News: 0001515830

  ARM Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life (Terry Pratchett, Jingo)

AMD INVLPGB Linux Patches Updated For Broadcast TLB Invalidation

([AMD] 5 Hours Ago AMD INVLPGB v3 Linux Patches)


Right before Christmas Mesa engineer Rik van Riel posted [1]Linux kernel patches to make use of the AMD INVLPGB instruction for broadcast TLB invalidation. INVLPGB is present in AMD Ryzen and EPYC processors since Zen 3 and early data showed by Rik indicated nice improvement. A third iteration of those patches have already been posted as this AMD INLVPGB usage works its way to the mainline kernel.

The Linux patches for using the INVLPGB instruction for AMD broadcast TLB invalidation have been further cleaned up with the patches posted on Monday. Code cleanups and change-log fixes suggested during the prior round of review are now in place for the v3 patches. Last week also saw the v2 patches that weren't specifically called out on Phoronix but brought some minor bug fixes and other updates.

The metrics shown with the prior patch versions still apply:

Those wanting to try out these patches for some New Year fun can find them on [2]the Linux kernel mailing list where they continue undergoing review.

In case you missed it over the weekend I also posted some [3]AMD INVLPGB benchmarks showing up to a few percent gain in various real-world workloads, besides the crazier numbers in the more synthetic benchmarks. More AMD INVLPGB benchmarks to come on Phoronix with more hardware and more workloads as my time allows. Hopefully these AMD INVLPGB benchmarks manage to make it to the mainline Linux kernel in the near future.



[1] https://www.phoronix.com/news/AMD-INVLPGB-Linux-Benefits

[2] https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/20241230175550.4046587-1-riel@surriel.com/

[3] https://www.phoronix.com/review/amd-invlpgb-linux


PuckPoltergeist

Tux Penguin Boxing Match

LAS VEGAS, NV -- The unofficial Linux mascot Tux the Penguin will face his arch
rival the BSD Daemon in a boxing match this Saturday night. The match is part
of the International Computer Mascot Boxing Federation's First Annual World
Championship Series. The winner will advance to face one of the Intel "Bunny
People".

Boxing pundits favor Tux as the winner. Last week Tux won his first match in
the Championship Series against Wilbur the Gimp. "The Gimp didn't have a
chance," one spectator said. "With Tux's ability to run at top speeds of over
100mph, I don't see how he could possibly lose." The BSD Daemon, however, is
certainly a formidible opponent. While boxing rules prohibit the Daemon from
using his patented pitchfork, his pointy horns are permitted in the ring.

Some observers think the whole Computer Mascot Boxing Federation is a fake.
"WWF is all scripted," one sports writer pointed out. "And so is this. You
actually think that a penguin is capable of boxing? The idea of a penguin
fighting a demon is patently absurd. This whole Championship Series has no
doubt been scripted. It's probably nothing more than two little kids in
penguin and demon suits duking it out in a boxing ring. What a waste of time."