DESCRIPTION
The
lgrp_affinity_get() function returns the affinity that the LWP or set of LWPs specified by the
idtype and
id arguments have for the given lgroup.
The
lgrp_affinity_set() function sets the affinity that the LWP or set of LWPs specified by
idtype and
id have for the given lgroup. The lgroup affinity can be set to
LGRP_AFF_STRONG,
LGRP_AFF_WEAK, or
LGRP_AFF_NONE.
If the
idtype is
P_PID, the affinity is retrieved for one of the LWPs in the process or set for all the LWPs of the process with process ID (PID)
id. The affinity is retrieved or set for the LWP of the current process with LWP ID
id if
idtype is
P_LWPID. If
id is
P_MYID, then the current LWP or process is specified.
The operating system uses the lgroup affinities as advice on where to run a thread and allocate its memory and factors this advice in with other constraints. Processor binding and processor sets can restrict which lgroups a thread can run on, but do not change the lgroup affinities.
Each thread can have an affinity for an lgroup in the system such that the thread will tend to be scheduled to run on that lgroup and allocate memory from there whenever possible. If the thread has affinity for more than one lgroup, the operating system will try to run the thread and allocate its memory on the lgroup for which it has the strongest affinity, then the next strongest, and so on up through some small, system-dependent number of these lgroup affinities. When multiple lgroups have the same affinity, the order of preference among them is unspecified and up to the operating system to choose. The lgroup with the strongest affinity that the thread can run on is known as its "home lgroup" (see
lgrp_home(3LGRP)) and is usually the operating system's first choice of where to run the thread and allocate its memory.
There are different levels of affinity that can be specified by a thread for a particular lgroup. The levels of affinity are the following from strongest to weakest:
LGRP_AFF_STRONG /* strong affinity */
LGRP_AFF_WEAK /* weak affinity */
LGRP_AFF_NONE /* no affinity */
The
LGRP_AFF_STRONG affinity serves as a hint to the operating system that the calling thread has a strong affinity for the given lgroup. If this is the thread's home lgroup, the operating system will avoid rehoming it to another lgroup if possible. However, dynamic reconfiguration, processor offlining, processor binding, and processor set binding and manipulation are examples of events that can cause the operating system to change the thread's home lgroup for which it has a strong affinity.
The
LGRP_AFF_WEAK affinity is a hint to the operating system that the calling thread has a weak affinity for the given lgroup. If a thread has a weak affinity for its home lgroup, the operating system interpets this to mean that thread does not mind whether it is rehomed, unlike
LGRP_AFF_STRONG. Load balancing, dynamic reconfiguration, processor binding, or processor set binding and manipulation are examples of events that can cause the operating system to change a thread's home lgroup for which it has a weak affinity.
The
LGRP_AFF_NONE affinity signifies no affinity and can be used to remove a thread's affinity for a particular lgroup. Initially, each thread has no affinity to any lgroup. If a thread has no lgroup affinities set, the operating system chooses a home lgroup for the thread with no affinity set.
RETURN VALUES
Upon successful completion,
lgrp_affinity_get() returns the affinity for the given lgroup.
Upon successful completion,
lgrp_affinity_set() return 0.
Otherwise, both functions return −1 and set
errno to indicate the error.