Re: [PATCH 03/23] resctrl: Expose MBA resource_schemata mode sysfs
From: Ben Horgan
Date: Mon Jul 20 2026 - 11:50:38 EST
Hi Fenghua,
On 7/17/26 09:54, Ben Horgan wrote:
> Hi Fenghua,
>
> On 7/16/26 22:02, Fenghua Yu wrote:
>> Node-scoped MBA on MPAM needs a way to distinguish native memory-side
>> controls from legacy L3-shaped MB emulation. Track the selected emulate
>> mode on rdt_resource and expose it as
>> info/<resource>/resource_schemata/mode ("native" or "legacy") when the
>> architecture enables emulation.
>
> This doesn't sound right.
>
> If the MPAM mbwu counters are counting traffic on the egress of the L3 they should be described in
> the acpi tables as such, if they are not then they shouldn't. If they are the MB resource can then
> be scoped to the L3.
>
> If the MPAM mbwu counters are at the memory bandwidth controller then they should be described in
> the acpi tables as such. Currently there is no support for such counters except when there is a
> single L3 and a single NUMA node and so a single link between the caches and the memory. Counting at
> either end of the link, egress of the L3 or entry to the memory gives the same counts and so the
> driver performs some unfortunate gymnastics to use L3 scope in this case. Do you see a reason not to
> do this? If we change the scope to be NUMA node in these platforms all I see changing is the domain
> id for the sole MB domain.
>
> As such, can't we just add support for a NUMA scope memory bandwidth allocation resource, MB_NODE,
> without having a legacy/native switch?
There is some further discussion here on when emulation is required in resctrl. [1] No firm
conclusion as of yet.
[1] https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/8fd6caed-820f-457a-a1ef-a0a006fa52aa@xxxxxxxxx/
Thanks,
Ben
>
> Thanks,
>
> Ben
>
>>
>> The mode file is only created when rdt_resource::mode is non-zero
>> (RESCTRL_CTRL_LEGACY or RESCTRL_CTRL_NATIVE). It defaults to
>> RESCTRL_CTRL_MODE_NONE, so resources whose architecture does not support
>> control emulation get no mode file and are unaffected. Architecture
>> backends that support emulation set the initial mode when they create
>> their controls; on MPAM this is wired up together with the node-scoped
>> MB_NODE control in a later patch, so this commit only adds the (dormant)
>> generic mechanism.
>>
>> The mode file is added read-only here: switching the mode at runtime
>> requires rebuilding the resource_schemata layout to match the new mode,
>> so the writable interface is added together with that rebuild logic in a
>> later patch. Keeping the file read-only until then avoids exposing a
>> writable-but-no-op interface.
>>
>> Store rdt_resource_final in the resource_schemata directory priv so the
>> mode file can resolve the backing resource without dereferencing NULL.
>>
>> Signed-off-by: Fenghua Yu <fenghuay@xxxxxxxxxx>
>> ---
>> fs/resctrl/rdtgroup.c | 77 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-
>> include/linux/resctrl.h | 17 +++++++++
>> 2 files changed, 93 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
>>
>> diff --git a/fs/resctrl/rdtgroup.c b/fs/resctrl/rdtgroup.c
>> index 2abb7fda6091..6b1f24c6a1f2 100644
>> --- a/fs/resctrl/rdtgroup.c
>> +++ b/fs/resctrl/rdtgroup.c
>> @@ -2696,6 +2696,74 @@ static unsigned long fflags_from_resource(struct rdt_resource *r)
>> return WARN_ON_ONCE(1);
>> }
>>
>> +static int resctrl_ctrl_mb_mode_show(struct kernfs_open_file *of,
>> + struct seq_file *seq, void *v)
>> +{
>> + struct rdt_resource_final *f = rdt_kn_parent_priv(of->kn);
>> + struct rdt_resource *r = f->res;
>> +
>> + guard(mutex)(&rdtgroup_mutex);
>> +
>> + switch (r->mode) {
>> + case RESCTRL_CTRL_LEGACY:
>> + seq_puts(seq, "[legacy] native\n");
>> + break;
>> + case RESCTRL_CTRL_NATIVE:
>> + seq_puts(seq, "legacy [native]\n");
>> + break;
>> + default:
>> + WARN_ONCE(1, "%s: unexpected MB control mode %d\n",
>> + f->name, r->mode);
>> + seq_puts(seq, "legacy native\n");
>> + break;
>> + }
>> +
>> + return 0;
>> +}
>> +
>> +static struct rftype resctrl_ctrl_mb_files[] = {
>> + {
>> + .name = "mode",
>> + .mode = 0444,
>> + .kf_ops = &rdtgroup_kf_single_ops,
>> + .seq_show = resctrl_ctrl_mb_mode_show,
>> + /*
>> + * Directory-level file, not per-control: fflags is only a
>> + * presence flag here, not the BIT(ctrl->type) type filter used
>> + * by resctrl_add_ctrl_files().
>> + */
>> + .fflags = 1,
>> + }
>> +};
>> +
>> +static int resctrl_ctrl_add_files(struct kernfs_node *kn)
>> +{
>> + struct rftype *rfts, *rft;
>> + int ret, len;
>> +
>> + rfts = resctrl_ctrl_mb_files;
>> + len = ARRAY_SIZE(resctrl_ctrl_mb_files);
>> +
>> + lockdep_assert_held(&rdtgroup_mutex);
>> +
>> + for (rft = rfts; rft < rfts + len; rft++) {
>> + if (rft->fflags) {
>> + ret = rdtgroup_add_file(kn, rft);
>> + if (ret)
>> + goto error;
>> + }
>> + }
>> +
>> + return 0;
>> +error:
>> + pr_warn("Failed to add %s, err=%d\n", rft->name, ret);
>> + while (--rft >= rfts) {
>> + if (rft->fflags)
>> + kernfs_remove_by_name(kn, rft->name);
>> + }
>> + return ret;
>> +}
>> +
>> /*
>> * No need to cleanup on exit - caller calls the recursive kernfs_remove()
>> * on failure.
>> @@ -2704,11 +2772,12 @@ static int resctrl_mkdir_schemata_dir(struct kernfs_node *kn,
>> struct rdt_resource_final *f)
>> {
>> struct kernfs_node *kn_subdir, *kn_ctrl;
>> + struct rdt_resource *r = f->res;
>> struct resctrl_ctrl *ctrl;
>> char ctrl_full_name[20];
>> int ret;
>>
>> - kn_subdir = kernfs_create_dir(kn, "resource_schemata", kn->mode, NULL);
>> + kn_subdir = kernfs_create_dir(kn, "resource_schemata", kn->mode, f);
>> if (IS_ERR(kn_subdir))
>> return PTR_ERR(kn_subdir);
>>
>> @@ -2716,6 +2785,12 @@ static int resctrl_mkdir_schemata_dir(struct kernfs_node *kn,
>> if (ret)
>> return ret;
>>
>> + if (r->mode) {
>> + ret = resctrl_ctrl_add_files(kn_subdir);
>> + if (ret)
>> + return ret;
>> + }
>> +
>> for_each_resource_ctrl(ctrl, f->res) {
>> ret = snprintf(ctrl_full_name, sizeof(ctrl_full_name), "%s%s%s",
>> f->name, resctrl_ctrl_is_default(ctrl) ? "" : "_",
>> diff --git a/include/linux/resctrl.h b/include/linux/resctrl.h
>> index 72fb7256270e..4fc41e269d0b 100644
>> --- a/include/linux/resctrl.h
>> +++ b/include/linux/resctrl.h
>> @@ -257,6 +257,16 @@ enum resctrl_ctrl_unit {
>> RESCTRL_CTRL_UNIT_GBPS,
>> };
>>
>> +enum resctrl_ctrl_mode {
>> + /*
>> + * Default (zero) value: the resource does not support control
>> + * emulation, so no resource_schemata/mode file is created for it.
>> + */
>> + RESCTRL_CTRL_MODE_NONE = 0,
>> + RESCTRL_CTRL_LEGACY,
>> + RESCTRL_CTRL_NATIVE,
>> +};
>> +
>> /**
>> * struct resctrl_membw - Memory bandwidth allocation related data
>> * @min_bw: Minimum memory bandwidth percentage user can request
>> @@ -399,6 +409,12 @@ struct resctrl_ctrl {
>> * different memory bandwidths
>> * @cache_io_alloc_capable:True if portion of the cache can be configured
>> * for I/O traffic.
>> + * @mode: Control emulation mode for this resource.
>> + * RESCTRL_CTRL_MODE_NONE if the resource does not support
>> + * emulation. "legacy": keep the legacy MB control,
>> + * emulating it with a native control when it has no MBW
>> + * hardware of its own. "native": expose native controls
>> + * directly with no emulation.
>> * @controls: List of controls of an alloc_capable resource
>> */
>> struct rdt_resource {
>> @@ -413,6 +429,7 @@ struct rdt_resource {
>> bool bw_delay_linear;
>> enum membw_throttle_mode bw_throttle_mode;
>> bool cache_io_alloc_capable;
>> + enum resctrl_ctrl_mode mode;
>> struct list_head controls;
>> };
>>
>
>