[TCP]: Rewrite SACK block processing & sack_recv_cache use

Key points of this patch are:

  - In case new SACK information is advance only type, no skb
    processing below previously discovered highest point is done
  - Optimize cases below highest point too since there's no need
    to always go up to highest point (which is very likely still
    present in that SACK), this is not entirely true though
    because I'm dropping the fastpath_skb_hint which could
    previously optimize those cases even better. Whether that's
    significant, I'm not too sure.

Currently it will provide skipping by walking. Combined with
RB-tree, all skipping would become fast too regardless of window
size (can be done incrementally later).

Previously a number of cases in TCP SACK processing fails to
take advantage of costly stored information in sack_recv_cache,
most importantly, expected events such as cumulative ACK and new
hole ACKs. Processing on such ACKs result in rather long walks
building up latencies (which easily gets nasty when window is
huge). Those latencies are often completely unnecessary
compared with the amount of _new_ information received, usually
for cumulative ACK there's no new information at all, yet TCP
walks whole queue unnecessary potentially taking a number of
costly cache misses on the way, etc.!

Since the inclusion of highest_sack, there's a lot information
that is very likely redundant (SACK fastpath hint stuff,
fackets_out, highest_sack), though there's no ultimate guarantee
that they'll remain the same whole the time (in all unearthly
scenarios). Take advantage of this knowledge here and drop
fastpath hint and use direct access to highest SACKed skb as
a replacement.

Effectively "special cased" fastpath is dropped. This change
adds some complexity to introduce better coveraged "fastpath",
though the added complexity should make TCP behave more cache
friendly.

The current ACK's SACK blocks are compared against each cached
block individially and only ranges that are new are then scanned
by the high constant walk. For other parts of write queue, even
when in previously known part of the SACK blocks, a faster skip
function is used (if necessary at all). In addition, whenever
possible, TCP fast-forwards to highest_sack skb that was made
available by an earlier patch. In typical case, no other things
but this fast-forward and mandatory markings after that occur
making the access pattern quite similar to the former fastpath
"special case".

DSACKs are special case that must always be walked.

The local to recv_sack_cache copying could be more intelligent
w.r.t DSACKs which are likely to be there only once but that
is left to a separate patch.

Signed-off-by: Ilpo Järvinen <ilpo.jarvinen@helsinki.fi>
Signed-off-by: David S. Miller <davem@davemloft.net>

1 files changed, 0 insertions, 3 deletions

diff --git a/include/linux/tcp.h b/include/linux/tcp.h
index 794497c7d755..08027f1d7f31 100644
--- a/include/linux/tcp.h
+++ b/include/linux/tcp.h
@@ -343,10 +343,7 @@ struct tcp_sock {
 	struct sk_buff *scoreboard_skb_hint;
 	struct sk_buff *retransmit_skb_hint;
 	struct sk_buff *forward_skb_hint;
-	struct sk_buff *fastpath_skb_hint;
 
-	int     fastpath_cnt_hint;	/* Lags behind by current skb's pcount
-					 * compared to respective fackets_out */
 	int     lost_cnt_hint;
 	int     retransmit_cnt_hint;