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net: Introduce skb tc depth field to track packet loops

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Add a 2-bit per-skb tc depth field to track packet loops across the stack.

The previous per-CPU loop counters like MIRRED_NEST_LIMIT
assume a single call stack and lose state in two cases:
1) When a packet is queued and reprocessed later (e.g., egress->ingress
   via backlog), the per-cpu state is gone by the time it is dequeued.
2) With XPS/RPS a packet may arrive on one CPU and be processed on
   another.

A per-skb field solves both by travelling with the packet itself.

The field fits in existing padding, using 2 bits that were previously a
hole:

pahole before(-) and after (+) diff looks like:
   __u8       slow_gro:1;           /*   132: 3  1 */
   __u8       csum_not_inet:1;      /*   132: 4  1 */
   __u8       unreadable:1;         /*   132: 5  1 */
 + __u8       tc_depth:2;           /*   132: 6  1 */

 - /* XXX 2 bits hole, try to pack */
   /* XXX 1 byte hole, try to pack */

   __u16      tc_index;             /*   134     2 */

There used to be a ttl field which was removed as part of tc_verd in commit
aec745e2c5 ("net-tc: remove unused tc_verd fields").  It was already
unused by that time, due to remove earlier in commit c19ae86a51 ("tc: remove
unused redirect ttl").

The first user of this field is netem, which increments tc_depth on
duplicated packets before re-enqueueing them at the root qdisc.  On
re-entry, netem skips duplication for any skb with tc_depth already set,
bounding recursion to a single level regardless of tree topology.

The other user is mirred which increments it on each pass
and limits to depth to MIRRED_DEFER_LIMIT (3).

The new field was called ttl in earlier versions of this patch
but renamed to tc_depth to avoid confusion with IP ttl.

Note (looking at you Sashiko! Dont ignore me and continue bringing this up):
1. Since both mirred and netem utilize the same 2-bit tc_depth field it is
   possible when netem and mirred are used together that netem qdisc to skip
   the duplication step. This is a known trade-off, as a 2-bit field cannot
   independently track both features' recursion depths and it is not considered
   sane to have a setup that addresses both features on at the same time.

2. skb_scrub_packet does not clear tc_depth. This means a packet's loop history
  is preserved even across namespaces. While this might be restrictive for
  some topologies, it is also design intent to provide robustness against loops
  across namespaces.

Reviewed-by: Stephen Hemminger <stephen@networkplumber.org>
Signed-off-by: Jamal Hadi Salim <jhs@mojatatu.com>
Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20260525122556.973584-2-jhs@mojatatu.com
Signed-off-by: Paolo Abeni <pabeni@redhat.com>
This commit is contained in:
Jamal Hadi Salim 2026-05-25 08:25:48 -04:00 committed by Paolo Abeni
parent 9d5e7a46a9
commit 98b34f3e8c
1 changed files with 2 additions and 0 deletions
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2
include/linux/skbuff.h
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@ -821,6 +821,7 @@ enum skb_tstamp_type {
* @_sk_redir: socket redirection information for skmsg
* @_nfct: Associated connection, if any (with nfctinfo bits)
* @skb_iif: ifindex of device we arrived on
* @tc_depth: counter for packet duplication
* @tc_index: Traffic control index
* @hash: the packet hash
* @queue_mapping: Queue mapping for multiqueue devices
@ -1030,6 +1031,7 @@ struct sk_buff {
__u8 csum_not_inet:1;
#endif
__u8 unreadable:1;
__u8 tc_depth:2;
#if defined(CONFIG_NET_SCHED) || defined(CONFIG_NET_XGRESS)
__u16 tc_index; /* traffic control index */
#endif