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Bug#894906: linux-cpupower: provide a systemd service and a default config file

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  Bug#894906: linux-cpupower: provide a systemd service and a default config file Francesco Poli <invernomuto@paranoici.org> - 2024-09-15 17:30 +0200
    Bug#894906: linux-cpupower: provide a systemd service and a default config file Salvatore Bonaccorso <carnil@debian.org> - 2024-09-21 17:20 +0200
    Bug#894906: linux-cpupower: provide a systemd service and a default config file Bastian Blank <waldi@debian.org> - 2024-09-22 12:00 +0200
      Bug#894906: linux-cpupower: provide a systemd service and a default config file Francesco Poli <invernomuto@paranoici.org> - 2024-09-22 16:40 +0200

#1213007 — Bug#894906: linux-cpupower: provide a systemd service and a default config file

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On Sat, 27 Jul 2024 17:54:34 +0200 Francesco Poli wrote:

[...]
> I reiterate the request to people from the Debian Kernel Team: could
> someone please step in, test the three files, and share his/her insight
[...]
> ?

Dear Debian Kernel Team,
this bug needs love, could some of you please spend a little time to
address it?

I provided [three files] that work for me™, I would be happy to see them
integrated into the linux-cpupower binary package (they are released
under the terms of the GNU GPL license v2 or later), so that other
users may benefit from them, without having to manually copy them.

[three files]: <https://bugs.debian.org/894906#17>

Could you please test them, possibly share your thoughts and/or propose
enhancements, and then include them into the Debian package?

Or otherwise, if you think there's something wrong with them, could you
please explain what is wrong? Maybe there's a way to fix them...

I really hope this bug can soon be solved once and for all.
Thanks for your understanding!


-- 
 http://www.inventati.org/frx/
 There's not a second to spare! To the laboratory!
..................................................... Francesco Poli .
 GnuPG key fpr == CA01 1147 9CD2 EFDF FB82  3925 3E1C 27E1 1F69 BFFE

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#1213872

Hi,

On Sun, Sep 15, 2024 at 05:23:10PM +0200, Francesco Poli wrote:
> On Sat, 27 Jul 2024 17:54:34 +0200 Francesco Poli wrote:
> 
> [...]
> > I reiterate the request to people from the Debian Kernel Team: could
> > someone please step in, test the three files, and share his/her insight
> [...]
> > ?
> 
> Dear Debian Kernel Team,
> this bug needs love, could some of you please spend a little time to
> address it?
> 
> I provided [three files] that work for me™, I would be happy to see them
> integrated into the linux-cpupower binary package (they are released
> under the terms of the GNU GPL license v2 or later), so that other
> users may benefit from them, without having to manually copy them.
> 
> [three files]: <https://bugs.debian.org/894906#17>
> 
> Could you please test them, possibly share your thoughts and/or propose
> enhancements, and then include them into the Debian package?
> 
> Or otherwise, if you think there's something wrong with them, could you
> please explain what is wrong? Maybe there's a way to fix them...
> 
> I really hope this bug can soon be solved once and for all.
> Thanks for your understanding!

We had a short discussion on this bug in one of the recent kernel-team
meetings. We think the proposed approach is probably not too generic
enough to be included. But I'm not the right person to respond here,
Bastian will following up later with an answer in more detail.

https://meetbot.debian.net/debian-kernel/2024/debian-kernel.2024-07-31-19.00.txt
https://meetbot.debian.net/debian-kernel/2024/debian-kernel.2024-07-31-19.00.log.html

Regards,
Salvatore

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#1213933

On Sun, Sep 15, 2024 at 05:23:10PM +0200, Francesco Poli wrote:
> Or otherwise, if you think there's something wrong with them, could you
> please explain what is wrong? Maybe there's a way to fix them...

The linux-cpupower package includes low level tools to interrogate and
set certain low level CPU features.  So the reasons for installing this
package are two-fold, you either want to see various things, or you want
to globally change them.  But because of the two different usages, just
installing the package can not change global settings without futher
user interaction.

Yes, we could provide them disabled.  But overall we are currently at a
point, where even desktop environments have rudimentary settings for
this.  And also basic cpu frequency is not longer a useful way to save
energy, but things like p states as used, which just shut of whole parts
of the chip.

About the files itself: please loose the shell wrapper.  You can use
EnvironmentFile and multiple ExecStart with variable expansion (however
no conditionals).

Bastian

-- 
In the strict scientific sense we all feed on death -- even vegetarians.
		-- Spock, "Wolf in the Fold", stardate 3615.4

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#1213961

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On Sun, 22 Sep 2024 11:55:18 +0200 Bastian Blank wrote:

> On Sun, Sep 15, 2024 at 05:23:10PM +0200, Francesco Poli wrote:
> > Or otherwise, if you think there's something wrong with them, could you
> > please explain what is wrong? Maybe there's a way to fix them...
> 
> The linux-cpupower package includes low level tools to interrogate and
> set certain low level CPU features.

Dear Bastian,
thanks for taking the time to reply.

However, I only agree with part of your reasoning, see below.

> So the reasons for installing this
> package are two-fold, you either want to see various things, or you want
> to globally change them.

Exactly, I am encouraging you to make the change-operation more
convenient for system administrators, who want to set something at boot
(without having to manually invoke 'cpupower' after each boot or having
to reinvent ad-hoc strategies).

> But because of the two different usages, just
> installing the package can not change global settings without futher
> user interaction.
> 
> Yes, we could provide them disabled.

That's exactly what I am advocating: please ship the three files in the
'linux-cpupower' package, but install the systemd service disabled by
default.
Any sysadmin who wants to use the systemd service will have to edit the
'/etc/default/cpupower' file anyway, hence no big deal if he/she also
has to issue the following command:

  # systemctl enable --now cpupower.service

> But overall we are currently at a
> point, where even desktop environments have rudimentary settings for
> this.

Come on, not all Debian users run (sophisticated) desktop
environments. My own desktop is built on Fluxbox, which is not even a
desktop environment (just a standalone window manager): I am not aware
of any cpupower-related settings in Fluxbox (are there any?).

Anyway, Debian GNU/Linux machines may be up and running, without any
logged-in user and/or without any desktop environment executing.

Moreover, not all Debian GNU/Linux machines have desktop environments.
What about (machines that only run) servers?
Or HPC clusters?
Network gateways?
Embedded systems?

A convenient mechanism to set cpupower-related things at boot would be
useful for at least these cases... 

> And also basic cpu frequency is not longer a useful way to save
> energy, but things like p states as used, which just shut of whole parts
> of the chip.

How are these things (like p states) managed?
Could you please tell me more about them?

> 
> About the files itself: please loose the shell wrapper.  You can use
> EnvironmentFile and multiple ExecStart with variable expansion (however
> no conditionals).

I had considered using multiple ExecStart directives.
"No conditionals" is exactly the reason why I concluded that I had to
go for the external script.
Hence, I think that we cannot do without the external script...


I reiterate the request to integrate the [three files] into the
'linux-cpupower' package, with the systemd service disabled by default.

[three files]: <https://bugs.debian.org/894906#17>

I acknowledge that they are probably sub-optimal and could be further
generalized and/or enhanced.
But, until someone comes up with a better solution, they are better
than nothing...
The current situation is that every user has to set up ad-hoc solutions
(perhaps involving the deprecated 'rc.local' file or otherwise), unless
he/she can leverage some desktop tool...

And, of course, any of you from the Debian Kernel Team can further
improve the files at any time.
But, please, first ship the three files in the package, without waiting
for the perfect solution. This bug report has been open since April
2018... As Voltaire once said, the better is the enemy of the good.


Thanks for reading so far.
Still hoping to see this bug fixed for good.

Bye!


-- 
 http://www.inventati.org/frx/
 There's not a second to spare! To the laboratory!
..................................................... Francesco Poli .
 GnuPG key fpr == CA01 1147 9CD2 EFDF FB82  3925 3E1C 27E1 1F69 BFFE

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