* [PATCH v2] wifi: mt76: mt76u: use a threaded NAPI for the RX path
@ 2026-06-09 0:32 Filip Bakreski
2026-06-09 9:45 ` Lorenzo Bianconi
0 siblings, 1 reply; 3+ messages in thread
From: Filip Bakreski @ 2026-06-09 0:32 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: nbd, lorenzo, ryder.lee; +Cc: shayne.chen, sean.wang, linux-wireless
The USB RX path delivers frames to the stack via mt76_rx_complete() with
a NULL napi pointer, taking the netif_receive_skb_list() path, so it never
benefits from GRO -- unlike the DMA-based mt76 drivers, which pass a real
napi and use napi_gro_receive(). For bulk TCP traffic this is costly, as
every segment traverses the stack individually.
Service the MT_RXQ_MAIN queue from a threaded NAPI, reusing mt76_dev's
existing napi_dev and napi[] rather than adding new fields. The URB
completion handler schedules the napi; its poll drains the URBs, builds
the skbs, resubmits and delivers them through napi_gro_receive(). The MCU
queue stays on the existing RX worker. This enables GRO and moves RX
processing into its own kernel thread, parallelising the datapath.
On mt7921u at HE-MCS 11 (2x2, 80 MHz; fast.com, multiple streams) this
averages ~588 Mbit/s, versus ~424 Mbit/s when the same napi is instead
driven manually from the RX worker, and ~380 Mbit/s for the unmodified
driver.
Suggested-by: Lorenzo Bianconi <lorenzo@kernel.org>
Assisted-by: Claude:claude-opus-4-8
Signed-off-by: Filip Bakreski <phial@phiality.com>
---
v2:
- Service MT_RXQ_MAIN from a threaded NAPI instead of a NAPI driven
manually from the RX worker; on mt7921u the threaded variant measured
~39% faster (~588 vs ~424 Mbit/s, fast.com) (Lorenzo Bianconi).
- Reuse mt76_dev's existing napi_dev/napi[] instead of adding new fields
to struct mt76_usb (Lorenzo Bianconi).
v1: https://lore.kernel.org/linux-wireless/20260608044109.31730-1-phial@phiality.com/
drivers/net/wireless/mediatek/mt76/usb.c | 56 +++++++++++++++++++++---
1 file changed, 49 insertions(+), 7 deletions(-)
diff --git a/drivers/net/wireless/mediatek/mt76/usb.c b/drivers/net/wireless/mediatek/mt76/usb.c
index d9638a9b7..aef8f855f 100644
--- a/drivers/net/wireless/mediatek/mt76/usb.c
+++ b/drivers/net/wireless/mediatek/mt76/usb.c
@@ -580,7 +580,10 @@ static void mt76u_complete_rx(struct urb *urb)
q->head = (q->head + 1) % q->ndesc;
q->queued++;
- mt76_worker_schedule(&dev->usb.rx_worker);
+ if (q == &dev->q_rx[MT_RXQ_MAIN])
+ napi_schedule(&dev->napi[MT_RXQ_MAIN]);
+ else
+ mt76_worker_schedule(&dev->usb.rx_worker);
out:
spin_unlock_irqrestore(&q->lock, flags);
}
@@ -618,11 +621,23 @@ mt76u_process_rx_queue(struct mt76_dev *dev, struct mt76_queue *q)
}
mt76u_submit_rx_buf(dev, qid, urb);
}
- if (qid == MT_RXQ_MAIN) {
- local_bh_disable();
- mt76_rx_poll_complete(dev, MT_RXQ_MAIN, NULL);
- local_bh_enable();
- }
+}
+
+/* Threaded NAPI poll for the MAIN RX queue: drain URBs, build skbs, resubmit,
+ * then deliver through napi_gro_receive() and let napi_complete() flush GRO.
+ */
+static int mt76u_napi_poll(struct napi_struct *napi, int budget)
+{
+ struct mt76_dev *dev = mt76_priv(napi->dev);
+
+ rcu_read_lock();
+ mt76u_process_rx_queue(dev, &dev->q_rx[MT_RXQ_MAIN]);
+ mt76_rx_poll_complete(dev, MT_RXQ_MAIN, napi);
+ rcu_read_unlock();
+
+ napi_complete(napi);
+
+ return 0;
}
static void mt76u_rx_worker(struct mt76_worker *w)
@@ -632,8 +647,12 @@ static void mt76u_rx_worker(struct mt76_worker *w)
int i;
rcu_read_lock();
- mt76_for_each_q_rx(dev, i)
+ mt76_for_each_q_rx(dev, i) {
+ /* MT_RXQ_MAIN is serviced by the threaded NAPI poll */
+ if (i == MT_RXQ_MAIN)
+ continue;
mt76u_process_rx_queue(dev, &dev->q_rx[i]);
+ }
rcu_read_unlock();
}
@@ -723,6 +742,8 @@ void mt76u_stop_rx(struct mt76_dev *dev)
int i;
mt76_worker_disable(&dev->usb.rx_worker);
+ if (dev->napi_dev)
+ napi_disable(&dev->napi[MT_RXQ_MAIN]);
mt76_for_each_q_rx(dev, i) {
struct mt76_queue *q = &dev->q_rx[i];
@@ -751,6 +772,8 @@ int mt76u_resume_rx(struct mt76_dev *dev)
}
mt76_worker_enable(&dev->usb.rx_worker);
+ if (dev->napi_dev)
+ napi_enable(&dev->napi[MT_RXQ_MAIN]);
return 0;
}
@@ -1051,6 +1074,13 @@ void mt76u_queues_deinit(struct mt76_dev *dev)
mt76u_stop_rx(dev);
mt76u_stop_tx(dev);
+ /* mt76u_stop_rx() (above) already napi_disable()d the MAIN queue */
+ if (dev->napi_dev) {
+ netif_napi_del(&dev->napi[MT_RXQ_MAIN]);
+ free_netdev(dev->napi_dev);
+ dev->napi_dev = NULL;
+ }
+
mt76u_free_rx(dev);
mt76u_free_tx(dev);
}
@@ -1115,6 +1145,18 @@ int __mt76u_init(struct mt76_dev *dev, struct usb_interface *intf,
sched_set_fifo_low(usb->rx_worker.task);
sched_set_fifo_low(usb->status_worker.task);
+ /* threaded NAPI on a dummy netdev (reusing mt76_dev's napi_dev/napi[])
+ * services the MAIN RX queue and gives the RX path GRO
+ */
+ dev->napi_dev = alloc_netdev_dummy(sizeof(struct mt76_dev *));
+ if (!dev->napi_dev)
+ return -ENOMEM;
+ *(struct mt76_dev **)netdev_priv(dev->napi_dev) = dev;
+ strscpy(dev->napi_dev->name, "mt76u-rx", sizeof(dev->napi_dev->name));
+ dev->napi_dev->threaded = 1;
+ netif_napi_add(dev->napi_dev, &dev->napi[MT_RXQ_MAIN], mt76u_napi_poll);
+ napi_enable(&dev->napi[MT_RXQ_MAIN]);
+
return 0;
}
EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(__mt76u_init);
base-commit: 5f6099446d1ddb888e36cdf93b6a0551f05c1267
--
2.54.0
^ permalink raw reply related [flat|nested] 3+ messages in thread* Re: [PATCH v2] wifi: mt76: mt76u: use a threaded NAPI for the RX path
2026-06-09 0:32 [PATCH v2] wifi: mt76: mt76u: use a threaded NAPI for the RX path Filip Bakreski
@ 2026-06-09 9:45 ` Lorenzo Bianconi
2026-06-09 10:57 ` Phiality
0 siblings, 1 reply; 3+ messages in thread
From: Lorenzo Bianconi @ 2026-06-09 9:45 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: Filip Bakreski; +Cc: nbd, ryder.lee, shayne.chen, sean.wang, linux-wireless
[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 5719 bytes --]
> The USB RX path delivers frames to the stack via mt76_rx_complete() with
> a NULL napi pointer, taking the netif_receive_skb_list() path, so it never
> benefits from GRO -- unlike the DMA-based mt76 drivers, which pass a real
> napi and use napi_gro_receive(). For bulk TCP traffic this is costly, as
> every segment traverses the stack individually.
>
> Service the MT_RXQ_MAIN queue from a threaded NAPI, reusing mt76_dev's
> existing napi_dev and napi[] rather than adding new fields. The URB
> completion handler schedules the napi; its poll drains the URBs, builds
> the skbs, resubmits and delivers them through napi_gro_receive(). The MCU
> queue stays on the existing RX worker. This enables GRO and moves RX
> processing into its own kernel thread, parallelising the datapath.
>
> On mt7921u at HE-MCS 11 (2x2, 80 MHz; fast.com, multiple streams) this
> averages ~588 Mbit/s, versus ~424 Mbit/s when the same napi is instead
> driven manually from the RX worker, and ~380 Mbit/s for the unmodified
> driver.
>
> Suggested-by: Lorenzo Bianconi <lorenzo@kernel.org>
> Assisted-by: Claude:claude-opus-4-8
> Signed-off-by: Filip Bakreski <phial@phiality.com>
> ---
> v2:
> - Service MT_RXQ_MAIN from a threaded NAPI instead of a NAPI driven
> manually from the RX worker; on mt7921u the threaded variant measured
> ~39% faster (~588 vs ~424 Mbit/s, fast.com) (Lorenzo Bianconi).
> - Reuse mt76_dev's existing napi_dev/napi[] instead of adding new fields
> to struct mt76_usb (Lorenzo Bianconi).
>
> v1: https://lore.kernel.org/linux-wireless/20260608044109.31730-1-phial@phiality.com/
Hi Filip,
I guess the patch is fine, just a couple of nits inline.
Regards,
Lorenzo
>
> drivers/net/wireless/mediatek/mt76/usb.c | 56 +++++++++++++++++++++---
> 1 file changed, 49 insertions(+), 7 deletions(-)
>
> diff --git a/drivers/net/wireless/mediatek/mt76/usb.c b/drivers/net/wireless/mediatek/mt76/usb.c
> index d9638a9b7..aef8f855f 100644
> --- a/drivers/net/wireless/mediatek/mt76/usb.c
> +++ b/drivers/net/wireless/mediatek/mt76/usb.c
> @@ -580,7 +580,10 @@ static void mt76u_complete_rx(struct urb *urb)
>
> q->head = (q->head + 1) % q->ndesc;
> q->queued++;
> - mt76_worker_schedule(&dev->usb.rx_worker);
nit: new-line here.
> + if (q == &dev->q_rx[MT_RXQ_MAIN])
> + napi_schedule(&dev->napi[MT_RXQ_MAIN]);
> + else
> + mt76_worker_schedule(&dev->usb.rx_worker);
> out:
> spin_unlock_irqrestore(&q->lock, flags);
> }
> @@ -618,11 +621,23 @@ mt76u_process_rx_queue(struct mt76_dev *dev, struct mt76_queue *q)
> }
> mt76u_submit_rx_buf(dev, qid, urb);
> }
> - if (qid == MT_RXQ_MAIN) {
> - local_bh_disable();
> - mt76_rx_poll_complete(dev, MT_RXQ_MAIN, NULL);
> - local_bh_enable();
> - }
> +}
> +
> +/* Threaded NAPI poll for the MAIN RX queue: drain URBs, build skbs, resubmit,
> + * then deliver through napi_gro_receive() and let napi_complete() flush GRO.
> + */
> +static int mt76u_napi_poll(struct napi_struct *napi, int budget)
> +{
> + struct mt76_dev *dev = mt76_priv(napi->dev);
> +
> + rcu_read_lock();
> + mt76u_process_rx_queue(dev, &dev->q_rx[MT_RXQ_MAIN]);
> + mt76_rx_poll_complete(dev, MT_RXQ_MAIN, napi);
> + rcu_read_unlock();
> +
> + napi_complete(napi);
> +
> + return 0;
> }
>
> static void mt76u_rx_worker(struct mt76_worker *w)
> @@ -632,8 +647,12 @@ static void mt76u_rx_worker(struct mt76_worker *w)
> int i;
>
> rcu_read_lock();
> - mt76_for_each_q_rx(dev, i)
> + mt76_for_each_q_rx(dev, i) {
> + /* MT_RXQ_MAIN is serviced by the threaded NAPI poll */
> + if (i == MT_RXQ_MAIN)
> + continue;
nit: new-line here.
> mt76u_process_rx_queue(dev, &dev->q_rx[i]);
> + }
> rcu_read_unlock();
> }
>
> @@ -723,6 +742,8 @@ void mt76u_stop_rx(struct mt76_dev *dev)
> int i;
>
> mt76_worker_disable(&dev->usb.rx_worker);
> + if (dev->napi_dev)
> + napi_disable(&dev->napi[MT_RXQ_MAIN]);
>
> mt76_for_each_q_rx(dev, i) {
> struct mt76_queue *q = &dev->q_rx[i];
> @@ -751,6 +772,8 @@ int mt76u_resume_rx(struct mt76_dev *dev)
> }
>
> mt76_worker_enable(&dev->usb.rx_worker);
> + if (dev->napi_dev)
> + napi_enable(&dev->napi[MT_RXQ_MAIN]);
>
> return 0;
> }
> @@ -1051,6 +1074,13 @@ void mt76u_queues_deinit(struct mt76_dev *dev)
> mt76u_stop_rx(dev);
> mt76u_stop_tx(dev);
>
> + /* mt76u_stop_rx() (above) already napi_disable()d the MAIN queue */
> + if (dev->napi_dev) {
> + netif_napi_del(&dev->napi[MT_RXQ_MAIN]);
> + free_netdev(dev->napi_dev);
> + dev->napi_dev = NULL;
> + }
> +
> mt76u_free_rx(dev);
> mt76u_free_tx(dev);
> }
> @@ -1115,6 +1145,18 @@ int __mt76u_init(struct mt76_dev *dev, struct usb_interface *intf,
> sched_set_fifo_low(usb->rx_worker.task);
> sched_set_fifo_low(usb->status_worker.task);
>
> + /* threaded NAPI on a dummy netdev (reusing mt76_dev's napi_dev/napi[])
> + * services the MAIN RX queue and gives the RX path GRO
> + */
> + dev->napi_dev = alloc_netdev_dummy(sizeof(struct mt76_dev *));
> + if (!dev->napi_dev)
> + return -ENOMEM;
nit: new-line here.
> + *(struct mt76_dev **)netdev_priv(dev->napi_dev) = dev;
To make the code more readable, I guess you can define priv pointer similar to mt76_dma_init().
> + strscpy(dev->napi_dev->name, "mt76u-rx", sizeof(dev->napi_dev->name));
> + dev->napi_dev->threaded = 1;
> + netif_napi_add(dev->napi_dev, &dev->napi[MT_RXQ_MAIN], mt76u_napi_poll);
> + napi_enable(&dev->napi[MT_RXQ_MAIN]);
> +
> return 0;
> }
> EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(__mt76u_init);
>
> base-commit: 5f6099446d1ddb888e36cdf93b6a0551f05c1267
> --
> 2.54.0
>
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2026-06-09 0:32 [PATCH v2] wifi: mt76: mt76u: use a threaded NAPI for the RX path Filip Bakreski
2026-06-09 9:45 ` Lorenzo Bianconi
2026-06-09 10:57 ` Phiality
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