diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/Makefile b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/Makefile
index 210d0e8777b6..1787e1299b1b 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/Makefile
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/Makefile
@@ -57,7 +57,9 @@ i915-$(CONFIG_DEBUG_FS) += i915_debugfs.o intel_pipe_crc.o
 i915-$(CONFIG_PERF_EVENTS) += i915_pmu.o
 
 # GEM code
-i915-y += i915_cmd_parser.o \
+i915-y += \
+	  i915_active.o \
+	  i915_cmd_parser.o \
 	  i915_gem_batch_pool.o \
 	  i915_gem_clflush.o \
 	  i915_gem_context.o \
diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_active.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_active.c
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..e0182e19cb8b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_active.c
@@ -0,0 +1,226 @@
+/*
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
+ *
+ * Copyright © 2019 Intel Corporation
+ */
+
+#include "i915_drv.h"
+#include "i915_active.h"
+
+#define BKL(ref) (&(ref)->i915->drm.struct_mutex)
+
+struct active_node {
+	struct i915_gem_active base;
+	struct i915_active *ref;
+	struct rb_node node;
+	u64 timeline;
+};
+
+static void
+__active_retire(struct i915_active *ref)
+{
+	GEM_BUG_ON(!ref->count);
+	if (!--ref->count)
+		ref->retire(ref);
+}
+
+static void
+node_retire(struct i915_gem_active *base, struct i915_request *rq)
+{
+	__active_retire(container_of(base, struct active_node, base)->ref);
+}
+
+static void
+last_retire(struct i915_gem_active *base, struct i915_request *rq)
+{
+	__active_retire(container_of(base, struct i915_active, last));
+}
+
+static struct i915_gem_active *
+active_instance(struct i915_active *ref, u64 idx)
+{
+	struct active_node *node;
+	struct rb_node **p, *parent;
+	struct i915_request *old;
+
+	/*
+	 * We track the most recently used timeline to skip a rbtree search
+	 * for the common case, under typical loads we never need the rbtree
+	 * at all. We can reuse the last slot if it is empty, that is
+	 * after the previous activity has been retired, or if it matches the
+	 * current timeline.
+	 *
+	 * Note that we allow the timeline to be active simultaneously in
+	 * the rbtree and the last cache. We do this to avoid having
+	 * to search and replace the rbtree element for a new timeline, with
+	 * the cost being that we must be aware that the ref may be retired
+	 * twice for the same timeline (as the older rbtree element will be
+	 * retired before the new request added to last).
+	 */
+	old = i915_gem_active_raw(&ref->last, BKL(ref));
+	if (!old || old->fence.context == idx)
+		goto out;
+
+	/* Move the currently active fence into the rbtree */
+	idx = old->fence.context;
+
+	parent = NULL;
+	p = &ref->tree.rb_node;
+	while (*p) {
+		parent = *p;
+
+		node = rb_entry(parent, struct active_node, node);
+		if (node->timeline == idx)
+			goto replace;
+
+		if (node->timeline < idx)
+			p = &parent->rb_right;
+		else
+			p = &parent->rb_left;
+	}
+
+	node = kmalloc(sizeof(*node), GFP_KERNEL);
+
+	/* kmalloc may retire the ref->last (thanks shrinker)! */
+	if (unlikely(!i915_gem_active_raw(&ref->last, BKL(ref)))) {
+		kfree(node);
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	if (unlikely(!node))
+		return ERR_PTR(-ENOMEM);
+
+	init_request_active(&node->base, node_retire);
+	node->ref = ref;
+	node->timeline = idx;
+
+	rb_link_node(&node->node, parent, p);
+	rb_insert_color(&node->node, &ref->tree);
+
+replace:
+	/*
+	 * Overwrite the previous active slot in the rbtree with last,
+	 * leaving last zeroed. If the previous slot is still active,
+	 * we must be careful as we now only expect to receive one retire
+	 * callback not two, and so much undo the active counting for the
+	 * overwritten slot.
+	 */
+	if (i915_gem_active_isset(&node->base)) {
+		/* Retire ourselves from the old rq->active_list */
+		__list_del_entry(&node->base.link);
+		ref->count--;
+		GEM_BUG_ON(!ref->count);
+	}
+	GEM_BUG_ON(list_empty(&ref->last.link));
+	list_replace_init(&ref->last.link, &node->base.link);
+	node->base.request = fetch_and_zero(&ref->last.request);
+
+out:
+	return &ref->last;
+}
+
+void i915_active_init(struct drm_i915_private *i915,
+		      struct i915_active *ref,
+		      void (*retire)(struct i915_active *ref))
+{
+	ref->i915 = i915;
+	ref->retire = retire;
+	ref->tree = RB_ROOT;
+	init_request_active(&ref->last, last_retire);
+	ref->count = 0;
+}
+
+int i915_active_ref(struct i915_active *ref,
+		    u64 timeline,
+		    struct i915_request *rq)
+{
+	struct i915_gem_active *active;
+
+	active = active_instance(ref, timeline);
+	if (IS_ERR(active))
+		return PTR_ERR(active);
+
+	if (!i915_gem_active_isset(active))
+		ref->count++;
+	i915_gem_active_set(active, rq);
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+bool i915_active_acquire(struct i915_active *ref)
+{
+	lockdep_assert_held(BKL(ref));
+	return !ref->count++;
+}
+
+void i915_active_release(struct i915_active *ref)
+{
+	lockdep_assert_held(BKL(ref));
+	__active_retire(ref);
+}
+
+int i915_active_wait(struct i915_active *ref)
+{
+	struct active_node *it, *n;
+	int ret;
+
+	ret = i915_gem_active_retire(&ref->last, BKL(ref));
+	if (ret)
+		return ret;
+
+	rbtree_postorder_for_each_entry_safe(it, n, &ref->tree, node) {
+		ret = i915_gem_active_retire(&it->base, BKL(ref));
+		if (ret)
+			return ret;
+
+		GEM_BUG_ON(i915_gem_active_isset(&it->base));
+		kfree(it);
+	}
+	ref->tree = RB_ROOT;
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static int __i915_request_await_active(struct i915_request *rq,
+				       struct i915_gem_active *active)
+{
+	struct i915_request *barrier =
+		i915_gem_active_raw(active, &rq->i915->drm.struct_mutex);
+
+	return barrier ? i915_request_await_dma_fence(rq, &barrier->fence) : 0;
+}
+
+int i915_request_await_active(struct i915_request *rq, struct i915_active *ref)
+{
+	struct active_node *it, *n;
+	int ret;
+
+	ret = __i915_request_await_active(rq, &ref->last);
+	if (ret)
+		return ret;
+
+	rbtree_postorder_for_each_entry_safe(it, n, &ref->tree, node) {
+		ret = __i915_request_await_active(rq, &it->base);
+		if (ret)
+			return ret;
+	}
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+void i915_active_fini(struct i915_active *ref)
+{
+	struct active_node *it, *n;
+
+	GEM_BUG_ON(i915_gem_active_isset(&ref->last));
+
+	rbtree_postorder_for_each_entry_safe(it, n, &ref->tree, node) {
+		GEM_BUG_ON(i915_gem_active_isset(&it->base));
+		kfree(it);
+	}
+	ref->tree = RB_ROOT;
+}
+
+#if IS_ENABLED(CONFIG_DRM_I915_SELFTEST)
+#include "selftests/i915_active.c"
+#endif
diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_active.h b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_active.h
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..c0729a046f98
--- /dev/null
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_active.h
@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+/*
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
+ *
+ * Copyright © 2019 Intel Corporation
+ */
+
+#ifndef _I915_ACTIVE_H_
+#define _I915_ACTIVE_H_
+
+#include "i915_active_types.h"
+
+#include <linux/rbtree.h>
+
+#include "i915_request.h"
+
+/*
+ * GPU activity tracking
+ *
+ * Each set of commands submitted to the GPU compromises a single request that
+ * signals a fence upon completion. struct i915_request combines the
+ * command submission, scheduling and fence signaling roles. If we want to see
+ * if a particular task is complete, we need to grab the fence (struct
+ * i915_request) for that task and check or wait for it to be signaled. More
+ * often though we want to track the status of a bunch of tasks, for example
+ * to wait for the GPU to finish accessing some memory across a variety of
+ * different command pipelines from different clients. We could choose to
+ * track every single request associated with the task, but knowing that
+ * each request belongs to an ordered timeline (later requests within a
+ * timeline must wait for earlier requests), we need only track the
+ * latest request in each timeline to determine the overall status of the
+ * task.
+ *
+ * struct i915_active provides this tracking across timelines. It builds a
+ * composite shared-fence, and is updated as new work is submitted to the task,
+ * forming a snapshot of the current status. It should be embedded into the
+ * different resources that need to track their associated GPU activity to
+ * provide a callback when that GPU activity has ceased, or otherwise to
+ * provide a serialisation point either for request submission or for CPU
+ * synchronisation.
+ */
+
+void i915_active_init(struct drm_i915_private *i915,
+		      struct i915_active *ref,
+		      void (*retire)(struct i915_active *ref));
+
+int i915_active_ref(struct i915_active *ref,
+		    u64 timeline,
+		    struct i915_request *rq);
+
+int i915_active_wait(struct i915_active *ref);
+
+int i915_request_await_active(struct i915_request *rq,
+			      struct i915_active *ref);
+
+bool i915_active_acquire(struct i915_active *ref);
+void i915_active_release(struct i915_active *ref);
+
+static inline bool
+i915_active_is_idle(const struct i915_active *ref)
+{
+	return !ref->count;
+}
+
+void i915_active_fini(struct i915_active *ref);
+
+#endif /* _I915_ACTIVE_H_ */
diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_active_types.h b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_active_types.h
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..411e502ed8dd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_active_types.h
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+/*
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
+ *
+ * Copyright © 2019 Intel Corporation
+ */
+
+#ifndef _I915_ACTIVE_TYPES_H_
+#define _I915_ACTIVE_TYPES_H_
+
+#include <linux/rbtree.h>
+
+#include "i915_request.h"
+
+struct drm_i915_private;
+
+struct i915_active {
+	struct drm_i915_private *i915;
+
+	struct rb_root tree;
+	struct i915_gem_active last;
+	unsigned int count;
+
+	void (*retire)(struct i915_active *ref);
+};
+
+#endif /* _I915_ACTIVE_TYPES_H_ */
diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_gem_gtt.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_gem_gtt.c
index 49b00996a15e..e625659c03a2 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_gem_gtt.c
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_gem_gtt.c
@@ -1917,14 +1917,13 @@ static struct i915_vma *pd_vma_create(struct gen6_hw_ppgtt *ppgtt, int size)
 	if (!vma)
 		return ERR_PTR(-ENOMEM);
 
+	i915_active_init(i915, &vma->active, NULL);
 	init_request_active(&vma->last_fence, NULL);
 
 	vma->vm = &ggtt->vm;
 	vma->ops = &pd_vma_ops;
 	vma->private = ppgtt;
 
-	vma->active = RB_ROOT;
-
 	vma->size = size;
 	vma->fence_size = size;
 	vma->flags = I915_VMA_GGTT;
diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_vma.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_vma.c
index d83b8ad5f859..d4772061e642 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_vma.c
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_vma.c
@@ -63,22 +63,23 @@ static void vma_print_allocator(struct i915_vma *vma, const char *reason)
 
 #endif
 
-struct i915_vma_active {
-	struct i915_gem_active base;
-	struct i915_vma *vma;
-	struct rb_node node;
-	u64 timeline;
-};
+static void obj_bump_mru(struct drm_i915_gem_object *obj)
+{
+	struct drm_i915_private *i915 = to_i915(obj->base.dev);
 
-static void
-__i915_vma_retire(struct i915_vma *vma, struct i915_request *rq)
+	spin_lock(&i915->mm.obj_lock);
+	if (obj->bind_count)
+		list_move_tail(&obj->mm.link, &i915->mm.bound_list);
+	spin_unlock(&i915->mm.obj_lock);
+
+	obj->mm.dirty = true; /* be paranoid  */
+}
+
+static void __i915_vma_retire(struct i915_active *ref)
 {
+	struct i915_vma *vma = container_of(ref, typeof(*vma), active);
 	struct drm_i915_gem_object *obj = vma->obj;
 
-	GEM_BUG_ON(!i915_vma_is_active(vma));
-	if (--vma->active_count)
-		return;
-
 	GEM_BUG_ON(!i915_gem_object_is_active(obj));
 	if (--obj->active_count)
 		return;
@@ -90,16 +91,12 @@ __i915_vma_retire(struct i915_vma *vma, struct i915_request *rq)
 		reservation_object_unlock(obj->resv);
 	}
 
-	/* Bump our place on the bound list to keep it roughly in LRU order
+	/*
+	 * Bump our place on the bound list to keep it roughly in LRU order
 	 * so that we don't steal from recently used but inactive objects
 	 * (unless we are forced to ofc!)
 	 */
-	spin_lock(&rq->i915->mm.obj_lock);
-	if (obj->bind_count)
-		list_move_tail(&obj->mm.link, &rq->i915->mm.bound_list);
-	spin_unlock(&rq->i915->mm.obj_lock);
-
-	obj->mm.dirty = true; /* be paranoid  */
+	obj_bump_mru(obj);
 
 	if (i915_gem_object_has_active_reference(obj)) {
 		i915_gem_object_clear_active_reference(obj);
@@ -107,21 +104,6 @@ __i915_vma_retire(struct i915_vma *vma, struct i915_request *rq)
 	}
 }
 
-static void
-i915_vma_retire(struct i915_gem_active *base, struct i915_request *rq)
-{
-	struct i915_vma_active *active =
-		container_of(base, typeof(*active), base);
-
-	__i915_vma_retire(active->vma, rq);
-}
-
-static void
-i915_vma_last_retire(struct i915_gem_active *base, struct i915_request *rq)
-{
-	__i915_vma_retire(container_of(base, struct i915_vma, last_active), rq);
-}
-
 static struct i915_vma *
 vma_create(struct drm_i915_gem_object *obj,
 	   struct i915_address_space *vm,
@@ -137,10 +119,9 @@ vma_create(struct drm_i915_gem_object *obj,
 	if (vma == NULL)
 		return ERR_PTR(-ENOMEM);
 
-	vma->active = RB_ROOT;
-
-	init_request_active(&vma->last_active, i915_vma_last_retire);
+	i915_active_init(vm->i915, &vma->active, __i915_vma_retire);
 	init_request_active(&vma->last_fence, NULL);
+
 	vma->vm = vm;
 	vma->ops = &vm->vma_ops;
 	vma->obj = obj;
@@ -823,7 +804,6 @@ void i915_vma_reopen(struct i915_vma *vma)
 static void __i915_vma_destroy(struct i915_vma *vma)
 {
 	struct drm_i915_private *i915 = vma->vm->i915;
-	struct i915_vma_active *iter, *n;
 
 	GEM_BUG_ON(vma->node.allocated);
 	GEM_BUG_ON(vma->fence);
@@ -843,10 +823,7 @@ static void __i915_vma_destroy(struct i915_vma *vma)
 		spin_unlock(&obj->vma.lock);
 	}
 
-	rbtree_postorder_for_each_entry_safe(iter, n, &vma->active, node) {
-		GEM_BUG_ON(i915_gem_active_isset(&iter->base));
-		kfree(iter);
-	}
+	i915_active_fini(&vma->active);
 
 	kmem_cache_free(i915->vmas, vma);
 }
@@ -931,104 +908,15 @@ static void export_fence(struct i915_vma *vma,
 	reservation_object_unlock(resv);
 }
 
-static struct i915_gem_active *active_instance(struct i915_vma *vma, u64 idx)
-{
-	struct i915_vma_active *active;
-	struct rb_node **p, *parent;
-	struct i915_request *old;
-
-	/*
-	 * We track the most recently used timeline to skip a rbtree search
-	 * for the common case, under typical loads we never need the rbtree
-	 * at all. We can reuse the last_active slot if it is empty, that is
-	 * after the previous activity has been retired, or if the active
-	 * matches the current timeline.
-	 *
-	 * Note that we allow the timeline to be active simultaneously in
-	 * the rbtree and the last_active cache. We do this to avoid having
-	 * to search and replace the rbtree element for a new timeline, with
-	 * the cost being that we must be aware that the vma may be retired
-	 * twice for the same timeline (as the older rbtree element will be
-	 * retired before the new request added to last_active).
-	 */
-	old = i915_gem_active_raw(&vma->last_active,
-				  &vma->vm->i915->drm.struct_mutex);
-	if (!old || old->fence.context == idx)
-		goto out;
-
-	/* Move the currently active fence into the rbtree */
-	idx = old->fence.context;
-
-	parent = NULL;
-	p = &vma->active.rb_node;
-	while (*p) {
-		parent = *p;
-
-		active = rb_entry(parent, struct i915_vma_active, node);
-		if (active->timeline == idx)
-			goto replace;
-
-		if (active->timeline < idx)
-			p = &parent->rb_right;
-		else
-			p = &parent->rb_left;
-	}
-
-	active = kmalloc(sizeof(*active), GFP_KERNEL);
-
-	/* kmalloc may retire the vma->last_active request (thanks shrinker)! */
-	if (unlikely(!i915_gem_active_raw(&vma->last_active,
-					  &vma->vm->i915->drm.struct_mutex))) {
-		kfree(active);
-		goto out;
-	}
-
-	if (unlikely(!active))
-		return ERR_PTR(-ENOMEM);
-
-	init_request_active(&active->base, i915_vma_retire);
-	active->vma = vma;
-	active->timeline = idx;
-
-	rb_link_node(&active->node, parent, p);
-	rb_insert_color(&active->node, &vma->active);
-
-replace:
-	/*
-	 * Overwrite the previous active slot in the rbtree with last_active,
-	 * leaving last_active zeroed. If the previous slot is still active,
-	 * we must be careful as we now only expect to receive one retire
-	 * callback not two, and so much undo the active counting for the
-	 * overwritten slot.
-	 */
-	if (i915_gem_active_isset(&active->base)) {
-		/* Retire ourselves from the old rq->active_list */
-		__list_del_entry(&active->base.link);
-		vma->active_count--;
-		GEM_BUG_ON(!vma->active_count);
-	}
-	GEM_BUG_ON(list_empty(&vma->last_active.link));
-	list_replace_init(&vma->last_active.link, &active->base.link);
-	active->base.request = fetch_and_zero(&vma->last_active.request);
-
-out:
-	return &vma->last_active;
-}
-
 int i915_vma_move_to_active(struct i915_vma *vma,
 			    struct i915_request *rq,
 			    unsigned int flags)
 {
 	struct drm_i915_gem_object *obj = vma->obj;
-	struct i915_gem_active *active;
 
 	lockdep_assert_held(&rq->i915->drm.struct_mutex);
 	GEM_BUG_ON(!drm_mm_node_allocated(&vma->node));
 
-	active = active_instance(vma, rq->fence.context);
-	if (IS_ERR(active))
-		return PTR_ERR(active);
-
 	/*
 	 * Add a reference if we're newly entering the active list.
 	 * The order in which we add operations to the retirement queue is
@@ -1037,9 +925,15 @@ int i915_vma_move_to_active(struct i915_vma *vma,
 	 * add the active reference first and queue for it to be dropped
 	 * *last*.
 	 */
-	if (!i915_gem_active_isset(active) && !vma->active_count++)
+	if (!vma->active.count)
 		obj->active_count++;
-	i915_gem_active_set(active, rq);
+
+	if (unlikely(i915_active_ref(&vma->active, rq->fence.context, rq))) {
+		if (!vma->active.count)
+			obj->active_count--;
+		return -ENOMEM;
+	}
+
 	GEM_BUG_ON(!i915_vma_is_active(vma));
 	GEM_BUG_ON(!obj->active_count);
 
@@ -1073,8 +967,6 @@ int i915_vma_unbind(struct i915_vma *vma)
 	 */
 	might_sleep();
 	if (i915_vma_is_active(vma)) {
-		struct i915_vma_active *active, *n;
-
 		/*
 		 * When a closed VMA is retired, it is unbound - eek.
 		 * In order to prevent it from being recursively closed,
@@ -1090,19 +982,10 @@ int i915_vma_unbind(struct i915_vma *vma)
 		 */
 		__i915_vma_pin(vma);
 
-		ret = i915_gem_active_retire(&vma->last_active,
-					     &vma->vm->i915->drm.struct_mutex);
+		ret = i915_active_wait(&vma->active);
 		if (ret)
 			goto unpin;
 
-		rbtree_postorder_for_each_entry_safe(active, n,
-						     &vma->active, node) {
-			ret = i915_gem_active_retire(&active->base,
-						     &vma->vm->i915->drm.struct_mutex);
-			if (ret)
-				goto unpin;
-		}
-
 		ret = i915_gem_active_retire(&vma->last_fence,
 					     &vma->vm->i915->drm.struct_mutex);
 unpin:
diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_vma.h b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_vma.h
index 5793abe509a2..3c03d4569481 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_vma.h
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_vma.h
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@
 #include "i915_gem_fence_reg.h"
 #include "i915_gem_object.h"
 
+#include "i915_active.h"
 #include "i915_request.h"
 
 enum i915_cache_level;
@@ -108,9 +109,7 @@ struct i915_vma {
 #define I915_VMA_USERFAULT	BIT(I915_VMA_USERFAULT_BIT)
 #define I915_VMA_GGTT_WRITE	BIT(15)
 
-	unsigned int active_count;
-	struct rb_root active;
-	struct i915_gem_active last_active;
+	struct i915_active active;
 	struct i915_gem_active last_fence;
 
 	/**
@@ -154,9 +153,9 @@ i915_vma_instance(struct drm_i915_gem_object *obj,
 void i915_vma_unpin_and_release(struct i915_vma **p_vma, unsigned int flags);
 #define I915_VMA_RELEASE_MAP BIT(0)
 
-static inline bool i915_vma_is_active(struct i915_vma *vma)
+static inline bool i915_vma_is_active(const struct i915_vma *vma)
 {
-	return vma->active_count;
+	return !i915_active_is_idle(&vma->active);
 }
 
 int __must_check i915_vma_move_to_active(struct i915_vma *vma,
diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/selftests/i915_active.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/selftests/i915_active.c
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..7c5c3068565b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/selftests/i915_active.c
@@ -0,0 +1,158 @@
+/*
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
+ *
+ * Copyright © 2018 Intel Corporation
+ */
+
+#include "../i915_selftest.h"
+
+#include "igt_flush_test.h"
+#include "lib_sw_fence.h"
+
+struct live_active {
+	struct i915_active base;
+	bool retired;
+};
+
+static void __live_active_retire(struct i915_active *base)
+{
+	struct live_active *active = container_of(base, typeof(*active), base);
+
+	active->retired = true;
+}
+
+static int __live_active_setup(struct drm_i915_private *i915,
+			       struct live_active *active)
+{
+	struct intel_engine_cs *engine;
+	struct i915_sw_fence *submit;
+	enum intel_engine_id id;
+	unsigned int count = 0;
+	int err = 0;
+
+	i915_active_init(i915, &active->base, __live_active_retire);
+	active->retired = false;
+
+	if (!i915_active_acquire(&active->base)) {
+		pr_err("First i915_active_acquire should report being idle\n");
+		return -EINVAL;
+	}
+
+	submit = heap_fence_create(GFP_KERNEL);
+
+	for_each_engine(engine, i915, id) {
+		struct i915_request *rq;
+
+		rq = i915_request_alloc(engine, i915->kernel_context);
+		if (IS_ERR(rq)) {
+			err = PTR_ERR(rq);
+			break;
+		}
+
+		err = i915_sw_fence_await_sw_fence_gfp(&rq->submit,
+						       submit,
+						       GFP_KERNEL);
+		if (err < 0) {
+			pr_err("Failed to allocate submission fence!\n");
+			i915_request_add(rq);
+			break;
+		}
+
+		err = i915_active_ref(&active->base, rq->fence.context, rq);
+		if (err) {
+			pr_err("Failed to track active ref!\n");
+			i915_request_add(rq);
+			break;
+		}
+
+		i915_request_add(rq);
+		count++;
+	}
+
+	i915_active_release(&active->base);
+	if (active->retired) {
+		pr_err("i915_active retired before submission!\n");
+		err = -EINVAL;
+	}
+	if (active->base.count != count) {
+		pr_err("i915_active not tracking all requests, found %d, expected %d\n",
+		       active->base.count, count);
+		err = -EINVAL;
+	}
+
+	i915_sw_fence_commit(submit);
+	heap_fence_put(submit);
+
+	return err;
+}
+
+static int live_active_wait(void *arg)
+{
+	struct drm_i915_private *i915 = arg;
+	struct live_active active;
+	intel_wakeref_t wakeref;
+	int err;
+
+	/* Check that we get a callback when requests upon waiting */
+
+	mutex_lock(&i915->drm.struct_mutex);
+	wakeref = intel_runtime_pm_get(i915);
+
+	err = __live_active_setup(i915, &active);
+
+	i915_active_wait(&active.base);
+	if (!active.retired) {
+		pr_err("i915_active not retired after waiting!\n");
+		err = -EINVAL;
+	}
+
+	i915_active_fini(&active.base);
+	if (igt_flush_test(i915, I915_WAIT_LOCKED))
+		err = -EIO;
+
+	intel_runtime_pm_put(i915, wakeref);
+	mutex_unlock(&i915->drm.struct_mutex);
+	return err;
+}
+
+static int live_active_retire(void *arg)
+{
+	struct drm_i915_private *i915 = arg;
+	struct live_active active;
+	intel_wakeref_t wakeref;
+	int err;
+
+	/* Check that we get a callback when requests are indirectly retired */
+
+	mutex_lock(&i915->drm.struct_mutex);
+	wakeref = intel_runtime_pm_get(i915);
+
+	err = __live_active_setup(i915, &active);
+
+	/* waits for & retires all requests */
+	if (igt_flush_test(i915, I915_WAIT_LOCKED))
+		err = -EIO;
+
+	if (!active.retired) {
+		pr_err("i915_active not retired after flushing!\n");
+		err = -EINVAL;
+	}
+
+	i915_active_fini(&active.base);
+	intel_runtime_pm_put(i915, wakeref);
+	mutex_unlock(&i915->drm.struct_mutex);
+	return err;
+}
+
+int i915_active_live_selftests(struct drm_i915_private *i915)
+{
+	static const struct i915_subtest tests[] = {
+		SUBTEST(live_active_wait),
+		SUBTEST(live_active_retire),
+	};
+
+	if (i915_terminally_wedged(&i915->gpu_error))
+		return 0;
+
+	return i915_subtests(tests, i915);
+}
diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/selftests/i915_live_selftests.h b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/selftests/i915_live_selftests.h
index 76b4f87fc853..6d766925ad04 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/selftests/i915_live_selftests.h
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/selftests/i915_live_selftests.h
@@ -12,8 +12,9 @@
 selftest(sanitycheck, i915_live_sanitycheck) /* keep first (igt selfcheck) */
 selftest(uncore, intel_uncore_live_selftests)
 selftest(workarounds, intel_workarounds_live_selftests)
-selftest(requests, i915_request_live_selftests)
 selftest(timelines, i915_timeline_live_selftests)
+selftest(requests, i915_request_live_selftests)
+selftest(active, i915_active_live_selftests)
 selftest(objects, i915_gem_object_live_selftests)
 selftest(dmabuf, i915_gem_dmabuf_live_selftests)
 selftest(coherency, i915_gem_coherency_live_selftests)
