Skip to content
Snippets Groups Projects
Commit df26c2e8 authored by Martin Schwidefsky's avatar Martin Schwidefsky
Browse files

s390/cpumf: simplify detection of guest samples


There are three different code levels in regard to the identification
of guest samples. They differ in the way the LPP instruction is used.

1) Old kernels without the LPP instruction. The guest program parameter
   is always zero.
2) Newer kernels load the process pid into the program parameter with LPP.
   The guest program parameter is non-zero if the guest executes in a
   process != idle.
3) The latest kernels load ((1UL << 31) | pid) with LPP to make the value
   non-zero even for the idle task. The guest program parameter is non-zero
   if the guest is running.

All kernels load the process pid to CR4 on context switch. The CPU sampling
code uses the value in CR4 to decide between guest and host samples in case
the guest program parameter is zero. The three cases:

1) CR4==pid, gpp==0
2) CR4==pid, gpp==pid
3) CR4==pid, gpp==((1UL << 31) | pid)

The load-control instruction to load the pid into CR4 is expensive and the
goal is to remove it. To distinguish the host CR4 from the guest pid for
the idle process the maximum value 0xffff for the PASN is used.
This adds a fourth case for a guest OS with an updated kernel:

4) CR4==0xffff, gpp=((1UL << 31) | pid)

The host kernel will have CR4==0xffff and will use (gpp!=0 || CR4!==0xffff)
to identify guest samples. This works nicely with all 4 cases, the only
possible issue would be a guest with an old kernel (gpp==0) and a process
pid of 0xffff. Well, don't do that..

Suggested-by: default avatarChristian Borntraeger <borntraeger@de.ibm.com>
Reviewed-by: default avatarChristian Borntraeger <borntraeger@de.ibm.com>
Signed-off-by: default avatarMartin Schwidefsky <schwidefsky@de.ibm.com>
parent 561ecb0c
No related branches found
No related tags found
Loading
Loading
0% Loading or .
You are about to add 0 people to the discussion. Proceed with caution.
Finish editing this message first!
Please register or to comment