<div dir="ltr">Hi-Angel:<div><br></div><div>> <span style="font-size:12.8px">Yes, now it should be using CPU for rendering.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.8px"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.8px">Hmmm...I am not so sure if that was really what I want.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.8px"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.8px">It just reminds me of the adage of where you fix a leak/problem at one part/section of a pipe, but then create another one problem somewhere else down the pipe.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.8px"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.8px">> </span><span style="font-size:12.8px">That's one more of </span><span style="font-size:12.8px">beauties of open source</span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.8px"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.8px">The thing that I can think of that would be even more beautiful than that would be if this didn't happen at all in the first place. :D</span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.8px"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.8px">This "memory leak" or high consumption of memory from the subsystem that draws/renders the desktop/GUI doesn't happen at all with Windows no matter how many times I run the same analysis script.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.8px"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.8px">My early subjective analysis (with this mgag200 blacklist) puts the time it takes to run the simulations now on par with Windows and Windows just worked (properly) like this from the get go.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.8px"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.8px">People keep talking about great and wonderful Linux is, but this experience has been anything but.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.8px"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.8px">I think that I've spent about as much time trying to find a resolution to this issue as I have had doing my actual analysis work.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.8px"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.8px">Pros (for Linux): It's faster when it is running at runlevel 3.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.8px"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.8px">Cons: Can't use the GUI (because if I blacklist the driver for runlevel 5, then the performance is about the same as it is in Windows, at which point, why not just use Windows? The set up of a Windows system to get it up and running to this same level/state is significantly faster.)</span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.8px"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.8px">Such a pity really that this has the potential to be *<b>A*</b>, if not *<b>THE*</b> solution to this problem.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.8px"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.8px">Hmmm....it's been interesting.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.8px"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.8px">I can still try other stuff (like iomem=relaxed), both either with the mgag200 or without it.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.8px"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.8px">Thanks.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.8px"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.8px">Sincerely,</span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.8px">Ewen</span></div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Dec 7, 2017 at 11:04 AM, Hi-Angel <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:hiangel999@gmail.com" target="_blank">hiangel999@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">Yes, now it should be using CPU for rendering. If you're eager to save<br> some cycles, you could recompile both Xorg and Mesa with optimizations<br> "-flto=2 -march=native -O3 -pipe -fno-stack-protector<br> -fno-semantic-interposition -fmerge-all-constants". That's one more of<br> beauties of open source :) That said, I don't know how hard it might<br> be on SuSe. On Archlinux here we have ᴬᵁᴿ repository, and building<br> e.g. mesa from source is as easy as a command "yaourt -S mesa-git".<br> <div class="HOEnZb"><div class="h5"><br> On 7 December 2017 at 18:36, Ewen Chan <<a href="mailto:chan.ewen@gmail.com">chan.ewen@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br> > Hi-Angel:<br> ><br> > I'm just asking due to innate curiosity.<br> ><br> > But the other part of it is I am wondering if the other driver is using CPU<br> > cycles to draw/render the display/(raster?).<br> ><br> > I am asking because in the analyis runs, they are taking longer to run than<br> > they were before I blacklisted the mgag200 driver. (Granted it is still very<br> > early in the entire script, but the early results would suggest that the<br> > system might now be using the CPU to draw/render the screen (raster?) due to<br> > the analysis runs now taking longer to complete (for each of the three out<br> > of 16 runs that I have completed so far).<br> ><br> > Thanks.<br> ><br> > Sincerely,<br> > Ewen<br> ><br> > On Thu, Dec 7, 2017 at 10:32 AM, Hi-Angel <<a href="mailto:hiangel999@gmail.com">hiangel999@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br> >><br> >> Yeah, nice, it worked. As for what other driver in the output should<br> >> accord to vesa or whatever that provides the basic functional of<br> >> outputting to a monitor — sorry, I don't know, I hope somebody else<br> >> here can tell it. I don't think it's important for our purposes<br> >> though.<br> >><br> >> On 7 December 2017 at 18:18, Ewen Chan <<a href="mailto:chan.ewen@gmail.com">chan.ewen@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br> >> > Hi-Angel:<br> >> ><br> >> >> Have you rebuild initramfs after blacklisting by the way?<br> >> ><br> >> > So...I did what that thread (and the thread that it points to within<br> >> > that<br> >> > thread) says to do.<br> >> ><br> >> > Created blacklist.conf and then put in there:<br> >> ><br> >> > blacklist mgag200<br> >> ><br> >> > and then I ran dracut --regenerate-all --force and rebooted (per the<br> >> > thread-inside-that-thread's instructions).<br> >> ><br> >> > (like I said, I'm a grossly underqualified sysadmin so I just do what "I<br> >> > am<br> >> > told" from those sources.)<br> >> ><br> >> ><br> >> > Here is the output of lsmod:<br> >> ><br> >> > Module Size Used by<br> >> > ebtable_filter 12827 0<br> >> > ebtables 35009 1 ebtable_filter<br> >> > ip6table_filter 12815 0<br> >> > ip6_tables 27025 1 ip6table_filter<br> >> > iptable_filter 12810 0<br> >> > ip_tables 27239 1 iptable_filter<br> >> > x_tables 34059 5<br> >> > ip6table_filter,ip_tables,<wbr>iptable_filter,ebtables,ip6_<wbr>tables<br> >> > af_packet 39847 0<br> >> > fuse 95758 3<br> >> > iscsi_ibft 12862 0<br> >> > iscsi_boot_sysfs 16051 1 iscsi_ibft<br> >> > raw 13091 0<br> >> > msr 12865 0<br> >> > joydev 17344 0<br> >> > iTCO_wdt 13480 0<br> >> > iTCO_vendor_support 13718 1 iTCO_wdt<br> >> > dm_mod 110780 0<br> >> > intel_rapl 18783 0<br> >> > intel_powerclamp 14690 0<br> >> > coretemp 13435 0<br> >> > kvm_intel 151399 0<br> >> > kvm 496652 1 kvm_intel<br> >> > crct10dif_pclmul 14307 0<br> >> > crc32_pclmul 13133 0<br> >> > crc32c_intel 22094 0<br> >> > pcspkr 12718 0<br> >> > sb_edac 26894 0<br> >> > edac_core 66438 1 sb_edac<br> >> > igb 204492 0<br> >> > ptp 18933 1 igb<br> >> > i2c_i801 22557 0<br> >> > pps_core 19333 1 ptp<br> >> > ipmi_si 57482 0<br> >> > i2c_algo_bit 13413 1 igb<br> >> > ipmi_msghandler 49676 1 ipmi_si<br> >> > mei_me 18355 0<br> >> > wmi 19193 0<br> >> > mei 86782 1 mei_me<br> >> > lpc_ich 21093 0<br> >> > ioatdma 71777 0<br> >> > mfd_core 13435 1 lpc_ich<br> >> > shpchp 32951 0<br> >> > dca 15130 2 igb,ioatdma<br> >> > processor 44678 0<br> >> > button 13971 0<br> >> > hid_generic 12559 0<br> >> > usbhid 52573 0<br> >> > btrfs 1022893 2<br> >> > xor 21411 1 btrfs<br> >> > raid6_pq 101908 1 btrfs<br> >> > sd_mod 50160 4<br> >> > ghash_clmulni_intel 13230 0<br> >> > aesni_intel 52860 0<br> >> > isci 149868 0<br> >> > aes_x86_64 17131 1 aesni_intel<br> >> > glue_helper 13990 1 aesni_intel<br> >> > lrw 13286 1 aesni_intel<br> >> > gf128mul 14951 1 lrw<br> >> > ablk_helper 13597 1 aesni_intel<br> >> > cryptd 16263 3<br> >> > ghash_clmulni_intel,aesni_<wbr>intel,ablk_helper<br> >> > ehci_pci 12914 0<br> >> > libsas 87336 1 isci<br> >> > ehci_hcd 79237 1 ehci_pci<br> >> > ahci 29929 2<br> >> > scsi_transport_sas 45130 2 isci,libsas<br> >> > libahci 36105 1 ahci<br> >> > usbcore 254961 3 ehci_hcd,ehci_pci,usbhid<br> >> > libata 244519 3 ahci,libahci,libsas<br> >> > usb_common 13057 1 usbcore<br> >> > sg 40629 0<br> >> > scsi_mod 244588 6<br> >> > sg,isci,scsi_transport_sas,<wbr>libata,libsas,sd_mod<br> >> > autofs4 42930 2<br> >> ><br> >> > Out of that list, I don't see mgag200 there, but then again, I also<br> >> > don't<br> >> > see any module that I recognize as being a "video driver" either.<br> >> ><br> >> > I hope that helps answer your questions(? 0.o?)<br> >> ><br> >> > Thanks.<br> >> ><br> >> > Sincerely,<br> >> > Ewen<br> >> ><br> >> ><br> >> > On Thu, Dec 7, 2017 at 1:46 AM, Hi-Angel <<a href="mailto:hiangel999@gmail.com">hiangel999@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br> >> >><br> >> >> Don't worry, I don't believe in Laplace's demon, and hence I believe<br> >> >> everybody don't know something.<br> >> >><br> >> >> Tbh I'm not sure if the output of lspci implies the module is still<br> >> >> loaded, although I would assume it still is. Either way, to be sure<br> >> >> you can use `lsmod` command, it lists all currently loaded modules.<br> >> >> Have you rebuild initramfs after blacklisting by the way?<br> >> >><br> >> >> On 7 December 2017 at 08:32, Ewen Chan <<a href="mailto:chan.ewen@gmail.com">chan.ewen@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br> >> >> > Stupid question though (again, I'm a grossly underqualified<br> >> >> > sysadmin).<br> >> >> ><br> >> >> > How can I tell if the blacklisting worked correctly?<br> >> >> ><br> >> >> > When I type in:<br> >> >> ><br> >> >> > # lspci -v | more<br> >> >> ><br> >> >> > this is what it outputs for the VGA section:<br> >> >> ><br> >> >> > 08:01.0 VGA compatible controller: Matrox Electronics Systems Ltd.<br> >> >> > MGA<br> >> >> > G200eW WPCM450 (rev 0a) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])<br> >> >> > Subsystem: Super Micro Computer Inc Device 062f<br> >> >> > Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 64, IRQ 11<br> >> >> > Memory at dd000000 (32-bit, prefetchable) [size=16M]<br> >> >> > Memory at df800000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16K]<br> >> >> > Memory at df000000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=8M]<br> >> >> > Expansion ROM at <unassigned> [disabled]<br> >> >> > Capabilities: [dc] Power Management version 1<br> >> >> > Kernel modules: mgag200<br> >> >> ><br> >> >> > Is there another way to confirm that the blacklisting did what it was<br> >> >> > supposed to?<br> >> >> ><br> >> >> > Thanks.<br> >> >> ><br> >> >> > On Wed, Dec 6, 2017 at 11:39 PM, Hi-Angel <<a href="mailto:hiangel999@gmail.com">hiangel999@gmail.com</a>><br> >> >> > wrote:<br> >> >> >><br> >> >> >> On 7 December 2017 at 06:19, Hi-Angel <<a href="mailto:hiangel999@gmail.com">hiangel999@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br> >> >> >> > On 7 December 2017 at 06:05, Ewen Chan <<a href="mailto:chan.ewen@gmail.com">chan.ewen@gmail.com</a>><br> >> >> >> > wrote:<br> >> >> >> >> Hi-Angel:<br> >> >> >> >><br> >> >> >> >> Thank you for that!!!<br> >> >> >> >><br> >> >> >> >> Two questions:<br> >> >> >> >><br> >> >> >> >> 1) Will the commands from the CentOS distro work with SuSE?<br> >> >> >> ><br> >> >> >> > Well, the linked post doesn't show how to blacklist because it was<br> >> >> >> > created after the fact (author forgot to re-build initramfs). For<br> >> >> >> > an<br> >> >> >> > example of doing that you can refer e.g. this<br> >> >> >> > <a href="https://askubuntu.com/a/110343/266507" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://askubuntu.com/a/<wbr>110343/266507</a> Except I am not sure how to<br> >> >> >> > rebuild initramfs on SuSe — on Archlinux I'm using it is `sudo<br> >> >> >> > mkinitcpio -p linux`.<br> >> >> >> ><br> >> >> >> >> 2) Do you think there will be problems using the VESA driver<br> >> >> >> >> instead<br> >> >> >> >> of<br> >> >> >> >> the<br> >> >> >> >> mgag200 driver? (i.e. the GUI/remote X/VNC would exhibit<br> >> >> >> >> unexpected<br> >> >> >> >> behaviours?<br> >> >> >> ><br> >> >> >> > Nothing that I know of. You'd obviously get a lower graphics<br> >> >> >> > performance, but otherwise I think it should be fine.<br> >> >> >><br> >> >> >> You know, btw, another silly idea: if blacklisting the driver will<br> >> >> >> help, but you actually care of graphics performance — you could try<br> >> >> >> enabling it back, and then installing modesetting driver, and<br> >> >> >> forcing<br> >> >> >> Xorg to use it through a xorg.conf. Per my understanding the leak<br> >> >> >> could specifically be in Matrox DDX driver — if this is the case, by<br> >> >> >> replacing it with modesetting DDX you'd keep the performance and get<br> >> >> >> rid of leaks. "modesetting" is a vendor-neutral DDX driver which is<br> >> >> >> implemented on top of whatever driver provides OpenGL functional.<br> >> >> >><br> >> >> >> It should be noted though that if leaks are in the matrox's<br> >> >> >> provision<br> >> >> >> of OpenGL, it won't help.<br> >> >> ><br> >> >> ><br> >> ><br> >> ><br> ><br> ><br> </div></div></blockquote></div><br></div>