Re: [linus:master] [iov_iter] c9eec08bac: vm-scalability.throughput -16.9% regression

[Borislav Petkov]

On Wed, Nov 15, 2023 at 04:50:06PM -0500, Linus Torvalds wrote:
> Sadly, we don't seem to have any obvious #define for "this is not real
> kernel code". We just have a lot of ad-hoc tricks, like removing
> compiler flags and disabling things like KASAN etc on a file-by-file
> (or directory) basis.
> 
> The purgatory code isn't exactly boot-time code, but it's very similar
> - it's kind of a limited environment that runs at crash time to load a
> new kernel.

So I've been trying to do a proper and clean kernel proper from "other
objects" split by not allowing kernel proper crap from getting linked
into those other objects.

Because the same thing happens here: the sha256.o object gets included
from kernel proper:

$(obj)/sha256.o: $(srctree)/lib/crypto/sha256.c FORCE
        $(call if_changed_rule,cc_o_c)

and that object has the alternatives sections:

  [ 7] .altinstructions  PROGBITS         0000000000000000  00000be8
       000000000000002a  0000000000000000   A       0     0     1
  [ 8] .rela.altins[...] RELA             0000000000000000  00001190
       0000000000000090  0000000000000018   I      16     7     8
  [ 9] .altinstr_re[...] PROGBITS         0000000000000000  00000c12
       000000000000000f  0000000000000000  AX       0     0     1

and in it there are calls to rep_movs_alternative which the linker tries
to resolve, leading to that failure.

And we don't need those damn sections and we can simply do objcopy
--remove-section but then more sh*t happens, see end of mail.

So I'd really like for us to have a rule (or a couple of rules) which
clarify how other objects should include kernel proper stuff. Because it
is a mess currently. Pretty much every time we try to include some stuff
from kernel proper, those other builds fail.

I've been trying to disentangle the compressed kernel on x86 too, this
way, and we have had some success in defining separate facilities which
can be shared by others:

arch/x86/include/asm/shared/

but it needs a lot of work and policing... :-\

So I'm open to ideas...

Thx.

arch/x86/purgatory/purgatory.ro: in function `sha256_transform_blocks':
/home/boris/kernel/5th/linux/lib/crypto/sha256.c:123:(.text+0x801): undefined reference to `__fentry__'
ld: /home/boris/kernel/5th/linux/lib/crypto/sha256.c:132:(.text+0xfde): undefined reference to `__x86_return_thunk'
ld: arch/x86/purgatory/purgatory.ro: in function `sha256_update':
/home/boris/kernel/5th/linux/lib/crypto/sha256.c:135:(.text+0x1005): undefined reference to `__fentry__'
ld: /home/boris/kernel/5th/linux/lib/crypto/sha256.c:137:(.text+0x1071): undefined reference to `__x86_return_thunk'
ld: arch/x86/purgatory/purgatory.ro: in function `__sha256_final':
/home/boris/kernel/5th/linux/lib/crypto/sha256.c:141:(.text+0x10f1): undefined reference to `__fentry__'
ld: /home/boris/kernel/5th/linux/lib/crypto/sha256.c:144:(.text+0x1204): undefined reference to `__x86_return_thunk'
ld: arch/x86/purgatory/purgatory.ro: in function `sha256_final':
/home/boris/kernel/5th/linux/lib/crypto/sha256.c:147:(.text+0x1295): undefined reference to `__fentry__'
ld: arch/x86/purgatory/purgatory.ro: in function `sha224_final':
/home/boris/kernel/5th/linux/lib/crypto/sha256.c:153:(.text+0x12c5): undefined reference to `__fentry__'
ld: arch/x86/purgatory/purgatory.ro: in function `sha256':
/home/boris/kernel/5th/linux/lib/crypto/sha256.c:159:(.text+0x12f5): undefined reference to `__fentry__'
ld: /home/boris/kernel/5th/linux/lib/crypto/sha256.c:165:(.text+0x13bd): undefined reference to `__x86_return_thunk'
ld: /home/boris/kernel/5th/linux/lib/crypto/sha256.c:165:(.text+0x13f7): undefined reference to `__stack_chk_fail'
make[4]: *** [arch/x86/purgatory/Makefile:92: arch/x86/purgatory/purgatory.chk] Error 1
make[3]: *** [scripts/Makefile.build:480: arch/x86/purgatory] Error 2
make[2]: *** [scripts/Makefile.build:480: arch/x86] Error 2

-- 
Regards/Gruss,
    Boris.

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