Message-ID: <4551DBA0.6080305@third-harmonic.com>
Date: Wed, 08 Nov 2006 08:29:04 -0500
From: john cooper <john.cooper@third-harmonic.com>
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To: dwalker@mvista.com
CC: Kevin Hilman <khilman@mvista.com>, Ingo Molnar <mingo@elte.hu>,
       Thomas Gleixner <tglx@linutronix.de>, linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org,
       john cooper <john.cooper@third-harmonic.com>
Subject: Re: 2.6.18-rt7: rollover with 32-bit cycles_t
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Daniel Walker wrote:

> Seems like the check should really be using something like time_before()
> time_after() which takes the rollover into account .. What I don't
> understand is why we don't see those on x86 ..

Probably due to the fact it is a 64-bit counter.  Even with
a free running rate of 10Ghz it would take nearly 60 years
to wrap.

On PPC and ARM 32-bit counters seems to be common which limits
range unless a prescaler is available.  The better solution is
to detect wrap as a prescaled 32 bit measurement will eventually
run out of usable resolution as core frequency increases.  That is
assuming 64-bit counters don't eventually show up in these
architectures.

-john

-- 
john.cooper@third-harmonic.com
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