bcache: implement PI controller for writeback rate

bcache uses a control system to attempt to keep the amount of dirty data
in cache at a user-configured level, while not responding excessively to
transients and variations in write rate.  Previously, the system was a
PD controller; but the output from it was integrated, turning the
Proportional term into an Integral term, and turning the Derivative term
into a crude Proportional term.  Performance of the controller has been
uneven in production, and it has tended to respond slowly, oscillate,
and overshoot.

This patch set replaces the current control system with an explicit PI
controller and tuning that should be correct for most hardware.  By
default, it attempts to write at a rate that would retire 1/40th of the
current excess blocks per second.  An integral term in turn works to
remove steady state errors.

IMO, this yields benefits in simplicity (removing weighted average
filtering, etc) and system performance.

Another small change is a tunable parameter is introduced to allow the
user to specify a minimum rate at which dirty blocks are retired.

There is a slight difference from earlier versions of the patch in
integral handling to prevent excessive negative integral windup.

Signed-off-by: Michael Lyle <mlyle@lyle.org>
Reviewed-by: Coly Li <colyli@suse.de>
Signed-off-by: Jens Axboe <axboe@kernel.dk>

1 files changed, 10 insertions, 8 deletions

diff --git a/drivers/md/bcache/sysfs.c b/drivers/md/bcache/sysfs.c
index 69f355b9650c..2290bffd4922 100644
--- a/drivers/md/bcache/sysfs.c
+++ b/drivers/md/bcache/sysfs.c
@@ -81,8 +81,9 @@ rw_attribute(writeback_delay);
 rw_attribute(writeback_rate);
 
 rw_attribute(writeback_rate_update_seconds);
-rw_attribute(writeback_rate_d_term);
+rw_attribute(writeback_rate_i_term_inverse);
 rw_attribute(writeback_rate_p_term_inverse);
+rw_attribute(writeback_rate_minimum);
 read_attribute(writeback_rate_debug);
 
 read_attribute(stripe_size);
@@ -130,15 +131,16 @@ SHOW(__bch_cached_dev)
 	sysfs_hprint(writeback_rate,	dc->writeback_rate.rate << 9);
 
 	var_print(writeback_rate_update_seconds);
-	var_print(writeback_rate_d_term);
+	var_print(writeback_rate_i_term_inverse);
 	var_print(writeback_rate_p_term_inverse);
+	var_print(writeback_rate_minimum);
 
 	if (attr == &sysfs_writeback_rate_debug) {
 		char rate[20];
 		char dirty[20];
 		char target[20];
 		char proportional[20];
-		char derivative[20];
+		char integral[20];
 		char change[20];
 		s64 next_io;
 
@@ -146,7 +148,7 @@ SHOW(__bch_cached_dev)
 		bch_hprint(dirty,	bcache_dev_sectors_dirty(&dc->disk) << 9);
 		bch_hprint(target,	dc->writeback_rate_target << 9);
 		bch_hprint(proportional,dc->writeback_rate_proportional << 9);
-		bch_hprint(derivative,	dc->writeback_rate_derivative << 9);
+		bch_hprint(integral,	dc->writeback_rate_integral_scaled << 9);
 		bch_hprint(change,	dc->writeback_rate_change << 9);
 
 		next_io = div64_s64(dc->writeback_rate.next - local_clock(),
@@ -157,11 +159,11 @@ SHOW(__bch_cached_dev)
 			       "dirty:\t\t%s\n"
 			       "target:\t\t%s\n"
 			       "proportional:\t%s\n"
-			       "derivative:\t%s\n"
+			       "integral:\t%s\n"
 			       "change:\t\t%s/sec\n"
 			       "next io:\t%llims\n",
 			       rate, dirty, target, proportional,
-			       derivative, change, next_io);
+			       integral, change, next_io);
 	}
 
 	sysfs_hprint(dirty_data,
@@ -213,7 +215,7 @@ STORE(__cached_dev)
 			    dc->writeback_rate.rate, 1, INT_MAX);
 
 	d_strtoul_nonzero(writeback_rate_update_seconds);
-	d_strtoul(writeback_rate_d_term);
+	d_strtoul(writeback_rate_i_term_inverse);
 	d_strtoul_nonzero(writeback_rate_p_term_inverse);
 
 	d_strtoi_h(sequential_cutoff);
@@ -319,7 +321,7 @@ static struct attribute *bch_cached_dev_files[] = {
 	&sysfs_writeback_percent,
 	&sysfs_writeback_rate,
 	&sysfs_writeback_rate_update_seconds,
-	&sysfs_writeback_rate_d_term,
+	&sysfs_writeback_rate_i_term_inverse,
 	&sysfs_writeback_rate_p_term_inverse,
 	&sysfs_writeback_rate_debug,
 	&sysfs_dirty_data,