kbuild: Add Propeller configuration for kernel build

Add the build support for using Clang's Propeller optimizer. Like
AutoFDO, Propeller uses hardware sampling to gather information
about the frequency of execution of different code paths within a
binary. This information is then used to guide the compiler's
optimization decisions, resulting in a more efficient binary.

The support requires a Clang compiler LLVM 19 or later, and the
create_llvm_prof tool
(https://github.com/google/autofdo/releases/tag/v0.30.1). This
commit is limited to x86 platforms that support PMU features
like LBR on Intel machines and AMD Zen3 BRS.

Here is an example workflow for building an AutoFDO+Propeller
optimized kernel:

1) Build the kernel on the host machine, with AutoFDO and Propeller
build config
CONFIG_AUTOFDO_CLANG=y
CONFIG_PROPELLER_CLANG=y
then
$ make LLVM=1 CLANG_AUTOFDO_PROFILE=<autofdo_profile>

“<autofdo_profile>” is the profile collected when doing a non-Propeller
AutoFDO build. This step builds a kernel that has the same optimization
level as AutoFDO, plus a metadata section that records basic block
information. This kernel image runs as fast as an AutoFDO optimized
kernel.

2) Install the kernel on test/production machines.

3) Run the load tests. The '-c' option in perf specifies the sample
event period. We suggest using a suitable prime number,
like 500009, for this purpose.
For Intel platforms:
$ perf record -e BR_INST_RETIRED.NEAR_TAKEN:k -a -N -b -c <count> \
-o <perf_file> -- <loadtest>
For AMD platforms:
The supported system are: Zen3 with BRS, or Zen4 with amd_lbr_v2
# To see if Zen3 support LBR:
$ cat proc/cpuinfo | grep " brs"
# To see if Zen4 support LBR:
$ cat proc/cpuinfo | grep amd_lbr_v2
# If the result is yes, then collect the profile using:
$ perf record --pfm-events RETIRED_TAKEN_BRANCH_INSTRUCTIONS:k -a \
-N -b -c <count> -o <perf_file> -- <loadtest>

4) (Optional) Download the raw perf file to the host machine.

5) Generate Propeller profile:
$ create_llvm_prof --binary=<vmlinux> --profile=<perf_file> \
--format=propeller --propeller_output_module_name \
--out=<propeller_profile_prefix>_cc_profile.txt \
--propeller_symorder=<propeller_profile_prefix>_ld_profile.txt

“create_llvm_prof” is the profile conversion tool, and a prebuilt
binary for linux can be found on
https://github.com/google/autofdo/releases/tag/v0.30.1 (can also build
from source).

"<propeller_profile_prefix>" can be something like
"/home/user/dir/any_string".

This command generates a pair of Propeller profiles:
"<propeller_profile_prefix>_cc_profile.txt" and
"<propeller_profile_prefix>_ld_profile.txt".

6) Rebuild the kernel using the AutoFDO and Propeller profile files.
CONFIG_AUTOFDO_CLANG=y
CONFIG_PROPELLER_CLANG=y
and
$ make LLVM=1 CLANG_AUTOFDO_PROFILE=<autofdo_profile> \
CLANG_PROPELLER_PROFILE_PREFIX=<propeller_profile_prefix>

Co-developed-by: Han Shen <[e-mail]>
Signed-off-by: Han Shen <[e-mail]>
Signed-off-by: Rong Xu <[e-mail]>
Suggested-by: Sriraman Tallam <[e-mail]>
Suggested-by: Krzysztof Pszeniczny <[e-mail]>
Suggested-by: Nick Desaulniers <[e-mail]>
Suggested-by: Stephane Eranian <[e-mail]>
Tested-by: Yonghong Song <[e-mail]>
Tested-by: Nathan Chancellor <[e-mail]>
Reviewed-by: Kees Cook <[e-mail]>
Signed-off-by: Masahiro Yamada <[e-mail]>

Documentation/dev-tools/index.rst

···
    checkuapi
    gpio-sloppy-logic-analyzer
    autofdo
+   propeller
 
 
 .. only::  subproject and html

Documentation/dev-tools/propeller.rst

···
+.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+
+=====================================
+Using Propeller with the Linux kernel
+=====================================
+
+This enables Propeller build support for the kernel when using Clang
+compiler. Propeller is a profile-guided optimization (PGO) method used
+to optimize binary executables. Like AutoFDO, it utilizes hardware
+sampling to gather information about the frequency of execution of
+different code paths within a binary. Unlike AutoFDO, this information
+is then used right before linking phase to optimize (among others)
+block layout within and across functions.
+
+A few important notes about adopting Propeller optimization:
+
+#. Although it can be used as a standalone optimization step, it is
+   strongly recommended to apply Propeller on top of AutoFDO,
+   AutoFDO+ThinLTO or Instrument FDO. The rest of this document
+   assumes this paradigm.
+
+#. Propeller uses another round of profiling on top of
+   AutoFDO/AutoFDO+ThinLTO/iFDO. The whole build process involves
+   "build-afdo - train-afdo - build-propeller - train-propeller -
+   build-optimized".
+
+#. Propeller requires LLVM 19 release or later for Clang/Clang++
+   and the linker(ld.lld).
+
+#. In addition to LLVM toolchain, Propeller requires a profiling
+   conversion tool: https://github.com/google/autofdo with a release
+   after v0.30.1: https://github.com/google/autofdo/releases/tag/v0.30.1.
+
+The Propeller optimization process involves the following steps:
+
+#. Initial building: Build the AutoFDO or AutoFDO+ThinLTO binary as
+   you would normally do, but with a set of compile-time / link-time
+   flags, so that a special metadata section is created within the
+   kernel binary. The special section is only intend to be used by the
+   profiling tool, it is not part of the runtime image, nor does it
+   change kernel run time text sections.
+
+#. Profiling: The above kernel is then run with a representative
+   workload to gather execution frequency data. This data is collected
+   using hardware sampling, via perf. Propeller is most effective on
+   platforms supporting advanced PMU features like LBR on Intel
+   machines. This step is the same as profiling the kernel for AutoFDO
+   (the exact perf parameters can be different).
+
+#. Propeller profile generation: Perf output file is converted to a
+   pair of Propeller profiles via an offline tool.
+
+#. Optimized build: Build the AutoFDO or AutoFDO+ThinLTO optimized
+   binary as you would normally do, but with a compile-time /
+   link-time flag to pick up the Propeller compile time and link time
+   profiles. This build step uses 3 profiles - the AutoFDO profile,
+   the Propeller compile-time profile and the Propeller link-time
+   profile.
+
+#. Deployment: The optimized kernel binary is deployed and used
+   in production environments, providing improved performance
+   and reduced latency.
+
+Preparation
+===========
+
+Configure the kernel with::
+
+   CONFIG_AUTOFDO_CLANG=y
+   CONFIG_PROPELLER_CLANG=y
+
+Customization
+=============
+
+The default CONFIG_PROPELLER_CLANG setting covers kernel space objects
+for Propeller builds. One can, however, enable or disable Propeller build
+for individual files and directories by adding a line similar to the
+following to the respective kernel Makefile:
+
+- For enabling a single file (e.g. foo.o)::
+
+   PROPELLER_PROFILE_foo.o := y
+
+- For enabling all files in one directory::
+
+   PROPELLER_PROFILE := y
+
+- For disabling one file::
+
+   PROPELLER_PROFILE_foo.o := n
+
+- For disabling all files in one directory::
+
+   PROPELLER__PROFILE := n
+
+
+Workflow
+========
+
+Here is an example workflow for building an AutoFDO+Propeller kernel:
+
+1) Assuming an AutoFDO profile is already collected following
+   instructions in the AutoFDO document, build the kernel on the host
+   machine, with AutoFDO and Propeller build configs ::
+
+      CONFIG_AUTOFDO_CLANG=y
+      CONFIG_PROPELLER_CLANG=y
+
+   and ::
+
+      $ make LLVM=1 CLANG_AUTOFDO_PROFILE=<autofdo-profile-name>
+
+2) Install the kernel on the test machine.
+
+3) Run the load tests. The '-c' option in perf specifies the sample
+   event period. We suggest using a suitable prime number, like 500009,
+   for this purpose.
+
+   - For Intel platforms::
+
+      $ perf record -e BR_INST_RETIRED.NEAR_TAKEN:k -a -N -b -c <count> -o <perf_file> -- <loadtest>
+
+   - For AMD platforms::
+
+      $ perf record --pfm-event RETIRED_TAKEN_BRANCH_INSTRUCTIONS:k -a -N -b -c <count> -o <perf_file> -- <loadtest>
+
+   Note you can repeat the above steps to collect multiple <perf_file>s.
+
+4) (Optional) Download the raw perf file(s) to the host machine.
+
+5) Use the create_llvm_prof tool (https://github.com/google/autofdo) to
+   generate Propeller profile. ::
+
+      $ create_llvm_prof --binary=<vmlinux> --profile=<perf_file>
+                         --format=propeller --propeller_output_module_name
+                         --out=<propeller_profile_prefix>_cc_profile.txt
+                         --propeller_symorder=<propeller_profile_prefix>_ld_profile.txt
+
+   "<propeller_profile_prefix>" can be something like "/home/user/dir/any_string".
+
+   This command generates a pair of Propeller profiles:
+   "<propeller_profile_prefix>_cc_profile.txt" and
+   "<propeller_profile_prefix>_ld_profile.txt".
+
+   If there are more than 1 perf_file collected in the previous step,
+   you can create a temp list file "<perf_file_list>" with each line
+   containing one perf file name and run::
+
+      $ create_llvm_prof --binary=<vmlinux> --profile=@<perf_file_list>
+                         --format=propeller --propeller_output_module_name
+                         --out=<propeller_profile_prefix>_cc_profile.txt
+                         --propeller_symorder=<propeller_profile_prefix>_ld_profile.txt
+
+6) Rebuild the kernel using the AutoFDO and Propeller
+   profiles. ::
+
+      CONFIG_AUTOFDO_CLANG=y
+      CONFIG_PROPELLER_CLANG=y
+
+   and ::
+
+      $ make LLVM=1 CLANG_AUTOFDO_PROFILE=<profile_file> CLANG_PROPELLER_PROFILE_PREFIX=<propeller_profile_prefix>

MAINTAINERS

···
 F:	include/linux/psi*
 F:	kernel/sched/psi.c
 
+PROPELLER BUILD
+M:	Rong Xu <[e-mail]>
+M:	Han Shen <[e-mail]>
+S:	Supported
+F:	Documentation/dev-tools/propeller.rst
+F:	scripts/Makefile.propeller
+
 PRINTK
 M:	Petr Mladek <[e-mail]>
 R:	Steven Rostedt <[e-mail]>

Makefile

···
 include-$(CONFIG_KCOV)		+= scripts/Makefile.kcov
 include-$(CONFIG_RANDSTRUCT)	+= scripts/Makefile.randstruct
 include-$(CONFIG_AUTOFDO_CLANG)	+= scripts/Makefile.autofdo
+include-$(CONFIG_PROPELLER_CLANG)	+= scripts/Makefile.propeller
 include-$(CONFIG_GCC_PLUGINS)	+= scripts/Makefile.gcc-plugins
 
 include $(addprefix $(srctree)/, $(include-y))

arch/Kconfig

···
 
 	  If unsure, say N.
 
+config ARCH_SUPPORTS_PROPELLER_CLANG
+	bool
+
+config PROPELLER_CLANG
+	bool "Enable Clang's Propeller build"
+	depends on ARCH_SUPPORTS_PROPELLER_CLANG
+	depends on CC_IS_CLANG && CLANG_VERSION >= 190000
+	help
+	  This option enables Clang’s Propeller build. When the Propeller
+	  profiles is specified in variable CLANG_PROPELLER_PROFILE_PREFIX
+	  during the build process, Clang uses the profiles to optimize
+	  the kernel.
+
+	  If no profile is specified, Propeller options are still passed
+	  to Clang to facilitate the collection of perf data for creating
+	  the Propeller profiles in subsequent builds.
+
+	  If unsure, say N.
+
 config ARCH_SUPPORTS_CFI_CLANG
 	bool
 	help

arch/x86/Kconfig

···
 	select ARCH_SUPPORTS_LTO_CLANG_THIN
 	select ARCH_SUPPORTS_RT
 	select ARCH_SUPPORTS_AUTOFDO_CLANG
+	select ARCH_SUPPORTS_PROPELLER_CLANG    if X86_64
 	select ARCH_USE_BUILTIN_BSWAP
 	select ARCH_USE_CMPXCHG_LOCKREF		if X86_CMPXCHG64
 	select ARCH_USE_MEMTEST

arch/x86/kernel/vmlinux.lds.S

···
 
 	STABS_DEBUG
 	DWARF_DEBUG
+#ifdef CONFIG_PROPELLER_CLANG
+	.llvm_bb_addr_map : { *(.llvm_bb_addr_map) }
+#endif
+
 	ELF_DETAILS
 
 	DISCARDS

include/asm-generic/vmlinux.lds.h

···
  * With LTO_CLANG, the linker also splits sections by default, so we need
  * these macros to combine the sections during the final link.
  *
- * With AUTOFDO_CLANG, by default, the linker splits text sections and
- * regroups functions into subsections.
+ * With AUTOFDO_CLANG and PROPELLER_CLANG, by default, the linker splits
+ * text sections and regroups functions into subsections.
  *
  * RODATA_MAIN is not used because existing code already defines .rodata.x
  * sections to be brought in with rodata.
  */
 #if defined(CONFIG_LD_DEAD_CODE_DATA_ELIMINATION) || defined(CONFIG_LTO_CLANG) || \
-defined(CONFIG_AUTOFDO_CLANG)
+defined(CONFIG_AUTOFDO_CLANG) || defined(CONFIG_PROPELLER_CLANG)
 #define TEXT_MAIN .text .text.[0-9a-zA-Z_]*
 #else
 #define TEXT_MAIN .text

scripts/Makefile.lib

···
 	$(CFLAGS_AUTOFDO_CLANG))
 endif
 
+#
+# Enable Propeller build flags except some files or directories we don't want to
+# enable (depends on variables AUTOFDO_PROPELLER_obj.o and PROPELLER_PROFILE).
+#
+ifdef CONFIG_PROPELLER_CLANG
+_c_flags += $(if $(patsubst n%,, \
+	$(AUTOFDO_PROFILE_$(target-stem).o)$(AUTOFDO_PROFILE)$(PROPELLER_PROFILE))$(is-kernel-object), \
+	$(CFLAGS_PROPELLER_CLANG))
+endif
+
 # $(src) for including checkin headers from generated source files
 # $(obj) for including generated headers from checkin source files
 ifeq ($(KBUILD_EXTMOD),)

scripts/Makefile.propeller

···
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+
+# Enable available and selected Clang Propeller features.
+ifdef CLANG_PROPELLER_PROFILE_PREFIX
+  CFLAGS_PROPELLER_CLANG := -fbasic-block-sections=list=$(CLANG_PROPELLER_PROFILE_PREFIX)_cc_profile.txt -ffunction-sections
+  KBUILD_LDFLAGS += --symbol-ordering-file=$(CLANG_PROPELLER_PROFILE_PREFIX)_ld_profile.txt --no-warn-symbol-ordering
+else
+  CFLAGS_PROPELLER_CLANG := -fbasic-block-sections=labels
+endif
+
+# Propeller requires debug information to embed module names in the profiles.
+# If CONFIG_DEBUG_INFO is not enabled, set -gmlt option. Skip this for AutoFDO,
+# as the option should already be set.
+ifndef CONFIG_DEBUG_INFO
+  ifndef CONFIG_AUTOFDO_CLANG
+    CFLAGS_PROPELLER_CLANG += -gmlt
+  endif
+endif
+
+ifdef CONFIG_LTO_CLANG_THIN
+  ifdef CLANG_PROPELLER_PROFILE_PREFIX
+    KBUILD_LDFLAGS += --lto-basic-block-sections=$(CLANG_PROPELLER_PROFILE_PREFIX)_cc_profile.txt
+  else
+    KBUILD_LDFLAGS += --lto-basic-block-sections=labels
+  endif
+endif
+
+export CFLAGS_PROPELLER_CLANG

tools/objtool/check.c

···
 		    !strcmp(sec->name, "__mcount_loc")			||
 		    !strcmp(sec->name, ".kcfi_traps")			||
 		    !strcmp(sec->name, ".llvm.call-graph-profile")	||
+		    !strcmp(sec->name, ".llvm_bb_addr_map")		||
 		    strstr(sec->name, "__patchable_function_entries"))
 			continue;