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[Bugfix][Attention] Resolve kernel block-size constraints per KV cache spec - #58630

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@xutingl xutingl commented Sep 24, 2026

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Purpose

FlashAttentionBackend.get_supported_kernel_block_sizes() decides its FA4 hd256 page constraint ([128] on SM100/SM110) and, since #53175, its SM90 FP8-KV hd512 constraint ([64]) from the KV cache spec it is given, else from the model-wide ModelConfig. Two of the places that choose block sizes still query it without a spec, so layers whose head size differs from the model-wide one, in practice a spec-decode drafter (DFlash, EAGLE-3, DSpark, MTP) with smaller heads than its target, are held to the target's constraint:

  1. the default block size (Platform.update_block_size_for_backend, which since [Bugfix] Pick a KV block size supported by every attention backend #49845 consults every backend found in the loaded layers, including the drafter's);
  2. each KV cache group's kernel block size (prepare_kernel_block_sizes / select_common_block_size).

Example: Qwen3.8-27B (GDN hybrid, head size 256, full attention on FlashInfer) + z-lab/Qwen3.8-27B-DFlash2 (head size 128, FlashAttention) on GB200. The Mamba alignment gives an 832-token block, which the drafter's inherited 128-token page constraint does not divide.

#58207 notes the same failure for Qwen3.6-35B-A3B + DFlash on B300.

Fix

Pass each layer's KV cache spec to the backend at both sites, as _largest_kernel_block_within already does for sliding-window layers since #53175.

  • AttentionBackend.supports_block_size(block_size, kv_cache_spec=None) forwards the spec to get_supported_kernel_block_sizes; the overrides only gain the parameter.
  • Platform._find_non_ssm_backend_specs collects distinct (backend, spec) pairs from the layers, and _preferred_block_size_for_backends resolves each backend's sizes for the spec it serves. A lone backend keeps its get_preferred_block_size preference; _find_non_ssm_backends and the alignment phases are unchanged.
  • select_common_block_size takes optional per-backend specs; prepare_kernel_block_sizes passes each attention group's. Other callers are unchanged.

FlashAttention itself needs no change, and only layers whose spec carries a different constraint than the model-wide one are affected.

Not covered: backend selection under a user --block-size (validate_configuration) receives primitives, not a spec, and still checks the model-wide constraint. In the example above, --block-size 64 therefore still precludes FlashAttention for the drafter, which falls back to an eager FlashInfer draft.

Supersedes #58425 and replaces #58491.

Test Plan

pytest tests/v1/worker/test_gpu_model_runner.py -k "select_common_block_size or preferred_block_size"
pytest tests/kernels/attention/test_attention_selector.py -k fa4_hd256
pytest tests/v1/worker/test_attn_utils.py

E2E on one GB200 (this change applied on main at a1b6763, the last commit before the FlashInfer 0.7.0 bump, which the test environment does not have): Qwen3.8-27B (bf16) + z-lab/Qwen3.8-27B-DFlash2 (num_speculative_tokens=7), default block size; single-request decode benchmark with the acceptance length pinned to 3.

Test Result

Unit tests pass (new: test_preferred_block_size_resolves_constraints_per_spec, test_select_common_block_size_resolves_sizes_per_spec, test_fa4_hd256_block_size_resolves_from_spec).

main this PR
block size 896 (Mamba page padding 9.54%) 832 (Mamba page padding 1.71%)
GPU KV cache 578,094 tokens 605,393 tokens
decode TPOT 4.53 ms 4.51 ms

Code written with AI assistance (Claude); reviewed, tested and validated end to end by the author.

@mergify mergify Bot added rocm Related to AMD ROCm cpu Related to CPU backends labels Sep 24, 2026
@mergify mergify Bot added the bug Something isn't working label Sep 24, 2026
@github-project-automation github-project-automation Bot moved this to Todo in AMD Sep 24, 2026
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@mergify

mergify Bot commented Sep 28, 2026

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This pull request has merge conflicts that must be resolved before it can be
merged. Please rebase the PR, @xutingl.

https://docs.github.com/en/pull-requests/collaborating-with-pull-requests/working-with-forks/syncing-a-fork

…e spec

FlashAttention resolves its FA4 hd256 (and SM90 FP8-KV hd512) page
constraint from the KV cache spec it is given, else from the model-wide
head size. The default block size and each KV cache group's kernel block
size still query it without a spec, so a spec-decode drafter with a
different head size is held to its target's constraint. On hybrid
head-size-256 targets (e.g. Qwen3.8-27B + DFlash2 on GB200) this failed
KV-cache init with "No common block size" before vllm-project#49845 and since then
inflates the block size from 832 to 896 (-4.5% KV capacity). Pass each
layer's spec at both sites, as the sliding-window path already does.

Co-authored-by: Claude Fable 5.1 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Signed-off-by: Xuting Liu <xuting@inferact.ai>
@xutingl
xutingl force-pushed the xutingl/kernel-block-size-per-spec branch from a6dda14 to 1ccfe71 Compare October 4, 2026 09:39
@mergify mergify Bot removed the needs-rebase label Oct 4, 2026
@mergify

mergify Bot commented Oct 8, 2026

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This pull request has merge conflicts that must be resolved before it can be
merged. Please rebase the PR, @xutingl.

https://docs.github.com/en/pull-requests/collaborating-with-pull-requests/working-with-forks/syncing-a-fork

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