From: Michael Kelley <mikel...@microsoft.com>

Add comments describing intricacies of Hyper-V ring buffer
signaling code.  This information is not in Hyper-V public
documents, so include here to capture the knowledge for
future coders.

There are no code changes in this commit.

Signed-off-by: Michael Kelley <mikel...@microsoft.com>
Signed-off-by: K. Y. Srinivasan <k...@microsoft.com>
---
 drivers/hv/ring_buffer.c | 65 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-------
 include/linux/hyperv.h   | 31 ++++++++++++++-----
 2 files changed, 77 insertions(+), 19 deletions(-)

diff --git a/drivers/hv/ring_buffer.c b/drivers/hv/ring_buffer.c
index 8699bb969e7e..ce6ea6dad490 100644
--- a/drivers/hv/ring_buffer.c
+++ b/drivers/hv/ring_buffer.c
@@ -429,7 +429,24 @@ static u32 hv_pkt_iter_bytes_read(const struct 
hv_ring_buffer_info *rbi,
 }
 
 /*
- * Update host ring buffer after iterating over packets.
+ * Update host ring buffer after iterating over packets. If the host has
+ * stopped queuing new entries because it found the ring buffer full, and
+ * sufficient space is being freed up, signal the host. But be careful to
+ * only signal the host when necessary, both for performance reasons and
+ * because Hyper-V protects itself by throttling guests that signal
+ * inappropriately.
+ *
+ * Determining when to signal is tricky. There are three key data inputs
+ * that must be handled in this order to avoid race conditions:
+ *
+ * 1. Update the read_index
+ * 2. Read the pending_send_sz
+ * 3. Read the current write_index
+ *
+ * The interrupt_mask is not used to determine when to signal. The
+ * interrupt_mask is used only on the guest->host ring buffer when
+ * sending requests to the host. The host does not use it on the host->
+ * guest ring buffer to indicate whether it should be signaled.
  */
 void hv_pkt_iter_close(struct vmbus_channel *channel)
 {
@@ -445,22 +462,30 @@ void hv_pkt_iter_close(struct vmbus_channel *channel)
        start_read_index = rbi->ring_buffer->read_index;
        rbi->ring_buffer->read_index = rbi->priv_read_index;
 
+       /*
+        * Older versions of Hyper-V (before WS2102 and Win8) do not
+        * implement pending_send_sz and simply poll if the host->guest
+        * ring buffer is full.  No signaling is needed or expected.
+        */
        if (!rbi->ring_buffer->feature_bits.feat_pending_send_sz)
                return;
 
        /*
         * Issue a full memory barrier before making the signaling decision.
-        * Here is the reason for having this barrier:
-        * If the reading of the pend_sz (in this function)
-        * were to be reordered and read before we commit the new read
-        * index (in the calling function)  we could
-        * have a problem. If the host were to set the pending_sz after we
-        * have sampled pending_sz and go to sleep before we commit the
+        * If reading pending_send_sz were to be reordered and happen
+        * before we commit the new read_index, a race could occur.  If the
+        * host were to set the pending_send_sz after we have sampled
+        * pending_send_sz, and the ring buffer blocks before we commit the
         * read index, we could miss sending the interrupt. Issue a full
         * memory barrier to address this.
         */
        virt_mb();
 
+       /*
+        * If the pending_send_sz is zero, then the ring buffer is not
+        * blocked and there is no need to signal.  This is far by the
+        * most common case, so exit quickly for best performance.
+        */
        pending_sz = READ_ONCE(rbi->ring_buffer->pending_send_sz);
        if (!pending_sz)
                return;
@@ -474,14 +499,32 @@ void hv_pkt_iter_close(struct vmbus_channel *channel)
        bytes_read = hv_pkt_iter_bytes_read(rbi, start_read_index);
 
        /*
-        * If there was space before we began iteration,
-        * then host was not blocked.
+        * We want to signal the host only if we're transitioning
+        * from a "not enough free space" state to a "enough free
+        * space" state.  For example, it's possible that this function
+        * could run and free up enough space to signal the host, and then
+        * run again and free up additional space before the host has a
+        * chance to clear the pending_send_sz.  The 2nd invocation would
+        * be a null transition from "enough free space" to "enough free
+        * space", which doesn't warrant a signal.
+        *
+        * Exactly filling the ring buffer is treated as "not enough
+        * space". The ring buffer always must have at least one byte
+        * empty so the empty and full conditions are distinguishable.
+        * hv_get_bytes_to_write() doesn't fully tell the truth in
+        * this regard.
+        *
+        * So first check if we were in the "enough free space" state
+        * before we began the iteration. If so, the host was not
+        * blocked, and there's no need to signal.
         */
-
        if (curr_write_sz - bytes_read > pending_sz)
                return;
 
-       /* If pending write will not fit, don't give false hope. */
+       /*
+        * Similarly, if the new state is "not enough space", then
+        * there's no need to signal.
+        */
        if (curr_write_sz <= pending_sz)
                return;
 
diff --git a/include/linux/hyperv.h b/include/linux/hyperv.h
index 11b5612dc066..3265300b2b16 100644
--- a/include/linux/hyperv.h
+++ b/include/linux/hyperv.h
@@ -88,18 +88,33 @@ struct hv_ring_buffer {
        u32 interrupt_mask;
 
        /*
-        * Win8 uses some of the reserved bits to implement
-        * interrupt driven flow management. On the send side
-        * we can request that the receiver interrupt the sender
-        * when the ring transitions from being full to being able
-        * to handle a message of size "pending_send_sz".
+        * WS2012/Win8 and later versions of Hyper-V implement interrupt
+        * driven flow management. The feature bit feat_pending_send_sz
+        * is set by the host on the host->guest ring buffer, and by the
+        * guest on the guest->host ring buffer.
         *
-        * Add necessary state for this enhancement.
+        * The meaning of the feature bit is a bit complex in that it has
+        * semantics that apply to both ring buffers.  If the guest sets
+        * the feature bit in the guest->host ring buffer, the guest is
+        * telling the host that:
+        * 1) It will set the pending_send_sz field in the guest->host ring
+        *    buffer when it is waiting for space to become available, and
+        * 2) It will read the pending_send_sz field in the host->guest
+        *    ring buffer and interrupt the host when it frees enough space
+        *
+        * Similarly, if the host sets the feature bit in the host->guest
+        * ring buffer, the host is telling the guest that:
+        * 1) It will set the pending_send_sz field in the host->guest ring
+        *    buffer when it is waiting for space to become available, and
+        * 2) It will read the pending_send_sz field in the guest->host
+        *    ring buffer and interrupt the guest when it frees enough space
+        *
+        * If either the guest or host does not set the feature bit that it
+        * owns, that guest or host must do polling if it encounters a full
+        * ring buffer, and not signal the other end with an interrupt.
         */
        u32 pending_send_sz;
-
        u32 reserved1[12];
-
        union {
                struct {
                        u32 feat_pending_send_sz:1;
-- 
2.17.1

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