Re: [PATCH 12/12] xen/mtrr: Add mtrr_if support for Xen mtrr

Sander Eikelenboom
2010-09-28T13:52:59Z

>* stefano.stabellini@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <stefano.stabellini@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>> From: Stephen Tweedie <sct@xxxxxxxxxx>
>>
>> Add a Xen mtrr type, and reorganise mtrr initialisation slightly to
>> allow the mtrr driver to set up num_var_ranges (Xen needs to do this by
>> querying the hypervisor itself.)
>>
>> [ Impact: add basic MTRR support ]
>>
>> Signed-off-by: Stephen Tweedie <sct@xxxxxxxxxx>
>> Signed-off-by: Jeremy Fitzhardinge <jeremy.fitzhardinge@xxxxxxxxxx>
>> Signed-off-by: Stefano Stabellini <stefano.stabellini@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> ---
>> arch/x86/kernel/cpu/mtrr/Makefile | 2 +-
>> arch/x86/kernel/cpu/mtrr/main.c | 3 +
>> arch/x86/kernel/cpu/mtrr/mtrr.h | 7 ++
>> arch/x86/kernel/cpu/mtrr/xen.c | 110 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> 4 files changed, 121 insertions(+), 1 deletions(-)
> create mode 100644 arch/x86/kernel/cpu/mtrr/xen.c
>
>Still NAK, for the very same reasons as we NAK-ed it the previous time:
>/proc/mtrr is a problematic and complicated legacy interface that should
>die. Any modern X server will do the right thing via PAT.
>
>Also, please get the Ack of at least one x86 maintainer for x86 patches.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Ingo
>--
>

I can't find the MTRR API to be officially deprecated with any schedule for removal (at least i couldn't find it in feature-removal-schedule.txt).
KVM has had patches for MTRR as well, if it's so deprecated .. why has it ? .. legacy support for a not officially deprecated API perhaps ? To support CPU's that support MTRR but not PAT ?

If you think the MTRR interface should die, and should die fast, why hasn't it been added to feature-removal-schedule.txt for a complete removal in a not so distant future, since this is the only way to force all users to switch to PAT.

Perhaps it would be fair to ask for a working PAT implementation besides MTRR, but since it is not officially deprecated completely objecting a MTRR one just for Xen seems a bit unfair to me.

--
Sander