On 10-08-17 02:51 PM, Mathieu Desnoyers wrote:
* David Goulet ([email protected]) wrote:
Hi,

I have some doubt about the value of #define CACHE_LINE_SIZE
(urcu/arch_x86.h) that is set to 128.

After some research and looking on my computer, the x86 architecture
seems to have most of the time 64 bytes size. On my i7 920, here's what
I have :

# getconf LEVEL1_DCACHE_LINESIZE
64

# cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cache/index0/coherency_line_size
64

Since the Intel NetBurst microarch., the Intel manual says 64 bytes also
and it has not changed apparently for Nehalem.

So, Mathieu, why 128 bytes? UST is using that, if it's the wrong value
here for x86, it could have an effect on cache pressure since 2 lines
are required for structure less then 64 bytes.

See Linux kernel source:

arch/x86/Kconfig.cpu

#
# Define implied options from the CPU selection here
config X86_INTERNODE_CACHE_SHIFT
         int
         default "12" if X86_VSMP
         default "7" if NUMA
         default X86_L1_CACHE_SHIFT

and

config X86_L1_CACHE_SHIFT
         int
         default "7" if MPENTIUM4 || MPSC
         default "6" if MK7 || MK8 || MPENTIUMM || MCORE2 || MATOM ||
MVIAC7 || X86_GENERIC || GENERIC_CPU
         default "4" if X86_ELAN || M486 || M386 || MGEODEGX1
         default "5" if MWINCHIP3D || MWINCHIPC6 || MCRUSOE || MEFFICEON
|| MCYRIXIII || MK6 || MPENTIUMIII || MPENTIUMII || M686 || M586MMX ||
M586TSC || M586 || MVIAC3_2 || MGEODE_LX

So Pentium 4 seems to have 128 bytes cache lines.


Yep I saw that and this is why I'm asking because only NUMA, P4 and vSMP machines are bigger then 64 bytes. The rest is 64 bytes (X86 generic, Core 2(Nehalem), Atom).

So you are saying that you prefer use 128 bytes knowing that most of X86 is lower or equal to 64 bytes?

Hopefully the ScaleMP vSMP machine are rare enough (they would require a
4k alignment).

NUMA is not that rare, and requires 128 bytes cache lines too.

Can you send a patch for userspace RCU that documents this briefly in
urcu/arch_x86.h ? (just a summary of the info I pasted here would be
fine)

Thanks,

Mathieu






Thanks!
--
David Goulet
LTTng project, DORSAL Lab.

PGP/GPG : 1024D/16BD8563
BE3C 672B 9331 9796 291A  14C6 4AF7 C14B 16BD 8563

_______________________________________________
ltt-dev mailing list
[email protected]
http://lists.casi.polymtl.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/ltt-dev



--
David Goulet
LTTng project, DORSAL Lab.

PGP/GPG : 1024D/16BD8563
BE3C 672B 9331 9796 291A  14C6 4AF7 C14B 16BD 8563

_______________________________________________
ltt-dev mailing list
[email protected]
http://lists.casi.polymtl.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/ltt-dev

Reply via email to