Re: [PATCH v4 1/5] nohz_full: add support for "cpu_isolated" mode

Chris Metcalf
2015-07-13T21:01:41Z

On 07/13/2015 04:40 PM, Andy Lutomirski wrote:
> On Mon, Jul 13, 2015 at 12:57 PM, Chris Metcalf <cmetcalf@ezchip.com> wrote:
>> The existing nohz_full mode makes tradeoffs to minimize userspace
>> interruptions while still attempting to avoid overheads in the
>> kernel entry/exit path, to provide 100% kernel semantics, etc.
>>
>> However, some applications require a stronger commitment from the
>> kernel to avoid interruptions, in particular userspace device
>> driver style applications, such as high-speed networking code.
>>
>> This change introduces a framework to allow applications to elect
>> to have the stronger semantics as needed, specifying
>> prctl(PR_SET_CPU_ISOLATED, PR_CPU_ISOLATED_ENABLE) to do so.
>> Subsequent commits will add additional flags and additional
>> semantics.
> I thought the general consensus was that this should be the default
> behavior and that any associated bugs should be fixed.

I think it comes down to dividing the set of use cases in two:

- "Regular" nohz_full, as used to improve performance and limit
interruptions, possibly for power benefits, etc. But, stray
interrupts are not particularly bad, and you don't want to take
extreme measures to avoid them.

- What I'm calling "cpu_isolated" mode where when you return to
userspace, you expect that by God, the kernel doesn't interrupt you
again, and if it does, it's a flat-out bug.

There are a few things that cpu_isolated mode currently does to
accomplish its goals that are pretty heavy-weight:

Processes are held in kernel space until ticks are quiesced; this is
not necessarily what every nohz_full task wants. If a task makes a
kernel call, there may well be arbitrary timer fallout, and having a
way to select whether or not you are willing to take a timer tick after
return to userspace is pretty important.

Likewise, there are things that you may want to do on return to
userspace that are designed to prevent further interruptions in
cpu_isolated mode, even at a possible future performance cost if and
when you return to the kernel, such as flushing the per-cpu free page
list so that you won't be interrupted by an IPI to flush it later.

If you're arguing that the cpu_isolated semantic is really the only
one that makes sense for nohz_full, my sense is that it might be
surprising to many of the folks who do nohz_full work. But, I'm happy
to be wrong on this point, and maybe all the nohz_full community is
interested in making the same tradeoffs for nohz_full generally that
I've proposed in this patch series just for cpu_isolated?

--
Chris Metcalf, EZChip Semiconductor