HP OpenVMS Systems Documentation

HP OpenVMS Programming Concepts Manual

OpenVMS I64 systems provide memory access only through register load and store instructions and special semaphore instructions. This section describes how alignment and granularity affect the access of shared data on I64 systems. It also discusses the importance of the order of reads and writes completed on I64 systems, and how I64 systems perform memory reads and writes.

6.3.1 Atomic Semaphore Instructions on I64

On I64 systems, the semaphore instructions have implicit ordering. If there is a write, it always follows the read. In addition, the read and write are performed atomically with no intervening accesses to the same memory region.

6.3.2 Accessing Memory on I64

I64 integer store instructions can write either 1, 2, 4, or 8 bytes, and floating-point store instructions can write 4, 8, or 10 bytes. For example, a st4 instruction writes the low-order four bytes of an integer register to memory. In addition, semaphore instructions can read and write memory.

For highest performance, data should be aligned on natural boundaries; 10-byte floating-point data should be stored on 16-byte aligned boundaries.

If a load or store instruction accesses naturally aligned data, the reference is atomic with respect to the threads on the same CPU and on other SMP nodes. If the data is not naturally aligned, its access is not atomic with respect to threads on other SMP nodes.

I64 can load and store aligned bytes, words, longwords, quadwords, and 10-byte floating-point values that are aligned on 16-byte boundaries.

6.3.3 Ordering of Read and Write Operations for I64 Systems

On an I64 uniprocessor, write and read operations appear to occur in the same order in which you specify them from the viewpoint of other threads of execution. On an I64 multiprocessor, except for multiple accesses to the same location, a processor's memory accesses are not necessarily ordered from the viewpoint of threads of execution on other processors. The Intel Itanium architecture provides specific instructions that impose ordering. There are three kinds of ordering:

• Release semantics --- all previous memory accesses are made visible before a reference that imposes release semantics (st.rel, fetchadd.rel instructions).
• Acquire semantics --- the reference imposing acquire semantics is visible before any subsequent ones (ld.acq, ld.c.clr.acq, xchg, fetchadd.acq, cmpxchg.acq instructions).
• Fence semantics --- combines release and acquire semantics (mf instruction).

A fundamental synchronization primitive for accessing shared data is an atomic read-modify-write operation. This operation consists of reading the contents of a memory location and replacing them with new contents based on the old. Any intermediate memory state is not visible to other threads. Both VAX systems and Alpha systems provide this synchronization primitive, but they implement it in significantly different ways.

6.4.1 Uniprocessor Operations

On VAX systems, many instructions are capable of performing a read-modify-write operation in a single, noninterruptible (atomic) sequence from the viewpoint of multiple application threads executing on a single processor.

If you code in VAX MACRO, you can code to guarantee an atomic read-modify-write operation. If you code in a high-level language, however, you must tell the compiler to generate an atomic update. For further information, refer to the documentation for your high-level language.

On Alpha systems, there is no single instruction that performs an atomic read-modify-write operation. As a result, even uniprocessing applications in which processes access shared data must provide explicit synchronization of these accesses, usually through compiler semantics.

On Alpha systems, read-modify-write operations that can be performed atomically on VAX systems require a sequence of instructions. Because this sequence can be interrupted, the data may be left in an unstable state. For example, the VAX increment long (INCL) instruction fetches the contents of a specified longword, increments its value, and stores the value back in the longword, performing the operations without interruption. On Alpha systems, each step---fetching, incrementing, storing---must be explicitly performed by a separate instruction. Therefore, another thread in the process (for example, an AST routine) could execute before the sequence completes. However, because atomic updates are the basis of synchronization, and to provide compatibility with VAX systems, Alpha systems provide the following mechanisms to enable atomic read-modify-write updates:

• Privileged architecture library (PALcode) routines perform queue insertions and removals.
• Load-locked and store-conditional instructions create a sequence of instructions that implement an atomic update.

On multiprocessor systems, you must use special methods to ensure that a read-modify-write sequence is atomic. On VAX systems, interlocked instructions provide synchronization; on Alpha systems, load-locked and store-conditional instructions provide synchronization.

On VAX systems, a number of uninterruptible instructions are provided that both read and write memory with one instruction. When used with an operand type that is accessible in a single memory operation, each instruction provides an atomic read-modify-write sequence. The sequence is atomic with respect to threads of execution on the same VAX processor, but it is not atomic to threads on other processors. For instance, when a VAX CPU executes the instruction INCL x, it issues two separate commands to memory: a read, followed by a write of the incremented value. Another thread of execution running concurrently on another processor could issue a command to memory that reads or writes location x between the INCL's read and write. Section 6.6.4 describes read-modify-write sequences that are atomic with respect to threads on all VAX CPUs in an SMP system.

On a VAX multiprocessor system, an atomic update requires an interlock at the level of the memory subsystem. To perform that interlock, the VAX architecture provides a set of interlocked instructions that include Add Aligned Word Interlocked (ADAWI), Remove from Queue Head Interlocked (REMQHI), and Branch on Bit Set and Set Interlocked (BBSSI).

If you code in MACRO-32, you use the assembler to generate whatever instructions you tell it. If you code in a high-level language, you cannot assume that the compiler will compile a particular language statement into a specific code sequence. That is, you must tell the compiler explicitly to generate an atomic update. For further information, see the documentation for your high-level language.

On Alpha systems, there is no single instruction that performs an atomic read-modify-write operation. An atomic read-modify-write operation is only possible through a sequence that includes load-locked and store-conditional instructions, (see Section 6.6.2). Use of these instructions provides a read-modify-write operation on data within one aligned longword or quadword that is atomic with respect to threads on all Alpha CPUs in an SMP system.

6.5 Memory Read-Modify-Write Operations for I64 Systems

This section summarizes information described in the Intel® Itanium® Architecture Software Developer's Manual. Refer to that manual for complete information.

On I64 systems, the semaphore instructions perform read-modify-write operations that are atomic with respect to threads in the same system and other SMP nodes.

Three types of atomic semaphore instructions are defined: exchange (xchg), compare and exchange (cmpxchg), and fetch and add (fetchadd).

I64 includes the following atomic instructions:

• xchg1, xchg2, xchg4, xchg8 to atomically fetch and store (swap) a byte, word, longword or quadword.
• cmpxchg1, cmpxchg2, cmpxchg4, cmpxchg8 to atomically compare and store a byte, word, longword or quadword. Atomic bit set and clear, as well as the bit-test-and-set/clear operations can be implemented using the cmpxchg instruction.
• fetchadd4, fetchadd8 to atomically increment or decrement a longword or quadword by 1, 4, 8 or 16 bytes.

Note that memory operands of the semaphore instructions must be on aligned boundaries. Unaligned access by a semaphore instruction results in a nonrecoverable unaligned data fault.

6.5.1 Preserving Atomicity with MACRO-32

On an OpenVMS VAX or I64 single-processor system, an atomic memory modification instruction is sufficient to provide synchronized access to shared data. However, such an instruction is not available on OpenVMS Alpha systems.

In the case of code written in MACRO-32, the compiler provides the /PRESERVE=ATOMICITY option to guarantee the integrity of read-modify-write operations for VAX instructions that have a memory modify operand. Alternatively, you can insert the .PRESERVE ATOMICITY and .NOPRESERVE ATOMICITY directives in sections of MACRO-32 source code as required to enable and disable atomicity.

For instance, assume the following instruction, which requires a read, modify, and write sequence on the data pointed to by R1:

INCL (R1)

In an OpenVMS VAX system, the microcode performs these three operations. Therefore, an interrupt cannot occur until the sequence is fully completed. In an OpenVMS I64 system, the following four instructions are required to perform the one VAX instruction:

ld4  r22  = [r9]
sxt4 r22  = r22
adds r22  = 1, r22
st4  [r9] = r22

The problem with the I64 code sequence is that an interrupt can occur between any of the instructions. For example, if the interrupt causes an AST routine to execute or causes another process to be scheduled between the ld4 and the st4, and the AST or other process updates the data pointed to by R1, the STL will store the result (R9) based on stale data.

When an atomic operation is required, and /PRESERVE=ATOMICITY (or .PRESERVE ATOMICITY) is specified, the compiler generates the following I64 instruction sequence:

$L3: ld4    r23 = [r9]
     mov.m apccv = r23
     mov   r22 = r23
     sxt4  r23 = r23
     adds  r23 = 1, r23
     cmpxchg4.acq r23, [r9] = r23
     cmp.eq pr0, pr6 = r22, r23
     (pr6) br.cond.dpnt.few $L3

This code uses the compare-exchange instruction (cmpxchg) to implement the locked access. If another thread of execution has modified the location being modified here, this code loops back and retries the operation.

6.6 Synchronization Primitives

On VAX systems, the following features assist with synchronization at the hardware level:

• Atomic memory references
• Noninterruptible instructions
• Interrupt priority level (IPL)
• Interlocked memory accesses

On VAX systems, many read-modify-write instructions, including queue manipulation instructions, are noninterruptible. These instructions provide an atomic update capability on a uniprocessor. A kernel-mode code thread can block interrupt and process-based threads of execution by raising the IPL. Hence, it can execute a sequence of instructions atomically with respect to the blocked threads on a uniprocessor. Threads of execution that run on multiple processors of an SMP system synchronize access to shared data with read-modify-write instructions that interlock memory.

On Alpha systems, some of these mechanisms are provided by hardware, while others have been implemented in PALcode routines.

Alpha processors provide several features to assist with synchronization. Even though all instructions that access memory are noninterruptible, no single one performs an atomic read-modify-write. A kernel-mode thread of execution can raise the IPL in order to block other threads on that processor while it performs a read-modify-write sequence or while it executes any other group of instructions. Code that runs in any access mode can execute a sequence of instructions that contains load-locked (LDx_L) and store-conditional (STx_C) instructions to perform a read-modify-write sequence that appears atomic to other threads of execution. Memory barrier instructions order a CPU's memory reads and writes from the viewpoint of other CPUs and I/O processors. Other synchronization mechanisms are provided by PALcode routines.

On I64 systems, some of these mechanisms are provided by hardware, while others have been implemented in the OpenVMS executive.

I64 systems provide atomic semaphore instructions, as described in Section 6.3.1, acquire/release semantics on certain loads and stores, and the memory fence (MF) instruction, which is equivalent to the memory barrier (MB) on Alpha, to ensure correct memory ordering. Read-modify-write operations on an I64 system can be performed only by nonatomic, interruptible instruction sequences. I64 systems have hardware interrupt levels in maskable in groups of 16. On I634, most, but not all, Alpha PALcall builtins result in system service calls.

The sections that follow describe the features of interrupt priority level, load-locked (LDx_L), and store-conditional (STx_C) instructions and their I64 equivalents, memory barriers and fences, interlocked instructions, and PALcode routines.

6.6.1 Interrupt Priority Level

The OpenVMS operating system in a uniprocessor system synchronizes access to systemwide data structures by requiring that all threads sharing data run at the IPL of the highest-priority interrupt that causes any of them to execute. Thus, a thread's accessing of data cannot be interrupted by any other thread that accesses the same data.

The IPL is a processor-specific mechanism. Raising the IPL on one processor has no effect on another processor. You must use a different synchronization technique on SMP systems where code threads run concurrently on different CPUs that must have synchronized access to shared system data.

On VAX systems, the code threads that run concurrently on different processors synchronize through instructions that interlock memory in addition to raising the IPL. Memory interlocks also synchronize access to data shared by an I/O processor and a code thread.

On Alpha systems, access to a data structure that is shared either by executive code running concurrently on different CPUs or by an I/O processor and a code thread must be synchronized through a load-locked/store-conditional sequence.

I64 systems have 256 hardware interrupt levels, which are maskable in groups of 16. On I64 systems, an OpenVMS executive component called software interrupt services (SWIS) handles I64 hardware interrupt masking and simulates IPL.

6.6.2 LDx_L and STx_C Instructions (Alpha Only)

Because Alpha systems do not provide a single instruction that both reads and writes memory or mechanism to interlock memory against other interlocked accesses, you must use other synchronization techniques. Alpha systems provide the load-locked/store-conditional mechanism that allows a sequence of instructions to perform an atomic read-modify-write operation.

Load-locked (LDx_L) and store-conditional (STx_C) instructions guarantee atomicity that is functionally equivalent to that of VAX systems. The LDx_L and STx_C instructions can be used only on aligned longwords or aligned quadwords. The LDx_L and STx_C instructions do not provide atomicity by blocking access to shared data by competing threads. Instead, when the LDx_L instruction executes, a CPU-specific lock bit is set. Before the data can be stored, the CPU uses the STx_C instruction to check the lock bit. If another thread has accessed the data item in the time since the load operation began, the lock bit is cleared and the store is not performed. Clearing the lock bit signals the code thread to retry the load operation. That is, a load-locked/store-conditional sequence tests the lock bit to see whether the store succeeded. If it did not succeed, the sequence branches back to the beginning to start over. This loop repeats until the data is untouched by other threads during the operation.

By using the LDx_L and STx_C instructions together, you can construct a code sequence that performs an atomic read-modify-write operation to an aligned longword or quadword. Rather than blocking other threads' modifications of the target memory, the code sequence determines whether the memory locked by the LDx_L instruction could have been written by another thread during the sequence. If it is written, the sequence is repeated. If it is not written, the store is performed. If the store succeeds, the sequence is atomic with respect to other threads on the same processor and on other processors. The LDx_L and STx_C instructions can execute in any access mode.

Traditional VAX usage is for interlocked instructions to be used for multiprocessor synchronization. On Alpha systems, LDx_L and STx_C instructions implement interlocks and can be used for uniprocessor synchronization. To achieve protection similar to the VAX interlock protection, you need to use memory barriers along with the load-locked and store-conditional instructions.

Some Alpha system compilers make the LDx_L and STx_C instruction mechanism available as language built-in functions. For example, HP C on Alpha systems includes a set of built-in functions that provides for atomic addition and for logical AND and OR operations. Also, Alpha system compilers make the mechanism available implicitly, because they use the LDx_L and STx_C instructions to access declared data as requiring atomic accesses in a language-specific way.

6.6.3 Interlocking Memory References (Alpha Only)

The Alpha Architecture Reference Manual, Third Edition (AARM) describes strict rules for interlocking memory references. The Alpha 21264 (EV6) processor and all subsequent Alpha processors are more stringent than their predecessors in their requirement that these rules be followed. As a result, code that has worked in the past, despite noncompliance, could fail when executed on systems featuring the 21264 and subsequent processors. Occurrences of these noncompliant code sequences are believed to be rare The Alpha 21264 processor was first supported by OpenVMS Alpha Version 7.1--2.

Noncompliant code can result in a loss of synchronization between processors when interprocessor locks are used, or can result in an infinite loop when an interlocked sequence always fails. Such behavior has occurred in some code sequences in programs compiled on old versions of the BLISS compiler, some versions of the MACRO--32 compiler and the MACRO--64 assembler, and in some HP C and HP C++ programs.

For recommended compiler versions, see Section 6.6.3.5.

The affected code sequences use LDx_L/STx_C instructions, either directly in assembly language sources or in code generated by a compiler. Applications most likely to use interlocked instructions are complex, multithreaded applications or device drivers using highly optimized, hand-crafted locking and synchronization techniques.

6.6.3.1 Required Code Checks

OpenVMS recommends that code that will run on the 21264 and later processors be checked for these sequences. Particular attention should be paid to any code that does interprocess locking, multithreading, or interprocessor communication.

The SRM_CHECK tool (named after the System Reference Manual, which defines the Alpha architecture) has been developed to analyze Alpha executables for noncompliant code sequences. The tool detects sequences that might fail, reports any errors, and displays the machine code of the failing sequence.

6.6.3.2 Using the Code Analysis Tool

The SRM_CHECK tool can be found in the following location on the OpenVMS Alpha Version 7.2 and later Operating System CD-ROM:

SYS$SYSTEM:SRM_CHECK.EXE

To run the SRM_CHECK tool, define it as a foreign command (or use the DCL$PATH mechanism) and invoke it with the name of the image to check. If a problem is found, the machine code is displayed and some image information is printed. The following example illustrates how to use the tool to analyze an image called myimage.exe:

$ define DCL$PATH []
$ srm_check myimage.exe

The tool supports wildcard searches. Use the following command line to initiate a wildcard search:

$ srm_check [*...]* -log

Use the -log qualifier to generate a list of images that have been checked. You can use the -output qualifier to write the output to a data file. For example, the following command directs output to a file named CHECK.DAT:

$ srm_check 'file' -output check.dat

You can use the output from the tool to find the module that generated the sequence by looking in the image's MAP file. The addresses shown correspond directly to the addresses that can be found in the MAP file.

The following example illustrates the output from using the analysis tool on an OpenVMS executive image named SYSTEM_SYNCHRONIZATION.EXE:

 ** Potential Alpha Architecture Violation(s) found in file...
 ** Found an unexpected ldq at 00003618
 0000360C   AD970130     ldq_l          R12, 0x130(R23)
 00003610   4596000A     and            R12, R22, R10
 00003614   F5400006     bne            R10, 00003630
 00003618   A54B0000     ldq            R10, (R11)
 Image Name:    SYSTEM_SYNCHRONIZATION
 Image Ident:   X-3
 Link Time:      5-NOV-1998 22:55:58.10
 Build Ident:   X6P7-SSB-0000
 Header Size:   584
 Image Section: 0, vbn: 3, va: 0x0, flags: RESIDENT EXE (0x880)

The MAP file for SYSTEM_SYNCHRONIZATION.EXE contains the following:

   EXEC$NONPAGED_CODE       00000000 0000B317 0000B318 (      45848.) 2 **  5
   SMPROUT         00000000 000047BB 000047BC (      18364.) 2 **  5
   SMPINITIAL      000047C0 000061E7 00001A28 (       6696.) 2 **  5

The address 360C is in the SMPROUT module, which contains the addresses from 0-47BB. By looking at the machine code output from the module, you can locate the code and use the listing line number to identify the corresponding source code. If SMPROUT had a nonzero base, it would be necessary to subtract the base from the address (360C in this case) to find the relative address in the listing file.

Note that the tool reports potential violations in its output. Although SRM_CHECK can normally identify a code section in an image by the section's attributes, it is possible for OpenVMS images to contain data sections with those same attributes. As a result, SRM_CHECK may scan data as if it were code, and occasionally, a block of data may look like a noncompliant code sequence. This circumstance is rare and can be detected by examining the MAP and listing files.