Re: [PATCH net 1/2] net: macb: reprogram TBQP after shuffling the TX ring on link-up

[Sebastian Andrzej Siewior]

On 2026-07-06 16:02:14 [+0200], Christian Taedcke via B4 Relay wrote:
> From: Christian Taedcke <christian.taedcke@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> 
> gem_shuffle_tx_one_ring() rotates the software TX ring so that the
> tail sits at index 0 and resets queue->tx_tail to 0, but it never
> reprograms the hardware transmit buffer queue pointer (TBQP). Other
> paths that reset tx_tail to the ring base (macb_init_buffers() and
> macb_tx_error_task()) also reprogram TBQP to queue->tx_ring_dma; this
> path does not, leaving TBQP pointing at a stale descriptor.
> 
> gem_shuffle_tx_rings() runs on every link-up from
> macb_mac_link_up(). After a few link up/down flaps that leave
> un-completed descriptors in the ring, the stale TBQP keeps pointing at
> a descriptor whose used bit is set. When TX is re-enabled on link-up,
> the GEM reads that used descriptor and raises TXUBR. macb_interrupt()
> schedules the TX NAPI, macb_tx_poll() makes no progress (work_done ==
> 0) and macb_tx_restart() re-issues TSTART, which makes the controller
> read the same used descriptor again and re-assert TXUBR. As the MAC
> interrupt is level-triggered, it never deasserts and one CPU is pegged
> at 100% in the threaded handler, eventually triggering "sched: RT
> throttling activated" and a dead network interface.

But this should also happen with !RT at which point the interrupt runs
at 100% CPU and the softirq has hardly an chance to make progress, no?

> Fix it by reprogramming TBQP to the ring base on every path of
> gem_shuffle_tx_one_ring() that resets tx_tail to 0, mirroring
> macb_tx_error_task(). The early return for an already-aligned tail is
> left untouched as TBQP is already consistent there. This is safe
> because the shuffle runs from macb_mac_link_up() while TE is still
> disabled, so the transmitter is halted.
> 
> Fixes: 881a0263d502 ("net: macb: Shuffle the tx ring before enabling tx")

This is v7.0-rc4. So that RT tree of yours has some backports or did you
run into this while trying to reproduce it upstream?

> Cc: stable@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Assisted-by: Claude:claude-opus-4-8
> Signed-off-by: Christian Taedcke <christian.taedcke@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> ---
>  drivers/net/ethernet/cadence/macb_main.c | 9 ++++++++-
>  1 file changed, 8 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
> 
> diff --git a/drivers/net/ethernet/cadence/macb_main.c b/drivers/net/ethernet/cadence/macb_main.c
> index fd282a1700fb..b11cb8f068b7 100644
> --- a/drivers/net/ethernet/cadence/macb_main.c
> +++ b/drivers/net/ethernet/cadence/macb_main.c
> @@ -820,7 +820,7 @@ static void gem_shuffle_tx_one_ring(struct macb_queue *queue)
>  	if (!count) {
>  		queue->tx_head = 0;
>  		queue->tx_tail = 0;
> -		goto unlock;
> +		goto reset_hw_ptr;

This update is even needed for count == 0 case? I kind of do understand
that you need to updated if you shuffled the descriptors around.

>  	}
>  
>  	shift = tail % ring_size;
> @@ -869,6 +869,13 @@ static void gem_shuffle_tx_one_ring(struct macb_queue *queue)
>  	/* Make descriptor updates visible to hardware */
>  	wmb();
>  
> +reset_hw_ptr:
> +	/* tx_tail was reset to the ring base, so TBQP must be reprogrammed
> +	 * to match; otherwise it keeps pointing at a stale descriptor. Safe
> +	 * to write directly here as TX is still disabled (called from
> +	 * macb_mac_link_up() before TE is set).
> +	 */
> +	queue_writel(queue, TBQP, lower_32_bits(queue->tx_ring_dma));
>  unlock:
>  	spin_unlock_irqrestore(&queue->tx_ptr_lock, flags);
>  }
> 

Sebastian