[docs] CCCL scan architecture — lookback vs lookahead, tile_state allocation, grid sizing
Key findings from reading dispatch_scan.cuh: 1. Lookahead scan requires PTX ISA >= 860 (NVIDIA SM100+), completely unavailable on BI-V100. Our lookback-only strategy is correct. 2. Lookback scan passes 0 dynamic SMEM — SMEM is all static via __shared__. Different from lookahead which uses dynamic stages. 3. Scan launches exactly num_tiles blocks (not sm_count * subscription), one CTA per tile. For 100K tokens: ~12 tiles all fit in one wave on 16 SMs, explaining why no_delay (dcid=0) is optimal. 4. Lookahead's num_stages auto-tuning is irrelevant for BI-V100 but reveals NVIDIA's pipeline depth selection strategy.
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@@ -105,3 +105,55 @@ is exactly CCCL's two-pass pattern.
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Not controlled by muh. Should be tunable: larger partition = fewer blocks =
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less overhead but more work per block. Optimal value depends on SM count.
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For 16 SMs: partition_size=1024 may be better (fewer partitions to reduce).
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---
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## CCCL Scan Architecture (dispatch_scan.cuh)
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> Added: 2026-08-04
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### Two algorithm paths
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**Lookback** (all GPUs including BI-V100):
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- Each CTA processes one tile, uses `ScanTileState` in global memory for inter-CTA communication
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- Lookback delay policy controls how aggressively CTAs poll predecessors
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- SMEM: static only (`__shared__`), passed as `0` dynamic SMEM
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- BI-V100 optimal: `no_delay` (dcid=0) because 16 SMs → ~32 CTAs → tile_status fits in 6MB L2
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**Lookahead** (SM100+ only, PTX ISA >= 860):
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- Pipeline-based with `__pipeline_memcpy_async` and bulk copy
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- Uses dynamic SMEM with auto-selected `num_stages`
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- **Not available on BI-V100** — requires NVIDIA PTX ISA 860+ instructions
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- All lookahead structs in our tuning_scan.cuh can remain empty shells
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### ScanTileState allocation
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Scan requires `d_temp_storage` for tile status descriptors:
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```
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tile_size = threads * items
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num_tiles = ceil(num_items / tile_size)
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temp_bytes = tile_state.AllocationSize(num_tiles)
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```
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For BI-V100 with 100K tokens and tile_size=384*22=8448:
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num_tiles = ceil(100000/8448) = 12 tiles → negligible temp storage.
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### Grid size for scan
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Lookback scan launches `num_tiles` blocks (one per tile), NOT `sm_count * subscription_factor`.
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This is different from reduce, which uses `GridEvenShare`.
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For scan, every CTA processes exactly one tile and communicates with neighbors.
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With 12 tiles on 16 SMs: all tiles fit in one wave, zero lookback contention.
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This is why `no_delay` works on BI-V100 — the entire scan completes in a single wave.
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### Lookahead num_stages optimization (SM100 only)
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CCCL dynamically selects pipeline depth:
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```cpp
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max_stages = ceil(num_items / (sm_count * tile_size)) + 1
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while (smem_for_stages(num_stages+1) <= max_dynamic_smem) num_stages++
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```
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For BI-V100 this is irrelevant (no pipeline support), but the formula shows
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NVIDIA's strategy: match pipeline depth to problem size / SM count ratio.
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