AOA Forums - SMP folding client uses one core on new kernel build

AOA Forums (http://www.aoaforums.com/forum/)

- Windows/Linux SMP Clients (http://www.aoaforums.com/forum/123-windows-linux-smp-clients/)

- - SMP folding client uses one core on new kernel build (http://www.aoaforums.com/forum/windows-linux-smp-clients/47271-smp-folding-client-uses-one-core.html)

SMP folding client uses one core on new kernel build

I'll post this here and if we come up with any ideas or solutions I'll ask Aedan to move the thread to the folding page.

My Xubuntu machine, like my 2 Ubuntu servers, runs a 2.6.26.8 kernel patched with Ingo Molnar's RealTime patch, and all 3 boxes fold with the SMP client problem-free.

I had a little free time on the weekend so I did some experimenting with the latest stable source[2.6.29.3, patched in the same way.] Using the same .config file as I used to build the other kernel I created .debs for the image and headers.

Everything installed fine, and seemed to work fine with the exception of folding - the new kernel does not utilize both cores on an Opteron-185. It uses one core to 100% while the other simply idles. Reinstalling the client did nothing. Booting into the old kernel, folding runs fine again.

I noticed that while setting up menuconfig there are a fair number of new options[some experimental]. I did not change any of the default settings on these, simply importing the .config file from the old kernel into the new build.

I know that the question is a bit esoteric, but what is the consensus on where to begin to look [in the kernel configuration] for what is preventing full core utilization, perhaps something related to SMP task scheduling or the like? Or am I overlooking something else?

Also, is there anyone out there who could either confirm or deny what I've experienced by building a kernel on 2.6.29.3 and trying the SMP client? I'm wondering if there's a bug. There are some reports on the forum of folks having trouble with 2.6.28, which is the standard distribution kernel in 9.04 Jaunty [the current Ubuntu/Xubuntu release].

I may have just proven my own argument for rolling release distros rather than scheduled release [read:rushed?] distros like Ubuntu.

Does the kernel include MPICH2 support?

Well, when the client is running, there is an mpiexec process active with 4 fahcore children. In the old kernel, the 4 fahcore processes add up to about 90% or so of CPU use. In the new build only two fahcore processes show CPU use, although all 4 are present.

Since there is a running mpi process, I'd say yes, it does support it. There is no kernel option for it though, I've just looked at .config.

Interesting, I'd agree.

I've had some issues with the 2.6.29 kernel on my gentoo install as well. A little different than yours in that I can only get 25% load on all cores regardless of what is set.

I believe it is a task scheduler issue but do not have the knowledge to get it worked out.

Good news is I have enlisted some help that I will get with tonight and see if we can work it out.. I'll point out your issue to him as well.

Hmmm...if I have some time I may try the next unstable revision and see if the problem goes away [2.6.30].

I'll let you know if I find anything.

I wasn't able to get with my friend last night. Maybe tonight.

I still feel they are trying to make the kernel to interactive, sacrificing overall performance for interactivity. Since the 2.6.23 kernel my rigs have gotten quite a bit more powerful, but the time it takes to get certain tasks done has not improved much. Although I can do more things at the same time, which is not important to me as I hardly ever have more than a couple of windows open..

Quote:

Originally Posted by ccperf721p (Post 493319)

Maybe tonight.

And I wasn't able to do what I wanted to either. Maybe tomorrow night...but it's time to hit the sack for me now.

Thanks for keeping me in mind ;)

I've got a few different distributions on my rig at the moment, currently working in RPath linux with a 2.6.29 kernel so I figured I would test it with some folding. Everything is fine under RPath..

I noticed you used your config from the 2.6.28 to the 2.6.29 kernel, generally not a good idea but sometimes it will work.. I pretty much stick to configuring the kernel manually, unless it is just a revision bump, from 2.6.28-r3 to 2.6.28-r4 as an example.

I won't be able to get back into gentoo until tomorrow to go into the kernel config..

Edit: I know it probably isn't as simple as SMP being disabled in the kernel but worth a check I guess..

Post a copy of your config file and I'll browse through it..

Here's the relevant sections of the .config file. I'll try it again later in the week from scratch. Also, I still want to see if the newest source will behave differently, but don't have a clear enough head to do it right now. I'll keep you informed. I wish it were as simple as SMP being disabled but under processor type it's definitely enabled. Remember, the old kernel has been running fine; it's only the new build that acts up, with the same options.

Code:

#

# Automatically generated make config: don't edit

# Linux kernel version: 2.6.29.3-rt13

# Mon May 18 11:40:36 2009

#

CONFIG_64BIT=y

# CONFIG_X86_32 is not set

CONFIG_X86_64=y

CONFIG_X86=y

CONFIG_ARCH_DEFCONFIG="arch/x86/configs/x86_64_defconfig"

CONFIG_GENERIC_TIME=y

CONFIG_GENERIC_CMOS_UPDATE=y

CONFIG_CLOCKSOURCE_WATCHDOG=y

CONFIG_GENERIC_CLOCKEVENTS=y

CONFIG_GENERIC_CLOCKEVENTS_BROADCAST=y

CONFIG_LOCKDEP_SUPPORT=y

CONFIG_STACKTRACE_SUPPORT=y

CONFIG_HAVE_LATENCYTOP_SUPPORT=y

CONFIG_FAST_CMPXCHG_LOCAL=y

CONFIG_MMU=y

CONFIG_ZONE_DMA=y

CONFIG_GENERIC_ISA_DMA=y

CONFIG_GENERIC_IOMAP=y

CONFIG_GENERIC_BUG=y

CONFIG_GENERIC_BUG_RELATIVE_POINTERS=y

CONFIG_GENERIC_HWEIGHT=y

CONFIG_ARCH_MAY_HAVE_PC_FDC=y

CONFIG_RWSEM_GENERIC_SPINLOCK=y

CONFIG_ASM_SEMAPHORES=y

CONFIG_ARCH_HAS_CPU_IDLE_WAIT=y

CONFIG_GENERIC_CALIBRATE_DELAY=y

CONFIG_GENERIC_TIME_VSYSCALL=y

CONFIG_ARCH_HAS_CPU_RELAX=y

CONFIG_ARCH_HAS_DEFAULT_IDLE=y

CONFIG_ARCH_HAS_CACHE_LINE_SIZE=y

CONFIG_HAVE_SETUP_PER_CPU_AREA=y

CONFIG_HAVE_DYNAMIC_PER_CPU_AREA=y

CONFIG_HAVE_CPUMASK_OF_CPU_MAP=y

CONFIG_ARCH_HIBERNATION_POSSIBLE=y

CONFIG_ARCH_SUSPEND_POSSIBLE=y

CONFIG_ZONE_DMA32=y

CONFIG_ARCH_POPULATES_NODE_MAP=y

CONFIG_AUDIT_ARCH=y

CONFIG_ARCH_SUPPORTS_OPTIMIZED_INLINING=y

CONFIG_GENERIC_HARDIRQS=y

CONFIG_GENERIC_HARDIRQS_NO__DO_IRQ=y

CONFIG_GENERIC_IRQ_PROBE=y

CONFIG_GENERIC_PENDING_IRQ=y

CONFIG_USE_GENERIC_SMP_HELPERS=y

CONFIG_X86_64_SMP=y

CONFIG_X86_HT=y

CONFIG_X86_TRAMPOLINE=y

# CONFIG_KTIME_SCALAR is not set

CONFIG_DEFCONFIG_LIST="/lib/modules/$UNAME_RELEASE/.config"
 

#

# General setup

#

CONFIG_EXPERIMENTAL=y

CONFIG_LOCK_KERNEL=y

CONFIG_INIT_ENV_ARG_LIMIT=32

CONFIG_LOCALVERSION=""

# CONFIG_LOCALVERSION_AUTO is not set

CONFIG_HAVE_KERNEL_GZIP=y

CONFIG_HAVE_KERNEL_BZIP2=y

CONFIG_HAVE_KERNEL_LZMA=y

CONFIG_KERNEL_GZIP=y

# CONFIG_KERNEL_BZIP2 is not set

# CONFIG_KERNEL_LZMA is not set

CONFIG_SWAP=y

CONFIG_SYSVIPC=y

CONFIG_SYSVIPC_SYSCTL=y

CONFIG_POSIX_MQUEUE=y

CONFIG_BSD_PROCESS_ACCT=y

CONFIG_BSD_PROCESS_ACCT_V3=y

CONFIG_TASKSTATS=y

# CONFIG_TASK_DELAY_ACCT is not set

CONFIG_TASK_XACCT=y

CONFIG_TASK_IO_ACCOUNTING=y

CONFIG_AUDIT=y

CONFIG_AUDITSYSCALL=y

CONFIG_AUDIT_TREE=y
 

#

# RCU Subsystem

#

# CONFIG_CLASSIC_RCU is not set

# CONFIG_TREE_RCU is not set

CONFIG_PREEMPT_RCU=y

CONFIG_RCU_TRACE=y

# CONFIG_TREE_RCU_TRACE is not set

CONFIG_PREEMPT_RCU_TRACE=y

# CONFIG_IKCONFIG is not set

CONFIG_LOG_BUF_SHIFT=17

CONFIG_HAVE_UNSTABLE_SCHED_CLOCK=y

CONFIG_GROUP_SCHED=y

CONFIG_FAIR_GROUP_SCHED=y

CONFIG_RT_GROUP_SCHED=y

# CONFIG_USER_SCHED is not set

CONFIG_CGROUP_SCHED=y

CONFIG_CGROUPS=y

# CONFIG_CGROUP_DEBUG is not set

CONFIG_CGROUP_NS=y

# CONFIG_CGROUP_FREEZER is not set

# CONFIG_CGROUP_DEVICE is not set

CONFIG_CPUSETS=y

CONFIG_PROC_PID_CPUSET=y

CONFIG_CGROUP_CPUACCT=y

CONFIG_RESOURCE_COUNTERS=y

CONFIG_CGROUP_MEM_RES_CTLR=y

# CONFIG_CGROUP_MEM_RES_CTLR_SWAP is not set

CONFIG_MM_OWNER=y

# CONFIG_SYSFS_DEPRECATED_V2 is not set

CONFIG_RELAY=y

CONFIG_NAMESPACES=y

CONFIG_UTS_NS=y

CONFIG_IPC_NS=y

# CONFIG_USER_NS is not set

# CONFIG_PID_NS is not set

# CONFIG_NET_NS is not set

CONFIG_BLK_DEV_INITRD=y

CONFIG_INITRAMFS_SOURCE=""

CONFIG_RD_GZIP=y

# CONFIG_RD_BZIP2 is not set

# CONFIG_RD_LZMA is not set

CONFIG_INITRAMFS_COMPRESSION_NONE=y

# CONFIG_INITRAMFS_COMPRESSION_GZIP is not set

# CONFIG_INITRAMFS_COMPRESSION_BZIP2 is not set

# CONFIG_INITRAMFS_COMPRESSION_LZMA is not set

# CONFIG_CC_OPTIMIZE_FOR_SIZE is not set

CONFIG_SYSCTL=y

CONFIG_ANON_INODES=y

# CONFIG_EMBEDDED is not set

CONFIG_UID16=y

CONFIG_SYSCTL_SYSCALL=y

CONFIG_KALLSYMS=y

# CONFIG_KALLSYMS_EXTRA_PASS is not set

CONFIG_HOTPLUG=y

CONFIG_PRINTK=y

CONFIG_BUG=y

CONFIG_ELF_CORE=y

CONFIG_PCSPKR_PLATFORM=y

CONFIG_BASE_FULL=y

CONFIG_FUTEX=y

CONFIG_EPOLL=y

CONFIG_SIGNALFD=y

CONFIG_TIMERFD=y

CONFIG_EVENTFD=y

CONFIG_SHMEM=y

CONFIG_AIO=y

CONFIG_HAVE_PERF_COUNTERS=y
 

#

# Performance Counters

#

CONFIG_PERF_COUNTERS=y

CONFIG_VM_EVENT_COUNTERS=y

CONFIG_PCI_QUIRKS=y

# CONFIG_COMPAT_BRK is not set

CONFIG_SLAB=y

# CONFIG_SLUB is not set

# CONFIG_SLOB is not set

CONFIG_PROFILING=y

CONFIG_TRACEPOINTS=y

CONFIG_MARKERS=y

CONFIG_OPROFILE=m

# CONFIG_OPROFILE_IBS is not set

CONFIG_HAVE_OPROFILE=y

CONFIG_PROFILE_NMI=y

CONFIG_KPROBES=y

CONFIG_HAVE_EFFICIENT_UNALIGNED_ACCESS=y

CONFIG_KRETPROBES=y

CONFIG_HAVE_IOREMAP_PROT=y

CONFIG_HAVE_KPROBES=y

CONFIG_HAVE_KRETPROBES=y

CONFIG_HAVE_ARCH_TRACEHOOK=y

CONFIG_HAVE_DMA_API_DEBUG=y

# CONFIG_HAVE_GENERIC_DMA_COHERENT is not set

CONFIG_SLABINFO=y

CONFIG_RT_MUTEXES=y

CONFIG_BASE_SMALL=0

CONFIG_MODULES=y

# CONFIG_MODULE_FORCE_LOAD is not set

CONFIG_MODULE_UNLOAD=y

# CONFIG_MODULE_FORCE_UNLOAD is not set

CONFIG_MODVERSIONS=y

CONFIG_MODULE_SRCVERSION_ALL=y

CONFIG_STOP_MACHINE=y

CONFIG_BLOCK=y

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_BSG is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_INTEGRITY is not set

CONFIG_BLOCK_COMPAT=y
 

#

# IO Schedulers

#

CONFIG_IOSCHED_NOOP=y

CONFIG_IOSCHED_AS=m

CONFIG_IOSCHED_DEADLINE=m

CONFIG_IOSCHED_CFQ=y

# CONFIG_DEFAULT_AS is not set

# CONFIG_DEFAULT_DEADLINE is not set

CONFIG_DEFAULT_CFQ=y

# CONFIG_DEFAULT_NOOP is not set

CONFIG_DEFAULT_IOSCHED="cfq"

CONFIG_PREEMPT_NOTIFIERS=y

CONFIG_FREEZER=y
 

#

# Processor type and features

#

CONFIG_TICK_ONESHOT=y

CONFIG_NO_HZ=y

CONFIG_HIGH_RES_TIMERS=y

CONFIG_GENERIC_CLOCKEVENTS_BUILD=y

CONFIG_SMP=y

# CONFIG_X86_X2APIC is not set

# CONFIG_SPARSE_IRQ is not set

CONFIG_X86_MPPARSE=y

CONFIG_X86_EXTENDED_PLATFORM=y

# CONFIG_X86_VSMP is not set

# CONFIG_X86_UV is not set

CONFIG_SCHED_OMIT_FRAME_POINTER=y

# CONFIG_PARAVIRT_GUEST is not set

# CONFIG_MEMTEST is not set

# CONFIG_M386 is not set

# CONFIG_M486 is not set

# CONFIG_M586 is not set

# CONFIG_M586TSC is not set

# CONFIG_M586MMX is not set

# CONFIG_M686 is not set

# CONFIG_MPENTIUMII is not set

# CONFIG_MPENTIUMIII is not set

# CONFIG_MPENTIUMM is not set

# CONFIG_MPENTIUM4 is not set

# CONFIG_MK6 is not set

# CONFIG_MK7 is not set

CONFIG_MK8=y

# CONFIG_MCRUSOE is not set

# CONFIG_MEFFICEON is not set

# CONFIG_MWINCHIPC6 is not set

# CONFIG_MWINCHIP3D is not set

# CONFIG_MGEODEGX1 is not set

# CONFIG_MGEODE_LX is not set

# CONFIG_MCYRIXIII is not set

# CONFIG_MVIAC3_2 is not set

# CONFIG_MVIAC7 is not set

# CONFIG_MPSC is not set

# CONFIG_MCORE2 is not set

# CONFIG_GENERIC_CPU is not set

CONFIG_X86_CPU=y

CONFIG_X86_L1_CACHE_BYTES=64

CONFIG_X86_INTERNODE_CACHE_BYTES=64

CONFIG_X86_CMPXCHG=y

CONFIG_X86_L1_CACHE_SHIFT=6

CONFIG_X86_WP_WORKS_OK=y

CONFIG_X86_INTEL_USERCOPY=y

CONFIG_X86_USE_PPRO_CHECKSUM=y

CONFIG_X86_TSC=y

CONFIG_X86_CMPXCHG64=y

CONFIG_X86_CMOV=y

CONFIG_X86_MINIMUM_CPU_FAMILY=64

CONFIG_X86_DEBUGCTLMSR=y

CONFIG_CPU_SUP_INTEL=y

CONFIG_CPU_SUP_AMD=y

CONFIG_CPU_SUP_CENTAUR=y

CONFIG_X86_DS=y

CONFIG_X86_PTRACE_BTS=y

CONFIG_HPET_TIMER=y

CONFIG_HPET_EMULATE_RTC=y

CONFIG_DMI=y

CONFIG_GART_IOMMU=y

CONFIG_CALGARY_IOMMU=y

CONFIG_CALGARY_IOMMU_ENABLED_BY_DEFAULT=y

# CONFIG_AMD_IOMMU is not set

CONFIG_SWIOTLB=y

CONFIG_IOMMU_HELPER=y

# CONFIG_IOMMU_API is not set

CONFIG_NR_CPUS=4

# CONFIG_SCHED_SMT is not set

CONFIG_SCHED_MC=y

# CONFIG_PREEMPT_NONE is not set

# CONFIG_PREEMPT_VOLUNTARY is not set

# CONFIG_PREEMPT_DESKTOP is not set

CONFIG_PREEMPT_RT=y

CONFIG_PREEMPT=y

CONFIG_PREEMPT_SOFTIRQS=y

CONFIG_PREEMPT_HARDIRQS=y

CONFIG_X86_LOCAL_APIC=y

CONFIG_X86_IO_APIC=y

# CONFIG_X86_REROUTE_FOR_BROKEN_BOOT_IRQS is not set

CONFIG_X86_MCE=y

# CONFIG_X86_MCE_INTEL is not set

CONFIG_X86_MCE_AMD=y

CONFIG_X86_MCE_THRESHOLD=y

# CONFIG_I8K is not set

CONFIG_MICROCODE=m

# CONFIG_MICROCODE_INTEL is not set

CONFIG_MICROCODE_AMD=y

CONFIG_MICROCODE_OLD_INTERFACE=y

CONFIG_X86_MSR=m

CONFIG_X86_CPUID=m

# CONFIG_X86_CPU_DEBUG is not set

CONFIG_ARCH_PHYS_ADDR_T_64BIT=y

CONFIG_DIRECT_GBPAGES=y

CONFIG_NUMA=y

# CONFIG_K8_NUMA is not set

CONFIG_X86_64_ACPI_NUMA=y

CONFIG_NODES_SPAN_OTHER_NODES=y

# CONFIG_NUMA_EMU is not set

CONFIG_NODES_SHIFT=6

CONFIG_ARCH_SPARSEMEM_DEFAULT=y

CONFIG_ARCH_SPARSEMEM_ENABLE=y

CONFIG_ARCH_SELECT_MEMORY_MODEL=y

CONFIG_ILLEGAL_POINTER_VALUE=0xdead000000000000

CONFIG_SELECT_MEMORY_MODEL=y

# CONFIG_FLATMEM_MANUAL is not set

# CONFIG_DISCONTIGMEM_MANUAL is not set

CONFIG_SPARSEMEM_MANUAL=y

CONFIG_SPARSEMEM=y

CONFIG_NEED_MULTIPLE_NODES=y

CONFIG_HAVE_MEMORY_PRESENT=y

CONFIG_SPARSEMEM_EXTREME=y

CONFIG_SPARSEMEM_VMEMMAP_ENABLE=y

CONFIG_SPARSEMEM_VMEMMAP=y
 

#

# Memory hotplug is currently incompatible with Software Suspend

#

CONFIG_PAGEFLAGS_EXTENDED=y

CONFIG_SPLIT_PTLOCK_CPUS=4

CONFIG_MIGRATION=y

CONFIG_PHYS_ADDR_T_64BIT=y

CONFIG_ZONE_DMA_FLAG=1

CONFIG_BOUNCE=y

CONFIG_VIRT_TO_BUS=y

CONFIG_UNEVICTABLE_LRU=y

CONFIG_MMU_NOTIFIER=y

# CONFIG_X86_CHECK_BIOS_CORRUPTION is not set

CONFIG_X86_RESERVE_LOW_64K=y

CONFIG_MTRR=y

CONFIG_MTRR_SANITIZER=y

CONFIG_MTRR_SANITIZER_ENABLE_DEFAULT=0

CONFIG_MTRR_SANITIZER_SPARE_REG_NR_DEFAULT=1

# CONFIG_X86_PAT is not set

CONFIG_EFI=y

CONFIG_SECCOMP=y

# CONFIG_CC_STACKPROTECTOR is not set

# CONFIG_HZ_100 is not set

# CONFIG_HZ_250 is not set

# CONFIG_HZ_300 is not set

CONFIG_HZ_1000=y

CONFIG_HZ=1000

CONFIG_SCHED_HRTICK=y

CONFIG_KEXEC=y

CONFIG_CRASH_DUMP=y

# CONFIG_KEXEC_JUMP is not set

CONFIG_PHYSICAL_START=0x200000

CONFIG_RELOCATABLE=y

CONFIG_PHYSICAL_ALIGN=0x200000

CONFIG_HOTPLUG_CPU=y

# CONFIG_COMPAT_VDSO is not set

# CONFIG_CMDLINE_BOOL is not set

CONFIG_ARCH_ENABLE_MEMORY_HOTPLUG=y

CONFIG_HAVE_ARCH_EARLY_PFN_TO_NID=y

CONFIG_HARDIRQS_SW_RESEND=y
 

#

# Power management and ACPI options

#

CONFIG_ARCH_HIBERNATION_HEADER=y

CONFIG_PM=y

CONFIG_PM_DEBUG=y

# CONFIG_PM_VERBOSE is not set

CONFIG_CAN_PM_TRACE=y

CONFIG_PM_TRACE=y

CONFIG_PM_TRACE_RTC=y

CONFIG_PM_SLEEP_SMP=y

CONFIG_PM_SLEEP=y

CONFIG_SUSPEND=y

# CONFIG_PM_TEST_SUSPEND is not set

CONFIG_SUSPEND_FREEZER=y

CONFIG_HIBERNATION=y

CONFIG_PM_STD_PARTITION=""

CONFIG_ACPI=y

CONFIG_ACPI_SLEEP=y

# CONFIG_ACPI_PROCFS is not set

# CONFIG_ACPI_PROCFS_POWER is not set

# CONFIG_ACPI_SYSFS_POWER is not set

# CONFIG_ACPI_PROC_EVENT is not set

# CONFIG_ACPI_AC is not set

# CONFIG_ACPI_BATTERY is not set

# CONFIG_ACPI_BUTTON is not set

# CONFIG_ACPI_VIDEO is not set

# CONFIG_ACPI_FAN is not set

CONFIG_ACPI_DOCK=y

# CONFIG_ACPI_PROCESSOR is not set

CONFIG_ACPI_NUMA=y

CONFIG_ACPI_CUSTOM_DSDT_FILE=""

# CONFIG_ACPI_CUSTOM_DSDT is not set

CONFIG_ACPI_BLACKLIST_YEAR=0

# CONFIG_ACPI_DEBUG is not set

# CONFIG_ACPI_PCI_SLOT is not set

CONFIG_X86_PM_TIMER=y

# CONFIG_ACPI_CONTAINER is not set

# CONFIG_ACPI_SBS is not set
 

#

# CPU Frequency scaling

#

# CONFIG_CPU_FREQ is not set

CONFIG_CPU_IDLE=y

CONFIG_CPU_IDLE_GOV_LADDER=y

CONFIG_CPU_IDLE_GOV_MENU=y
 

#

I was only able to get a few minutes with my bro last night, he says to recompile the kernel without oldconfig and the problem will be fixed. I'll get more specifics from him tonight.

Rolling release distros have there benefits and pitfalls as well. Staying up to date is easier, but things will break from time to time due to dependancies and I've seen 3 kernel updates come in one week through Gentoo which tells me someone somewhere isn't being real careful with the code they are writing..

Quote:

Originally Posted by ccperf721p (Post 493397)

he says to recompile the kernel without oldconfig and the problem will be fixed.

So I take it you mean to skip the "make oldconfig" step that imports the current config into the new process, and go directly to menuconfig or xconfig to make the settings manually?

That's interesting. Wonder why it's any different from importing the same settings?

I'll try it as soon as I have time.

As new features are added or if the name changes, using an old config will leave any option that is unknown unset.

I went through my kernel config and made a few changes to group related components and now have a 100% working 2.6.29 gentoo kernel.. I can throw my config to you as a starting point.. You will have to go through it manually still as it is set up for my rig and slimmed down quite a bit..

Cliff-
OK, that makes some sense. I should be able to get through it as I did with my current 2.6.28 RT kernel. Mine is down to about 10MB from the stock Xubuntu kernel of 23MB, and I can probably get it a bit smaller if I learn a bit more about the options. In some cases I was forced to use some common sense to set them, and could be wrong.

What did you do with the new "experimental" options? There are a good number of them. Maybe you could post your file, as you said, and I can take a look.

Cheers for the help.

To be honest I try to stick with a pretty non-experimental kernel so I will browse through the menu, if I find something that may improve my system I will give it a run.. Really haven't seen any performance benifits in the last year kernel wise..

Here's my cpu portion of the config. The NUMA options will have to be changed for your system to boot..

Code:

CONFIG_64BIT=y

# CONFIG_X86_32 is not set

CONFIG_X86_64=y

CONFIG_X86=y

CONFIG_ARCH_DEFCONFIG="arch/x86/configs/x86_64_defconfig"

CONFIG_GENERIC_TIME=y

CONFIG_GENERIC_CMOS_UPDATE=y

CONFIG_CLOCKSOURCE_WATCHDOG=y

CONFIG_GENERIC_CLOCKEVENTS=y

CONFIG_GENERIC_CLOCKEVENTS_BROADCAST=y

CONFIG_LOCKDEP_SUPPORT=y

CONFIG_STACKTRACE_SUPPORT=y

CONFIG_HAVE_LATENCYTOP_SUPPORT=y

CONFIG_FAST_CMPXCHG_LOCAL=y

CONFIG_MMU=y

CONFIG_ZONE_DMA=y

CONFIG_GENERIC_ISA_DMA=y

CONFIG_GENERIC_IOMAP=y

CONFIG_GENERIC_BUG=y

CONFIG_GENERIC_BUG_RELATIVE_POINTERS=y

CONFIG_GENERIC_HWEIGHT=y

CONFIG_ARCH_MAY_HAVE_PC_FDC=y

CONFIG_RWSEM_GENERIC_SPINLOCK=y

# CONFIG_RWSEM_XCHGADD_ALGORITHM is not set

CONFIG_ARCH_HAS_CPU_IDLE_WAIT=y

CONFIG_GENERIC_CALIBRATE_DELAY=y

CONFIG_GENERIC_TIME_VSYSCALL=y

CONFIG_ARCH_HAS_CPU_RELAX=y

CONFIG_ARCH_HAS_DEFAULT_IDLE=y

CONFIG_ARCH_HAS_CACHE_LINE_SIZE=y

CONFIG_HAVE_SETUP_PER_CPU_AREA=y

CONFIG_HAVE_CPUMASK_OF_CPU_MAP=y

CONFIG_ARCH_HIBERNATION_POSSIBLE=y

CONFIG_ARCH_SUSPEND_POSSIBLE=y

CONFIG_ZONE_DMA32=y

CONFIG_ARCH_POPULATES_NODE_MAP=y

CONFIG_AUDIT_ARCH=y

CONFIG_ARCH_SUPPORTS_OPTIMIZED_INLINING=y

CONFIG_GENERIC_HARDIRQS=y

CONFIG_GENERIC_IRQ_PROBE=y

CONFIG_GENERIC_PENDING_IRQ=y

CONFIG_X86_SMP=y

CONFIG_USE_GENERIC_SMP_HELPERS=y

CONFIG_X86_64_SMP=y

CONFIG_X86_HT=y

CONFIG_X86_BIOS_REBOOT=y

CONFIG_X86_TRAMPOLINE=y

# CONFIG_KTIME_SCALAR is not set

CONFIG_DEFCONFIG_LIST="/lib/modules/$UNAME_RELEASE/.config"

# Processor type and features

#

CONFIG_TICK_ONESHOT=y

CONFIG_NO_HZ=y

CONFIG_HIGH_RES_TIMERS=y

CONFIG_GENERIC_CLOCKEVENTS_BUILD=y

CONFIG_SMP=y

# CONFIG_SPARSE_IRQ is not set

# CONFIG_X86_MPPARSE is not set

CONFIG_X86_PC=y

# CONFIG_X86_ELAN is not set

# CONFIG_X86_VOYAGER is not set

# CONFIG_X86_GENERICARCH is not set

# CONFIG_X86_VSMP is not set

CONFIG_SCHED_OMIT_FRAME_POINTER=y

# CONFIG_PARAVIRT_GUEST is not set

# CONFIG_MEMTEST is not set

# CONFIG_M386 is not set

# CONFIG_M486 is not set

# CONFIG_M586 is not set

# CONFIG_M586TSC is not set

# CONFIG_M586MMX is not set

# CONFIG_M686 is not set

# CONFIG_MPENTIUMII is not set

# CONFIG_MPENTIUMIII is not set

# CONFIG_MPENTIUMM is not set

# CONFIG_MPENTIUM4 is not set

# CONFIG_MK6 is not set

# CONFIG_MK7 is not set

# CONFIG_MK8 is not set

# CONFIG_MCRUSOE is not set

# CONFIG_MEFFICEON is not set

# CONFIG_MWINCHIPC6 is not set

# CONFIG_MWINCHIP3D is not set

# CONFIG_MGEODEGX1 is not set

# CONFIG_MGEODE_LX is not set

# CONFIG_MCYRIXIII is not set

# CONFIG_MVIAC3_2 is not set

# CONFIG_MVIAC7 is not set

# CONFIG_MPSC is not set

CONFIG_MCORE2=y

# CONFIG_GENERIC_CPU is not set

CONFIG_X86_CPU=y

CONFIG_X86_L1_CACHE_BYTES=64

CONFIG_X86_INTERNODE_CACHE_BYTES=64

CONFIG_X86_CMPXCHG=y

CONFIG_X86_L1_CACHE_SHIFT=6

CONFIG_X86_WP_WORKS_OK=y

CONFIG_X86_INTEL_USERCOPY=y

CONFIG_X86_USE_PPRO_CHECKSUM=y

CONFIG_X86_P6_NOP=y

CONFIG_X86_TSC=y

CONFIG_X86_CMPXCHG64=y

CONFIG_X86_CMOV=y

CONFIG_X86_MINIMUM_CPU_FAMILY=64

CONFIG_X86_DEBUGCTLMSR=y

CONFIG_CPU_SUP_INTEL=y

CONFIG_CPU_SUP_AMD=y

CONFIG_CPU_SUP_CENTAUR_64=y

# CONFIG_X86_DS is not set

CONFIG_HPET_TIMER=y

CONFIG_HPET_EMULATE_RTC=y

CONFIG_DMI=y

CONFIG_GART_IOMMU=y

# CONFIG_CALGARY_IOMMU is not set

# CONFIG_AMD_IOMMU is not set

CONFIG_SWIOTLB=y

CONFIG_IOMMU_HELPER=y

CONFIG_IOMMU_API=y

# CONFIG_MAXSMP is not set

CONFIG_NR_CPUS=8

CONFIG_SCHED_SMT=y

CONFIG_SCHED_MC=y

# CONFIG_PREEMPT_NONE is not set

CONFIG_PREEMPT_VOLUNTARY=y

# CONFIG_PREEMPT is not set

CONFIG_X86_LOCAL_APIC=y

CONFIG_X86_IO_APIC=y

# CONFIG_X86_REROUTE_FOR_BROKEN_BOOT_IRQS is not set

# CONFIG_X86_MCE is not set

# CONFIG_I8K is not set

# CONFIG_MICROCODE is not set

CONFIG_X86_MSR=y

CONFIG_X86_CPUID=y

CONFIG_ARCH_PHYS_ADDR_T_64BIT=y

CONFIG_DIRECT_GBPAGES=y

CONFIG_NUMA=y

# CONFIG_K8_NUMA is not set

CONFIG_X86_64_ACPI_NUMA=y

CONFIG_NODES_SPAN_OTHER_NODES=y

# CONFIG_NUMA_EMU is not set

CONFIG_NODES_SHIFT=6

CONFIG_ARCH_SPARSEMEM_DEFAULT=y

CONFIG_ARCH_SPARSEMEM_ENABLE=y

CONFIG_ARCH_SELECT_MEMORY_MODEL=y

CONFIG_SELECT_MEMORY_MODEL=y

# CONFIG_FLATMEM_MANUAL is not set

# CONFIG_DISCONTIGMEM_MANUAL is not set

CONFIG_SPARSEMEM_MANUAL=y

CONFIG_SPARSEMEM=y

CONFIG_NEED_MULTIPLE_NODES=y

CONFIG_HAVE_MEMORY_PRESENT=y

CONFIG_SPARSEMEM_EXTREME=y

CONFIG_SPARSEMEM_VMEMMAP_ENABLE=y

CONFIG_SPARSEMEM_VMEMMAP=y

# CONFIG_MEMORY_HOTPLUG is not set

CONFIG_PAGEFLAGS_EXTENDED=y

CONFIG_SPLIT_PTLOCK_CPUS=4

CONFIG_MIGRATION=y

CONFIG_PHYS_ADDR_T_64BIT=y

CONFIG_ZONE_DMA_FLAG=1

CONFIG_BOUNCE=y

CONFIG_VIRT_TO_BUS=y

CONFIG_UNEVICTABLE_LRU=y

# CONFIG_X86_CHECK_BIOS_CORRUPTION is not set

# CONFIG_X86_RESERVE_LOW_64K is not set

CONFIG_MTRR=y

# CONFIG_MTRR_SANITIZER is not set

CONFIG_X86_PAT=y

# CONFIG_EFI is not set

CONFIG_SECCOMP=y

# CONFIG_HZ_100 is not set

# CONFIG_HZ_250 is not set

# CONFIG_HZ_300 is not set

CONFIG_HZ_1000=y

CONFIG_HZ=1000

CONFIG_SCHED_HRTICK=y

CONFIG_KEXEC=y

CONFIG_CRASH_DUMP=y

CONFIG_PHYSICAL_START=0x1000000

# CONFIG_RELOCATABLE is not set

CONFIG_PHYSICAL_ALIGN=0x200000

CONFIG_HOTPLUG_CPU=y

# CONFIG_COMPAT_VDSO is not set

# CONFIG_CMDLINE_BOOL is not set

CONFIG_ARCH_ENABLE_MEMORY_HOTPLUG=y

CONFIG_HAVE_ARCH_EARLY_PFN_TO_NID=y

Here's my entire config, it's not really a txt file, just the letters I threw in to get it to upload...

2.6.29.6 and 2.6.31-rc7 do the same thing.

I finally had time to play around with it, and the result is the same. Using the same .config file, without make oldconfig, the second core refuses to light up on the SMP client.

Compiling a vanilla kernel, without the RT patch, on either revision is fine, running both cores normally.

I'm not sure if this is a bug and have no experience reporting bugs. Any thoughts on whether I should or not, and how and where to report it?

I usually go to the distribution forums and start a thread when I have kernel issues, they will either point you to a bug report that may have an answer, or have you submit a new bug report.

It sounds like it refuses to set either smp or number of cpus in the kernel config. Does it show that it is actually picking it up? Use cat /proc/config.gz

I'll try the Ubuntu forum and see what they say...

I wish I could be of more help, just don't know kernels very well and the RT kernel patch was just never very appealing to me..

I had the same problem on the 2.6.25 kernel awhile back, fix for me was to just move back to a 2.6.23 kernel. I still run a 23 kernel on my server. It works just the way it should so I haven't felt the need to do anything with it..

That's OK, it's more of an exercise in learning for me, I may stick with the one that's working well for me and wait for the next major revision to try again.

I wish I could open some dialog with the RT developers but they are a rather secretive bunch...I reckon that I'd get lost in the first few words anyway ;)

As for the RT patch, I have found it to be noticeably lighter and quicker on its feet with desktop apps than the standard release kernel. It also is slightly faster in frame times in folding; don't know why that should be though.