sparc64: Improvde documentation and readability of atomic backoff code.

Document what's going on in asm/backoff.h with a large and descriptive
comment.  Refer to it above the cpu_relax() definition in
asm/processor_64.h

Rename the pause patching section to have "3insn" in it's name like
the other patching sections do.

Based upon feedback from Sam Ravnborg.

Signed-off-by: David S. Miller <davem@davemloft.net>

1 files changed, 41 insertions, 1 deletions

diff --git a/arch/sparc/include/asm/backoff.h b/arch/sparc/include/asm/backoff.h
index 20f01df0871b..4e02086b839c 100644
--- a/arch/sparc/include/asm/backoff.h
+++ b/arch/sparc/include/asm/backoff.h
@@ -1,6 +1,46 @@
 #ifndef _SPARC64_BACKOFF_H
 #define _SPARC64_BACKOFF_H
 
+/* The macros in this file implement an exponential backoff facility
+ * for atomic operations.
+ *
+ * When multiple threads compete on an atomic operation, it is
+ * possible for one thread to be continually denied a successful
+ * completion of the compare-and-swap instruction.  Heavily
+ * threaded cpu implementations like Niagara can compound this
+ * problem even further.
+ *
+ * When an atomic operation fails and needs to be retried, we spin a
+ * certain number of times.  At each subsequent failure of the same
+ * operation we double the spin count, realizing an exponential
+ * backoff.
+ *
+ * When we spin, we try to use an operation that will cause the
+ * current cpu strand to block, and therefore make the core fully
+ * available to any other other runnable strands.  There are two
+ * options, based upon cpu capabilities.
+ *
+ * On all cpus prior to SPARC-T4 we do three dummy reads of the
+ * condition code register.  Each read blocks the strand for something
+ * between 40 and 50 cpu cycles.
+ *
+ * For SPARC-T4 and later we have a special "pause" instruction
+ * available.  This is implemented using writes to register %asr27.
+ * The cpu will block the number of cycles written into the register,
+ * unless a disrupting trap happens first.  SPARC-T4 specifically
+ * implements pause with a granularity of 8 cycles.  Each strand has
+ * an internal pause counter which decrements every 8 cycles.  So the
+ * chip shifts the %asr27 value down by 3 bits, and writes the result
+ * into the pause counter.  If a value smaller than 8 is written, the
+ * chip blocks for 1 cycle.
+ *
+ * To achieve the same amount of backoff as the three %ccr reads give
+ * on earlier chips, we shift the backoff value up by 7 bits.  (Three
+ * %ccr reads block for about 128 cycles, 1 << 7 == 128) We write the
+ * whole amount we want to block into the pause register, rather than
+ * loop writing 128 each time.
+ */
+
 #define BACKOFF_LIMIT	(4 * 1024)
 
 #ifdef CONFIG_SMP
@@ -16,7 +56,7 @@
 88:	rd		%ccr, %g0;		\
 	rd		%ccr, %g0;		\
 	rd		%ccr, %g0;		\
-	.section	.pause_patch,"ax";	\
+	.section	.pause_3insn_patch,"ax";\
 	.word		88b;			\
 	sllx		tmp, 7, tmp;		\
 	wr		tmp, 0, %asr27;		\