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virtio-net: put virtio net header inline with data

PATCH In review Michael S. Tsirkin 5 participants 8 messages Jun 6, 2013 – Jun 9, 2013

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Michael S. Tsirkin

author maintainer
#0 lore raw

PATCH 1/1 virtio-net: put virtio net header inline with data

For small packets we can simplify xmit processing by linearizing buffers with the header: most packets seem to have enough head room we can use for this purpose.

Since some older hypervisors (e.g. qemu before version 1.5) required that header is the first s/g element,
we need a feature bit for this.

Signed-off-by Michael S. Tsirkin <[email protected]>

---

This is a repost of my old patch, rebased to latest kernel.

Before:
Thu Jun 6 05:24:59 EDT 2013
TCP REQUEST/RESPONSE TEST from 0.0.0.0 (0.0.0.0) port 0 AF_INET to 11.0.0.4 (11.0.0.4) port 0 AF_INET : demo
Local /Remote

Socket Size   Request  Resp.   Elapsed  Trans.
Send   Recv   Size     Size    Time     Rate         
bytes  Bytes  bytes    bytes   secs.    per sec

16384 87380 1 1 10.00 12931.13

After:
TCP REQUEST/RESPONSE TEST from 0.0.0.0 (0.0.0.0) port 0 AF_INET to 11.0.0.4 (11.0.0.4) port 0 AF_INET : demo
Local /Remote

Socket Size   Request  Resp.   Elapsed  Trans.
Send   Recv   Size     Size    Time     Rate         
bytes  Bytes  bytes    bytes   secs.    per sec

16384 87380 1 1 10.00 14151.12

 drivers/net/virtio_net.c        | 42 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++--------
 include/uapi/linux/virtio_net.h |  6 +++++-
 2 files changed, 39 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-)
drivers/net/virtio_net.c +34 -8
index c9e0038..d35a097 100644
@@ -106,6 +106,9 @@ struct virtnet_info {
 	/* Has control virtqueue */
 	bool has_cvq;
 
+	/* Host can handle any s/g split between our header and packet data */
+	bool any_header_sg;
+
 	/* enable config space updates */
 	bool config_enable;
 

@@ -668,12 +671,28 @@ static void free_old_xmit_skbs(struct send_queue *sq)
 
 static int xmit_skb(struct send_queue *sq, struct sk_buff *skb)
 {
-	struct skb_vnet_hdr *hdr = skb_vnet_hdr(skb);
+	struct skb_vnet_hdr *hdr;
 	const unsigned char *dest = ((struct ethhdr *)skb->data)->h_dest;
 	struct virtnet_info *vi = sq->vq->vdev->priv;
 	unsigned num_sg;
+	unsigned hdr_len;
+	bool can_push;
 
 	pr_debug("%s: xmit %p %pM\n", vi->dev->name, skb, dest);
+	if (vi->mergeable_rx_bufs)
+		hdr_len = sizeof hdr->mhdr;
+	else
+		hdr_len = sizeof hdr->hdr;
+
+	can_push = vi->any_header_sg &&
+		!((unsigned long)skb->data & (__alignof__(*hdr) - 1)) &&
+		!skb_header_cloned(skb) && skb_headroom(skb) >= hdr_len;
+	/* Even if we can, don't push here yet as this would skew
+	 * csum_start offset below. */
+	if (can_push)
+		hdr = (struct skb_vnet_hdr *)(skb->data - hdr_len);
+	else
+		hdr = skb_vnet_hdr(skb);
 
 	if (skb->ip_summed == CHECKSUM_PARTIAL) {
 		hdr->hdr.flags = VIRTIO_NET_HDR_F_NEEDS_CSUM;

@@ -702,15 +721,18 @@ static int xmit_skb(struct send_queue *sq, struct sk_buff *skb)
 		hdr->hdr.gso_size = hdr->hdr.hdr_len = 0;
 	}
 
-	hdr->mhdr.num_buffers = 0;
-
-	/* Encode metadata header at front. */
 	if (vi->mergeable_rx_bufs)
-		sg_set_buf(sq->sg, &hdr->mhdr, sizeof hdr->mhdr);
-	else
-		sg_set_buf(sq->sg, &hdr->hdr, sizeof hdr->hdr);
+		hdr->mhdr.num_buffers = 0;
 
-	num_sg = skb_to_sgvec(skb, sq->sg + 1, 0, skb->len) + 1;
+	if (can_push) {
+		__skb_push(skb, hdr_len);
+		num_sg = skb_to_sgvec(skb, sq->sg, 0, skb->len);
+		/* Pull header back to avoid skew in tx bytes calculations. */
+		__skb_pull(skb, hdr_len);
+	} else {
+		sg_set_buf(sq->sg, hdr, hdr_len);
+		num_sg = skb_to_sgvec(skb, sq->sg + 1, 0, skb->len) + 1;
+	}
 	return virtqueue_add_outbuf(sq->vq, sq->sg, num_sg, skb, GFP_ATOMIC);
 }
 

@@ -1554,6 +1576,9 @@ static int virtnet_probe(struct virtio_device *vdev)
 	if (virtio_has_feature(vdev, VIRTIO_NET_F_MRG_RXBUF))
 		vi->mergeable_rx_bufs = true;
 
+	if (virtio_has_feature(vdev, VIRTIO_NET_F_ANY_HEADER_SG))
+		vi->any_header_sg = true;
+
 	if (virtio_has_feature(vdev, VIRTIO_NET_F_CTRL_VQ))
 		vi->has_cvq = true;
 

@@ -1729,6 +1754,7 @@ static unsigned int features[] = {
 	VIRTIO_NET_F_CTRL_RX, VIRTIO_NET_F_CTRL_VLAN,
 	VIRTIO_NET_F_GUEST_ANNOUNCE, VIRTIO_NET_F_MQ,
 	VIRTIO_NET_F_CTRL_MAC_ADDR,
+	VIRTIO_NET_F_ANY_HEADER_SG,
 };
 
 static struct virtio_driver virtio_net_driver = {
include/uapi/linux/virtio_net.h +5 -1
index c520203..9c98b7d 100644
@@ -55,6 +55,8 @@
 					 * Steering */
 #define VIRTIO_NET_F_CTRL_MAC_ADDR 23	/* Set MAC address */
 
+#define VIRTIO_NET_F_ANY_HEADER_SG 25	/* Host can handle any header s/g */
+
 #define VIRTIO_NET_S_LINK_UP	1	/* Link is up */
 #define VIRTIO_NET_S_ANNOUNCE	2	/* Announcement is needed */
 

@@ -70,7 +72,9 @@ struct virtio_net_config {
 	__u16 max_virtqueue_pairs;
 } __attribute__((packed));
 
-/* This is the first element of the scatter-gather list.  If you don't
+/* This header comes first in the scatter-gather list.
+ * If VIRTIO_NET_F_ANY_HEADER_SG is not negotiated, it must
+ * be the first element of the scatter-gather list.  If you don't
  * specify GSO or CSUM features, you can simply ignore the header. */
 struct virtio_net_hdr {
 #define VIRTIO_NET_HDR_F_NEEDS_CSUM	1	// Use csum_start, csum_offset
Signature · 1 line
MST
#1 lore raw

Hi Michael!

Quoted 21 lines · Michael S. Tsirkin
drivers/net/virtio_net.c +4 -1
index c9e0038..d35a097 100644
@@ -106,6 +106,9 @@ struct virtnet_info {
 	/* Has control virtqueue */
 	bool has_cvq;
 
+	/* Host can handle any s/g split between our header and packet data */
+	bool any_header_sg;
+
 	/* enable config space updates */
 	bool config_enable;
 

@@ -668,12 +671,28 @@ static void free_old_xmit_skbs(struct send_queue *sq)
 
 static int xmit_skb(struct send_queue *sq, struct sk_buff *skb)
 {
-	struct skb_vnet_hdr *hdr = skb_vnet_hdr(skb);
+	struct skb_vnet_hdr *hdr;
 	const unsigned char *dest = ((struct ethhdr *)skb->data)->h_dest;

drivers/net/virtio_net.c static void free_old_xmit_skbs(struct send_queue *sq) · line 685

Quoted 10 lines
drivers/net/virtio_net.c +6 -0
 	struct virtnet_info *vi = sq->vq->vdev->priv;
 	unsigned num_sg;
+	unsigned hdr_len;
+	bool can_push;
 
 	pr_debug("%s: xmit %p %pM\n", vi->dev->name, skb, dest);
+	if (vi->mergeable_rx_bufs)
+		hdr_len = sizeof hdr->mhdr;
+	else
+		hdr_len = sizeof hdr->hdr;

All conditionals need braces.

drivers/net/virtio_net.c static void free_old_xmit_skbs(struct send_queue *sq) · line 695

Quoted 10 lines
drivers/net/virtio_net.c +10 -0
+
+	can_push = vi->any_header_sg &&
+		!((unsigned long)skb->data & (__alignof__(*hdr) - 1)) &&
+		!skb_header_cloned(skb) && skb_headroom(skb) >= hdr_len;
+	/* Even if we can, don't push here yet as this would skew
+	 * csum_start offset below. */
+	if (can_push)
+		hdr = (struct skb_vnet_hdr *)(skb->data - hdr_len);
+	else
+		hdr = skb_vnet_hdr(skb);

Ditto.

Quoted 6 lines
drivers/net/virtio_net.c +0 -0
 	if (skb->ip_summed == CHECKSUM_PARTIAL) {
 		hdr->hdr.flags = VIRTIO_NET_HDR_F_NEEDS_CSUM;

@@ -702,15 +721,18 @@ static int xmit_skb(struct send_queue *sq, struct sk_buff *skb)
 		hdr->hdr.gso_size = hdr->hdr.hdr_len = 0;
 	}

drivers/net/virtio_net.c static int xmit_skb(struct send_queue *sq, struct sk_buff *skb) · line 726

Quoted 10 lines
drivers/net/virtio_net.c +1 -6
 
-	hdr->mhdr.num_buffers = 0;
-
-	/* Encode metadata header at front. */
 	if (vi->mergeable_rx_bufs)
-		sg_set_buf(sq->sg, &hdr->mhdr, sizeof hdr->mhdr);
-	else
-		sg_set_buf(sq->sg, &hdr->hdr, sizeof hdr->hdr);
+		hdr->mhdr.num_buffers = 0;

Here too, please.

Quoted 14 lines
drivers/net/virtio_net.c +9 -1
-	num_sg = skb_to_sgvec(skb, sq->sg + 1, 0, skb->len) + 1;
+	if (can_push) {
+		__skb_push(skb, hdr_len);
+		num_sg = skb_to_sgvec(skb, sq->sg, 0, skb->len);
+		/* Pull header back to avoid skew in tx bytes calculations. */
+		__skb_pull(skb, hdr_len);
+	} else {
+		sg_set_buf(sq->sg, hdr, hdr_len);
+		num_sg = skb_to_sgvec(skb, sq->sg + 1, 0, skb->len) + 1;
+	}
 	return virtqueue_add_outbuf(sq->vq, sq->sg, num_sg, skb, GFP_ATOMIC);
 }

drivers/net/virtio_net.c static int virtnet_probe(struct virtio_device *vdev) · line 1578

Quoted 3 lines
drivers/net/virtio_net.c +0 -0
@@ -1554,6 +1576,9 @@ static int virtnet_probe(struct virtio_device *vdev)
 	if (virtio_has_feature(vdev, VIRTIO_NET_F_MRG_RXBUF))
 		vi->mergeable_rx_bufs = true;

This is just context, but we may as well fix this as well.

drivers/net/virtio_net.c static int virtnet_probe(struct virtio_device *vdev) · line 1581

Quoted 3 lines
drivers/net/virtio_net.c +3 -0
+	if (virtio_has_feature(vdev, VIRTIO_NET_F_ANY_HEADER_SG))
+		vi->any_header_sg = true;
+

Braces here, please.

drivers/net/virtio_net.c static int virtnet_probe(struct virtio_device *vdev) · line 1584

Quoted 3 lines
drivers/net/virtio_net.c +0 -0
 	if (virtio_has_feature(vdev, VIRTIO_NET_F_CTRL_VQ))
 		vi->has_cvq = true;

Might as well fix this too.

Quoted 23 lines
drivers/net/virtio_net.c +1 -0
@@ -1729,6 +1754,7 @@ static unsigned int features[] = {
 	VIRTIO_NET_F_CTRL_RX, VIRTIO_NET_F_CTRL_VLAN,
 	VIRTIO_NET_F_GUEST_ANNOUNCE, VIRTIO_NET_F_MQ,
 	VIRTIO_NET_F_CTRL_MAC_ADDR,
+	VIRTIO_NET_F_ANY_HEADER_SG,
 };
 
 static struct virtio_driver virtio_net_driver = {
include/uapi/linux/virtio_net.h +2 -0
index c520203..9c98b7d 100644
@@ -55,6 +55,8 @@
 					 * Steering */
 #define VIRTIO_NET_F_CTRL_MAC_ADDR 23	/* Set MAC address */
 
+#define VIRTIO_NET_F_ANY_HEADER_SG 25	/* Host can handle any header s/g */
+
 #define VIRTIO_NET_S_LINK_UP	1	/* Link is up */
 #define VIRTIO_NET_S_ANNOUNCE	2	/* Announcement is needed */

include/uapi/linux/virtio_net.h struct virtio_net_config { · line 80

Quoted 10 lines
include/uapi/linux/virtio_net.h +3 -1
@@ -70,7 +72,9 @@ struct virtio_net_config {
 	__u16 max_virtqueue_pairs;
 } __attribute__((packed));
 
-/* This is the first element of the scatter-gather list.  If you don't
+/* This header comes first in the scatter-gather list.
+ * If VIRTIO_NET_F_ANY_HEADER_SG is not negotiated, it must
+ * be the first element of the scatter-gather list.  If you don't
  * specify GSO or CSUM features, you can simply ignore the header. */
 struct virtio_net_hdr {
 #define VIRTIO_NET_HDR_F_NEEDS_CSUM	1	// Use csum_start, csum_offset

Sincerely,

Jesse Larrew
Software Engineer, KVM Team
IBM Linux Technology Center
Phone: (512) 973-2052 (T/L: 363-2052)
[email protected]

#2 lore raw
Quoted 7 lines · Jesse Larrew

drivers/net/virtio_net.c static void free_old_xmit_skbs(struct send_queue *sq) · line 685

Quoted 5 lines
drivers/net/virtio_net.c +4 -0
 	pr_debug("%s: xmit %p %pM\n", vi->dev->name, skb, dest);
+	if (vi->mergeable_rx_bufs)
+		hdr_len = sizeof hdr->mhdr;
+	else
+		hdr_len = sizeof hdr->hdr;

All conditionals need braces.

Documentation/CodingStyle disagrees:

"Do not unnecessarily use braces where a single statement will do."

Dave

#3 lore raw
Quoted 10 lines · Dave Jones
Quoted 7 lines · Jesse Larrew

drivers/net/virtio_net.c static void free_old_xmit_skbs(struct send_queue *sq) · line 685

Quoted 5 lines
drivers/net/virtio_net.c +4 -0
 	pr_debug("%s: xmit %p %pM\n", vi->dev->name, skb, dest);
+	if (vi->mergeable_rx_bufs)
+		hdr_len = sizeof hdr->mhdr;
+	else
+		hdr_len = sizeof hdr->hdr;

All conditionals need braces.

Quoted 6 lines

Documentation/CodingStyle disagrees:

"Do not unnecessarily use braces where a single statement will do."

Dave

Ah, yes. This is kernel code. My mistake. :)

Jesse Larrew
Software Engineer, KVM Team
IBM Linux Technology Center
Phone: (512) 973-2052 (T/L: 363-2052)
[email protected]

#4 lore raw
In reply to Michael S. Tsirkin
Quoted 7 lines · Michael S. Tsirkin

For small packets we can simplify xmit processing by linearizing buffers with the header: most packets seem to have enough head room we can use for this purpose.

Since some older hypervisors (e.g. qemu before version 1.5) required that header is the first s/g element,
we need a feature bit for this.

OK, we know this is horrible. But I will sleep better knowing that we this feature need never make it into a final 1.0 spec, since it can be assumed at that point...

drivers/net/virtio_net.c static void free_old_xmit_skbs(struct send_queue *sq) · line 689

Quoted 9 lines
drivers/net/virtio_net.c +8 -0
 	pr_debug("%s: xmit %p %pM\n", vi->dev->name, skb, dest);
+	if (vi->mergeable_rx_bufs)
+		hdr_len = sizeof hdr->mhdr;
+	else
+		hdr_len = sizeof hdr->hdr;
+
+	can_push = vi->any_header_sg &&
+		!((unsigned long)skb->data & (__alignof__(*hdr) - 1)) &&
+		!skb_header_cloned(skb) && skb_headroom(skb) >= hdr_len;

Idle thought: how often does this fail? Would it suck if we copied headers which didn't let us prepend data? Or could we bump dev->hard_header_len appropriately?

Thanks,
Rusty.

author maintainer
#5 lore raw
Quoted 5 lines · Rusty Russell
Quoted 4 lines · Michael S. Tsirkin

For small packets we can simplify xmit processing by linearizing buffers with the header: most packets seem to have enough head room we can use for this purpose.

Quoted 7 lines
Quoted 3 lines

Since some older hypervisors (e.g. qemu before version 1.5) required that header is the first s/g element,
we need a feature bit for this.

OK, we know this is horrible. But I will sleep better knowing that we this feature need never make it into a final 1.0 spec, since it can be assumed at that point...

Nod. Though if we want to require this for all devices, virtio-blk scsi command passthrough will need to change - I sent a spec patch a while ago
virtio-spec: add field for scsi command size
any comments on it?

Quoted 11 lines

drivers/net/virtio_net.c static void free_old_xmit_skbs(struct send_queue *sq) · line 689

Quoted 9 lines
drivers/net/virtio_net.c +8 -0
 	pr_debug("%s: xmit %p %pM\n", vi->dev->name, skb, dest);
+	if (vi->mergeable_rx_bufs)
+		hdr_len = sizeof hdr->mhdr;
+	else
+		hdr_len = sizeof hdr->hdr;
+
+	can_push = vi->any_header_sg &&
+		!((unsigned long)skb->data & (__alignof__(*hdr) - 1)) &&
+		!skb_header_cloned(skb) && skb_headroom(skb) >= hdr_len;

Idle thought: how often does this fail?

I think it's mostly doesn't fail in my testing.

It's probably a good idea to add a counter here, then if it starts triggering we can optimize.

I think things like skb_header_cloned depend on guest config really, e.g. tcpdump running on the interface in guest can cause this.

Quoted 2 lines

Would it suck if we copied
headers which didn't let us prepend data?

I think it will - copies are generally best avoided, and header is easily 1K of data.

Quoted 2 lines

Or could we bump
dev->hard_header_len appropriately?

Needs some thought, though from experience it's a pain.

Quoted 2 lines

Thanks,
Rusty.

#6 lore raw
In reply to Michael S. Tsirkin
Quoted 10 lines · Michael S. Tsirkin

For small packets we can simplify xmit processing by linearizing buffers with the header: most packets seem to have enough head room we can use for this purpose.

Since some older hypervisors (e.g. qemu before version 1.5) required that header is the first s/g element,
we need a feature bit for this.

Signed-off-by Michael S. Tsirkin <[email protected]>

---

Hi Michael:

The idea looks good, but there are some questions:

- What if we just use direct descriptors with sgs <=2 and double the ring size?
- I believe we may add more things into vnet header in the future, so this trick may not work because of limited header room.

Thanks

Quoted 141 lines

This is a repost of my old patch, rebased to latest kernel.

Before:
Thu Jun 6 05:24:59 EDT 2013
TCP REQUEST/RESPONSE TEST from 0.0.0.0 (0.0.0.0) port 0 AF_INET to 11.0.0.4 (11.0.0.4) port 0 AF_INET : demo
Local /Remote

Socket Size   Request  Resp.   Elapsed  Trans.
Send   Recv   Size     Size    Time     Rate         
bytes  Bytes  bytes    bytes   secs.    per sec

16384 87380 1 1 10.00 12931.13

After:
TCP REQUEST/RESPONSE TEST from 0.0.0.0 (0.0.0.0) port 0 AF_INET to 11.0.0.4 (11.0.0.4) port 0 AF_INET : demo
Local /Remote

Socket Size   Request  Resp.   Elapsed  Trans.
Send   Recv   Size     Size    Time     Rate         
bytes  Bytes  bytes    bytes   secs.    per sec

16384 87380 1 1 10.00 14151.12

 drivers/net/virtio_net.c        | 42 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++--------
 include/uapi/linux/virtio_net.h |  6 +++++-
 2 files changed, 39 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-)
drivers/net/virtio_net.c +34 -8
index c9e0038..d35a097 100644
@@ -106,6 +106,9 @@ struct virtnet_info {
 	/* Has control virtqueue */
 	bool has_cvq;
 
+	/* Host can handle any s/g split between our header and packet data */
+	bool any_header_sg;
+
 	/* enable config space updates */
 	bool config_enable;
 

@@ -668,12 +671,28 @@ static void free_old_xmit_skbs(struct send_queue *sq)
 
 static int xmit_skb(struct send_queue *sq, struct sk_buff *skb)
 {
-	struct skb_vnet_hdr *hdr = skb_vnet_hdr(skb);
+	struct skb_vnet_hdr *hdr;
 	const unsigned char *dest = ((struct ethhdr *)skb->data)->h_dest;
 	struct virtnet_info *vi = sq->vq->vdev->priv;
 	unsigned num_sg;
+	unsigned hdr_len;
+	bool can_push;
 
 	pr_debug("%s: xmit %p %pM\n", vi->dev->name, skb, dest);
+	if (vi->mergeable_rx_bufs)
+		hdr_len = sizeof hdr->mhdr;
+	else
+		hdr_len = sizeof hdr->hdr;
+
+	can_push = vi->any_header_sg &&
+		!((unsigned long)skb->data & (__alignof__(*hdr) - 1)) &&
+		!skb_header_cloned(skb) && skb_headroom(skb) >= hdr_len;
+	/* Even if we can, don't push here yet as this would skew
+	 * csum_start offset below. */
+	if (can_push)
+		hdr = (struct skb_vnet_hdr *)(skb->data - hdr_len);
+	else
+		hdr = skb_vnet_hdr(skb);
 
 	if (skb->ip_summed == CHECKSUM_PARTIAL) {
 		hdr->hdr.flags = VIRTIO_NET_HDR_F_NEEDS_CSUM;

@@ -702,15 +721,18 @@ static int xmit_skb(struct send_queue *sq, struct sk_buff *skb)
 		hdr->hdr.gso_size = hdr->hdr.hdr_len = 0;
 	}
 
-	hdr->mhdr.num_buffers = 0;
-
-	/* Encode metadata header at front. */
 	if (vi->mergeable_rx_bufs)
-		sg_set_buf(sq->sg, &hdr->mhdr, sizeof hdr->mhdr);
-	else
-		sg_set_buf(sq->sg, &hdr->hdr, sizeof hdr->hdr);
+		hdr->mhdr.num_buffers = 0;
 
-	num_sg = skb_to_sgvec(skb, sq->sg + 1, 0, skb->len) + 1;
+	if (can_push) {
+		__skb_push(skb, hdr_len);
+		num_sg = skb_to_sgvec(skb, sq->sg, 0, skb->len);
+		/* Pull header back to avoid skew in tx bytes calculations. */
+		__skb_pull(skb, hdr_len);
+	} else {
+		sg_set_buf(sq->sg, hdr, hdr_len);
+		num_sg = skb_to_sgvec(skb, sq->sg + 1, 0, skb->len) + 1;
+	}
 	return virtqueue_add_outbuf(sq->vq, sq->sg, num_sg, skb, GFP_ATOMIC);
 }
 

@@ -1554,6 +1576,9 @@ static int virtnet_probe(struct virtio_device *vdev)
 	if (virtio_has_feature(vdev, VIRTIO_NET_F_MRG_RXBUF))
 		vi->mergeable_rx_bufs = true;
 
+	if (virtio_has_feature(vdev, VIRTIO_NET_F_ANY_HEADER_SG))
+		vi->any_header_sg = true;
+
 	if (virtio_has_feature(vdev, VIRTIO_NET_F_CTRL_VQ))
 		vi->has_cvq = true;
 

@@ -1729,6 +1754,7 @@ static unsigned int features[] = {
 	VIRTIO_NET_F_CTRL_RX, VIRTIO_NET_F_CTRL_VLAN,
 	VIRTIO_NET_F_GUEST_ANNOUNCE, VIRTIO_NET_F_MQ,
 	VIRTIO_NET_F_CTRL_MAC_ADDR,
+	VIRTIO_NET_F_ANY_HEADER_SG,
 };
 
 static struct virtio_driver virtio_net_driver = {
include/uapi/linux/virtio_net.h +5 -1
index c520203..9c98b7d 100644
@@ -55,6 +55,8 @@
 					 * Steering */
 #define VIRTIO_NET_F_CTRL_MAC_ADDR 23	/* Set MAC address */
 
+#define VIRTIO_NET_F_ANY_HEADER_SG 25	/* Host can handle any header s/g */
+
 #define VIRTIO_NET_S_LINK_UP	1	/* Link is up */
 #define VIRTIO_NET_S_ANNOUNCE	2	/* Announcement is needed */
 

@@ -70,7 +72,9 @@ struct virtio_net_config {
 	__u16 max_virtqueue_pairs;
 } __attribute__((packed));
 
-/* This is the first element of the scatter-gather list.  If you don't
+/* This header comes first in the scatter-gather list.
+ * If VIRTIO_NET_F_ANY_HEADER_SG is not negotiated, it must
+ * be the first element of the scatter-gather list.  If you don't
  * specify GSO or CSUM features, you can simply ignore the header. */
 struct virtio_net_hdr {
 #define VIRTIO_NET_HDR_F_NEEDS_CSUM	1	// Use csum_start, csum_offset
author maintainer
#7 lore raw
Quoted 12 lines · Jason Wang
Quoted 10 lines · Michael S. Tsirkin

For small packets we can simplify xmit processing by linearizing buffers with the header: most packets seem to have enough head room we can use for this purpose.

Since some older hypervisors (e.g. qemu before version 1.5) required that header is the first s/g element,
we need a feature bit for this.

Signed-off-by Michael S. Tsirkin <[email protected]>

---

Quoted 6 lines

Hi Michael:

The idea looks good, but there are some questions:

- What if we just use direct descriptors with sgs <=2 and double the ring size?

It's not easy to increase the ring size, we have trouble allocating large rings on some systems as it is.
So far, any attempts to use direct for sg > 1 seem to hurt some workloads.

Quoted 4 lines

- I believe we may add more things into vnet header in the future, so this trick may not work because of limited header room.

Thanks

Didn't happen in a long while.
We can come up with more tricks when we run against this limit.

Quoted 141 lines
Quoted 141 lines

This is a repost of my old patch, rebased to latest kernel.

Before:
Thu Jun 6 05:24:59 EDT 2013
TCP REQUEST/RESPONSE TEST from 0.0.0.0 (0.0.0.0) port 0 AF_INET to 11.0.0.4 (11.0.0.4) port 0 AF_INET : demo
Local /Remote

Socket Size   Request  Resp.   Elapsed  Trans.
Send   Recv   Size     Size    Time     Rate         
bytes  Bytes  bytes    bytes   secs.    per sec

16384 87380 1 1 10.00 12931.13

After:
TCP REQUEST/RESPONSE TEST from 0.0.0.0 (0.0.0.0) port 0 AF_INET to 11.0.0.4 (11.0.0.4) port 0 AF_INET : demo
Local /Remote

Socket Size   Request  Resp.   Elapsed  Trans.
Send   Recv   Size     Size    Time     Rate         
bytes  Bytes  bytes    bytes   secs.    per sec

16384 87380 1 1 10.00 14151.12

 drivers/net/virtio_net.c        | 42 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++--------
 include/uapi/linux/virtio_net.h |  6 +++++-
 2 files changed, 39 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-)
drivers/net/virtio_net.c +34 -8
index c9e0038..d35a097 100644
@@ -106,6 +106,9 @@ struct virtnet_info {
 	/* Has control virtqueue */
 	bool has_cvq;
 
+	/* Host can handle any s/g split between our header and packet data */
+	bool any_header_sg;
+
 	/* enable config space updates */
 	bool config_enable;
 

@@ -668,12 +671,28 @@ static void free_old_xmit_skbs(struct send_queue *sq)
 
 static int xmit_skb(struct send_queue *sq, struct sk_buff *skb)
 {
-	struct skb_vnet_hdr *hdr = skb_vnet_hdr(skb);
+	struct skb_vnet_hdr *hdr;
 	const unsigned char *dest = ((struct ethhdr *)skb->data)->h_dest;
 	struct virtnet_info *vi = sq->vq->vdev->priv;
 	unsigned num_sg;
+	unsigned hdr_len;
+	bool can_push;
 
 	pr_debug("%s: xmit %p %pM\n", vi->dev->name, skb, dest);
+	if (vi->mergeable_rx_bufs)
+		hdr_len = sizeof hdr->mhdr;
+	else
+		hdr_len = sizeof hdr->hdr;
+
+	can_push = vi->any_header_sg &&
+		!((unsigned long)skb->data & (__alignof__(*hdr) - 1)) &&
+		!skb_header_cloned(skb) && skb_headroom(skb) >= hdr_len;
+	/* Even if we can, don't push here yet as this would skew
+	 * csum_start offset below. */
+	if (can_push)
+		hdr = (struct skb_vnet_hdr *)(skb->data - hdr_len);
+	else
+		hdr = skb_vnet_hdr(skb);
 
 	if (skb->ip_summed == CHECKSUM_PARTIAL) {
 		hdr->hdr.flags = VIRTIO_NET_HDR_F_NEEDS_CSUM;

@@ -702,15 +721,18 @@ static int xmit_skb(struct send_queue *sq, struct sk_buff *skb)
 		hdr->hdr.gso_size = hdr->hdr.hdr_len = 0;
 	}
 
-	hdr->mhdr.num_buffers = 0;
-
-	/* Encode metadata header at front. */
 	if (vi->mergeable_rx_bufs)
-		sg_set_buf(sq->sg, &hdr->mhdr, sizeof hdr->mhdr);
-	else
-		sg_set_buf(sq->sg, &hdr->hdr, sizeof hdr->hdr);
+		hdr->mhdr.num_buffers = 0;
 
-	num_sg = skb_to_sgvec(skb, sq->sg + 1, 0, skb->len) + 1;
+	if (can_push) {
+		__skb_push(skb, hdr_len);
+		num_sg = skb_to_sgvec(skb, sq->sg, 0, skb->len);
+		/* Pull header back to avoid skew in tx bytes calculations. */
+		__skb_pull(skb, hdr_len);
+	} else {
+		sg_set_buf(sq->sg, hdr, hdr_len);
+		num_sg = skb_to_sgvec(skb, sq->sg + 1, 0, skb->len) + 1;
+	}
 	return virtqueue_add_outbuf(sq->vq, sq->sg, num_sg, skb, GFP_ATOMIC);
 }
 

@@ -1554,6 +1576,9 @@ static int virtnet_probe(struct virtio_device *vdev)
 	if (virtio_has_feature(vdev, VIRTIO_NET_F_MRG_RXBUF))
 		vi->mergeable_rx_bufs = true;
 
+	if (virtio_has_feature(vdev, VIRTIO_NET_F_ANY_HEADER_SG))
+		vi->any_header_sg = true;
+
 	if (virtio_has_feature(vdev, VIRTIO_NET_F_CTRL_VQ))
 		vi->has_cvq = true;
 

@@ -1729,6 +1754,7 @@ static unsigned int features[] = {
 	VIRTIO_NET_F_CTRL_RX, VIRTIO_NET_F_CTRL_VLAN,
 	VIRTIO_NET_F_GUEST_ANNOUNCE, VIRTIO_NET_F_MQ,
 	VIRTIO_NET_F_CTRL_MAC_ADDR,
+	VIRTIO_NET_F_ANY_HEADER_SG,
 };
 
 static struct virtio_driver virtio_net_driver = {
include/uapi/linux/virtio_net.h +5 -1
index c520203..9c98b7d 100644
@@ -55,6 +55,8 @@
 					 * Steering */
 #define VIRTIO_NET_F_CTRL_MAC_ADDR 23	/* Set MAC address */
 
+#define VIRTIO_NET_F_ANY_HEADER_SG 25	/* Host can handle any header s/g */
+
 #define VIRTIO_NET_S_LINK_UP	1	/* Link is up */
 #define VIRTIO_NET_S_ANNOUNCE	2	/* Announcement is needed */
 

@@ -70,7 +72,9 @@ struct virtio_net_config {
 	__u16 max_virtqueue_pairs;
 } __attribute__((packed));
 
-/* This is the first element of the scatter-gather list.  If you don't
+/* This header comes first in the scatter-gather list.
+ * If VIRTIO_NET_F_ANY_HEADER_SG is not negotiated, it must
+ * be the first element of the scatter-gather list.  If you don't
  * specify GSO or CSUM features, you can simply ignore the header. */
 struct virtio_net_hdr {
 #define VIRTIO_NET_HDR_F_NEEDS_CSUM	1	// Use csum_start, csum_offset