Message-ID: <CAJ9a7VhzwMri1Lz5mtO5um3-tT9=GUpGN3cHJhkW5TTsbOKbgQ@mail.gmail.com>
Date:   Tue, 22 Mar 2022 11:38:25 +0000
From:   Mike Leach <mike.leach@...aro.org>
To:     Suzuki Kuruppassery Poulose <suzuki.poulose@....com>
Cc:     coresight@...ts.linaro.org, linux-arm-kernel@...ts.infradead.org,
        linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org, mathieu.poirier@...aro.org,
        peterz@...radead.org, mingo@...hat.com, acme@...nel.org,
        linux-perf-users@...r.kernel.org, leo.yan@...aro.org,
        James Clark <James.Clark@....com>
Subject: Re: [PATCH 00/10] coresight: Add new API to allocate trace source ID values

HI Suzuki,

On Tue, 22 Mar 2022 at 10:43, Suzuki Kuruppassery Poulose
<suzuki.poulose@....com> wrote:
>
> + Cc: James Clark
>
> Hi Mike,
>
> On 08/03/2022 20:49, Mike Leach wrote:
> > The current method for allocating trace source ID values to sources is
> > to use a fixed algorithm for CPU based sources of (cpu_num * 2 + 0x10).
> > The STM is allocated ID 0x1.
> >
> > This fixed algorithm is used in both the CoreSight driver code, and by
> > perf when writing the trace metadata in the AUXTRACE_INFO record.
> >
> > The method needs replacing as currently:-
> > 1. It is inefficient in using available IDs.
> > 2. Does not scale to larger systems with many cores and the algorithm
> > has no limits so will generate invalid trace IDs for cpu number > 44.
>
> Thanks for addressing this issue.
>
> >
> > Additionally requirements to allocate additional system IDs on some
> > systems have been seen.
> >
> > This patch set  introduces an API that allows the allocation of trace IDs
> > in a dynamic manner.
> >
> > Architecturally reserved IDs are never allocated, and the system is
> > limited to allocating only valid IDs.
> >
> > Each of the current trace sources ETM3.x, ETM4.x and STM is updated to use
> > the new API.
> >
> > perf handling is changed so that the ID associated with the CPU is read
> > from sysfs. The ID allocator is notified when perf events start and stop
> > so CPU based IDs are kept constant throughout any perf session.
> >
> > For the ETMx.x devices IDs are allocated on certain events
> > a) When using sysfs, an ID will be allocated on hardware enable, and freed
> > when the sysfs reset is written.
> > b) When using perf, ID is allocated on hardware enable, and freed on
> > hardware disable.
> >
> > For both cases the ID is allocated when sysfs is read to get the current
> > trace ID. This ensures that consistent decode metadata can be extracted
> > from the system where this read occurs before device enable.
>
>
> >
> > Note: This patchset breaks backward compatibility for perf record.
> > Because the method for generating the AUXTRACE_INFO meta data has
> > changed, using an older perf record will result in metadata that
> > does not match the trace IDs used in the recorded trace data.
> > This mismatch will cause subsequent decode to fail. Older versions of
> > perf will still be able to decode data generated by the updated system.
>
> I have some concerns over this and the future plans for the dynamic
> allocation per sink. i.e., we are breaking/modifying the perf now to
> accommodate the dynamic nature of the trace id of a given CPU/ETM.

I don't beleive we have a choice for this - we cannot retain what is
an essentially broken allocation mechanism.

> The proposed approach of exposing this via sysfs may (am not sure if
> this would be the case) break for the trace-id per sink change, as a
> sink could assign different trace-id for a CPU depending.
>

If a path exists between a CPU and a sink - the current framework as
far as I can tell would not allow for a new path to be set up between
the cpu and another sink.

However, if we allow multiple paths per CPU, the implementation does
both allocate on read and allocate on enable. Both API functions take
a input of a trace ID allocation structure. At present this is global,
but if we need to introduce per sink allocation, then the mechanisms
for sink / ID table management will have to ensure that the correct
table is provided for the sink at the end of the path in each case.
Thus the API still works as long as you get the sink ID table
management correct. That is why it was designed to take the TraceID
tables as input to all the functions - it is independent of any per
sink management that might come later.

My view is that any multi-sink system is likely to be multi-socket as
well - where different trace infrastructures exist per socket but need
to be handled by a single software infrastructure.

> So, instead if we make the trace-id available in the perf (say, an new
> record format, PERF_RECORD_CS_ETM_TRACEID ?) record, we can rely on the
> new packet for the trace-id, irrespective of how that is allocated and
> remove the locking/linking of the trace-id with that of the sysfs.

The issue here is how to we transmit the information from the driver
to the perf executable?
Even with a new record that problem still exists. The current perf
solves this problem by using the same static algorithm that the driver
uses - so no actual communication is necessary. A similar method is
used to synthesize the value of the etm control register. The command
line options are interpreted by perf, then the same data is passed to
the driver from perf through the event structures and reinterpreted -
hopefully in the same way. All the other values in the perf records
are read directly from sysfs.


>This
> is not something that exists today. (Ideally it would have been nice to
> have some additional fields in RECORD_AUXINFO, but we don't. Instead of
> breaking/extending that, we could add a new RECORD).
>

The trace ID is currently part of RECORD_AUXTRACE_INFO is it not? And
we have extended this in the past for the additional requirements for
ETE - i.e. an additional ID register - read from sysfs, along with a
version number for the record.

Regards

Mike

> I believe the packet may need to be generated only once for a session
> and that will also allow the flexibility of moving trace-id allocation
> around (to a sink in the future).
>
> Thoughts ?
>
> Kind regards
> Suzuki
>
>
> >
> >
> > Applies to coresight/next [b54f53bc11a5]
> > Tested on DB410c
> >
> > Mike Leach (10):
> >    coresight: trace-id: Add API to dynamically assign trace ID values
> >    coresight: trace-id: Set up source trace ID map for system
> >    coresight: stm: Update STM driver to use Trace ID api
> >    coresight: etm4x: Use trace ID API to dynamically allocate trace ID
> >    coresight: etm3x: Use trace ID API to allocate IDs
> >    coresight: perf: traceid: Add perf notifiers for trace ID
> >    perf: cs-etm: Update event to read trace ID from sysfs
> >    coresight: Remove legacy Trace ID allocation mechanism
> >    coresight: etmX.X: stm: Remove unused legacy source trace ID ops
> >    coresight: trace-id: Add debug & test macros to trace id allocation
> >
> >   drivers/hwtracing/coresight/Makefile          |   2 +-
> >   drivers/hwtracing/coresight/coresight-core.c  |  64 ++---
> >   .../hwtracing/coresight/coresight-etm-perf.c  |  16 +-
> >   drivers/hwtracing/coresight/coresight-etm.h   |   3 +-
> >   .../coresight/coresight-etm3x-core.c          |  93 ++++---
> >   .../coresight/coresight-etm3x-sysfs.c         |  28 +-
> >   .../coresight/coresight-etm4x-core.c          |  63 ++++-
> >   .../coresight/coresight-etm4x-sysfs.c         |  32 ++-
> >   drivers/hwtracing/coresight/coresight-etm4x.h |   3 +
> >   drivers/hwtracing/coresight/coresight-priv.h  |   1 +
> >   drivers/hwtracing/coresight/coresight-stm.c   |  49 +---
> >   .../hwtracing/coresight/coresight-trace-id.c  | 255 ++++++++++++++++++
> >   .../hwtracing/coresight/coresight-trace-id.h  |  69 +++++
> >   include/linux/coresight-pmu.h                 |  12 -
> >   include/linux/coresight.h                     |   3 -
> >   tools/perf/arch/arm/util/cs-etm.c             |  12 +-
> >   16 files changed, 530 insertions(+), 175 deletions(-)
> >   create mode 100644 drivers/hwtracing/coresight/coresight-trace-id.c
> >   create mode 100644 drivers/hwtracing/coresight/coresight-trace-id.h
> >
>


-- 
Mike Leach
Principal Engineer, ARM Ltd.
Manchester Design Centre. UK

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