Re: [PATCH 1/4] x86/msr: Define new bits in TSX_FORCE_ABORT MSR

From: Pawan Gupta
Date: Fri Jun 11 2021 - 17:31:33 EST


On 11.06.2021 10:39, Borislav Petkov wrote:
On Wed, Jun 09, 2021 at 01:58:02PM -0700, Pawan Gupta wrote:
Intel client processors that support IA32_TSX_FORCE_ABORT MSR related to
perf counter interaction [1] received a microcode update that deprecates
Transactional Synchronization Extension (TSX) feature. MSR
IA32_TSX_FORCE_ABORT bit FORCE_ABORT_RTM now defaults to 1, writes to
this bit are ignored. A new bit TSX_CPUID_CLEAR clears the TSX related
CPUID bits.

Below is the summary of changes to IA32_TSX_FORCE_ABORT MSR:

Bit 0: FORCE_ABORT_RTM (legacy bit, new default=1) Status bit that
indicates if RTM transactions are always aborted. This bit is
essentially !SDV_ENABLE_RTM(Bit 2). Writes to this bit are ignored.

Bit 1: TSX_CPUID_CLEAR (new bit, default=0) When set, CPUID.HLE = 0
and CPUID.RTM = 0.

Bit 2: SDV_ENABLE_RTM (new bit, default=0) When clear, XBEGIN will
always abort with EAX code 0. When set, XBEGIN will not be forced to
abort (but will always abort in SGX enclaves). This bit is intended to
be SDV-only. If this bit is set transactional atomicity correctness is

SDV?

Sorry should have expanded this. It stands for Software Development
Vehicle (SDV), i.e. developer systems.

not certain.

Performance monitoring counter 3 is usable in all cases, regardless of
the value of above bits.

A new CPUID bit CPUID.RTM_ALWAYS_ABORT (CPUID 7.EDX[11]) is added to
indicate the status of always abort behavior.

Define these new CPUID and MSR bits.

[1] Performance Monitoring Impact of Intel® Transactional Synchronization Extension Memory
http://cdrdv2.intel.com/v1/dl/getContent/604224

That link does not look stable enough to put in commit messages.
Besides, you've said it all in the commit message already.

The important part is the Document ID 604224. I can remove the link
completely, or add the document ID to it, whatever you suggest:

[1] Performance Monitoring Impact of Intel® Transactional Synchronization Extension Memory
http://cdrdv2.intel.com/v1/dl/getContent/604224 (Document ID 604224).
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Thanks,
Pawan