I tried Yast to find out information about that, but couldn't find anything ("systems" has only "kernel settings", but apparently there no information can be found). So all I can say that it is a 64bit system, and that I've updated Suse 11.3 2 days ago (where a new kernel version has been installed). The first lines of hwinfo are libhd version 17.3 (x86-64) using /var/lib/hardware kernel version is 2.6 ----- /proc/cmdline ----- root=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-WDC_WD5000BEVT-75A0RT0_WD-WXB1A60V9698-part6 resume=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-WDC_WD5000BEVT-75A0RT0_WD-WXB1A 60V9698-part5 splash=silent quiet vga=0x317 ----- /proc/cmdline end ----- The kernel version:

uname -r 2.6.34.7-0.5-desktop

Oliver On Sun, Oct 31, 2010 at 09:04:58PM +0100, C wrote:

On Sun, Oct 31, 2010 at 20:59, Oliver Kullmann wrote:

...

Hello,

I'm here experiencing an alarming problem (not just KDE or so, but the kernel): I have a laptop with a quadcore i5 processor, but the system doesn't want to use it! That's not good, since I rely on doing computational experiments with my laptop, and, of course, I purchased the quadcore laptop to do exactly that.

What is the exact kernel you're running? Is it 32 bit, 64 bit? PAE version... etc.

C -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

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I tried Yast to find out information about that, but couldn't find anything ("systems" has only "kernel settings", but apparently there no information can be found).

So all I can say that it is a 64bit system, and that I've updated Suse 11.3 2 days ago (where a new kernel version has been installed). The first lines of hwinfo are

libhd version 17.3 (x86-64) using /var/lib/hardware kernel version is 2.6 ----- /proc/cmdline ----- root=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-WDC_WD5000BEVT-75A0RT0_WD-WXB1A60V9698-part6 resume=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-WDC_WD5000BEVT-75A0RT0_WD-WXB1A 60V9698-part5 splash=silent quiet vga=0x317 ----- /proc/cmdline end -----

The kernel version:

...

uname -r 2.6.34.7-0.5-desktop

1. YaST/Hardware/Hardware Information/CPU 2. >cat /proc/cpuinfo 3. #hwinfo --cpu You should see a separate cpu record for each core, and each record should indicate nbr of cores (or units) to be 4. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

my system uses quad core cpu's fine. i'm running 64bit linux(2.6.36). here is 'uname -a' on my system: Linux linux 2.6.36 #2 SMP Fri Oct 22 23:42:00 CDT 2010 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux make sure you are not passing the 'nosmp' flag to the kernel during bootup(means no symmetric multi processing). and i've noticed that you are running a desktop kernel and i don't think it should but it may play a factor in the issue here. i personally run a self-compiled kernel so i can't say whether running a desktop kernel matters or not. and here is the output of ls /sys/devices/system/cpu : cpu0 cpu1 cpu2 cpu3 cpufreq cpuidle kernel_max offline online perf_events possible present probe release your system should also show something like that(listing cpu's 0 to 3). there is a great utility called htop that will show you cpu usage in real time. i've run 'make -j8' or 'make -j4' on building something like the kernel or some other source tree that'll take time to compile and i've seen the cpu usage be 100% on all cpu's when make is using 8 threads and around 80 something with 4 threads. and don't forget that the only way all your 4 cores will be used is if the program you are running is running at least 4 threads of execution. --- On Sun, 10/31/10, Chuck Payne wrote:

...

...

I tried Yast to find out information about that, but couldn't find anything ("systems" has only "kernel settings", but apparently there no information can be found).

So all I can say that it is a 64bit system, and

From: Chuck Payne Subject: Re: [opensuse] apparently Suse-Linux can't properly use quadcore processor??? To: "dwgallien" Cc: opensuse@opensuse.org Date: Sunday, October 31, 2010, 4:24 PM On Sun, Oct 31, 2010 at 5:16 PM, dwgallien wrote: that

...

...

I've updated Suse 11.3 2 days ago (where a new kernel version has been installed). The first lines of hwinfo are

libhd version 17.3 (x86-64) using /var/lib/hardware kernel version is 2.6 ----- /proc/cmdline -----   root=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-WDC_WD5000BEVT-75A0RT0_WD-WXB1A60V9698-part6 resume=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-WDC_WD5000BEVT-75A0RT0_WD-WXB1A 60V9698-part5 splash=silent quiet vga=0x317 ----- /proc/cmdline end -----

The kernel version:

...

uname -r 2.6.34.7-0.5-desktop cat /etc/SuSE-release openSUSE 11.1 (x86_64) VERSION = 11.1

...

1.  YaST/Hardware/Hardware Information/CPU

2.  >cat /proc/cpuinfo

3.  #hwinfo --cpu

You should see a separate cpu record for each core,

and each record should indicate nbr of cores (or units) to be 4.

...

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To see what kernel you are current, just do this.

uname -a

You will either see i386/i686 which is the the 32bit, if you see something like this x86_64 then you are running the 64-bits, this is from my box running 11.1.

Linux tatl0wlluna 2.6.27.48-0.2-default #1 SMP 2010-07-29 20:06:52 +0200 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

Also, take a look at /etc/SuSE-release to see what was installed...

cat /etc/SuSE-release openSUSE 11.1 (x86_64) VERSION = 11.1

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Hello,

thanks for the inputs.

On Mon, Nov 01, 2010 at 08:58:28AM +0100, Heinz Diehl wrote:

...

On 31.10.2010, Oliver Kullmann wrote:

...

I'm here experiencing an alarming problem (not just KDE or so, but the kernel): I have a laptop with a quadcore i5 processor, but the system doesn't want to use it!

You maybe could be affected by this phenomenon here: https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=19702

Actually, frequency doesn't seem to be a (big) problem. Actually, yesterday for the first time it got stuck at 1.2 GHz (scheme "performance" regarding cpu-frequency), but switching to "on demand" got it back on track (switching for each core between 1.2 GHz and 2.4 GHz). So there is something wrong, but by just toggling the modes it seems fixable.

Regarding the usage of all four cores: NOW, as I had it a week ago, it runs fine again: Using all four cores as required (independent of the frequency). And, again, Bubblemoon shows correct (that is, sensible) cpu temperature. Could it be that if the temperature sensor doesn't work properly, then the system "hesitates" to use all cores, and after some time the system "warms up", the temperature sensor starts working, and all cores are being used?

Here is the data for the various outputs (the frequency shown is currently 1.2GHz, since I run on battery):

------------------------------------------------------

...

rpm -qa kernel* kernel-default-2.6.34.7-0.5.1.x86_64 kernel-desktop-2.6.34.7-0.5.1.x86_64 kernel-firmware-20100617-2.2.noarch

...

cat /proc/cpuinfo processor : 0 vendor_id : GenuineIntel cpu family : 6 model : 37 model name : Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU M 520 @ 2.40GHz stepping : 5 cpu MHz : 1199.000 cache size : 3072 KB physical id : 0 siblings : 4 core id : 0 cpu cores : 2 apicid : 0 initial apicid : 0 fpu : yes fpu_exception : yes cpuid level : 11 wp : yes flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe syscall nx rdtscp lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good xtopology nonstop_tsc aperfmperf pni pclmulqdq dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vmx smx est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm sse4_1 sse4_2 popcnt aes lahf_lm ida arat tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority ept vpid bogomips : 4788.01 clflush size : 64 cache_alignment : 64 address sizes : 36 bits physical, 48 bits virtual power management:

processor : 1 vendor_id : GenuineIntel cpu family : 6 model : 37 model name : Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU M 520 @ 2.40GHz stepping : 5 cpu MHz : 1199.000 cache size : 3072 KB physical id : 0 siblings : 4 core id : 2 cpu cores : 2 apicid : 4 initial apicid : 4 fpu : yes fpu_exception : yes cpuid level : 11 wp : yes flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe syscall nx rdtscp lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good xtopology nonstop_tsc aperfmperf pni pclmulqdq dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vmx smx est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm sse4_1 sse4_2 popcnt aes lahf_lm ida arat tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority ept vpid bogomips : 4788.05 clflush size : 64 cache_alignment : 64 address sizes : 36 bits physical, 48 bits virtual power management:

processor : 2 vendor_id : GenuineIntel cpu family : 6 model : 37 model name : Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU M 520 @ 2.40GHz stepping : 5 cpu MHz : 1199.000 cache size : 3072 KB physical id : 0 siblings : 4 core id : 0 cpu cores : 2 apicid : 1 initial apicid : 1 fpu : yes fpu_exception : yes cpuid level : 11 wp : yes flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe syscall nx rdtscp lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good xtopology nonstop_tsc aperfmperf pni pclmulqdq dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vmx smx est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm sse4_1 sse4_2 popcnt aes lahf_lm ida arat tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority ept vpid bogomips : 4788.04 clflush size : 64 cache_alignment : 64 address sizes : 36 bits physical, 48 bits virtual power management:

processor : 3 vendor_id : GenuineIntel cpu family : 6 model : 37 model name : Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU M 520 @ 2.40GHz stepping : 5 cpu MHz : 1199.000 cache size : 3072 KB physical id : 0 siblings : 4 core id : 2 cpu cores : 2 apicid : 5 initial apicid : 5 fpu : yes fpu_exception : yes cpuid level : 11 wp : yes flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe syscall nx rdtscp lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good xtopology nonstop_tsc aperfmperf pni pclmulqdq dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vmx smx est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm sse4_1 sse4_2 popcnt aes lahf_lm ida arat tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority ept vpid bogomips : 4788.02 clflush size : 64 cache_alignment : 64 address sizes : 36 bits physical, 48 bits virtual power management:

...

cat /etc/SuSE-release openSUSE 11.3 (x86_64) VERSION = 11.3

kullmann-0:~> uname --all Linux linux-ubd8.site 2.6.34.7-0.5-desktop #1 SMP PREEMPT 2010-10-25 08:40:12 +0200 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

-----------------------------------------------------------

thanks again

Oliver

You may be talking about different (albeit inter-related) things - throttling, temperature, and core threading. You may be seeing the effects of either the kernel's interaction with the cpu's throttling mechanism, the bios ACPI, or KDE's power management application. With throttling enabled, the cpu will respond to demand by increasing the voltage which will in turn increase the temperature. You indicated in your first post that you "need full power"; if so but you also want to conserve battery, then "ondemand" is the correct scaling policy. You should expect to see the processors throttled down unless the cpu needs more power to perform the requested task. Throttling can move very fast, although of course under full load the processor will be pegged at its maximum. In the still unresolved bug report ref'd in Heinz reply, there are some tools listed with which you can see the actual governor settings and detailed throttling results as it occurs. From that bug report there is suspicion that there may be a kernel bug but there is also the possibility that the problem is related to how the bios is handling ACPI; unfortunately bios bugs particularly re ACPI are not that uncommon so it wouldn't hurt the check for a bios update for your machine. If throttling is not working properly for you and there is no bios update, I would suggest following that bug thread (if it's in the kernel, it is serious) until a solution if found. If you can manage w/o throttling for a time, you can disable it altogether in the kernel by adding "cpufreq=no" to the kernel boot line - judging from a couple of the posts in the bug thread, you may need to do that to get above an incorrectly imposed limit. Re temperature, that is driven by core load not the other way around. As load is put on the processor, voltage is increased to raise clock which in turn generates the greater heat. I don't know Bubblemoon so I can't comment on its temperature reading method. It is conceivable that it is getting its temperature from ACPI (which if itself is a problem as hypothesized in the above bug report, I suppose could also affect the temp readings), from a cpu socket sensor, or from a thermal sensor embedded in the cpu itself; when the sensors package is being used for readings sometimes the algorithm needs to be adjusted (in the config file) for a particular machine. I use AMD processors, with which there have been hardware issues in the past with the internal thermal sensor as well as the sensor driver in the sensors package (since resolved). I don't know if there are any such issues with Intel. So in other words, temp variations could be due to the throttling issue, or not; could also be due to where/how Bubblemoon gets its readings. I would compare to what the sensors package reports. Re distribution of processes on the cores, my reply would be the same as Larry's. Note in your cpuinfo the number of cores is 2, not 4. Your i5 is essentially 2 dual-cores bolted together; that is a different architecture than a true quad. As already noted, the kernel will allocate load differently on the latter vs the former. Nothing above is a definitive answer, but hopefully helps a bit. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

dwgallien wrote:

...

Re distribution of processes on the cores, my reply would be the same as Larry's. Note in your cpuinfo the number of cores is 2, not 4. Your i5 is essentially 2 dual-cores bolted together;

2 x dual-core = 4 cores. No, an Intel Core i5 is a dual-core processor with hyper-threading.

I don't know if the Linux kernel take hyper-threading into account when scheduling. Google will no doubt be able to help.

Per, thanks for the follow-up. My wording was poor. The i5 520 series is dual-core with HT, so the OS sees 4 "logical" cores. The SMP kernel of course supports HT. I also an unfamiliar with how the current scheduler manages the threads, although I recall reading an Intel paper indicating that doing so in an optimized fashion was a kernel priority. Oliver, your cpuinfo shows that the kernel sees hyper-threading enabled. I may be out-of-date on this point, but IIRC how an application is written will have an impact on the load distribution. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org