linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH v2 1/3] introduce memcpy

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Date:   Wed, 28 Dec 2016 23:43:22 +0000
From:   Al Viro <viro@...IV.linux.org.uk>
To:     Boaz Harrosh <boaz@...xistor.com>
Cc:     "Boylston, Brian" <brian.boylston@....com>,
        "linux-nvdimm@...ts.01.org" <linux-nvdimm@...ts.01.org>,
        "Moreno, Oliver" <oliver.moreno@....com>,
        "x86@...nel.org" <x86@...nel.org>,
        "linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org" <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>,
        Ingo Molnar <mingo@...hat.com>,
        "H. Peter Anvin" <hpa@...or.com>,
        Thomas Gleixner <tglx@...utronix.de>,
        "boylston@...romesa.net" <boylston@...romesa.net>
Subject: Re: [PATCH v2 1/3] introduce memcpy_nocache()

On Tue, Nov 01, 2016 at 04:25:12PM +0200, Boaz Harrosh wrote:

> >> What about memcpy_to_pmem() in linux/pmem.h it already has all the arch switches.
> >>
> >> Feels bad to add yet just another arch switch over __copy_user_nocache
> >>
> >> Just feels like too many things that do the same thing. Sigh
> > 
> > I agree that this looks like a nicer path.
> > 
> > I had considered adjusting copy_from_iter_nocache() to use memcpy_to_pmem(),
> > but lib/iov_iter.c doesn't currently #include linux/pmem.h.  Would it be
> > acceptable to add it?  Also, I wasn't sure if memcpy_to_pmem() would always
> > mean exactly "memcpy nocache".
> > 
> 
> I think this is the way to go. In my opinion there is no reason why not to include
> pmem.h into lib/iov_iter.c.
> 
> And I think memcpy_to_pmem() would always be the fastest arch way to bypass cache
> so it should be safe to use this for all cases. It is so in the arches that support
> this now, and I cannot imagine a theoretical arch that would differ. But let the
> specific arch people holler if this steps on their tows, later when they care about
> this at all.
 
First of all, if it's the fastest arch way to bypass cache, why the hell
is it sitting in pmem-related areas?

More to the point, x86 implementation of that thing is tied to uaccess API
for no damn reason whatsoever.  Let's add a real memcpy_nocache() and
be done with that.  I mean, this
        if (WARN(rem, "%s: fault copying %p <- %p unwritten: %d\n",
                                __func__, dst, src, rem))
                BUG();
is *screaming* "API misused here".  And let's stay away from the STAC et.al. -
it's pointless for kernel-to-kernel copies.

BTW, your "it's iovec, only non-temporal stores there" logics in
arch_copy_from_iter_pmem() is simply wrong - for one thing, unaligned
copies will have parts done via normal stores, for another 32bit will
_not_ go for non-caching codepath for short copies.  What semantics do
we really need there?