Re: [virtio-comment] [RFC] Define a low power state for devices

["Michael S. Tsirkin" <mst@redhat.com>]

On Thu, Apr 06, 2023 at 04:30:02PM +0900, David Stevens wrote:
> This RFC defines a low power state for virtio devices, to gives
> drivers an option for power management besides simply resetting their
> device.
> 
> This patch is a draft aimed at starting a discussion, rather than being
> a finalized patch.
> 
> To provide some context on where this is coming from, I'm working on
> reducing the power overhead of ARCVM (virtualized Android running on
> ChromeOS). One of the big gaps in ARCVM power management is that it does
> not implement Android's partial wake locks - i.e. the (virtualized) CPUs
> are always on, even if the (virtualized) screen is off. This means we
> can't force apps to stop running when they shouldn't be running, which
> can lead to higher power consumption compared to the ChromeOS baseline.
> 
> Partial wake locks are built on s2idle, but unfortunately the current
> power management of virtio drivers does not let us use s2idle. The fact
> that power management is based around resetting the virtio device means
> that it doesn't work with stateful devices (e.g. virtio-fs). Even for
> stateless devices, re-initializing all of the devices takes longer than
> we would like, especially on lower end hardware.
> 
> My rough idea for how to address this would be to make the existing
> virtio power management targeted at S4 specifically (i.e. the freeze
> device callback). For S0/S1/S3 (i.e. the suspend device callback), this
> new lighter weight low power state would be used if available -
> otherwise it would fall back to the existing S4 power management code.
> 
> I have a very rough prototype that seems to work, and I haven't seen
> anything that makes me think this approach is fundamentally unworkable.
> That said, I would like to get feedback on the approach earlier rather
> than later.
> ---
>  content.tex | 26 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>  1 file changed, 26 insertions(+)
> 
> diff --git a/content.tex b/content.tex
> index cff548ab9675..01da6f62ef20 100644
> --- a/content.tex
> +++ b/content.tex
> @@ -449,6 +449,28 @@ \section{Exporting Objects}\label{sec:Basic Facilities of a Virtio Device / Expo
>  types. It is RECOMMENDED that devices generate version 4
>  UUIDs as specified by \hyperref[intro:rfc4122]{[RFC4122]}.
>  
> +\section{Low Power Mode}\label{sec:Basic Facilities of a Virtio Device / Low Power Mode}
> +
> +A virtio device can be put into a low power state when the
> +VIRTIO_F_LOW_POWER bit is negotiated. How a driver puts a
> +device into a low power state is transport specific.
> +
> +In general, a virtio device in a low power state should
> +avoid initating any communication with the driver. However,
> +certain device-specific functionality is exempt from this
> +requirement. Such functionality is detailed in the device
> +type specifications.
> +
> +% One example of such functionality would be allowing
> +% the virtio-net device to wake up the guest to deliver
> +% incoming network packets.
> +
> +While a virtio device is in a low power state, it should
> +maintain any type specific state in such a way that it is
> +able to immediately resume functioning upon leaving the low
> +power state, without the need for any additional
> +communication with the driver.
> +
>  \chapter{General Initialization And Device Operation}\label{sec:General Initialization And Device Operation}
>  
>  We start with an overview of device initialization, then expand on the
> @@ -803,6 +825,10 @@ \chapter{Reserved Feature Bits}\label{sec:Reserved Feature Bits}
>    that the driver can reset a queue individually.
>    See \ref{sec:Basic Facilities of a Virtio Device / Virtqueues / Virtqueue Reset}.
>  
> +  \item[VIRTIO_F_LOW_POWER(41)] This feature indicates
> +  that the driver can put the device into a low power mode.
> +  See \ref{sec:Basic Facilities of a Virtio Device / Low Power Mode}.
> +
>  \end{description}
>  
>  \drivernormative{\section}{Reserved Feature Bits}{Reserved Feature Bits}

So what purpose does this flag serve exactly?  I guess transports also
provide ways to enumerate supported power states, no?

-- 
MST


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