Date:	Wed, 15 Oct 2014 15:47:59 -0400
From:	Prarit Bhargava <prarit@...hat.com>
To:	Bjorn Helgaas <bhelgaas@...gle.com>
CC:	"linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org" <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>,
	Myron Stowe <mstowe@...hat.com>,
	"linux-pci@...r.kernel.org" <linux-pci@...r.kernel.org>
Subject: Re: [PATCH] pci, add sysfs numa_node write function

On 10/15/2014 03:23 PM, Bjorn Helgaas wrote:
> Hi Prarit,
> 
> On Wed, Oct 15, 2014 at 1:05 PM, Prarit Bhargava <prarit@...hat.com> wrote:
>> Consider a multi-node, multiple pci root bridge system which can be
>> configured into one large node or one node/socket.  When configuring the
>> system the numa_node value for each PCI root bridge is always set
>> incorrectly to -1, or NUMA_NO_NODE, rather than to the node value of each
>> socket.  Each PCI device inherits the numa value directly from it's parent
>> device, so that the NUMA_NO_NODE value is passed through the entire PCI
>> tree.
>>
>> Some new drivers, such as the Intel QAT driver, drivers/crypto/qat,
>> require that a specific node be assigned to the device in order to
>> achieve maximum performance for the device, and will fail to load if the
>> device has NUMA_NO_NODE.
> 
> It seems ... unfriendly for a driver to fail to load just because it
> can't guarantee maximum performance.  Out of curiosity, where does
> this actually happen?  I had a quick look for NUMA_NO_NODE and
> module_init() functions in drivers/crypto/qat, and I didn't see the
> spot.

The whole point of the Intel QAT driver is to guarantee max performance.  If
that is not possible the driver should not load (according to the thread
mentioned below)

> 
>> The driver would load if the numa_node value
>> was equal to or greater than -1 and quickly hacking the driver results in
>> a functional QAT driver.
>>
>> Using lspci and numactl it is easy to determine what the numa value should
>> be.  The problem is that there is no way to set it.  This patch adds a
>> store function for the PCI device's numa_node value.
> 
> I'm not familiar with numactl.  It sounds like it can show you the
> NUMA topology?  Where does that information come from?

You can map at least what nodes are available (although I suppose you can get
the same information from dmesg).  You have to do a bit of hunting through the
PCI tree to determine the root PCI devices, but you can determine which root
device is connected to which node.

> 
>> To use this, one can do
>>
>> echo 3 > /sys/devices/pci0000:ff/0000:ff:1f.3/numa_node
>>
>> to set the numa node for PCI device 0000:ff:1f.3.
> 
> It definitely seems wrong that we don't set the node number correctly.
> pci_acpi_scan_root() sets the node number by looking for a _PXM method
> that applies to the host bridge.  Why does that not work in this case?
>  Does the BIOS not supply _PXM?

Yeah ... unfortunately the BIOS is broken in this case.  And I know what you're
thinking ;) -- why not get the BIOS fixed?  I'm through relying on BIOS fixes
which can take six months to a year to appear in a production version... I've
been bitten too many times by promises of BIOS fixes that never materialize.

We have systems that only have a support cycle of 3 years, and things like ACPI
_PXM updates are at the bottom of the list :/.

FWIW, on this particular system I have a filed a bug with the vendor.

> 
> If there's information that numactl uses, maybe the kernel should use that, too?
> 
> A sysfs interface might be a useful workaround, but obviously it would
> be far better if we could fix the BIOS and/or kernel so the workaround
> isn't necessary in the first place.

Yep ... but like I said, I don't think anyone wants to wait a year.  What if we
never see a fix?

Side issue:  While investigating this I noticed that plain kmalloc() is used in
the setup code.  Is there a reason we don't use kmalloc_node() in
pci_alloc_dev(), and other allocation functions?  It seems like we should be to
optimize system performance.  OTOH ... I haven't done any measurements to see if
it actually makes a difference :)

P.

> 
> Bjorn
> 
>> Cc: Myron Stowe <mstowe@...hat.com>
>> Cc: Bjorn Helgaas <bhelgaas@...gle.com>
>> Cc: linux-pci@...r.kernel.org
>> Signed-off-by: Prarit Bhargava <prarit@...hat.com>
>> ---
>>  drivers/pci/pci-sysfs.c |   23 ++++++++++++++++++++++-
>>  1 file changed, 22 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
>>
>> diff --git a/drivers/pci/pci-sysfs.c b/drivers/pci/pci-sysfs.c
>> index 92b6d9a..c05ed30 100644
>> --- a/drivers/pci/pci-sysfs.c
>> +++ b/drivers/pci/pci-sysfs.c
>> @@ -221,12 +221,33 @@ static ssize_t enabled_show(struct device *dev, struct device_attribute *attr,
>>  static DEVICE_ATTR_RW(enabled);
>>
>>  #ifdef CONFIG_NUMA
>> +static ssize_t numa_node_store(struct device *dev,
>> +                              struct device_attribute *attr,
>> +                              const char *buf, size_t count)
>> +{
>> +       int node, ret;
>> +
>> +       if (!capable(CAP_SYS_ADMIN))
>> +               return -EPERM;
>> +
>> +       ret = kstrtoint(buf, 0, &node);
>> +       if (ret)
>> +               return ret;
>> +
>> +       if (!node_online(node))
>> +               return -EINVAL;
>> +
>> +       dev->numa_node = node;
>> +
>> +       return count;
>> +}
>> +
>>  static ssize_t numa_node_show(struct device *dev, struct device_attribute *attr,
>>                               char *buf)
>>  {
>>         return sprintf(buf, "%d\n", dev->numa_node);
>>  }
>> -static DEVICE_ATTR_RO(numa_node);
>> +static DEVICE_ATTR_RW(numa_node);
>>  #endif
>>
>>  static ssize_t dma_mask_bits_show(struct device *dev,
>> --
>> 1.7.9.3
>>
> 
> 

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