"Huang, Ying" <ying.hu...@intel.com> writes:
> Alistair Popple <apop...@nvidia.com> writes: > >> "Huang, Ying" <ying.hu...@intel.com> writes: >> >>>>> And, I don't think that we are forced to use the general notifier >>>>> chain interface in all memory device drivers. If the memory device >>>>> driver has better understanding of the memory device, it can use other >>>>> way to determine abstract distance. For example, a CXL memory device >>>>> driver can identify abstract distance by itself. While other memory >>>>> device drivers can use the general notifier chain interface at the >>>>> same time. >>>> >>>> Whilst I think personally I would find that flexibility useful I am >>>> concerned it means every driver will just end up divining it's own >>>> distance rather than ensuring data in HMAT/CDAT/etc. is correct. That >>>> would kind of defeat the purpose of it all then. >>> >>> But we have no way to enforce that too. >> >> Enforce that HMAT/CDAT/etc. is correct? Agree we can't enforce it, but >> we can influence it. If drivers can easily ignore the notifier chain and >> do their own thing that's what will happen. > > IMHO, both enforce HMAT/CDAT/etc is correct and enforce drivers to use > general interface we provided. Anyway, we should try to make HMAT/CDAT > works well, so drivers want to use them :-) Exactly :-) >>>>> While other memory device drivers can use the general notifier chain >>>>> interface at the same time. >> >> How would that work in practice though? The abstract distance as far as >> I can tell doesn't have any meaning other than establishing preferences >> for memory demotion order. Therefore all calculations are relative to >> the rest of the calculations on the system. So if a driver does it's own >> thing how does it choose a sensible distance? IHMO the value here is in >> coordinating all that through a standard interface, whether that is HMAT >> or something else. > > Only if different algorithms follow the same basic principle. For > example, the abstract distance of default DRAM nodes are fixed > (MEMTIER_ADISTANCE_DRAM). The abstract distance of the memory device is > in linear direct proportion to the memory latency and inversely > proportional to the memory bandwidth. Use the memory latency and > bandwidth of default DRAM nodes as base. > > HMAT and CDAT report the raw memory latency and bandwidth. If there are > some other methods to report the raw memory latency and bandwidth, we > can use them too. Argh! So we could address my concerns by having drivers feed latency/bandwidth numbers into a standard calculation algorithm right? Ie. Rather than having drivers calculate abstract distance themselves we have the notifier chains return the raw performance data from which the abstract distance is derived.
