linux-kernel - Re: [RFC PATCH 4/3] block: skip elevator initialization for flush requests

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Date:	Tue, 1 Feb 2011 19:52:25 +0100
From:	Tejun Heo <tj@...nel.org>
To:	Mike Snitzer <snitzer@...hat.com>
Cc:	axboe@...nel.dk, tytso@....edu, djwong@...ibm.com, shli@...nel.org,
	neilb@...e.de, adilger.kernel@...ger.ca, jack@...e.cz,
	linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org, kmannth@...ibm.com, cmm@...ibm.com,
	linux-ext4@...r.kernel.org, rwheeler@...hat.com, hch@....de,
	josef@...hat.com, jmoyer@...hat.com
Subject: Re: [RFC PATCH 4/3] block: skip elevator initialization for flush
 requests

Hello,

On Tue, Feb 01, 2011 at 12:38:46PM -0500, Mike Snitzer wrote:
> > I thought about doing it this way but I think we're burying the
> > REQ_FLUSH|REQ_FUA test logic too deep.  get_request() shouldn't
> > "magically" know not to allocate elevator data.
> 
> There is already a considerable amount of REQ_FLUSH|REQ_FUA special
> casing magic sprinkled though-out the block layer.  Why is this
> get_request() change the case that goes too far?

After the reimplementation, FLUSH implementation seems to be pretty
well isolated.  Also, having REQ_FLUSH logic in the issue and
completion paths is logical and preventing them from leaking to other
places sounds like a good idea.

> > The decision should
> > be made higher in the stack and passed down to get_request().  e.g. if
> > REQ_SORTED is set in @rw, elevator data is allocated; otherwise, not.
> 
> Considering REQ_SORTED is set in elv_insert(), well after get_request() 
> is called, I'm not seeing what you're suggesting.

I was suggesting using REQ_SORTED in @rw parameter to indicate "this
request may be sorted and thus needs elevator data allocation".

> Anyway, I agree that ideally we'd have a mechanism to explicitly
> short-circuit elevator initialization.  But doing so in a meaningful way
> would likely require a fair amount of refactoring of get_request* and
> its callers.  I'll come back to this and have another look but my gut is
> this interface churn wouldn't _really_ help -- all things considered.

I don't know.  I agree that it's not a critical issue but, to me,
subjectively of course, it feels a bit too subtle.  The sharing of
fields using unions is already subtle enough.  I with that at least
the allocation switching would be obvious and explicit.  The combined
subtleties scare me.

Thank you.

-- 
tejun
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