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From: Arnd Bergmann <arnd@arndb•de>
To: Stephen Hemminger <shemminger@osdl•org>
Cc: akpm@osdl•org, netdev@vger•kernel.org,
	James K Lewis <jklewis@us•ibm.com>,
	linux-kernel@vger•kernel.org, linuxppc-dev@ozlabs•org,
	Jens Osterkamp <Jens.Osterkamp@de•ibm.com>,
	Jeff Garzik <jgarzik@pobox•com>,
	David Miller <davem@davemloft•net>
Subject: Re: [RFC] HOWTO use NAPI to reduce TX interrupts
Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2006 13:25:18 +0200	[thread overview]
Message-ID: <200608191325.19557.arnd@arndb.de> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <44E7BB7F.7030204@osdl.org>

On Sunday 20 August 2006 03:31, Stephen Hemminger wrote:
>=20
> The reason reclaim via poll() is efficient is because it avoid causing a=
=20
> softirq that is
> necessary when skb_free_irq() is done. Instead it reuses the softirq=20
> from the poll() routine.=20

Ok, I completely missed this point so far, thanks for the info.

> Like all Rx NAPI, using poll() for reclaim means:=20
> =A0 =A0 + aggregating multiple frames in one irq
> =A0 =A0 - increased overhead of twiddling with the IRQ mask
> =A0 =A0 - more ways to get driver stuck

What is the best way to treat the IRQ mask for TX interrupts?
I guess it should be roughly:

=2D off when we expect ->poll() to be called, i.e. after calling
  netif_rx_schedule() or returning after a partial rx from poll().
=2D off when there are no packets left in the TX queue
=2D on while RX interrupts are on and we're waiting for packets
  to be transmitted.

> Some drivers do all their irq work in the poll() routine (including PHY=20
> handling).
> This is good if reading the IRQ status does an auto mask operation.
>=20
> The whole NAPI documentation area is a mess and needs a good writer
> to do some major restructuring. It should also be split into reference=20
> information,
> tutorial and guide sections.

I won't be able to do that work, I'm neither a good writer nor a networking
person.

Do you think we should still merge a section like the text I wrote up, even
if it makes the text even less well structured? Should I maybe add it
somewhere else than the appendix?

	Arnd <><

  reply	other threads:[~2006-08-19 11:26 UTC|newest]

Thread overview: 29+ messages / expand[flat|nested]  mbox.gz  Atom feed  top
2006-08-18 22:07 [PATCH 0/6]: powerpc/cell spidernet ethernet driver update Linas Vepstas
2006-08-18 22:20 ` [PATCH 1/6]: powerpc/cell spidernet burst alignment patch Linas Vepstas
2006-08-18 22:51   ` Arnd Bergmann
2006-08-18 22:21 ` [PATCH 2/6]: powerpc/cell spidernet low watermark patch Linas Vepstas
2006-08-18 23:09   ` Arnd Bergmann
2006-08-20  6:31     ` Benjamin Herrenschmidt
2006-08-20 10:03       ` Arnd Bergmann
2006-08-23 21:36         ` Linas Vepstas
2006-08-23 22:03           ` David Miller
2006-08-18 22:23 ` [PATCH 3/6]: powerpc/cell spidernet stop error printing patch Linas Vepstas
2006-08-18 22:25 ` [PATCH 4/6]: powerpc/cell spidernet ethtool -i version number info Linas Vepstas
2006-08-18 22:56   ` Arnd Bergmann
2006-08-18 22:26 ` [PATCH 5/6]: powerpc/cell spidernet bottom half Linas Vepstas
2006-08-18 23:03   ` Arnd Bergmann
2006-08-19  0:56     ` [RFC] HOWTO use NAPI to reduce TX interrupts Arnd Bergmann
2006-08-20  1:31       ` Stephen Hemminger
2006-08-19 11:25         ` Arnd Bergmann [this message]
2006-08-20 17:48           ` [RFC v2] " Arnd Bergmann
2006-08-21 20:40             ` NAPI documentation Stephen Hemminger
2006-08-21 22:05               ` David Miller
2006-08-21 22:09                 ` Stephen Hemminger
2006-08-21 22:17                   ` David Miller
2006-08-21 23:52           ` [RFC] HOWTO use NAPI to reduce TX interrupts Linas Vepstas
2006-08-21 23:56             ` David Miller
2006-08-22  0:29               ` Roland Dreier
2006-08-22  0:32                 ` David Miller
2006-08-23  1:29                   ` Shirley Ma
2006-08-23 21:52     ` [PATCH 5/6]: powerpc/cell spidernet bottom half Linas Vepstas
2006-08-18 22:29 ` [PATCH 6/6]: powerpc/cell spidernet refine locking Linas Vepstas

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