Re: [dpdk-dev] [PATCH 0/2] dpdk: Allow for dynamic enablement of some isolated features

[Bruce Richardson <bruce.richardson@intel.com>]

On Thu, Jul 31, 2014 at 04:10:18PM -0400, Neil Horman wrote:
> On Thu, Jul 31, 2014 at 11:36:32AM -0700, Bruce Richardson wrote:
> > Thu, Jul 31, 2014 at 02:10:32PM -0400, Neil Horman wrote:
> > > On Thu, Jul 31, 2014 at 10:32:28AM -0400, Neil Horman wrote:
> > > > On Thu, Jul 31, 2014 at 03:26:45PM +0200, Thomas Monjalon wrote:
> > > > > 2014-07-31 09:13, Neil Horman:
> > > > > > On Wed, Jul 30, 2014 at 02:09:20PM -0700, Bruce Richardson wrote:
> > > > > > > On Wed, Jul 30, 2014 at 03:28:44PM -0400, Neil Horman wrote:
> > > > > > > > On Wed, Jul 30, 2014 at 11:59:03AM -0700, Bruce Richardson wrote:
> > > > > > > > > On Tue, Jul 29, 2014 at 04:24:24PM -0400, Neil Horman wrote:
> > > > > > > > > > Hey all-
> > 
> > With regards to the general approach for runtime detection of software
> > functions, I wonder if something like this can be handled by the
> > packaging system? Is it possible to ship out a set of shared libs
> > compiled up for different instruction sets, and then at rpm install
> > time, symlink the appropriate library? This would push the whole issue
> > of detection of code paths outside of code, work across all our
> > libraries and ensure each user got the best performance they could get
> > form a binary?
> > Has something like this been done before? The building of all the
> > libraries could be scripted easy enough, just do multiple builds using
> > different EXTRA_CFLAGS each time, and move and rename the .so's after
> > each run.
> > 
> 
> Sorry, I missed this in my last reply.
> 
> In answer to your question, the short version is that such a thing is roughly
> possible from a packaging standpoint, but completely unworkable from a
> distribution standpoint.  We could certainly build the dpdk multiple times and
> rename all the shared objects to some variant name representative of the
> optimzations we build in for certain cpu flags, but then we woudl be shipping X
> versions of the dpdk, and any appilcation (say OVS that made use of the dpdk
> would need to provide a version linked against each variant to be useful when
> making a product, and each end user would need to manually select (or run a
> script to select) which variant is most optimized for the system at hand.  Its
> just not a reasonable way to package a library.

Sorry, perhaps I was not clear, having the user have to select the
appropriate library was not what I was suggesting. Instead, I was
suggesting that the rpm install "librte_pmd_ixgbe.so.generic",
"librte_pmd_ixgbe.so.sse42" and "librte_pmd_ixgbe.so.avx". Then the rpm
post-install script would look at the cpuflags in cpuinfo and then
symlink librte_pmd_ixgbe.so to the best-match version. That way the user
only has to link against "librte_pmd_ixgbe.so" and depending on the
system its run on, the loader will automatically resolve the symbols
from the appropriate instruction-set specific .so file.

> 
> When pacaging software, the only consideration given to code variance at pacakge
> time is architecture (x86/x86_64/ppc/s390/etc).  If you install a package for
> your a given architecture, its expected to run on that architecture.  Optional
> code paths are just that, optional, and executed based on run time tests.  Its a
> requirement that we build for the lowest common demoniator system that is
> supported, and enable accelerative code paths optionally at run time when the
> cpu indicates support for them.
> 
> Neil
>