linux/kernel
Christopher Yeoh fcf634098c Cross Memory Attach
The basic idea behind cross memory attach is to allow MPI programs doing
intra-node communication to do a single copy of the message rather than a
double copy of the message via shared memory.

The following patch attempts to achieve this by allowing a destination
process, given an address and size from a source process, to copy memory
directly from the source process into its own address space via a system
call.  There is also a symmetrical ability to copy from the current
process's address space into a destination process's address space.

- Use of /proc/pid/mem has been considered, but there are issues with
  using it:
  - Does not allow for specifying iovecs for both src and dest, assuming
    preadv or pwritev was implemented either the area read from or
  written to would need to be contiguous.
  - Currently mem_read allows only processes who are currently
  ptrace'ing the target and are still able to ptrace the target to read
  from the target. This check could possibly be moved to the open call,
  but its not clear exactly what race this restriction is stopping
  (reason  appears to have been lost)
  - Having to send the fd of /proc/self/mem via SCM_RIGHTS on unix
  domain socket is a bit ugly from a userspace point of view,
  especially when you may have hundreds if not (eventually) thousands
  of processes  that all need to do this with each other
  - Doesn't allow for some future use of the interface we would like to
  consider adding in the future (see below)
  - Interestingly reading from /proc/pid/mem currently actually
  involves two copies! (But this could be fixed pretty easily)

As mentioned previously use of vmsplice instead was considered, but has
problems.  Since you need the reader and writer working co-operatively if
the pipe is not drained then you block.  Which requires some wrapping to
do non blocking on the send side or polling on the receive.  In all to all
communication it requires ordering otherwise you can deadlock.  And in the
example of many MPI tasks writing to one MPI task vmsplice serialises the
copying.

There are some cases of MPI collectives where even a single copy interface
does not get us the performance gain we could.  For example in an
MPI_Reduce rather than copy the data from the source we would like to
instead use it directly in a mathops (say the reduce is doing a sum) as
this would save us doing a copy.  We don't need to keep a copy of the data
from the source.  I haven't implemented this, but I think this interface
could in the future do all this through the use of the flags - eg could
specify the math operation and type and the kernel rather than just
copying the data would apply the specified operation between the source
and destination and store it in the destination.

Although we don't have a "second user" of the interface (though I've had
some nibbles from people who may be interested in using it for intra
process messaging which is not MPI).  This interface is something which
hardware vendors are already doing for their custom drivers to implement
fast local communication.  And so in addition to this being useful for
OpenMPI it would mean the driver maintainers don't have to fix things up
when the mm changes.

There was some discussion about how much faster a true zero copy would
go. Here's a link back to the email with some testing I did on that:

http://marc.info/?l=linux-mm&m=130105930902915&w=2

There is a basic man page for the proposed interface here:

http://ozlabs.org/~cyeoh/cma/process_vm_readv.txt

This has been implemented for x86 and powerpc, other architecture should
mainly (I think) just need to add syscall numbers for the process_vm_readv
and process_vm_writev. There are 32 bit compatibility versions for
64-bit kernels.

For arch maintainers there are some simple tests to be able to quickly
verify that the syscalls are working correctly here:

http://ozlabs.org/~cyeoh/cma/cma-test-20110718.tgz

Signed-off-by: Chris Yeoh <yeohc@au1.ibm.com>
Cc: Ingo Molnar <mingo@elte.hu>
Cc: "H. Peter Anvin" <hpa@zytor.com>
Cc: Thomas Gleixner <tglx@linutronix.de>
Cc: Arnd Bergmann <arnd@arndb.de>
Cc: Paul Mackerras <paulus@samba.org>
Cc: Benjamin Herrenschmidt <benh@kernel.crashing.org>
Cc: David Howells <dhowells@redhat.com>
Cc: James Morris <jmorris@namei.org>
Cc: <linux-man@vger.kernel.org>
Cc: <linux-arch@vger.kernel.org>
Signed-off-by: Andrew Morton <akpm@linux-foundation.org>
Signed-off-by: Linus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org>
2011-10-31 17:30:44 -07:00
..
debug Merge branch 'for_linus' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/jwessel/linux-2.6-kgdb 2011-08-01 13:39:40 -10:00
events Merge commit 'v3.1-rc7' into perf/core 2011-09-26 12:54:28 +02:00
gcov gcov: disable CONSTRUCTORS for UML 2011-07-26 16:49:45 -07:00
irq Merge branch 'gpio/next' of git://git.secretlab.ca/git/linux-2.6 2011-10-29 07:27:45 -07:00
power Merge branch 'devel-stable' of http://ftp.arm.linux.org.uk/pub/linux/arm/kernel/git-cur/linux-2.6-arm 2011-10-28 12:02:27 -07:00
time Merge branch 'timers-core-for-linus' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/tip/tip 2011-10-26 17:15:03 +02:00
trace Merge branch 'perf-core-for-linus' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/tip/tip 2011-10-26 17:03:38 +02:00
.gitignore
acct.c
async.c async: uninitialized warning corrections 2011-09-15 14:22:28 +02:00
audit_tree.c audit_tree,rcu: Convert call_rcu(__put_tree) to kfree_rcu() 2011-07-20 14:10:11 -07:00
audit_watch.c kill path_lookup() 2011-03-14 09:15:23 -04:00
audit.c atomic: use <linux/atomic.h> 2011-07-26 16:49:47 -07:00
audit.h audit: make functions static 2010-10-30 01:42:19 -04:00
auditfilter.c netlink: kill loginuid/sessionid/sid members from struct netlink_skb_parms 2011-03-03 10:55:40 -08:00
auditsc.c atomic: use <linux/atomic.h> 2011-07-26 16:49:47 -07:00
backtracetest.c
bounds.c memcg: remove direct page_cgroup-to-page pointer 2011-03-23 19:46:28 -07:00
capability.c Merge branch 'master' into next 2011-05-19 18:51:57 +10:00
cgroup_freezer.c cgroups: add per-thread subsystem callbacks 2011-05-26 17:12:34 -07:00
cgroup.c locking, sched, cgroups: Annotate release_list_lock as raw 2011-09-13 11:11:49 +02:00
compat.c Merge branch 'v4l_for_linus' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/mchehab/linux-2.6 2011-07-30 00:08:53 -07:00
configs.c kernel/configs.c: include MODULE_*() when CONFIG_IKCONFIG_PROC=n 2011-07-25 20:57:15 -07:00
cpu_pm.c cpu_pm: call notifiers during suspend 2011-09-23 12:05:29 +05:30
cpu.c Fix common misspellings 2011-03-31 11:26:23 -03:00
cpuset.c atomic: use <linux/atomic.h> 2011-07-26 16:49:47 -07:00
crash_dump.c crash_dump: export is_kdump_kernel to modules, consolidate elfcorehdr_addr, setup_elfcorehdr and saved_max_pfn 2011-03-23 19:47:19 -07:00
cred.c Merge branch 'next' of git://selinuxproject.org/~jmorris/linux-security 2011-10-25 09:45:31 +02:00
delayacct.c KVM: Steal time implementation 2011-07-14 12:59:14 +03:00
dma.c
elfcore.c
exec_domain.c
exit.c ipc: introduce shm_rmid_forced sysctl 2011-07-26 16:49:44 -07:00
extable.c extable, core_kernel_data(): Make sure all archs define _sdata 2011-05-20 08:56:56 +02:00
fork.c move RLIMIT_NPROC check from set_user() to do_execve_common() 2011-08-11 11:24:42 -07:00
freezer.c PM / Freezer: Make fake_signal_wake_up() wake TASK_KILLABLE tasks too 2011-10-16 23:30:37 +02:00
futex_compat.c userns: user namespaces: convert several capable() calls 2011-03-23 19:47:08 -07:00
futex.c Merge branch 'master' into for-next 2011-09-15 15:08:18 +02:00
groups.c userns: user namespaces: convert several capable() calls 2011-03-23 19:47:08 -07:00
hrtimer.c hrtimers: Fix typo causing erratic timers 2011-05-25 15:31:58 -07:00
hung_task.c watchdog, hung_task_timeout: Add Kconfig configurable default 2011-04-28 09:13:17 +02:00
irq_work.c llist: Add llist_next() 2011-10-04 12:43:53 +02:00
itimer.c
jump_label.c jump_label: Fix jump_label update for modules 2011-06-29 09:59:17 -04:00
kallsyms.c Merge branch 'core-fixes-for-linus' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/tip/linux-2.6-tip 2011-03-25 17:52:22 -07:00
Kconfig.freezer
Kconfig.hz
Kconfig.locks arch:Kconfig.locks Remove unused config option. 2011-04-10 17:01:05 +02:00
Kconfig.preempt sched: Isolate preempt counting in its own config option 2011-06-10 15:15:40 +02:00
kexec.c treewide: Convert uses of struct resource to resource_size(ptr) 2011-06-10 14:55:36 +02:00
kfifo.c
kmod.c kmod: prevent kmod_loop_msg overflow in __request_module() 2011-10-26 13:10:39 +10:30
kprobes.c locking, kprobes: Annotate the hash locks and kretprobe.lock as raw 2011-09-13 11:11:45 +02:00
ksysfs.c kernel/ksysfs.c: expose file_caps_enabled in sysfs 2011-04-19 16:45:51 -07:00
kthread.c cpuset: Fix cpuset_cpus_allowed_fallback(), don't update tsk->rt.nr_cpus_allowed 2011-05-28 17:02:57 +02:00
latencytop.c locking, latencytop: Annotate latency_lock as raw 2011-09-13 11:12:02 +02:00
lockdep_internals.h
lockdep_proc.c lockdep: Remove unused 'factor' variable from lockdep_stats_show() 2011-03-23 13:54:47 +01:00
lockdep_states.h
lockdep.c Merge branch 'core-rcu-for-linus' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/tip/tip 2011-10-26 16:26:53 +02:00
Makefile Merge branch 'devel-stable' of http://ftp.arm.linux.org.uk/pub/linux/arm/kernel/git-cur/linux-2.6-arm 2011-10-28 12:02:27 -07:00
module.c Tracepoint: Dissociate from module mutex 2011-08-10 20:38:14 -04:00
mutex-debug.c mutex: Use p->on_cpu for the adaptive spin 2011-04-14 08:52:33 +02:00
mutex-debug.h mutex: Use p->on_cpu for the adaptive spin 2011-04-14 08:52:33 +02:00
mutex.c lockdep, mutex: provide mutex_lock_nest_lock 2011-05-25 08:39:17 -07:00
mutex.h mutex: Use p->on_cpu for the adaptive spin 2011-04-14 08:52:33 +02:00
notifier.c notifiers: sys: move reboot notifiers into reboot.h 2011-07-25 20:57:14 -07:00
nsproxy.c make sure that nsproxy_cache is initialized early enough 2011-07-20 01:44:07 -04:00
padata.c Fix common misspellings 2011-03-31 11:26:23 -03:00
panic.c panic: panic=-1 for immediate reboot 2011-07-26 16:49:45 -07:00
params.c params: make dashes and underscores in parameter names truly equal 2011-10-26 13:10:39 +10:30
pid_namespace.c pidns: call pid_ns_prepare_proc() from create_pid_namespace() 2011-03-23 19:46:58 -07:00
pid.c rcu: Restore checks for blocking in RCU read-side critical sections 2011-09-28 21:36:37 -07:00
posix-cpu-timers.c Merge branch 'core-locking-for-linus' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/tip/tip 2011-10-26 16:17:32 +02:00
posix-timers.c posix-timers: RCU conversion 2011-05-24 12:10:51 +02:00
printk.c locking, printk: Annotate logbuf_lock as raw 2011-09-13 11:11:54 +02:00
profile.c kernel/profile.c: remove some duplicate code from profile_hits() 2011-05-26 17:12:37 -07:00
ptrace.c ptrace: PTRACE_LISTEN forgets to unlock ->siglock 2011-09-25 11:02:00 -07:00
range.c kernel/range.c: fix clean_sort_range() for the case of full array 2010-11-12 07:55:31 -08:00
rcu.h rcu: Add grace-period, quiescent-state, and call_rcu trace events 2011-09-28 21:38:21 -07:00
rcupdate.c rcu: Add event-tracing for RCU callback invocation 2011-09-28 21:38:12 -07:00
rcutiny_plugin.h rcu: Make TINY_RCU also use softirq for RCU_BOOST=n 2011-09-28 21:38:20 -07:00
rcutiny.c rcu: Add grace-period, quiescent-state, and call_rcu trace events 2011-09-28 21:38:21 -07:00
rcutorture.c rcu: Make rcu_torture_boost() exit loops at end of test 2011-09-28 21:38:46 -07:00
rcutree_plugin.h rcu: Remove rcu_needs_cpu_flush() to avoid false quiescent states 2011-09-28 21:38:48 -07:00
rcutree_trace.c rcu: Simplify quiescent-state accounting 2011-09-28 21:38:22 -07:00
rcutree.c rcu: Move propagation of ->completed from rcu_start_gp() to rcu_report_qs_rsp() 2011-09-28 21:38:49 -07:00
rcutree.h rcu: Remove rcu_needs_cpu_flush() to avoid false quiescent states 2011-09-28 21:38:48 -07:00
relay.c Clean up relay_alloc_page_array() slightly by using vzalloc rather than vmalloc and memset 2010-11-05 08:21:34 -07:00
res_counter.c memcg: res_counter_read_u64(): fix potential races on 32-bit machines 2011-03-23 19:46:22 -07:00
resource.c Resource: fix wrong resource window calculation 2011-09-29 20:04:34 -07:00
rtmutex_common.h rtmutex: Simplify PI algorithm and make highest prio task get lock 2011-01-27 21:13:51 -05:00
rtmutex-debug.c rtmutex: Add missing rcu_read_unlock() in debug_rt_mutex_print_deadlock() 2011-10-05 13:20:24 +02:00
rtmutex-debug.h
rtmutex-tester.c rtmutex: tester: Remove the remaining BKL leftovers 2011-02-22 22:07:22 +01:00
rtmutex.c rcu: Permit rt_mutex_unlock() with irqs disabled 2011-09-28 21:38:43 -07:00
rtmutex.h
rwsem.c atomic: use <linux/atomic.h> 2011-07-26 16:49:47 -07:00
sched_autogroup.c Fix common misspellings 2011-03-31 11:26:23 -03:00
sched_autogroup.h sched: Skip autogroup when looking for all rt sched groups 2011-07-01 10:39:08 +02:00
sched_clock.c sched: Add some clock info to sched_debug 2010-11-23 10:29:08 +01:00
sched_cpupri.c sched/cpupri: Remove cpupri->pri_active 2011-08-14 12:01:11 +02:00
sched_cpupri.h sched/cpupri: Remove cpupri->pri_active 2011-08-14 12:01:11 +02:00
sched_debug.c sched: Get rid of lock_depth 2011-04-24 13:18:38 +02:00
sched_fair.c sched: Wrap scheduler p->cpus_allowed access 2011-10-06 12:46:56 +02:00
sched_features.h sched: Kill WAKEUP_PREEMPT 2011-08-14 12:00:41 +02:00
sched_idletask.c sched: Drop the rq argument to sched_class::select_task_rq() 2011-04-14 08:52:36 +02:00
sched_rt.c sched: Warn on rt throttling 2011-10-06 12:47:04 +02:00
sched_stats.h locking, sched: Annotate thread_group_cputimer as raw 2011-09-13 11:11:55 +02:00
sched_stoptask.c sched: Implement hierarchical task accounting for SCHED_OTHER 2011-08-14 12:01:13 +02:00
sched.c Merge branch 'sched-core-for-linus' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/tip/tip 2011-10-26 17:08:43 +02:00
seccomp.c
semaphore.c locking, semaphores: Annotate inner lock as raw 2011-09-13 11:11:57 +02:00
signal.c user namespace: usb: make usb urbs user namespace aware (v2) 2011-09-29 13:13:08 -07:00
smp.c generic-ipi: Fix kexec boot crash by initializing call_single_queue before enabling interrupts 2011-06-17 10:17:12 +02:00
softirq.c softirq,rcu: Inform RCU of irq_exit() activity 2011-07-20 10:50:12 -07:00
spinlock.c
srcu.c rcu: demote SRCU_SYNCHRONIZE_DELAY from kernel-parameter status 2011-01-14 04:56:49 -08:00
stacktrace.c stack_trace: Add weak save_stack_trace_regs() 2011-06-14 22:48:52 -04:00
stop_machine.c atomic: use <linux/atomic.h> 2011-07-26 16:49:47 -07:00
sys_ni.c Cross Memory Attach 2011-10-31 17:30:44 -07:00
sys.c Merge branch 'master' of ra.kernel.org:/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/davem/net 2011-10-24 18:18:09 -04:00
sysctl_binary.c ipv4: NET_IPV4_ROUTE_GC_INTERVAL removal 2011-10-03 14:13:01 -04:00
sysctl_check.c xfs: remove subdirectories 2011-08-12 16:21:35 -05:00
sysctl.c sched: Accumulate per-cfs_rq cpu usage and charge against bandwidth 2011-08-14 12:03:26 +02:00
taskstats.c Make TASKSTATS require root access 2011-09-19 17:04:37 -07:00
test_kprobes.c
time.c time: Change jiffies_to_clock_t() argument type to unsigned long 2011-09-21 10:28:51 +02:00
timeconst.pl
timer.c timers: Consider slack value in mod_timer() 2011-06-03 15:02:32 +02:00
tracepoint.c Tracepoint: Dissociate from module mutex 2011-08-10 20:38:14 -04:00
tsacct.c Make taskstats round statistics down to nearest 1k bytes/events 2011-09-19 17:10:57 -07:00
uid16.c userns: user namespaces: convert several capable() calls 2011-03-23 19:47:08 -07:00
up.c
user_namespace.c user_ns: improve the user_ns on-the-slab packaging 2011-01-13 08:03:18 -08:00
user-return-notifier.c Fix common misspellings 2011-03-31 11:26:23 -03:00
user.c userns: add a user_namespace as creator/owner of uts_namespace 2011-03-23 19:46:59 -07:00
utsname_sysctl.c
utsname.c ns proc: Add support for the uts namespace 2011-05-10 14:35:35 -07:00
wait.c Fix common misspellings 2011-03-31 11:26:23 -03:00
watchdog.c watchdog: Drop FIFO policy in exit path 2011-09-18 14:34:07 +02:00
workqueue_sched.h
workqueue.c workqueue: lock cwq access in drain_workqueue 2011-09-14 18:09:38 -07:00