libbpf: Add BPF ring buffer support

Declaring and instantiating BPF ring buffer doesn't require any changes to
libbpf, as it's just another type of maps. So using existing BTF-defined maps
syntax with __uint(type, BPF_MAP_TYPE_RINGBUF) and __uint(max_elements,
<size-of-ring-buf>) is all that's necessary to create and use BPF ring buffer.

This patch adds BPF ring buffer consumer to libbpf. It is very similar to
perf_buffer implementation in terms of API, but also attempts to fix some
minor problems and inconveniences with existing perf_buffer API.

ring_buffer support both single ring buffer use case (with just using
ring_buffer__new()), as well as allows to add more ring buffers, each with its
own callback and context. This allows to efficiently poll and consume
multiple, potentially completely independent, ring buffers, using single
epoll instance.

The latter is actually a problem in practice for applications
that are using multiple sets of perf buffers. They have to create multiple
instances for struct perf_buffer and poll them independently or in a loop,
each approach having its own problems (e.g., inability to use a common poll
timeout). struct ring_buffer eliminates this problem by aggregating many
independent ring buffer instances under the single "ring buffer manager".

Second, perf_buffer's callback can't return error, so applications that need
to stop polling due to error in data or data signalling the end, have to use
extra mechanisms to signal that polling has to stop. ring_buffer's callback
can return error, which will be passed through back to user code and can be
acted upon appropariately.

Two APIs allow to consume ring buffer data:
  - ring_buffer__poll(), which will wait for data availability notification
    and will consume data only from reported ring buffer(s); this API allows
    to efficiently use resources by reading data only when it becomes
    available;
  - ring_buffer__consume(), will attempt to read new records regardless of
    data availablity notification sub-system. This API is useful for cases
    when lowest latency is required, in expense of burning CPU resources.

Signed-off-by: Andrii Nakryiko <andriin@fb.com>
Signed-off-by: Daniel Borkmann <daniel@iogearbox.net>
Link: https://lore.kernel.org/bpf/20200529075424.3139988-3-andriin@fb.com
Signed-off-by: Alexei Starovoitov <ast@kernel.org>

1 files changed, 21 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/tools/lib/bpf/libbpf.h b/tools/lib/bpf/libbpf.h
index 1e2e399a5f2c..8528a02d5af8 100644
--- a/tools/lib/bpf/libbpf.h
+++ b/tools/lib/bpf/libbpf.h
@@ -478,6 +478,27 @@ LIBBPF_API int bpf_get_link_xdp_id(int ifindex, __u32 *prog_id, __u32 flags);
 LIBBPF_API int bpf_get_link_xdp_info(int ifindex, struct xdp_link_info *info,
 				     size_t info_size, __u32 flags);
 
+/* Ring buffer APIs */
+struct ring_buffer;
+
+typedef int (*ring_buffer_sample_fn)(void *ctx, void *data, size_t size);
+
+struct ring_buffer_opts {
+	size_t sz; /* size of this struct, for forward/backward compatiblity */
+};
+
+#define ring_buffer_opts__last_field sz
+
+LIBBPF_API struct ring_buffer *
+ring_buffer__new(int map_fd, ring_buffer_sample_fn sample_cb, void *ctx,
+		 const struct ring_buffer_opts *opts);
+LIBBPF_API void ring_buffer__free(struct ring_buffer *rb);
+LIBBPF_API int ring_buffer__add(struct ring_buffer *rb, int map_fd,
+				ring_buffer_sample_fn sample_cb, void *ctx);
+LIBBPF_API int ring_buffer__poll(struct ring_buffer *rb, int timeout_ms);
+LIBBPF_API int ring_buffer__consume(struct ring_buffer *rb);
+
+/* Perf buffer APIs */
 struct perf_buffer;
 
 typedef void (*perf_buffer_sample_fn)(void *ctx, int cpu,