Re: [PATCH 3/8] iommu/vt-d: Require CMPXCHG16B for PASID support

Baolu Lu
2026-03-12T08:00:26Z

On 3/9/26 21:42, Jason Gunthorpe wrote:
> On Mon, Mar 09, 2026 at 02:06:43PM +0800, Lu Baolu wrote:
>> The Intel IOMMU driver is moving toward using the generic entry_sync
>> library for PASID table entry updates. This library requires 128-bit
>> atomic write operations (cmpxchg128) to update 512-bit PASID entries in
>> atomic quanta, ensuring the hardware never observes a torn entry.
>>
>> On x86_64, 128-bit atomicity is provided by the CMPXCHG16B instruction.
>> Update the driver to:
>>
>> 1. Limit INTEL_IOMMU to X86_64, as 128-bit atomic operations are not
>> available on 32-bit x86.
>> 2. Gate pasid_supported() on the presence of X86_FEATURE_CX16.
>> 3. Provide a boot-time warning if a PASID-capable IOMMU is detected on
>> a CPU lacking the required instruction.
> This is fine, but it also occured to me that we could change the
> writer somewhat to just detect what the update granual is and fall
> back to 64 bit in this case. So everything still works, it just does
> non-present alot more often.

That's a good point. Though I don't expect many real-world use cases for
PASID on platforms lacking CX16, making the entry_sync library and the
driver adaptive would make the infrastructure more robust. I will look
into supporting a 64-bit fallback.

Thanks,
baolu