linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH] PCI: mvebu: Use devm_request_irq() for registering interrupt handler

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Message-ID: <20250226215001.GA556020@bhelgaas>
Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2025 15:50:01 -0600
From: Bjorn Helgaas <helgaas@...nel.org>
To: Marc Zyngier <maz@...nel.org>
Cc: Pali Rohár <pali@...nel.org>,
	Bjorn Helgaas <bhelgaas@...gle.com>,
	Thomas Petazzoni <thomas.petazzoni@...tlin.com>,
	Lorenzo Pieralisi <lorenzo.pieralisi@....com>,
	Rob Herring <robh@...nel.org>,
	Krzysztof Wilczyński <kw@...ux.com>,
	linux-pci@...r.kernel.org, linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org
Subject: Re: [PATCH] PCI: mvebu: Use devm_request_irq() for registering
 interrupt handler

On Thu, Jun 23, 2022 at 09:31:40PM +0100, Marc Zyngier wrote:
> On Thu, 23 Jun 2022 17:49:42 +0100,
> Bjorn Helgaas <helgaas@...nel.org> wrote:
> > On Thu, Jun 23, 2022 at 06:32:40PM +0200, Pali Rohár wrote:
> > > On Thursday 23 June 2022 11:27:47 Bjorn Helgaas wrote:
> > > > On Tue, May 24, 2022 at 02:28:17PM +0200, Pali Rohár wrote:
> > > > > Same as in commit a3b69dd0ad62 ("Revert "PCI: aardvark:
> > > > > Rewrite IRQ code to chained IRQ handler"") for pci-aardvark
> > > > > driver, use devm_request_irq() instead of chained IRQ
> > > > > handler in pci-mvebu.c driver.
> > > > >
> > > > > This change fixes affinity support and allows to pin
> > > > > interrupts from different PCIe controllers to different CPU
> > > > > cores.
> > > > 
> > > > Several other drivers use irq_set_chained_handler_and_data().
> > > > Do any of them need similar changes?
> > > 
> > > I do not know. This needs testing on HW which use those other
> > > drivers.
> > > 
> > > > The commit log suggests that using chained IRQ handlers breaks
> > > > affinity support.  But perhaps that's not the case and the
> > > > real culprit is some other difference between mvebu and the
> > > > other drivers.
> > > 
> > > It is possible. But similar patch (revert; linked below) was
> > > required for aardvark. I tested same approach on mvebu and it
> > > fixed affinity support.
> > 
> > This feels like something we should understand better.  If
> > irq_set_chained_handler_and_data() is a problem for affinity, we
> > should fix it across the board in all the drivers at once.
> > 
> > If the real problem is something different, we should figure that
> > out and document it in the commit log.
> > 
> > I cc'd Marc in case he has time to educate us.
> 
> Thanks for roping me in.
> 
> The problem of changing affinities for chained (or multiplexing)
> interrupts is, to make it short, that it breaks the existing
> userspace ABI that a change in affinity affects only the interrupt
> userspace acts upon, and no other. Which is why we don't expose any
> affinity setting for such an interrupt, as by definition changing
> its affinity affects all the interrupts that are muxed onto it.
> 
> By turning a chained interrupt into a normal handler, people work
> around the above rule and break the contract the kernel has with
> userspace.
> 
> Do I think this is acceptable? No. Can something be done about this?
> Maybe.
> 
> Marek asked this exact question last month[1], and I gave a detailed
> explanation of what could be done to improve matters, allowing this
> to happen as long as userspace is made aware of the effects, which
> means creating a new userspace ABI.
> 
> I would rather see people work on a proper solution than add bad
> hacks that only work in environments where the userspace ABI can be
> safely ignored, such as on an closed, embedded device.
> 
> [1] https://lore.kernel.org/all/20220502102137.764606ee@thinkpad/

OK, this patch [2] has languished forever, and I don't know how to
move forward.

The patch basically changes mvebu_pcie_irq_handler() from a chained
IRQ handler to a handler registered with devm_request_irq() so it can
be pinned to a CPU.

How are we supposed to decide whether this is safe?  What should we
look at in the patch?

IIUC on mvebu, there's a single IRQ (port->intx_irq, described by a DT
"intx" in interrupt-names) that invokes mvebu_pcie_irq_handler(),
which loops through and handles INTA, INTB, INTC, and INTD.

I think if port->intx_irq is pinned to CPU X, that means INTA, INTB,
INTC, and INTD are all pinned to that same CPU.

I assume changing to devm_request_irq() means port->intx_irq will
appear in /proc/interrupts and can be pinned to a CPU.  Is it a
problem if INTA, INTB, INTC, and INTD for that controller all
effectively share intx_irq and are pinned to the same CPU?

AFAICT we currently have three PCI host controllers with INTx handlers
that are registered with devm_request_irq(), which is what [2]
proposes to do:

  advk_pcie_irq_handler()
  xilinx_pl_dma_pcie_intx_flow()
  xilinx_pcie_intr_handler()

Do we assume that these are mistakes that shouldn't be emulated?

[2] https://lore.kernel.org/r/20220524122817.7199-1-pali@kernel.org