feat(wheels): publish lancedb-compat for pre-Haswell x86_64 hosts (#3327)

Tracks #3324. On x86_64 CPUs without AVX2 (Sandy Bridge / Ivy Bridge /
Westmere on Intel; Bulldozer / Piledriver / Steamroller on AMD), `import
lancedb` SIGILLs because the wheel bakes AVX2 + FMA into every compiled
function. Per [westonpace's
review](https://github.com/lancedb/lancedb/issues/3324#issuecomment-4328944354),
the default `lancedb` wheel stays fast; pre-Haswell users get a
separately-published `lancedb-compat` wheel.

## Summary

- Adds a `lancedb-compat` matrix entry to `pypi-publish.yml` that builds
with `RUSTFLAGS="-C target-cpu=x86-64-v2"` (Nehalem-class baseline).
Same Python API (`import lancedb` works) — files install to the same
namespace, so the two wheels conflict at install time and users pick
one. Same pattern as `psycopg2` / `psycopg2-binary` and `tensorflow` /
`tensorflow-cpu`.
- Generalizes `build_linux_wheel` and `upload_wheel` composites with
optional `package-name` and `rustflags` inputs (defaults preserve the
existing 4 `lancedb` matrix entries verbatim).
- Documents the choice in `python/README.md`: `pip install
lancedb-compat` for pre-Haswell hosts.

The default `.cargo/config.toml` baseline is unchanged.

## Sequencing

1. ~~lance-format/lance#6630 merges → runtime SIMD dispatch lands in
lance.~~ **Done — merged.**
2. lancedb's lance dep is bumped to a release that includes it (separate
PR / normal cadence).
3. This PR's `lancedb-compat` wheel build path starts producing a wheel
that runs on pre-Haswell hardware. **Maintainer setup**: register
`lancedb-compat` on PyPI and configure trusted publishing.

## Verified end-to-end on Sandy Bridge Xeon E5-2609

Verification was done locally against a fork-pinned lance dep that
includes the runtime dispatch implementation, using the same
`RUSTFLAGS="-C target-cpu=x86-64-v2"` flags this PR uses in CI:

```
$ RUSTFLAGS="-C target-cpu=x86-64-v2" maturin build --release
$ pip install ./target/wheels/lancedb-*.whl
$ python verify.py
PASS: import + simd dispatch + table create + vector search all work.
```

Pre-fix on the same CPU (default `pip install lancedb`): `Illegal
instruction (core dumped)`. Full reproducer (deps + clone + build +
verification):
https://gist.github.com/tobocop2/2e341358b55c143527416edfdb1e37df.
Fork-internal verification PR with the dep bump and full logs:
[`tobocop2/lancedb#2`](https://github.com/tobocop2/lancedb/pull/2).

## Benchmarks — no regressions on modern CPUs from the lance-side change

These are the numbers I ran for the lance PR, confirming the runtime
dispatch doesn't slow down the default (`target-cpu=haswell`) wheel that
existing users install. Criterion, one machine, one session, base → PR,
no `RUSTFLAGS` override. Full methodology, null experiments, and logs:
[lance-format/lance#6630 benchmark
comment](https://github.com/lance-format/lance/pull/6630#issuecomment-4933063394)
and the [logs
gist](https://gist.github.com/tobocop2/3c6d0f449cbd736aa2501f89a7fe56a2).

| benchmark | EPYC 7B13 (`avx2`, `fma`, no `avx512f`) | Xeon Cascade
Lake (`avx512f`) |
|---|---|---|
| `Cosine(f32, scalar)` *(control)* | +0.04% | +0.09% |
| `Cosine(f64, scalar)` | −0.34% | −1.94% |
| `Cosine(u8, SIMD)` | +2.30% | +3.63% |
| `Dot(f16, SIMD)` | −0.58% | +0.61% |
| `Dot(f32, SIMD)` | +0.34% | **−6.08%** |
| `Dot(f32, arrow_arity)` | +0.02% | −0.00% |
| `L2(f32, scalar)` | −0.10% | −0.02% |
| `L2(f32, simd)` (dim 1024) | +2.63% | −0.53% |
| **`L2(simd,f32x8)` (dim 8)** | **−45.9%** | **−25.1%** |
| `L2(u8, SIMD)` | +0.42% | −3.11% |
| `NormL2(f32, SIMD)` | −1.02% | −4.17% |
| `NormL2(f64, SIMD)` | +3.51% | −0.58% |

Nothing regresses beyond the noise floor. Dim 8 — the PQ sub-vector
width — improves 25–46%.

---

To be transparent: this isn't my domain of expertise and the lance-side
implementation is AI-generated. I verified it works end-to-end on the
failing hardware. Happy to roll in feedback.
This commit is contained in:
Tobias
2026-07-16 13:54:42 -04:00
committed by GitHub
parent ca39258342
commit 7b6ee0d655
3 changed files with 66 additions and 6 deletions
+21
View File
@@ -8,6 +8,27 @@ A Python library for [LanceDB](https://github.com/lancedb/lancedb).
pip install lancedb
```
### Pre-Haswell x86_64 hosts: `lancedb-compat`
The default `lancedb` wheel targets `x86-64-haswell` (AVX2 + FMA + F16C) for full performance on modern hardware. Pre-Haswell hosts — Intel Sandy Bridge / Ivy Bridge / Westmere; AMD Bulldozer / Piledriver / Steamroller — don't have AVX2 and crash with `Illegal instruction` at `import lancedb`.
For those hosts, install the `lancedb-compat` package instead:
```bash
pip install lancedb-compat
```
Same Python API (`import lancedb` works as usual). The compat wheel is compiled at the `x86-64-v2` baseline (Nehalem-class) and uses runtime SIMD dispatch in the embedded lance crate to pick the right kernel tier (scalar / AVX / AVX+FMA / AVX2+FMA / AVX-512) at load time, so it still goes fast on modern hardware while running cleanly on the pre-Haswell silicon. Use `lance.simd_info()` from Python to verify which tier was selected.
`lancedb` and `lancedb-compat` install to the same `lancedb/` namespace and conflict at install time. Pick one. To switch, `pip uninstall lancedb` first, then `pip install lancedb-compat` (or vice-versa).
If you need a custom baseline (or `lancedb-compat` isn't yet published for your platform), build from source with the override:
```bash
RUSTFLAGS="-C target-cpu=x86-64-v2" maturin build --release
pip install ./target/wheels/lancedb-*.whl
```
### Preview Releases
Stable releases are created about every 2 weeks. For the latest features and bug fixes, you can install the preview release. These releases receive the same level of testing as stable releases, but are not guaranteed to be available for more than 6 months after they are released. Once your application is stable, we recommend switching to stable releases.