[PATCH 02/13] nvme: add NVME_CTRL_MARGINAL flag

From: Jesse Taube

Date: Wed Aug 12 2026 - 14:15:51 EST


From: Bryan Gurney <bgurney@xxxxxxxxxx>

Add a new controller flag, NVME_CTRL_MARGINAL, to help multipath I/O
policies to react to a path that is set to a "marginal" state.

The flag is cleared on controller reset, which is often the case when
faulty cabling or transceiver hardware is replaced.

Signed-off-by: Bryan Gurney <bgurney@xxxxxxxxxx>
---
V10 -> V11:
- No change
---
drivers/nvme/host/core.c | 1 +
drivers/nvme/host/fc.c | 4 ++++
drivers/nvme/host/nvme.h | 6 ++++++
3 files changed, 11 insertions(+)

diff --git a/drivers/nvme/host/core.c b/drivers/nvme/host/core.c
index 453c1f0b2dd0..957090af2171 100644
--- a/drivers/nvme/host/core.c
+++ b/drivers/nvme/host/core.c
@@ -5165,6 +5165,7 @@ int nvme_init_ctrl(struct nvme_ctrl *ctrl, struct device *dev,
WRITE_ONCE(ctrl->state, NVME_CTRL_NEW);
ctrl->passthru_err_log_enabled = false;
clear_bit(NVME_CTRL_FAILFAST_EXPIRED, &ctrl->flags);
+ clear_bit(NVME_CTRL_MARGINAL, &ctrl->flags);
spin_lock_init(&ctrl->lock);
mutex_init(&ctrl->namespaces_lock);

diff --git a/drivers/nvme/host/fc.c b/drivers/nvme/host/fc.c
index 04363b9c4489..d2ca65f70a0c 100644
--- a/drivers/nvme/host/fc.c
+++ b/drivers/nvme/host/fc.c
@@ -788,6 +788,10 @@ nvme_fc_ctrl_connectivity_loss(struct nvme_fc_ctrl *ctrl)
"Reconnect", ctrl->cnum);

set_bit(ASSOC_FAILED, &ctrl->flags);
+
+ /* clear 'marginal' flag as controller will be reset */
+ clear_bit(NVME_CTRL_MARGINAL, &ctrl->flags);
+
nvme_reset_ctrl(&ctrl->ctrl);
}

diff --git a/drivers/nvme/host/nvme.h b/drivers/nvme/host/nvme.h
index 824651cc898d..3616742d6788 100644
--- a/drivers/nvme/host/nvme.h
+++ b/drivers/nvme/host/nvme.h
@@ -329,6 +329,7 @@ enum nvme_ctrl_flags {
NVME_CTRL_SKIP_ID_CNS_CS = 4,
NVME_CTRL_DIRTY_CAPABILITY = 5,
NVME_CTRL_FROZEN = 6,
+ NVME_CTRL_MARGINAL = 7,
};

struct nvme_ctrl {
@@ -479,6 +480,11 @@ static inline enum nvme_ctrl_state nvme_ctrl_state(struct nvme_ctrl *ctrl)
return READ_ONCE(ctrl->state);
}

+static inline bool nvme_ctrl_is_marginal(struct nvme_ctrl *ctrl)
+{
+ return test_bit(NVME_CTRL_MARGINAL, &ctrl->flags);
+}
+
enum nvme_iopolicy {
NVME_IOPOLICY_NUMA,
NVME_IOPOLICY_RR,
--
2.54.0