linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH 0/4] cgroup/cpuset: Allow cpuset to bound displayed cpu info

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Message-ID: <0e21f16d-d91b-7cec-d832-4c401a713b10@redhat.com>
Date:   Mon, 14 Jun 2021 22:53:53 -0400
From:   Waiman Long <llong@...hat.com>
To:     Tejun Heo <tj@...nel.org>
Cc:     Zefan Li <lizefan.x@...edance.com>,
        Johannes Weiner <hannes@...xchg.org>,
        Jonathan Corbet <corbet@....net>,
        Thomas Gleixner <tglx@...utronix.de>,
        Ingo Molnar <mingo@...hat.com>, Borislav Petkov <bp@...en8.de>,
        "H. Peter Anvin" <hpa@...or.com>,
        Greg Kroah-Hartman <gregkh@...uxfoundation.org>,
        "Rafael J. Wysocki" <rafael@...nel.org>,
        Luis Chamberlain <mcgrof@...nel.org>,
        Kees Cook <keescook@...omium.org>,
        Iurii Zaikin <yzaikin@...gle.com>, x86@...nel.org,
        cgroups@...r.kernel.org, linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org,
        linux-doc@...r.kernel.org, linux-fsdevel@...r.kernel.org
Subject: Re: [PATCH 0/4] cgroup/cpuset: Allow cpuset to bound displayed cpu
 info

On 6/14/21 4:43 PM, Tejun Heo wrote:
> Hello,
>
> On Mon, Jun 14, 2021 at 11:23:02AM -0400, Waiman Long wrote:
>> The current container management system is able to create the illusion
>> that applications running within a container have limited resources and
>> devices available for their use. However, one thing that is hard to hide
>> is the number of CPUs available in the system. In fact, the container
>> developers are asking for the kernel to provide such capability.
>>
>> There are two places where cpu information are available for the
>> applications to see - /proc/cpuinfo and /sys/devices/system/cpu sysfs
>> directory.
>>
>> This patchset introduces a new sysctl parameter cpuset_bound_cpuinfo
>> which, when set, will limit the amount of information disclosed by
>> /proc/cpuinfo and /sys/devices/system/cpu.
> The goal of cgroup has never been masquerading system information so that
> applications can pretend that they own the whole system and the proposed
> solution requires application changes anyway. The information being provided
> is useful but please do so within the usual cgroup interface - e.g.
> cpuset.stat. The applications (or libraries) that want to determine its
> confined CPU availability can locate the file through /proc/self/cgroup.

Thanks for your comment. I understand your point making change via 
cgroup interface files. However, this is not what the customers are 
asking for. They are using tools that look at /proc/cpuinfo and the 
sysfs files. It is a much bigger effort to make all those tools look at 
a new cgroup file interface instead. It can be more efficiently done at 
the kernel level.

Anyway, I am OK if the consensus is that it is not a kernel problem and 
have to be handled in userspace.

BTW, do you have any comment on another cpuset patch that I sent a week 
earlier?

https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/20210603212416.25934-1-longman@redhat.com/

I am looking forward for your feedback.

Cheers,
Longman