Re: [PATCH] platform/x86: dell-laptop: Implement platform_profile

From: Mario Limonciello <mario.limonciello@amd.com>
To: Lyndon Sanche <lsanche@lyndeno.ca>
Cc: "Matthew Garrett" <mjg59@srcf.ucam.org>,
	"Pali Rohár" <pali@kernel.org>,
	"Hans de Goede" <hdegoede@redhat.com>,
	"Ilpo Järvinen" <ilpo.jarvinen@linux.intel.com>,
	platform-driver-x86@vger.kernel.org,
	linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org, Dell.Client.Kernel@dell.com,
	"'Srinivas Pandruvada'" <srinivas.pandruvada@linux.intel.com>
Subject: Re: [PATCH] platform/x86: dell-laptop: Implement platform_profile
Date: Thu, 25 Apr 2024 15:28:18 -0500	[thread overview]
Message-ID: <ae6a5b66-86e9-44cd-8484-1d218e7bc72c@amd.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <24c7a9ea-7755-4270-a338-4701c8e262e2@app.fastmail.com>

On 4/25/2024 15:24, Lyndon Sanche wrote:
> On Thu, Apr 25, 2024, at 2:07 PM, Mario Limonciello wrote:
>> + Srinivas
>>
>> On 4/25/2024 12:27, Lyndon Sanche wrote:
>>> Some Dell laptops support configuration of preset
>>> fan modes through smbios tables.
>>>
>>> If the platform supports these fan modes, set up
>>> platform_profile to change these modes. If not
>>> supported, skip enabling platform_profile.
>>>
>>> Signed-off-by: Lyndon Sanche <lsanche@lyndeno.ca>
>>> ---
>>
>> When you developed this was it using a Dell Intel or Dell AMD system?
>>
>> If it was an Intel system, did you test it with thermald installed and
>> active?
>>
>> I'm wondering how all this stuff jives with the stuff that thermald
>> does.  I don't know if they fight for any of the same "resources".
> 
> Thank you for your response.
> 
> I did my development and testing on a Dell Intel system. Specifically the XPS 15 9560 with i7-7700HQ.
> 
> I do have thermald running, though I admit I am not really aware of what exactly it does, besides being related to thermals in some way.
> 
> I normally set the thermal mode with Dell's smbios-thermal-ctl program. I am not too sure all the values that the bios configures on it's own depending on the provided mode, so I am not sure if thermald conflicts. But my understanding is that would be out of scope of this driver, since we are only telling the bios what we want at a high level.
> 
> Lyndon

Yeah it's not say it's a "new" conflict, it would just become a lot more 
prevalent since software like GNOME and KDE use power-profiles-daemon to 
manipulate the new power profile you're exporting from the driver.

If there really is no conflict, then great!
If there is a conflict then I was just wondering if there needs to be an 
easy way to turn on/off the profile support when thermald is in use.