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NAME
ALTQ — kernel interfaces for manipulating output queues on network interfaces
SYNOPSIS
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <sys/socket.h>
#include <net/if.h>
#include <net/if_var.h>
Enqueue macros
IFQ_ENQUEUE(struct ifaltq *ifq, struct mbuf *m, int error);
IFQ_HANDOFF(struct ifnet *ifp, struct mbuf *m, int error);
IFQ_HANDOFF_ADJ(struct ifnet *ifp, struct mbuf *m, int adjust, int error);
Dequeue macros
IFQ_DEQUEUE(struct ifaltq *ifq, struct mbuf *m);
IFQ_POLL_NOLOCK(struct ifaltq *ifq, struct mbuf *m);
IFQ_PURGE(struct ifaltq *ifq);
IFQ_IS_EMPTY(struct ifaltq *ifq);
Driver managed dequeue macros
IFQ_DRV_DEQUEUE(struct ifaltq *ifq, struct mbuf *m);
IFQ_DRV_PREPEND(struct ifaltq *ifq, struct mbuf *m);
IFQ_DRV_PURGE(struct ifaltq *ifq);
IFQ_DRV_IS_EMPTY(struct ifaltq *ifq);
General setup macros
IFQ_SET_MAXLEN(struct ifaltq *ifq, int len);
IFQ_INC_LEN(struct ifaltq *ifq);
IFQ_DEC_LEN(struct ifaltq *ifq);
IFQ_INC_DROPS(struct ifaltq *ifq);
IFQ_SET_READY(struct ifaltq *ifq);
DESCRIPTION
The ALTQ system is a framework to manage queuing disciplines on network interfaces. ALTQ
introduces new macros to manipulate output queues. The output queue macros are used to
abstract queue operations and not to touch the internal fields of the output queue
structure. The macros are independent from the ALTQ implementation, and compatible with the
traditional ifqueue macros for ease of transition.
IFQ_ENQUEUE(), IFQ_HANDOFF() and IFQ_HANDOFF_ADJ() enqueue a packet m to the queue ifq. The
underlying queuing discipline may discard the packet. The error argument is set to 0 on
success, or ENOBUFS if the packet is discarded. The packet pointed to by m will be freed by
the device driver on success, or by the queuing discipline on failure, so the caller should
not touch m after enqueuing. IFQ_HANDOFF() and IFQ_HANDOFF_ADJ() combine the enqueue
operation with statistic generation and call if_start() upon successful enqueue to initiate
the actual send.
IFQ_DEQUEUE() dequeues a packet from the queue. The dequeued packet is returned in m, or m
is set to NULL if no packet is dequeued. The caller must always check m since a non-empty
queue could return NULL under rate-limiting.
IFQ_POLL_NOLOCK() returns the next packet without removing it from the queue. The caller
must hold the queue mutex when calling IFQ_POLL_NOLOCK() in order to guarantee that a
subsequent call to IFQ_DEQUEUE_NOLOCK() dequeues the same packet.
IFQ_*_NOLOCK() variants (if available) always assume that the caller holds the queue mutex.
They can be grabbed with IFQ_LOCK() and released with IFQ_UNLOCK().
IFQ_PURGE() discards all the packets in the queue. The purge operation is needed since a
non-work conserving queue cannot be emptied by a dequeue loop.
IFQ_IS_EMPTY() can be used to check if the queue is empty. Note that IFQ_DEQUEUE() could
still return NULL if the queuing discipline is non-work conserving.
IFQ_DRV_DEQUEUE() moves up to ifq->ifq_drv_maxlen packets from the queue to the “driver
managed” queue and returns the first one via m. As for IFQ_DEQUEUE(), m can be NULL even
for a non-empty queue. Subsequent calls to IFQ_DRV_DEQUEUE() pass the packets from the
“driver managed” queue without obtaining the queue mutex. It is the responsibility of the
caller to protect against concurrent access. Enabling ALTQ for a given queue sets
ifq_drv_maxlen to 0 as the “bulk dequeue” performed by IFQ_DRV_DEQUEUE() for higher values
of ifq_drv_maxlen is adverse to ALTQ's internal timing. Note that a driver must not mix
IFQ_DRV_*() macros with the default dequeue macros as the default macros do not look at the
“driver managed” queue which might lead to an mbuf leak.
IFQ_DRV_PREPEND() prepends m to the “driver managed” queue from where it will be obtained
with the next call to IFQ_DRV_DEQUEUE().
IFQ_DRV_PURGE() flushes all packets in the “driver managed” queue and calls to IFQ_PURGE()
afterwards.
IFQ_DRV_IS_EMPTY() checks for packets in the “driver managed” part of the queue. If it is
empty, it forwards to IFQ_IS_EMPTY().
IFQ_SET_MAXLEN() sets the queue length limit to the default FIFO queue. The ifq_drv_maxlen
member of the ifaltq structure controls the length limit of the “driver managed” queue.
IFQ_INC_LEN() and IFQ_DEC_LEN() increment or decrement the current queue length in packets.
This is mostly for internal purposes.
IFQ_INC_DROPS() increments the drop counter and is identical to IF_DROP(). It is defined
for naming consistency only.
IFQ_SET_READY() sets a flag to indicate that a driver was converted to use the new macros.
ALTQ can be enabled only on interfaces with this flag.
COMPATIBILITY
ifaltq structure
In order to keep compatibility with the existing code, the new output queue structure ifaltq
has the same fields. The traditional IF_*() macros and the code directly referencing the
fields within if_snd still work with ifaltq.
##old-style## ##new-style##
|
struct ifqueue { | struct ifaltq {
struct mbuf *ifq_head; | struct mbuf *ifq_head;
struct mbuf *ifq_tail; | struct mbuf *ifq_tail;
int ifq_len; | int ifq_len;
int ifq_maxlen; | int ifq_maxlen;
int ifq_drops; | int ifq_drops;
}; | /* driver queue fields */
| ......
| /* altq related fields */
| ......
| };
|
The new structure replaces struct ifqueue in struct ifnet.
##old-style## ##new-style##
|
struct ifnet { | struct ifnet {
.... | ....
|
struct ifqueue if_snd; | struct ifaltq if_snd;
|
.... | ....
}; | };
|
The (simplified) new IFQ_*() macros look like:
#define IFQ_DEQUEUE(ifq, m) \
if (ALTQ_IS_ENABLED((ifq)) \
ALTQ_DEQUEUE((ifq), (m)); \
else \
IF_DEQUEUE((ifq), (m));
Enqueue operation
The semantics of the enqueue operation is changed. In the new style, enqueue and packet
drop are combined since they cannot be easily separated in many queuing disciplines. The
new enqueue operation corresponds to the following macro that is written with the old
macros.
#define IFQ_ENQUEUE(ifq, m, error) \
do { \
if (IF_QFULL((ifq))) { \
m_freem((m)); \
(error) = ENOBUFS; \
IF_DROP(ifq); \
} else { \
IF_ENQUEUE((ifq), (m)); \
(error) = 0; \
} \
} while (0)
IFQ_ENQUEUE() does the following:
- queue a packet,
- drop (and free) a packet if the enqueue operation fails.
If the enqueue operation fails, error is set to ENOBUFS. The m mbuf is freed by the queuing
discipline. The caller should not touch mbuf after calling IFQ_ENQUEUE() so that the caller
may need to copy m_pkthdr.len or m_flags field beforehand for statistics. IFQ_HANDOFF() and
IFQ_HANDOFF_ADJ() can be used if only default interface statistics and an immediate call to
if_start() are desired. The caller should not use senderr() since mbuf was already freed.
The new style if_output() looks as follows:
##old-style## ##new-style##
|
int | int
ether_output(ifp, m0, dst, rt0) | ether_output(ifp, m0, dst, rt0)
{ | {
...... | ......
|
| mflags = m->m_flags;
| len = m->m_pkthdr.len;
s = splimp(); | s = splimp();
if (IF_QFULL(&ifp->if_snd)) { | IFQ_ENQUEUE(&ifp->if_snd, m,
| error);
IF_DROP(&ifp->if_snd); | if (error != 0) {
splx(s); | splx(s);
senderr(ENOBUFS); | return (error);
} | }
IF_ENQUEUE(&ifp->if_snd, m); |
ifp->if_obytes += | ifp->if_obytes += len;
m->m_pkthdr.len; |
if (m->m_flags & M_MCAST) | if (mflags & M_MCAST)
ifp->if_omcasts++; | ifp->if_omcasts++;
|
if ((ifp->if_flags & IFF_OACTIVE) | if ((ifp->if_flags & IFF_OACTIVE)
== 0) | == 0)
(*ifp->if_start)(ifp); | (*ifp->if_start)(ifp);
splx(s); | splx(s);
return (error); | return (error);
|
bad: | bad:
if (m) | if (m)
m_freem(m); | m_freem(m);
return (error); | return (error);
} | }
|
HOW TO CONVERT THE EXISTING DRIVERS
First, make sure the corresponding if_output() is already converted to the new style.
Look for if_snd in the driver. Probably, you need to make changes to the lines that include
if_snd.
Empty check operation
If the code checks ifq_head to see whether the queue is empty or not, use IFQ_IS_EMPTY().
##old-style## ##new-style##
|
if (ifp->if_snd.ifq_head != NULL) | if (!IFQ_IS_EMPTY(&ifp->if_snd))
|
IFQ_IS_EMPTY() only checks if there is any packet stored in the queue. Note that even when
IFQ_IS_EMPTY() is FALSE, IFQ_DEQUEUE() could still return NULL if the queue is under rate-
limiting.
Dequeue operation
Replace IF_DEQUEUE() by IFQ_DEQUEUE(). Always check whether the dequeued mbuf is NULL or
not. Note that even when IFQ_IS_EMPTY() is FALSE, IFQ_DEQUEUE() could return NULL due to
rate-limiting.
##old-style## ##new-style##
|
IF_DEQUEUE(&ifp->if_snd, m); | IFQ_DEQUEUE(&ifp->if_snd, m);
| if (m == NULL)
| return;
|
A driver is supposed to call if_start() from transmission complete interrupts in order to
trigger the next dequeue.
Poll-and-dequeue operation
If the code polls the packet at the head of the queue and actually uses the packet before
dequeuing it, use IFQ_POLL_NOLOCK() and IFQ_DEQUEUE_NOLOCK().
##old-style## ##new-style##
|
| IFQ_LOCK(&ifp->if_snd);
m = ifp->if_snd.ifq_head; | IFQ_POLL_NOLOCK(&ifp->if_snd, m);
if (m != NULL) { | if (m != NULL) {
|
/* use m to get resources */ | /* use m to get resources */
if (something goes wrong) | if (something goes wrong)
| IFQ_UNLOCK(&ifp->if_snd);
return; | return;
|
IF_DEQUEUE(&ifp->if_snd, m); | IFQ_DEQUEUE_NOLOCK(&ifp->if_snd, m);
| IFQ_UNLOCK(&ifp->if_snd);
|
/* kick the hardware */ | /* kick the hardware */
} | }
|
It is guaranteed that IFQ_DEQUEUE_NOLOCK() under the same lock as a previous
IFQ_POLL_NOLOCK() returns the same packet. Note that they need to be guarded by IFQ_LOCK().
Eliminating IF_PREPEND()
If the code uses IF_PREPEND(), you have to eliminate it unless you can use a “driver
managed” queue which allows the use of IFQ_DRV_PREPEND() as a substitute. A common usage of
IF_PREPEND() is to cancel the previous dequeue operation. You have to convert the logic
into poll-and-dequeue.
##old-style## ##new-style##
|
| IFQ_LOCK(&ifp->if_snd);
IF_DEQUEUE(&ifp->if_snd, m); | IFQ_POLL_NOLOCK(&ifp->if_snd, m);
if (m != NULL) { | if (m != NULL) {
|
if (something_goes_wrong) { | if (something_goes_wrong) {
IF_PREPEND(&ifp->if_snd, m); | IFQ_UNLOCK(&ifp->if_snd);
return; | return;
} | }
|
| /* at this point, the driver
| * is committed to send this
| * packet.
| */
| IFQ_DEQUEUE_NOLOCK(&ifp->if_snd, m);
| IFQ_UNLOCK(&ifp->if_snd);
|
/* kick the hardware */ | /* kick the hardware */
} | }
|
Purge operation
Use IFQ_PURGE() to empty the queue. Note that a non-work conserving queue cannot be emptied
by a dequeue loop.
##old-style## ##new-style##
|
while (ifp->if_snd.ifq_head != NULL) {| IFQ_PURGE(&ifp->if_snd);
IF_DEQUEUE(&ifp->if_snd, m); |
m_freem(m); |
} |
|
Conversion using a driver managed queue
Convert IF_*() macros to their equivalent IFQ_DRV_*() and employ IFQ_DRV_IS_EMPTY() where
appropriate.
##old-style## ##new-style##
|
if (ifp->if_snd.ifq_head != NULL) | if (!IFQ_DRV_IS_EMPTY(&ifp->if_snd))
|
Make sure that calls to IFQ_DRV_DEQUEUE(), IFQ_DRV_PREPEND() and IFQ_DRV_PURGE() are
protected with a mutex of some kind.
Attach routine
Use IFQ_SET_MAXLEN() to set ifq_maxlen to len. Initialize ifq_drv_maxlen with a sensible
value if you plan to use the IFQ_DRV_*() macros. Add IFQ_SET_READY() to show this driver is
converted to the new style. (This is used to distinguish new-style drivers.)
##old-style## ##new-style##
|
ifp->if_snd.ifq_maxlen = qsize; | IFQ_SET_MAXLEN(&ifp->if_snd, qsize);
| ifp->if_snd.ifq_drv_maxlen = qsize;
| IFQ_SET_READY(&ifp->if_snd);
if_attach(ifp); | if_attach(ifp);
|
Other issues
The new macros for statistics:
##old-style## ##new-style##
|
IF_DROP(&ifp->if_snd); | IFQ_INC_DROPS(&ifp->if_snd);
|
ifp->if_snd.ifq_len++; | IFQ_INC_LEN(&ifp->if_snd);
|
ifp->if_snd.ifq_len--; | IFQ_DEC_LEN(&ifp->if_snd);
|
QUEUING DISCIPLINES
Queuing disciplines need to maintain ifq_len (used by IFQ_IS_EMPTY()). Queuing disciplines
also need to guarantee that the same mbuf is returned if IFQ_DEQUEUE() is called immediately
after IFQ_POLL().
SEE ALSO
pf(4), pf.conf(5), pfctl(8)
HISTORY
The ALTQ system first appeared in March 1997.