionut Nechita (Wind River) wrote:
> Performance on the RT kernel and the hardware above:
>   - Before: 153 MB/s, IRQ threads in D-state on q->queue_lock
>   - After:  640 MB/s, no IRQ threads blocked

Reviewed-by: Bart Van Assche <bvanassche@acm.org>