linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH 7/7] clocksource/arm_arch_timer: Use arch_timer_read

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Date:   Fri, 3 May 2019 22:31:42 +0200
From:   Daniel Lezcano <daniel.lezcano@...aro.org>
To:     Marc Zyngier <marc.zyngier@....com>,
        linux-arm-kernel@...ts.infradead.org, linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org
Cc:     Russell King <linux@....linux.org.uk>,
        Will Deacon <will.deacon@....com>,
        Catalin Marinas <catalin.marinas@....com>,
        Mark Rutland <mark.rutland@....com>,
        Wim Van Sebroeck <wim@...ux-watchdog.org>,
        Guenter Roeck <linux@...ck-us.net>,
        Valentin Schneider <valentin.schneider@....com>
Subject: Re: [PATCH 7/7] clocksource/arm_arch_timer: Use
 arch_timer_read_counter to access stable counters


Hi Marc,

On 30/04/2019 17:27, Marc Zyngier wrote:
> On 15/04/2019 13:16, Daniel Lezcano wrote:
>> On 08/04/2019 17:49, Marc Zyngier wrote:
>>> Instead of always going via arch_counter_get_cntvct_stable to
>>> access the counter workaround, let's have arch_timer_read_counter
>>> to point to the right method.
>>>
>>> For that, we need to track whether any CPU in the system has a
>>> workaround for the counter. This is done by having an atomic
>>> variable tracking this.
>>>
>>> Signed-off-by: Marc Zyngier <marc.zyngier@....com>
>>> ---
>>
>> [ ... ]
>>
>>> +
>>>  /*
>>>   * Default to cp15 based access because arm64 uses this function for
>>>   * sched_clock() before DT is probed and the cp15 method is guaranteed
>>> @@ -372,6 +392,7 @@ static u32 notrace sun50i_a64_read_cntv_tval_el0(void)
>>>  DEFINE_PER_CPU(const struct arch_timer_erratum_workaround *, timer_unstable_counter_workaround);
>>>  EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(timer_unstable_counter_workaround);
>>>  
>>> +static atomic_t timer_unstable_counter_workaround_in_use = ATOMIC_INIT(0);
>>
>> Wouldn't make sense to READ_ONCE / WRITE_ONCE instead of using an atomic?
> 
> I don't think *_ONCE says anything about the atomicity of the access. It
> only instruct the compiler that this should only be accessed once, and
> not reloaded/rewritten. In this case, WRITE_ONCE() would work just as
> well, but I feel that setting the expectations do matter.
> 
> I also had a vague idea to use this as a refcount to drop the
> workarounds as CPUs get hotplugged off, in which case we'd need the RMW
> operations to be atomic.
> 
> Anyway, I'm not hell bent on this. If you fundamentally disagree with me
> I'll change it.

As you are planning to extend its usage for refcounting in the hotplug
path, I think it is fine.

Thanks

  -- Daniel




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