netdev - Re: [Xen-devel] [PATCH 5/6] xen-netback: coalesce slots before copying

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Date:	Mon, 25 Mar 2013 19:09:11 +0000
From:	Wei Liu <wei.liu2@...rix.com>
To:	David Vrabel <david.vrabel@...rix.com>
CC:	Wei Liu <liuw@...w.name>, Ian Campbell <Ian.Campbell@...rix.com>,
	"konrad.wilk@...cle.com" <konrad.wilk@...cle.com>,
	"netdev@...r.kernel.org" <netdev@...r.kernel.org>,
	"xen-devel@...ts.xen.org" <xen-devel@...ts.xen.org>,
	"annie.li@...cle.com" <annie.li@...cle.com>
Subject: Re: [Xen-devel] [PATCH 5/6] xen-netback: coalesce slots before
 copying

On Mon, Mar 25, 2013 at 06:29:29PM +0000, David Vrabel wrote:
> >>
> > 
> > Are you suggesting move the default macro value to header file? It is
> > just an estimation, I have no knowledge of the accurate maximum value,
> > so I think make it part of the protocol a bad idea.
> 
> How is the author of a new frontend supposed to know how many slots they
> can use per packet if it is not precisely defined?
> 

A new frontend shuold use the scheme you mentioned below to get the
maximum value. For old frontends that cannot be fixed, administrator can
configure max_skb_slots to accommodate their need.

> > Do you have a handle on the maximum value?
> 
> Backends should provide the value to the frontend via a xenstore key
> (e.g., max-slots-per-frame).  This value should be at least 18 (the
> historical value of MAX_SKB_FRAGS).
> 
> The frontend may use up to this specified value or 17 if the
> max-slots-per-frame key is missing.
> 
> Supporting at least 18 in the backend is required for existing
> frontends.  Limiting frontends to 17 allows them to work with all
> backends (including recent Linux version that only supported 17).
> 
> It's not clear why 19 or 20 were suggested as possible values.  I
> checked back to 2.6.18 and MAX_SKB_FRAGS there is (65536/PAGE_SIZE + 2)

Because the check is >= MAX_SKB_FRAGS originally and James Harper told
me that "Windows stops counting on 20".

> == 18.
> 
> Separately, it may be sensible for the backend to drop packets with more
> frags than max-slots-per-frame up to some threshold where anything more
> is considered malicious (i.e., 1 - 18 slots is a valid packet, 19-20 are
> dropped and 21 or more is a fatal error).
> 

Why drop the packet when we are able to process it? Frontend cannot know
it has crossed the line anyway.


Wei.
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