Subject: Re: Context switching performance on VAC systems
To: Neil A. Carson <neil@causality.com>
From: Jason Thorpe <thorpej@nas.nasa.gov>
List: tech-kern
Date: 03/15/1999 14:40:30
On Mon, 15 Mar 1999 13:31:43 -0800
"Neil A. Carson" <neil@causality.com> wrote:
> So I had this thought last night, on systems where context switches
> involve long-time cache invalidations. When doing the context switch in
> the kernel, do not invalidate the user mappings (unless you're forced to
> due to a suword, copyin or something similar). Instead, postpone it and
> set a flag so that userret knows it needs to be done. This has the
> following advantages:
> - If you have to invalidate kernel as well as user cache lines,
> the performance impact is accounted in userspace not the
> monolithic kernel
> - If a code path (such as nfs???) involves multiple sleeps
> and wakeups in the kernel, the user 'IO' processes that
> just block and unblock in the kernel will execute more
> efficiently.
> Does this make a whole lot of sense? Comments from Jonathan et al
> welcome.
It makes perfect sense... and can be implemented completely in
machdep code :-)
I should do something like this for the hp320.
-- Jason R. Thorpe <thorpej@nas.nasa.gov>