linux-toradex.git/kernel/rcu/tree.c, branch v4.10

rcu: Narrow early boot window of illegal synchronous grace periods

2017-01-15T05:23:48+00:00

The current preemptible RCU implementation goes through three phases
during bootup.  In the first phase, there is only one CPU that is running
with preemption disabled, so that a no-op is a synchronous grace period.
In the second mid-boot phase, the scheduler is running, but RCU has
not yet gotten its kthreads spawned (and, for expedited grace periods,
workqueues are not yet running.  During this time, any attempt to do
a synchronous grace period will hang the system (or complain bitterly,
depending).  In the third and final phase, RCU is fully operational and
everything works normally.

This has been OK for some time, but there has recently been some
synchronous grace periods showing up during the second mid-boot phase.
This code worked "by accident" for awhile, but started failing as soon
as expedited RCU grace periods switched over to workqueues in commit
8b355e3bc140 ("rcu: Drive expedited grace periods from workqueue").
Note that the code was buggy even before this commit, as it was subject
to failure on real-time systems that forced all expedited grace periods
to run as normal grace periods (for example, using the rcu_normal ksysfs
parameter).  The callchain from the failure case is as follows:

early_amd_iommu_init()
|-> acpi_put_table(ivrs_base);
|-> acpi_tb_put_table(table_desc);
|-> acpi_tb_invalidate_table(table_desc);
|-> acpi_tb_release_table(...)
|-> acpi_os_unmap_memory
|-> acpi_os_unmap_iomem
|-> acpi_os_map_cleanup
|-> synchronize_rcu_expedited

The kernel showing this callchain was built with CONFIG_PREEMPT_RCU=y,
which caused the code to try using workqueues before they were
initialized, which did not go well.

This commit therefore reworks RCU to permit synchronous grace periods
to proceed during this mid-boot phase.  This commit is therefore a
fix to a regression introduced in v4.9, and is therefore being put
forward post-merge-window in v4.10.

This commit sets a flag from the existing rcu_scheduler_starting()
function which causes all synchronous grace periods to take the expedited
path.  The expedited path now checks this flag, using the requesting task
to drive the expedited grace period forward during the mid-boot phase.
Finally, this flag is updated by a core_initcall() function named
rcu_exp_runtime_mode(), which causes the runtime codepaths to be used.

Note that this arrangement assumes that tasks are not sent POSIX signals
(or anything similar) from the time that the first task is spawned
through core_initcall() time.

Fixes: 8b355e3bc140 ("rcu: Drive expedited grace periods from workqueue")
Reported-by: "Zheng, Lv" 
Reported-by: Borislav Petkov 
Signed-off-by: Paul E. McKenney 
Tested-by: Stan Kain 
Tested-by: Ivan 
Tested-by: Emanuel Castelo 
Tested-by: Bruno Pesavento 
Tested-by: Borislav Petkov 
Tested-by: Frederic Bezies 
Cc:  # 4.9.0-

rcu: Don't kick unless grace period or request

2016-11-14T18:46:31+00:00

The current code can result in spurious kicks when there are no grace
periods in progress and no grace-period-related requests.  This is
sort of OK for a diagnostic aid, but the resulting ftrace-dump messages
in dmesg are annoying.  This commit therefore avoids spurious kicks
in the common case.

Signed-off-by: Paul E. McKenney 
Reviewed-by: Josh Triplett

rcu: Remove obsolete comment from __call_rcu()

2016-11-14T18:46:19+00:00

The __call_rcu() comment about opportunistically noting grace period
beginnings and endings is obsolete.  RCU still does such opportunistic
noting, but in __call_rcu_core() rather than __call_rcu(), and there
already is an appropriate comment in __call_rcu_core().  This commit
therefore removes the obsolete comment.

Reported-by: Michalis Kokologiannakis 
Signed-off-by: Paul E. McKenney 
Reviewed-by: Josh Triplett

rcu: Remove obsolete rcu_check_callbacks() header comment

2016-11-14T18:46:14+00:00

In the deep past, rcu_check_callbacks() was only invoked if rcu_pending()
returned true.  Which was fine, but these days rcu_check_callbacks()
is invoked unconditionally.  This commit therefore removes the obsolete
sentence from the header comment.

Reported-by: Michalis Kokologiannakis 
Signed-off-by: Paul E. McKenney 
Reviewed-by: Josh Triplett

rcu: Tighten up __call_rcu() rcu_head alignment check

2016-11-14T18:46:08+00:00

Commit 720abae3d68ae ("rcu: force alignment on struct
callback_head/rcu_head") forced the rcu_head (AKA callback_head)
structure's alignment to pointer size, that is, to 4-byte boundaries on
32-bit systems and to 8-byte boundaries on 64-bit systems.  This
commit therefore checks for this same alignment in __call_rcu(),
which used to contain a looser check for two-byte alignment.

Signed-off-by: Paul E. McKenney 
Tested-by: Geert Uytterhoeven 
Acked-by: Kirill A. Shutemov 
Reviewed-by: Josh Triplett

Merge tag 'gcc-plugins-v4.9-rc1' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/kees/linux

2016-10-15T17:03:15+00:00

Pull gcc plugins update from Kees Cook:
 "This adds a new gcc plugin named "latent_entropy". It is designed to
  extract as much possible uncertainty from a running system at boot
  time as possible, hoping to capitalize on any possible variation in
  CPU operation (due to runtime data differences, hardware differences,
  SMP ordering, thermal timing variation, cache behavior, etc).

  At the very least, this plugin is a much more comprehensive example
  for how to manipulate kernel code using the gcc plugin internals"

* tag 'gcc-plugins-v4.9-rc1' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/kees/linux:
  latent_entropy: Mark functions with __latent_entropy
  gcc-plugins: Add latent_entropy plugin

latent_entropy: Mark functions with __latent_entropy

2016-10-10T21:51:45+00:00

The __latent_entropy gcc attribute can be used only on functions and
variables.  If it is on a function then the plugin will instrument it for
gathering control-flow entropy. If the attribute is on a variable then
the plugin will initialize it with random contents.  The variable must
be an integer, an integer array type or a structure with integer fields.

These specific functions have been selected because they are init
functions (to help gather boot-time entropy), are called at unpredictable
times, or they have variable loops, each of which provide some level of
latent entropy.

Signed-off-by: Emese Revfy 
[kees: expanded commit message]
Signed-off-by: Kees Cook

Merge branches 'doc.2016.08.22c', 'exp.2016.08.22c', 'fixes.2016.09.14a', 'hotplug.2016.08.22c' and 'torture.2016.08.22c' into HEAD

2016-09-14T19:58:49+00:00

doc.2016.08.22c: Documentation updates
exp.2016.08.22c: Expedited grace-period updates
fixes.2016.09.14a: Miscellaneous fixes
hotplug.2016.08.22c: CPU-hotplug changes
torture.2016.08.22c: Torture-test changes

rcu: Provide exact CPU-online tracking for RCU

2016-08-22T16:36:57+00:00

Up to now, RCU has assumed that the CPU-online process makes it from
CPU_UP_PREPARE to set_cpu_online() within one jiffy.  Given the recent
rise of virtualized environments, this assumption is very clearly
obsolete.  Failing to meet this deadline can result in RCU paying
attention to an incoming CPU for one jiffy, then ignoring it until the
grace period following the one in which that CPU sets itself online.
This situation might prove to be fatally disappointing to any RCU
read-side critical sections that had the misfortune to execute during
the time in which RCU was ignoring the slow-to-come-online CPU.

This commit therefore updates RCU's internal CPU state-tracking
information at notify_cpu_starting() time, thus providing RCU with
an exact transition of the CPU's state from offline to online.

Note that this means that incoming CPUs must not use RCU read-side
critical section (other than those of SRCU) until notify_cpu_starting()
time.  Note also that the CPU_STARTING notifiers -are- allowed to use
RCU read-side critical sections.  (Of course, CPU-hotplug notifiers are
rapidly becoming obsolete, so you need to act fast!)

If a given architecture or CPU family needs to use RCU read-side
critical sections earlier, the call to rcu_cpu_starting() from
notify_cpu_starting() will need to be architecture-specific, with
architectures that need early use being required to hand-place
the call to rcu_cpu_starting() at some point preceding the call to
notify_cpu_starting().

Signed-off-by: Paul E. McKenney

rcu: Avoid redundant quiescent-state chasing

2016-08-22T16:35:57+00:00

Currently, __note_gp_changes() checks to see if the CPU has slept through
multiple grace periods.  If it has, it resynchronizes that CPU's view
of the grace-period state, which includes whether or not the current
grace period needs a quiescent state from this CPU.  The fact of this
need (or lack thereof) needs to be in two places, rdp->cpu_no_qs.b.norm
and rdp->core_needs_qs.  The former tells RCU's context-switch code to
go get a quiescent state and the latter says that it needs to be reported.
The current code unconditionally sets the former to true, but correctly
sets the latter.

This does not result in failures, but it does unnecessarily increase
the amount of work done on average at context-switch time.  This commit
therefore correctly sets both fields.

Signed-off-by: Paul E. McKenney