Обсуждение: Use gcc built-in atomic inc/dec in lock.c

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Use gcc built-in atomic inc/dec in lock.c

От
Mikko Tiihonen
Дата:
Hi,

I noticed a "XXX: It might be worth considering using an atomic fetch-and-add
instruction here, on architectures where that is supported." in lock.c

Here is my first try at using it. The patch adds a configure check for
gcc 4.7 __atomic_add_fetch as well as the older __sync_add_and_fetch built-ins.
If either is available they are used instead of the mutex.

Changes do the following:
- declare atomic_inc and atomic_dec inline functions (implemented either using
   GCC built-in functions or the old mutex code) in new atomics.h
- change lock.c to use atomic_* functions instead of explicit mutex
- moved all other assignments inside the mutex to occur before the atomic
   operation so that the barrier of the atomic operation can guarantee the
   stores are visible when the function ends
- removed one assert that could not easily be implemented with atomic_dec
   in RemoveLocalLock


Using method AbortStrongLockAcquire as an example.
When compiling with Fedora GCC 4.7.2 the following assembly code is generated

Original code before the patch: 136 bytes
Mutex code with the patch: 124 bytes
Code with gcc-built-ins: 56 bytes

I think moving the extra assignments outside the mutex has allowed the
compiler to optimize the code more even when the mutex is used.


Questions:
1) is it safe to move the assignments to locallock->holdsStrongLockCount
    and StrongLockInProgress outside the FastPathStrongRelationLocks?
2) With built-ins the FastPathStrongRelationLockData becomes uint32[1024],
    should we add back some padding to reduce the cacheline collisions?
    For a modern cpu using 64 byte cache lines there can be only
    max 16 concurrent updates at the and the propability of collision
    is quite big
3) What kind of pgbench test would utilise the code path the most?

TODO:
1) add check in configure.in to ensure that the built-ins are not converted
    to external calls by gcc (on architectures that use the gcc generic version)
2) other architectures / compilers


------

Original code before the patch:

0000000000000e10 <AbortStrongLockAcquire>:
      e10:       48 89 5c 24 f0          mov    %rbx,-0x10(%rsp)
      e15:       48 89 6c 24 f8          mov    %rbp,-0x8(%rsp)
      e1a:       48 83 ec 18             sub    $0x18,%rsp
      e1e:       48 8b 1d 00 00 00 00    mov    0x0(%rip),%rbx        # e25 <AbortStrongLockAcquire+0x15>
      e25:       48 85 db                test   %rbx,%rbx
      e28:       74 41                   je     e6b <AbortStrongLockAcquire+0x5b>
      e2a:       8b 6b 28                mov    0x28(%rbx),%ebp
      e2d:       b8 01 00 00 00          mov    $0x1,%eax
      e32:       48 8b 15 00 00 00 00    mov    0x0(%rip),%rdx        # e39 <AbortStrongLockAcquire+0x29>
      e39:       81 e5 ff 03 00 00       and    $0x3ff,%ebp
      e3f:       f0 86 02                lock xchg %al,(%rdx)
      e42:       84 c0                   test   %al,%al
      e44:       75 3a                   jne    e80 <AbortStrongLockAcquire+0x70>
      e46:       48 8b 05 00 00 00 00    mov    0x0(%rip),%rax        # e4d <AbortStrongLockAcquire+0x3d>
      e4d:       48 c7 05 00 00 00 00    movq   $0x0,0x0(%rip)        # e58 <AbortStrongLockAcquire+0x48>
      e54:       00 00 00 00
      e58:       83 6c a8 04 01          subl   $0x1,0x4(%rax,%rbp,4)
      e5d:       c6 43 40 00             movb   $0x0,0x40(%rbx)
      e61:       48 8b 05 00 00 00 00    mov    0x0(%rip),%rax        # e68 <AbortStrongLockAcquire+0x58>
      e68:       c6 00 00                movb   $0x0,(%rax)
      e6b:       48 8b 5c 24 08          mov    0x8(%rsp),%rbx
      e70:       48 8b 6c 24 10          mov    0x10(%rsp),%rbp
      e75:       48 83 c4 18             add    $0x18,%rsp
      e79:       c3                      retq
      e7a:       66 0f 1f 44 00 00       nopw   0x0(%rax,%rax,1)
      e80:       48 8b 3d 00 00 00 00    mov    0x0(%rip),%rdi        # e87 <AbortStrongLockAcquire+0x77>
      e87:       ba a8 05 00 00          mov    $0x5a8,%edx
      e8c:       be 00 00 00 00          mov    $0x0,%esi
      e91:       e8 00 00 00 00          callq  e96 <AbortStrongLockAcquire+0x86>
      e96:       eb ae                   jmp    e46 <AbortStrongLockAcquire+0x36>
      e98:       0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00    nopl   0x0(%rax,%rax,1)
      e9f:       00

Mutex code with the patch:
0000000000000e00 <AbortStrongLockAcquire>:
      e00:       48 8b 05 00 00 00 00    mov    0x0(%rip),%rax        # e07 <AbortStrongLockAcquire+0x7>
      e07:       48 85 c0                test   %rax,%rax
      e0a:       74 55                   je     e61 <AbortStrongLockAcquire+0x61>
      e0c:       48 89 5c 24 f0          mov    %rbx,-0x10(%rsp)
      e11:       48 89 6c 24 f8          mov    %rbp,-0x8(%rsp)
      e16:       48 83 ec 18             sub    $0x18,%rsp
      e1a:       8b 68 28                mov    0x28(%rax),%ebp
      e1d:       c6 40 40 00             movb   $0x0,0x40(%rax)
      e21:       b8 01 00 00 00          mov    $0x1,%eax
      e26:       48 c7 05 00 00 00 00    movq   $0x0,0x0(%rip)        # e31 <AbortStrongLockAcquire+0x31>
      e2d:       00 00 00 00
      e31:       48 8b 1d 00 00 00 00    mov    0x0(%rip),%rbx        # e38 <AbortStrongLockAcquire+0x38>
      e38:       81 e5 ff 03 00 00       and    $0x3ff,%ebp
      e3e:       f0 86 03                lock xchg %al,(%rbx)
      e41:       84 c0                   test   %al,%al
      e43:       75 23                   jne    e68 <AbortStrongLockAcquire+0x68>
      e45:       8b 44 ab 04             mov    0x4(%rbx,%rbp,4),%eax
      e49:       83 e8 01                sub    $0x1,%eax
      e4c:       89 44 ab 04             mov    %eax,0x4(%rbx,%rbp,4)
      e50:       c6 03 00                movb   $0x0,(%rbx)
      e53:       48 8b 5c 24 08          mov    0x8(%rsp),%rbx
      e58:       48 8b 6c 24 10          mov    0x10(%rsp),%rbp
      e5d:       48 83 c4 18             add    $0x18,%rsp
      e61:       f3 c3                   repz retq
      e63:       0f 1f 44 00 00          nopl   0x0(%rax,%rax,1)
      e68:       ba 41 00 00 00          mov    $0x41,%edx
      e6d:       be 00 00 00 00          mov    $0x0,%esi
      e72:       48 89 df                mov    %rbx,%rdi
      e75:       e8 00 00 00 00          callq  e7a <AbortStrongLockAcquire+0x7a>
      e7a:       eb c9                   jmp    e45 <AbortStrongLockAcquire+0x45>
      e7c:       0f 1f 40 00             nopl   0x0(%rax)

Code with gcc-built-ins:
0000000000000da0 <AbortStrongLockAcquire>:
      da0:       48 8b 05 00 00 00 00    mov    0x0(%rip),%rax        # da7 <AbortStrongLockAcquire+0x7>
      da7:       48 85 c0                test   %rax,%rax
      daa:       74 2a                   je     dd6 <AbortStrongLockAcquire+0x36>
      dac:       8b 50 28                mov    0x28(%rax),%edx
      daf:       c6 40 40 00             movb   $0x0,0x40(%rax)
      db3:       48 c7 05 00 00 00 00    movq   $0x0,0x0(%rip)        # dbe <AbortStrongLockAcquire+0x1e>
      dba:       00 00 00 00
      dbe:       48 89 d0                mov    %rdx,%rax
      dc1:       48 8b 15 00 00 00 00    mov    0x0(%rip),%rdx        # dc8 <AbortStrongLockAcquire+0x28>
      dc8:       25 ff 03 00 00          and    $0x3ff,%eax
      dcd:       48 c1 e0 02             shl    $0x2,%rax
      dd1:       f0 83 2c 02 01          lock subl $0x1,(%rdx,%rax,1)
      dd6:       f3 c3                   repz retq
      dd8:       0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00    nopl   0x0(%rax,%rax,1)
      ddf:       00


Вложения

Re: Use gcc built-in atomic inc/dec in lock.c

От
Peter Geoghegan
Дата:
On 12 December 2012 22:11, Mikko Tiihonen
<mikko.tiihonen@nitorcreations.com> wrote:
> noticed a "XXX: It might be worth considering using an atomic fetch-and-add
> instruction here, on architectures where that is supported." in lock.c
>
> Here is my first try at using it.

That's interesting, but I have to wonder if there is any evidence that
this *is* actually helpful to performance.

-- 
Peter Geoghegan       http://www.2ndQuadrant.com/
PostgreSQL Development, 24x7 Support, Training and Services



Re: Use gcc built-in atomic inc/dec in lock.c

От
Mikko Tiihonen
Дата:
On 12/13/2012 12:19 AM, Peter Geoghegan wrote:
> On 12 December 2012 22:11, Mikko Tiihonen
> <mikko.tiihonen@nitorcreations.com> wrote:
>> noticed a "XXX: It might be worth considering using an atomic fetch-and-add
>> instruction here, on architectures where that is supported." in lock.c
>>
>> Here is my first try at using it.
>
> That's interesting, but I have to wonder if there is any evidence that
> this *is* actually helpful to performance.

One of my open questions listed in the original email was request for help on
creating a test case that exercise the code path enough so that it any
improvements can be measured.

But apart from performance I think there are two other aspects to consider:
1) Code clarity: I think the lock.c code is easier to understand after the patch
2) Future possibilities: having the atomic_inc/dec generally available allows   other performance critical parts of
postgrestake advantage of them in the   future
 

-Mikko



Re: Use gcc built-in atomic inc/dec in lock.c

От
Merlin Moncure
Дата:
On Fri, Dec 14, 2012 at 9:33 AM, Mikko Tiihonen
<mikko.tiihonen@nitorcreations.com> wrote:
> On 12/13/2012 12:19 AM, Peter Geoghegan wrote:
>>
>> On 12 December 2012 22:11, Mikko Tiihonen
>> <mikko.tiihonen@nitorcreations.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> noticed a "XXX: It might be worth considering using an atomic
>>> fetch-and-add
>>> instruction here, on architectures where that is supported." in lock.c
>>>
>>> Here is my first try at using it.
>>
>>
>> That's interesting, but I have to wonder if there is any evidence that
>> this *is* actually helpful to performance.
>
>
> One of my open questions listed in the original email was request for help
> on
> creating a test case that exercise the code path enough so that it any
> improvements can be measured.
>
> But apart from performance I think there are two other aspects to consider:
> 1) Code clarity: I think the lock.c code is easier to understand after the
> patch
> 2) Future possibilities: having the atomic_inc/dec generally available
> allows
>    other performance critical parts of postgres take advantage of them in
> the
>    future

This was actually attempted a little while back; a spinlock was
replaced with a few atomic increment and decrement calls for managing
the refcount and other things on the freelist. It helped or hurt
depending on contention but the net effect was negative.   On
reflection I think that was because that the assembly 'lock'
instructions are really expensive relative to the others: so it's not
safe to assume that say 2-3 gcc primitive increment calls are cheaper
that a spinlock.

merlin



Re: Use gcc built-in atomic inc/dec in lock.c

От
Mikko Tiihonen
Дата:
On 12/14/2012 05:55 PM, Merlin Moncure wrote:
> On Fri, Dec 14, 2012 at 9:33 AM, Mikko Tiihonen
> <mikko.tiihonen@nitorcreations.com> wrote:
>> On 12/13/2012 12:19 AM, Peter Geoghegan wrote:
>>>
>>> On 12 December 2012 22:11, Mikko Tiihonen
>>> <mikko.tiihonen@nitorcreations.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> noticed a "XXX: It might be worth considering using an atomic
>>>> fetch-and-add
>>>> instruction here, on architectures where that is supported." in lock.c
>>>>
>>>> Here is my first try at using it.
>>>
>>>
>>> That's interesting, but I have to wonder if there is any evidence that
>>> this *is* actually helpful to performance.
>>
>>
>> One of my open questions listed in the original email was request for help
>> on
>> creating a test case that exercise the code path enough so that it any
>> improvements can be measured.
>>
>> But apart from performance I think there are two other aspects to consider:
>> 1) Code clarity: I think the lock.c code is easier to understand after the
>> patch
>> 2) Future possibilities: having the atomic_inc/dec generally available
>> allows
>>     other performance critical parts of postgres take advantage of them in
>> the
>>     future
>
> This was actually attempted a little while back; a spinlock was
> replaced with a few atomic increment and decrement calls for managing
> the refcount and other things on the freelist. It helped or hurt
> depending on contention but the net effect was negative.   On
> reflection I think that was because that the assembly 'lock'
> instructions are really expensive relative to the others: so it's not
> safe to assume that say 2-3 gcc primitive increment calls are cheaper
> that a spinlock.

The spinlock uses one 'lock' instruction when taken, and no lock
instructions when released.

Thus I think replacing one spinlock protected add/sub with atomic 'lock'
add/sub not perform worse.

But if you replace "mutex-lock,add,add,unlock" with "atomic add, atomic
add" you already have more hw level synchronization and thus risk lower
performance if they are on separate cache lines. This of course limits
the use cases of the atomic operations.

-Mikko



Re: Use gcc built-in atomic inc/dec in lock.c

От
Robert Haas
Дата:
On Wed, Dec 12, 2012 at 5:19 PM, Peter Geoghegan <peter@2ndquadrant.com> wrote:
> On 12 December 2012 22:11, Mikko Tiihonen
> <mikko.tiihonen@nitorcreations.com> wrote:
>> noticed a "XXX: It might be worth considering using an atomic fetch-and-add
>> instruction here, on architectures where that is supported." in lock.c
>>
>> Here is my first try at using it.
>
> That's interesting, but I have to wonder if there is any evidence that
> this *is* actually helpful to performance.

Ditto.  I've had at least one bad experience with an attempted change
to this sort of thing backfiring.  And it's possible that's because my
implementation sucked, but the only concrete evidence of that which I
was able to discern was bad performance.  So I've learned to be
skeptical of these kinds of things unless there are clear benchmark
results.

-- 
Robert Haas
EnterpriseDB: http://www.enterprisedb.com
The Enterprise PostgreSQL Company



Re: Use gcc built-in atomic inc/dec in lock.c

От
Любен Каравелов
Дата:
----- Цитат от Mikko Tiihonen (mikko.tiihonen@nitorcreations.com), на 14.12.2012 в 17:33 -----<br /><br />> On
12/13/201212:19 AM, Peter Geoghegan wrote:<br />>> On 12 December 2012 22:11, Mikko Tiihonen<br />>>
wrote:<br/>>>> noticed a "XXX: It might be worth considering using an atomic fetch-and-add<br />>>>
instructionhere, on architectures where that is supported." in lock.c<br />>>><br />>>> Here is my
firsttry at using it.<br />>><br />>> That's interesting, but I have to wonder if there is any evidence
that<br/>>> this *is* actually helpful to performance.<br />> <br />> One of my open questions listed in
theoriginal email was request for help on<br />> creating a test case that exercise the code path enough so that it
any<br/>> improvements can be measured.<br />> <br /><br />Running pgbench on 16+ cores/threads could stress
lockingprimitives. From my experience even benchmarks run on 8 core systems should tell the difference.<br /><br
/>--<br/>Luben Karavelov