Re: [PATCH v2 07/10] nvme-pci: Use PCI p2pmem subsystem to manage the CMB

From: Keith Busch
Date: Mon Mar 05 2018 - 15:42:17 EST


On Mon, Mar 05, 2018 at 01:10:53PM -0700, Jason Gunthorpe wrote:
> So when reading the above mlx code, we see the first wmb() being used
> to ensure that CPU stores to cachable memory are visible to the DMA
> triggered by the doorbell ring.

IIUC, we don't need a similar barrier for NVMe to ensure memory is
visibile to DMA since the SQE memory is allocated DMA coherent when the
SQ is not within a CMB.

> The mmiowb() is used to ensure that DB writes are not combined and not
> issued in any order other than implied by the lock that encloses the
> whole thing. This is needed because uar_map is WC memory.
>
> We don't have ordering with respect to two writel's here, so if ARM
> performance was a concern the writel could be switched to
> writel_relaxed().
>
> Presumably nvme has similar requirments, although I guess the DB
> register is mapped UC not WC?

Yep, the NVMe DB register is required by the spec to be mapped UC.