linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH/RFC] ps3/block: Add ps3vram-ng driver for accessing video RAM as block device

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Message-ID: <alpine.LRH.2.00.0903061525340.16809@vixen.sonytel.be>
Date:	Fri, 6 Mar 2009 15:26:34 +0100 (CET)
From:	Geert Uytterhoeven <Geert.Uytterhoeven@...ycom.com>
To:	Jens Axboe <jens.axboe@...cle.com>
cc:	Benjamin Herrenschmidt <benh@...nel.crashing.org>,
	Jim Paris <jim@...n.com>,
	Vivien Chappelier <vivien.chappelier@...e.fr>,
	David Woodhouse <dwmw2@...radead.org>,
	Arnd Bergmann <arnd@...db.de>,
	Geoff Levand <geoffrey.levand@...sony.com>,
	Linux/PPC Development <linuxppc-dev@...abs.org>,
	Cell Broadband Engine OSS Development 
	<cbe-oss-dev@...abs.org>,
	Linux Kernel Development <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>,
	linux-mtd@...ts.infradead.org
Subject: Re: [PATCH/RFC] ps3/block: Add ps3vram-ng driver for accessing video
     RAM as block device

On Fri, 6 Mar 2009, Jens Axboe wrote:
> On Fri, Mar 06 2009, Geert Uytterhoeven wrote:
> > On Fri, 6 Mar 2009, Jens Axboe wrote:
> > > On Thu, Mar 05 2009, Geert Uytterhoeven wrote:
> > > > But then I noticed ps3vram_make_request() may be called concurrently,
> > > > so I had to add a mutex to avoid data corruption. This slows the
> > > > driver down, and in the end, the version with a thread turns out to be
> > > > ca. 1% faster. The version without a thread is about 50 lines less
> > > > code, though.
> > >
> > > That is correct, ->make_request_fn may get reentered. I'm not surprised
> > > that performance dropped if you just shoved everything under a mutex.
> > > You could be a little more smart and queue concurrent bio's for
> > > processing when the current one is complete though, there are several
> > > approaches there that be a lot faster than going all the way through the
> > > IO stack and scheduler just to avoid concurrency.
> > 
> > Yes, using a spinlock and queueing requests on a list if the driver is
> > busy can be done after 2.6.29...
> 
> Certainly. Even just replacing your current mutex with a spinlock during
> the memcpy() would surely be a lot faster. Or even just grabbing the
> mutex before calling into the write for the duration of the bio. The way
> you do it is certain context switch death :-)

It's not just the memcpy(). ps3vram_{up,down}load() call msleep(), so I cannot
use a spinlock.

With kind regards,

Geert Uytterhoeven
Software Architect

Sony Techsoft Centre Europe
The Corporate Village · Da Vincilaan 7-D1 · B-1935 Zaventem · Belgium

Phone:    +32 (0)2 700 8453
Fax:      +32 (0)2 700 8622
E-mail:   Geert.Uytterhoeven@...ycom.com
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