From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Received: from mails.dpdk.org (mails.dpdk.org [217.70.189.124]) by inbox.dpdk.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 4F16A46526; Mon, 7 Apr 2025 11:48:54 +0200 (CEST) Received: from mails.dpdk.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by mails.dpdk.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 17AA940156; Mon, 7 Apr 2025 11:48:54 +0200 (CEST) Received: from mgamail.intel.com (mgamail.intel.com [198.175.65.20]) by mails.dpdk.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 9BF6C40150 for ; Mon, 7 Apr 2025 11:48:52 +0200 (CEST) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/simple; d=intel.com; i=@intel.com; q=dns/txt; s=Intel; t=1744019333; x=1775555333; h=date:from:to:cc:subject:message-id:references: content-transfer-encoding:in-reply-to:mime-version; bh=dDfNKOHp30/G6W4tIXGTk+NKaxflNMTsr8gfhPXt+EU=; b=gTqPHUQZrl+mgMPMY0D2PtNZ0/KgVa8+QOO6pK4WMJmoA/Kyf7h6zxU0 o19vNo3KVhEP4pvxaxRkWIPLz+mEDqgelFXImHg1Z3g4R5PWpTGvRq67g R1n8/dL7oN8EEcl2H4tuOcD1d6VgfLcRW/SfnwgkM6dR3lUUXn8GFH4VN lhDmdYiGBrsdlNiQU1BmaR6AUmChXT/FiQYpoWlZGrQhzJyqM/Ogno2GW g412Mi335YECuM8MTz1t41GCHIg7Gzh9WIgia+Tw+g6XMKCWaPKdxFu7n yU3DRW+dCtnfeJ2HFb09cSG1BBCgxycF2fwZTPwjtDDU4LO7GeRh5Gi/B g==; X-CSE-ConnectionGUID: YxQs2m1kR4mJPIjpSZTjeg== X-CSE-MsgGUID: 8FjNGPZVSaGEdroxVaQi8Q== X-IronPort-AV: E=McAfee;i="6700,10204,11396"; a="45109603" X-IronPort-AV: E=Sophos;i="6.15,194,1739865600"; d="scan'208";a="45109603" Received: from fmviesa004.fm.intel.com ([10.60.135.144]) by orvoesa112.jf.intel.com with ESMTP/TLS/ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384; 07 Apr 2025 02:48:41 -0700 X-CSE-ConnectionGUID: rRSpYwZ9S6+H/JDz6hyshA== X-CSE-MsgGUID: Gpsw83/GS4eswQUkyVAdKw== X-ExtLoop1: 1 X-IronPort-AV: E=Sophos;i="6.15,194,1739865600"; d="scan'208";a="133058894" Received: from orsmsx601.amr.corp.intel.com ([10.22.229.14]) by fmviesa004.fm.intel.com with ESMTP/TLS/AES256-GCM-SHA384; 07 Apr 2025 02:48:41 -0700 Received: from ORSMSX901.amr.corp.intel.com (10.22.229.23) by ORSMSX601.amr.corp.intel.com (10.22.229.14) with Microsoft SMTP Server (version=TLS1_2, cipher=TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256) id 15.1.2507.44; Mon, 7 Apr 2025 02:48:40 -0700 Received: from ORSEDG602.ED.cps.intel.com (10.7.248.7) by ORSMSX901.amr.corp.intel.com (10.22.229.23) with Microsoft SMTP Server (version=TLS1_2, cipher=TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384) id 15.2.1544.14 via Frontend Transport; Mon, 7 Apr 2025 02:48:40 -0700 Received: from NAM02-SN1-obe.outbound.protection.outlook.com (104.47.57.41) by edgegateway.intel.com (134.134.137.103) with Microsoft SMTP Server (version=TLS1_2, cipher=TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384) id 15.1.2507.44; Mon, 7 Apr 2025 02:48:40 -0700 ARC-Seal: i=1; a=rsa-sha256; s=arcselector10001; d=microsoft.com; cv=none; b=Id1CILBn6O426ePa1PoNUA02xGZ6QElT61akrkeI0UBnXtTTKD1zlEpAZvTW16ObALEHN4fsMv9NjxqguBwKnIs4NUrpV1Y4bnrP5kqSrZVvhrt2BPxXFwusNtQLkIF/xHPAZeaaxqEJ/OOCy0MAO2vQF5/t1CJW62TiRxItk+8TkBmZ9KEH8Pdzr0wPbAex1XU1dv0/BU6T2nnY1WkogVtXvrryxrfeltAEHYIYqUBrtpux6WPuT4Ak50ehHkNelAweIVyv/QBjFNYiLZYTalbCfnSTY3+WZwVWFyrzjsd21ioBPiErnPqT1zD88Z1GQnJBW3mYeRwwgXpEuYSmWw== ARC-Message-Signature: i=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=microsoft.com; s=arcselector10001; h=From:Date:Subject:Message-ID:Content-Type:MIME-Version:X-MS-Exchange-AntiSpam-MessageData-ChunkCount:X-MS-Exchange-AntiSpam-MessageData-0:X-MS-Exchange-AntiSpam-MessageData-1; bh=3ntxMVALMlWDI1ogr3Z7kshj+UFGvQHezwVRkXYWb6A=; b=ncQSPHqNvP8YVayn/PrfXNPm4IKTQmHi5exJWQkrrZRQGCM4KpGx9U2xc7uYzZotACSEjDwwKBTiMW9NrrZMRDQwMciD1GVJYcTuMkmCWeC/5D+4QJiXddGHw6BGrTU3fR/UoxKkqVnGILeOsTjfI+QbokPTYhsGqKTsNqW2MPNi4azOEACbi01C+lUiQQZITaZB9bsG8GNACaHHYhFNkwxkf99VvprzDjom58pXjPb+OoBqtdPoxu7JGd6w2wSDLn/9xF3VGUiuRTVP/bvUxnQ2q3OZoElmfYEhEm3n3QTSwYm8VMDMDpETd3f9/6SBj9e7y6pPEemVdBp9UhNeoQ== ARC-Authentication-Results: i=1; mx.microsoft.com 1; spf=pass smtp.mailfrom=intel.com; dmarc=pass action=none header.from=intel.com; dkim=pass header.d=intel.com; arc=none Authentication-Results: dkim=none (message not signed) header.d=none;dmarc=none action=none header.from=intel.com; Received: from DS0PR11MB7309.namprd11.prod.outlook.com (2603:10b6:8:13e::17) by IA1PR11MB8832.namprd11.prod.outlook.com (2603:10b6:208:59a::20) with Microsoft SMTP Server (version=TLS1_2, cipher=TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384) id 15.20.8606.34; Mon, 7 Apr 2025 09:48:37 +0000 Received: from DS0PR11MB7309.namprd11.prod.outlook.com ([fe80::f120:cc1f:d78d:ae9b]) by DS0PR11MB7309.namprd11.prod.outlook.com ([fe80::f120:cc1f:d78d:ae9b%6]) with mapi id 15.20.8606.029; Mon, 7 Apr 2025 09:48:37 +0000 Date: Mon, 7 Apr 2025 10:48:33 +0100 From: Bruce Richardson To: David Marchand CC: Subject: Re: [PATCH v2 0/3] allow easier use of high lcore-ids Message-ID: References: <20250313113829.1480907-1-bruce.richardson@intel.com> <20250324173030.3733517-1-bruce.richardson@intel.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Content-Disposition: inline Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit In-Reply-To: X-ClientProxiedBy: DUZPR01CA0125.eurprd01.prod.exchangelabs.com (2603:10a6:10:4bc::17) To DS0PR11MB7309.namprd11.prod.outlook.com (2603:10b6:8:13e::17) MIME-Version: 1.0 X-MS-PublicTrafficType: Email X-MS-TrafficTypeDiagnostic: DS0PR11MB7309:EE_|IA1PR11MB8832:EE_ X-MS-Office365-Filtering-Correlation-Id: 7d22ab3f-e00f-41a5-2e5d-08dd75b95ec8 X-LD-Processed: 46c98d88-e344-4ed4-8496-4ed7712e255d,ExtAddr X-MS-Exchange-SenderADCheck: 1 X-MS-Exchange-AntiSpam-Relay: 0 X-Microsoft-Antispam: BCL:0;ARA:13230040|376014|366016|1800799024; X-Microsoft-Antispam-Message-Info: =?utf-8?B?UXVaanRSNkFhQzhLU2VHZkJIeUdVeGdJeXV6dGljaC9HU0FYR2ZZY1ozTkUy?= =?utf-8?B?LzBXTVNXOVJUakN2VzBQREd2Vm9uU1BLcTFHd0RHQmVrMUh6QmF4VXU2eUx3?= =?utf-8?B?R2k1Nm1NeFhiQ2N2ck5EcUU3aTU5MllhY0UwVndJRFlSWE9UbjhXcHI4RG9n?= =?utf-8?B?TU5hdWR6b2RFNTVpN3dWdlRjbVhoemx5ZGk3T3N5NFdVRmRQblhlbjE3M3Uz?= =?utf-8?B?Z0JhSG13U0dXelNJa1k5VUp5d2hqRHRsNGxOcHF2dG1VVTZ3TENyZlVWK2ht?= =?utf-8?B?anVMNTVmaGZZK09QOGZveS9icVdxRkZwSGFuVS9TTUNkcVdDNy9HZzNwU1pO?= =?utf-8?B?ZjJRRWZLcGpUbEVzWDJNajFTM3N5UDMwamg1THgzTStaMWNUV3E2N0pzVVdL?= =?utf-8?B?QTJlWkhySDJHZmVzcUJIT2NIa0hKWjdCL3ZuOFF2MG5JYnFqR29saW9EMFFq?= =?utf-8?B?VTZMQzZGRmh1SlhKeWtYNnVJVXM2emh6WjRGZWV3Y2ZUbGxMZWRyc0lPK0RB?= =?utf-8?B?NGtjMVFMY2t1VFp2eEVjZU5FaitISzhjSTlBcnZKOFgwdWNxc0NqQzZDbk9n?= =?utf-8?B?QkhLdzhJSDRNSzJMWW5Ed3p1d0xtYUU4eWg2UTFrK3VFNEVBTFpVV3k0VGJX?= =?utf-8?B?Q3F0QTV2c3lPVE9TVEZHdjVZbTROZ1g5UE9COEJkQ1VGaEtnNnJqdmx0cFE2?= =?utf-8?B?dWdUYklSRGRyck9pUGRoYzdMWUJsbHByYThkbitqZ1V0WlhKQ3hYSkxkMm9W?= =?utf-8?B?NzN6T1E0UHlOWUtXbGUzN0Z5NnRGdmcxOU5QaVVtNDdWS2YxNDJ0VHpFYzlR?= =?utf-8?B?blRSQUNyTGROV3Z2UGFVK1BOMUxyblNWUzJuNHFZVVJEUmhoOGxGakpDdjIx?= =?utf-8?B?UmVia0lya1dYenpkNzBpNWIrak92WlJOemVpVGg0aURMK2hMZEkrSGlyU2NF?= =?utf-8?B?Q3ZTcXRHQ2lKZUZmQlArNHgzNU1Ga1ZMT0Y2Zys1VWhHaVhZeDZua2c3THlF?= =?utf-8?B?QmF0d1RyM0ZLUGhGd1NLODlNRDlSZkpWUkNvV0sweVB5QWhxQkFHV25ycGJR?= =?utf-8?B?N2xQVmp3cHJNdHh0ZklBL1FoVFhDa3Y1U3d1T1pMNWc1bmhzZ0pWRHVUOWpt?= =?utf-8?B?NmY1RjlWaUMrTzhDOGpqMWV5S0ZSc3E2VERJNW9LY1RsS0sxRGFzazh4T2hS?= =?utf-8?B?dUpsQlJ4Uk5Pc1Bsd3UwNlZlVEozSE80T1B6UjNwcFBVSGI3NFRJWE9uUGpm?= =?utf-8?B?Tnl5bHBBbXBPTjNteDhaQXl5Um9zcTM3bFBLdDBDdGNZREFqL3p6QmIvOUJ2?= =?utf-8?B?MEVlUjkzdDdFcTBFbk1ZUWRlN1BwNjhsamREZE1VMUVJZWgrMHo1R1dIZ09J?= =?utf-8?B?RDNnbGdZSm52WG1xb3pxT3A0UVZLY3M4dmp3MW50bWtwQStPSzZCNU4zQXB0?= =?utf-8?B?eFoyU3Z4YmpENEs0anJZZlRJQ3duZUloZVRrU0ZENmJPZ0I0dDZsclBKM3Er?= =?utf-8?B?U1hpVWhJV1VIdHMrVktqend2OUNzcUl0VTIvRm5nS0hrbVFEdCtWeFRDUCs5?= =?utf-8?B?cThDTmtYdHp2dXU1TDd4Q2szR3pvZnV3WDhPOWVnbGYwQ1Q5R2ltWTNja1JB?= =?utf-8?B?YzRBTVBFQzEwS0xPSEdLYVpybzVCcHYwSlJrU1dCQkR5V1puOFoxbmF5UWlC?= =?utf-8?B?TTZLYmRFbUFTbGdDb3Q5ZUMxd1hwN0lGNjhDK2J3akFpNjUzU0VjdFM5cU8z?= =?utf-8?B?dVR1ci9HUHBiVXVrME9VcC9YMGdRdjJyUm9vQldwTnZRdE81eVFlS0lraFpi?= =?utf-8?B?eEY0M2Nsbm4wSldYbzNYaS9BSFg0bjEweHVZMmVCUHRzTVVkaDlNZWljVU1G?= =?utf-8?B?a0tZYWhUNFBkd2RxeWhzajdPck1YZU9ZTS9ISllUZEdKRnAxbEh3OC9uVklC?= =?utf-8?Q?1ZOsaj3eJpE=3D?= X-Forefront-Antispam-Report: CIP:255.255.255.255; CTRY:; LANG:en; SCL:1; SRV:; IPV:NLI; SFV:NSPM; H:DS0PR11MB7309.namprd11.prod.outlook.com; PTR:; CAT:NONE; SFS:(13230040)(376014)(366016)(1800799024); DIR:OUT; SFP:1101; X-MS-Exchange-AntiSpam-MessageData-ChunkCount: 1 X-MS-Exchange-AntiSpam-MessageData-0: =?utf-8?B?dzEvWTQyMEZhTnpnUFZXdW1rS0Nqd3pldXBiZ29CNndraGVrbTVXNkhadzhF?= =?utf-8?B?bTluSHFHaHhWWWI4akdiZDRlV2JaNGJBSDdIZ0FVcHk2Visra2dGZ0xtNkRG?= =?utf-8?B?ZXZXZ2Z4K1RSOWtNS1dxbGtmN091L3krQ0R0YWlNd1F0b3JUenJjbUtZeWJV?= =?utf-8?B?amxGNCtKZ2hUNkV4M3RYT3hyY0tCQ3N4aFdTSFVKRW81UDB3QTA1elBkYko3?= =?utf-8?B?ekVBT1ZNalZETmdWMkxyVkJrUHZSUnU2QTE4VDdYV0xpL2RBSVVHYU5rZ3ho?= =?utf-8?B?MzJmb2ludU9JaU9DaUs0WmNjYWpJNmFrN1g5clJaODlTcGZOam9BdnRRTVFJ?= =?utf-8?B?em4yZDduZTBBZ1dwa20wVS8yZHIrS29xYmRGbkZGL3cyUVMyMmUrUGRIcitx?= =?utf-8?B?MXZtK1BkVFBPU1JMMkpKZGJUQk5HUDBqV3p1Vzg4ME11cFZXTGJjdm9kbkNZ?= =?utf-8?B?MTlQelZlNXpucExUb09DdDlRbkE1R0E4NFEwdUJVYlRtUHFkU2JXSmFxVDAz?= =?utf-8?B?dmFuMzh4a2oxQU5pbmgxMjVWK3BFRkd0T0RyQnZNVEJyT3dDUWVQeFFqY2Qz?= =?utf-8?B?NHRoTVVKMElYWmRoVjJ2YjdJRmxXc2EvaUNZbHlvUUdJSEZEbGl5TStyS3Vn?= =?utf-8?B?UlRlU3JxRmRBWmZkTTNvVm4zYk9IcGJ6MHBmeEdDdTN2ekpGckhBZHM5L3Qr?= =?utf-8?B?UmthY2VSMitqcWFwNEZodjMwK1QrQjJ5cnUzWGVJZUZNVkRPenVINlVDVEln?= =?utf-8?B?WEVzL1pvRklncUJURURua3ZIY1p5WEU3OW4xMmpUOGRpdzNNZDFLNGNzU20y?= =?utf-8?B?Z2Q1NS9hNnhQNEV3dlZXNWtHNmNrR0MyZS91Uy9GRjBxd0lPeXZTUnZKcVB1?= =?utf-8?B?YzFlY1o1QTJsNHRreHlVZnRKTkpBNVZ2T1JadjlrOWZIOC9DRFlUSkQ5cDkx?= =?utf-8?B?eDhxblFvMXhaQmlSZ0pxRFJjVStTMlMzWW5Zb0ZXK1o5c3dYRmw0bzhqbnAz?= =?utf-8?B?ZnA4R1JiS1FaQlI3QTlXNGlRQlZFUGVvVzlNSXNVN0FBYS9NWFl4M2xYWUJN?= =?utf-8?B?bmtZYjNNMkFiQXdWRXVxcnhlaDgvN3pXUGVzaTM2MlhacHd6WHlEMmp2cUFI?= =?utf-8?B?R1d3V2MvNGpsWEdsNmlBTmQzaGtTU3RkYVh0RU5hZ3lJa1BVRi84N0huSWlS?= =?utf-8?B?djg3a0V2NVd0dEdITzhpSHpwWWxQSTN6M2lrZ05QUkZMbzlXWm0zQzZNakd5?= =?utf-8?B?TTVyRDU4K2F3UnljT2dVZUYrMEE3U3h3UUNXc0hGUUp6QU10cUxQSHJ1ejRW?= =?utf-8?B?bjRLbzlxTk1lMGxyQ0t3Q0wxSUN5N2NFN1ZkM1ZWSGIzRnlRVFVrNk0zMDYz?= =?utf-8?B?QlBlY29UMm1iTGhzQTM2NlF3RzNzK3AvWVh2aGl0V0d5YkxPd3hWVEEzNlBm?= =?utf-8?B?NFpwdEFVTU9hSUhoMlFRTVNIQWZralFpb1Y2SEpUS3h3bExFcVVPTEN2a1Zp?= =?utf-8?B?NUJyMU1DQlVkMUIrY0RsYjZ4V01XRFA0Mm50QUY2REhMcVNNaFViVzdBTE5G?= =?utf-8?B?YS9PY2dhV25PdUYveGlEZTdsRTh0aXp4UzJ1YWk5bVpDYzRUUGo2cURrWVN6?= =?utf-8?B?R242L0szcThGSWIzaW5lNWdXbnJoVENmZFVldjBaK1RQRlFxSHMwTUV0YVVu?= =?utf-8?B?bEtqcG9sT3VIbUNTWWxLMFpKTnlvWU4xdDg2clF2d0VWOVQyWGRJeUcvRVp0?= =?utf-8?B?N0FqU0hvVjU3N2Qrc1I2R3dKdEdmVDR6L1pNNUpUSFI4b2x2aDN3TVEzeHBv?= =?utf-8?B?ZlBEV2ZTMVJ0NmN2NTdIbjZTL2orb1dDbGxKK3lWTllXcmJLS1Q0Tyt0RFFV?= =?utf-8?B?U0J5UmFxZE9KOGxjdFJ3Mld3NVluQm92ekhqTzhCNDJQLys4TThpTHNrRVhl?= =?utf-8?B?eDVldi9sWkxUa2NJUnoxeHRrN3gxdDFuUVdERDBKYnVMMHRubWFFaVR4VVpj?= =?utf-8?B?aHRReGUzWHR6OXlYVE13b0RGTThCeEtCSG9uY2dsM3N1cXNWc1NjUVJCM3hp?= =?utf-8?B?b0dwTE5mZWV4c2FUR1VlZlZuQS9Nbnh3RkFYN2ptU3FldzFVTnV2ak9rVWRG?= =?utf-8?B?eW43M3RIL0MwL2hWajFoSkIveVkrQ0tLTGM4RVJwSmVOeHZaUEg0RFhheXE4?= =?utf-8?B?Y3c9PQ==?= X-MS-Exchange-CrossTenant-Network-Message-Id: 7d22ab3f-e00f-41a5-2e5d-08dd75b95ec8 X-MS-Exchange-CrossTenant-AuthSource: DS0PR11MB7309.namprd11.prod.outlook.com X-MS-Exchange-CrossTenant-AuthAs: Internal X-MS-Exchange-CrossTenant-OriginalArrivalTime: 07 Apr 2025 09:48:37.8441 (UTC) X-MS-Exchange-CrossTenant-FromEntityHeader: Hosted X-MS-Exchange-CrossTenant-Id: 46c98d88-e344-4ed4-8496-4ed7712e255d X-MS-Exchange-CrossTenant-MailboxType: HOSTED X-MS-Exchange-CrossTenant-UserPrincipalName: vsrsj+mV8xju65+hod6P7hrS66iaRQ8nmDgoU6GM1+JOWCTswAqSK5bDw7infxquuqkDv4mK/jhXEe/od/WDf8oZcO3R86QuWdBPGLjIsFY= X-MS-Exchange-Transport-CrossTenantHeadersStamped: IA1PR11MB8832 X-OriginatorOrg: intel.com X-BeenThere: dev@dpdk.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.29 Precedence: list List-Id: DPDK patches and discussions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: dev-bounces@dpdk.org On Mon, Apr 07, 2025 at 09:04:05AM +0200, David Marchand wrote: > Hello Bruce, > > On Tue, Apr 1, 2025 at 4:08 PM Bruce Richardson > wrote: > > > > On Mon, Mar 24, 2025 at 05:30:26PM +0000, Bruce Richardson wrote: > > > Traditionally, DPDK has had a direct mapping of internal lcore-ids, to > > > the actual core numbers in use. With higher core count servers becoming > > > more prevalent the issue becomes one of increasing memory footprint when > > > using such a scheme, due to the need to have all arrays dimensioned for > > > all cores on the system, whether or not those cores are in use by the > > > app. > > > > > > Therefore, the decision was made in the past to not expand the > > > build-time RTE_MAX_LCORE value beyond 128. Instead, it was recommended > > > that users use the "--lcores" EAL parameter to take the high-numbered > > > cores they wish to use and map them to lcore-ids within the 0 - 128 > > > range. While this works, this is a little clunky as it means that > > > instead of just passing, for example, "-l 130-139", the user must > > > instead pass "--lcores 0@130,1@131,2@132,3@133,...." > > > > > > This patchset attempts to simplify the situation by adding a new flag to > > > do this mapping automatically. To use cores 130-139 and map them to ids > > > 0-9 internally, the EAL args now become: "-l 130-139 --map-lcore-ids", > > > or using the shorter "-M" version of the flag: "-Ml 130-139". > > > > > > Adding this new parameter required some rework of the existing arg > > > parsing code, because in current DPDK the args are parsed and checked in > > > the order they appear on the commandline. This means that using the > > > example above, the core parameter 130-139 will be rejected immediately > > > before the "map-lcore-ids" parameter is seen. To work around this, the > > > core (and service core) parameters are not parsed when seen, instead > > > they are only saved off and parsed after all arguments are parsed. The > > > "-l" and "-c" parameters are converted into "--lcores" arguments, so all > > > assigning of lcore ids is done there in all cases. > > > > > > RFC->v2: > > > * converted printf to DEBUG log > > > * added "-M" as shorter version of flag > > > * added documentation > > > * renamed internal API that was changed to avoid any potential hidden > > > runtime issues. > > > > > > Bruce Richardson (3): > > > eal: centralize core parameter parsing > > > eal: convert core masks and lists to core sets > > > eal: allow automatic mapping of high lcore ids > > > > > Ping for review. > > > > At a high level, does this feature seem useful to users? > > This seems useful, though I am not I would touch the existing options. > I would have gone with a simple -L option (taking the same kind of > input than -l but with new behavior), and not combine a flag with > existing options. > That would be an easier patchset to do up. However, it would then mean that we have no less than 4 different ways to specify the cores to use: "-c", "-l", "-L", "--lcores" - and therefore need 4 different sets of parsing options for them, and more checks to ensure we have only one of the 4 specified in any run. That's why I chose the modifier option, and to try and consolidate the core setup a bit. However, if having a completely new option is preferred, I am happy enough to do up a different patchset for that. > I scanned through the series, not much to say. > Maybe add a unit test for new cmdline option. > Sure. Once it's decided what approach (if any) to take, I'll do up a new patchset, taking into account any relevant feedback on this set. /Bruce