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Diffstat (limited to 'Documentation/RCU')
| -rw-r--r-- | Documentation/RCU/RTFP.txt | 387 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | Documentation/RCU/UP.txt | 64 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | Documentation/RCU/arrayRCU.txt | 141 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | Documentation/RCU/checklist.txt | 157 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | Documentation/RCU/listRCU.txt | 307 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | Documentation/RCU/rcu.txt | 67 |
6 files changed, 1123 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/RCU/RTFP.txt b/Documentation/RCU/RTFP.txt new file mode 100644 index 000000000000..12250b342e1f --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/RCU/RTFP.txt @@ -0,0 +1,387 @@ +Read the F-ing Papers! + + +This document describes RCU-related publications, and is followed by +the corresponding bibtex entries. + +The first thing resembling RCU was published in 1980, when Kung and Lehman +[Kung80] recommended use of a garbage collector to defer destruction +of nodes in a parallel binary search tree in order to simplify its +implementation. This works well in environments that have garbage +collectors, but current production garbage collectors incur significant +read-side overhead. + +In 1982, Manber and Ladner [Manber82,Manber84] recommended deferring +destruction until all threads running at that time have terminated, again +for a parallel binary search tree. This approach works well in systems +with short-lived threads, such as the K42 research operating system. +However, Linux has long-lived tasks, so more is needed. + +In 1986, Hennessy, Osisek, and Seigh [Hennessy89] introduced passive +serialization, which is an RCU-like mechanism that relies on the presence +of "quiescent states" in the VM/XA hypervisor that are guaranteed not +to be referencing the data structure. However, this mechanism was not +optimized for modern computer systems, which is not surprising given +that these overheads were not so expensive in the mid-80s. Nonetheless, +passive serialization appears to be the first deferred-destruction +mechanism to be used in production. Furthermore, the relevant patent has +lapsed, so this approach may be used in non-GPL software, if desired. +(In contrast, use of RCU is permitted only in software licensed under +GPL. Sorry!!!) + +In 1990, Pugh [Pugh90] noted that explicitly tracking which threads +were reading a given data structure permitted deferred free to operate +in the presence of non-terminating threads. However, this explicit +tracking imposes significant read-side overhead, which is undesirable +in read-mostly situations. This algorithm does take pains to avoid +write-side contention and parallelize the other write-side overheads by +providing a fine-grained locking design, however, it would be interesting +to see how much of the performance advantage reported in 1990 remains +in 2004. + +At about this same time, Adams [Adams91] described ``chaotic relaxation'', +where the normal barriers between successive iterations of convergent +numerical algorithms are relaxed, so that iteration $n$ might use +data from iteration $n-1$ or even $n-2$. This introduces error, +which typically slows convergence and thus increases the number of +iterations required. However, this increase is sometimes more than made +up for by a reduction in the number of expensive barrier operations, +which are otherwise required to synchronize the threads at the end +of each iteration. Unfortunately, chaotic relaxation requires highly +structured data, such as the matrices used in scientific programs, and +is thus inapplicable to most data structures in operating-system kernels. + +In 1993, Jacobson [Jacobson93] verbally described what is perhaps the +simplest deferred-free technique: simply waiting a fixed amount of time +before freeing blocks awaiting deferred free. Jacobson did not describe +any write-side changes he might have made in this work using SGI's Irix +kernel. Aju John published a similar technique in 1995 [AjuJohn95]. +This works well if there is a well-defined upper bound on the length of +time that reading threads can hold references, as there might well be in +hard real-time systems. However, if this time is exceeded, perhaps due +to preemption, excessive interrupts, or larger-than-anticipated load, +memory corruption can ensue, with no reasonable means of diagnosis. +Jacobson's technique is therefore inappropriate for use in production +operating-system kernels, except when such kernels can provide hard +real-time response guarantees for all operations. + +Also in 1995, Pu et al. [Pu95a] applied a technique similar to that of Pugh's +read-side-tracking to permit replugging of algorithms within a commercial +Unix operating system. However, this replugging permitted only a single +reader at a time. The following year, this same group of researchers +extended their technique to allow for multiple readers [Cowan96a]. +Their approach requires memory barriers (and thus pipeline stalls), +but reduces memory latency, contention, and locking overheads. + +1995 also saw the first publication of DYNIX/ptx's RCU mechanism +[Slingwine95], which was optimized for modern CPU architectures, +and was successfully applied to a number of situations within the +DYNIX/ptx kernel. The corresponding conference paper appeared in 1998 +[McKenney98]. + +In 1999, the Tornado and K42 groups described their "generations" +mechanism, which quite similar to RCU [Gamsa99]. These operating systems +made pervasive use of RCU in place of "existence locks", which greatly +simplifies locking hierarchies. + +2001 saw the first RCU presentation involving Linux [McKenney01a] +at OLS. The resulting abundance of RCU patches was presented the +following year [McKenney02a], and use of RCU in dcache was first +described that same year [Linder02a]. + +Also in 2002, Michael [Michael02b,Michael02a] presented techniques +that defer the destruction of data structures to simplify non-blocking +synchronization (wait-free synchronization, lock-free synchronization, +and obstruction-free synchronization are all examples of non-blocking +synchronization). In particular, this technique eliminates locking, +reduces contention, reduces memory latency for readers, and parallelizes +pipeline stalls and memory latency for writers. However, these +techniques still impose significant read-side overhead in the form of +memory barriers. Researchers at Sun worked along similar lines in the +same timeframe [HerlihyLM02,HerlihyLMS03]. + +In 2003, the K42 group described how RCU could be used to create +hot-pluggable implementations of operating-system functions. Later that +year saw a paper describing an RCU implementation of System V IPC +[Arcangeli03], and an introduction to RCU in Linux Journal [McKenney03a]. + +2004 has seen a Linux-Journal article on use of RCU in dcache +[McKenney04a], a performance comparison of locking to RCU on several +different CPUs [McKenney04b], a dissertation describing use of RCU in a +number of operating-system kernels [PaulEdwardMcKenneyPhD], and a paper +describing how to make RCU safe for soft-realtime applications [Sarma04c]. + + +Bibtex Entries + +@article{Kung80 +,author="H. T. Kung and Q. Lehman" +,title="Concurrent Maintenance of Binary Search Trees" +,Year="1980" +,Month="September" +,journal="ACM Transactions on Database Systems" +,volume="5" +,number="3" +,pages="354-382" +} + +@techreport{Manber82 +,author="Udi Manber and Richard E. Ladner" +,title="Concurrency Control in a Dynamic Search Structure" +,institution="Department of Computer Science, University of Washington" +,address="Seattle, Washington" +,year="1982" +,number="82-01-01" +,month="January" +,pages="28" +} + +@article{Manber84 +,author="Udi Manber and Richard E. Ladner" +,title="Concurrency Control in a Dynamic Search Structure" +,Year="1984" +,Month="September" +,journal="ACM Transactions on Database Systems" +,volume="9" +,number="3" +,pages="439-455" +} + +@techreport{Hennessy89 +,author="James P. Hennessy and Damian L. Osisek and Joseph W. {Seigh II}" +,title="Passive Serialization in a Multitasking Environment" +,institution="US Patent and Trademark Office" +,address="Washington, DC" +,year="1989" +,number="US Patent 4,809,168 (lapsed)" +,month="February" +,pages="11" +} + +@techreport{Pugh90 +,author="William Pugh" +,title="Concurrent Maintenance of Skip Lists" +,institution="Institute of Advanced Computer Science Studies, Department of Computer Science, University of Maryland" +,address="College Park, Maryland" +,year="1990" +,number="CS-TR-2222.1" +,month="June" +} + +@Book{Adams91 +,Author="Gregory R. Adams" +,title="Concurrent Programming, Principles, and Practices" +,Publisher="Benjamin Cummins" +,Year="1991" +} + +@unpublished{Jacobson93 +,author="Van Jacobson" +,title="Avoid Read-Side Locking Via Delayed Free" +,year="1993" +,month="September" +,note="Verbal discussion" +} + +@Conference{AjuJohn95 +,Author="Aju John" +,Title="Dynamic vnodes -- Design and Implementation" +,Booktitle="{USENIX Winter 1995}" +,Publisher="USENIX Association" +,Month="January" +,Year="1995" +,pages="11-23" +,Address="New Orleans, LA" +} + +@techreport{Slingwine95 +,author="John D. Slingwine and Paul E. McKenney" +,title="Apparatus and Method for Achieving Reduced Overhead Mutual +Exclusion and Maintaining Coherency in a Multiprocessor System +Utilizing Execution History and Thread Monitoring" +,institution="US Patent and Trademark Office" +,address="Washington, DC" +,year="1995" +,number="US Patent 5,442,758 (contributed under GPL)" +,month="August" +} + +@techreport{Slingwine97 +,author="John D. Slingwine and Paul E. McKenney" +,title="Method for maintaining data coherency using thread +activity summaries in a multicomputer system" +,institution="US Patent and Trademark Office" +,address="Washington, DC" +,year="1997" +,number="US Patent 5,608,893 (contributed under GPL)" +,month="March" +} + +@techreport{Slingwine98 +,author="John D. Slingwine and Paul E. McKenney" +,title="Apparatus and method for achieving reduced overhead +mutual exclusion and maintaining coherency in a multiprocessor +system utilizing execution history and thread monitoring" +,institution="US Patent and Trademark Office" +,address="Washington, DC" +,year="1998" +,number="US Patent 5,727,209 (contributed under GPL)" +,month="March" +} + +@Conference{McKenney98 +,Author="Paul E. McKenney and John D. Slingwine" +,Title="Read-Copy Update: Using Execution History to Solve Concurrency +Problems" +,Booktitle="{Parallel and Distributed Computing and Systems}" +,Month="October" +,Year="1998" +,pages="509-518" +,Address="Las Vegas, NV" +} + +@Conference{Gamsa99 +,Author="Ben Gamsa and Orran Krieger and Jonathan Appavoo and Michael Stumm" +,Title="Tornado: Maximizing Locality and Concurrency in a Shared Memory +Multiprocessor Operating System" +,Booktitle="{Proceedings of the 3\textsuperscript{rd} Symposium on +Operating System Design and Implementation}" +,Month="February" +,Year="1999" +,pages="87-100" +,Address="New Orleans, LA" +} + +@techreport{Slingwine01 +,author="John D. Slingwine and Paul E. McKenney" +,title="Apparatus and method for achieving reduced overhead +mutual exclusion and maintaining coherency in a multiprocessor +system utilizing execution history and thread monitoring" +,institution="US Patent and Trademark Office" +,address="Washington, DC" +,year="2001" +,number="US Patent 5,219,690 (contributed under GPL)" +,month="April" +} + +@Conference{McKenney01a +,Author="Paul E. McKenney and Jonathan Appavoo and Andi Kleen and +Orran Krieger and Rusty Russell and Dipankar Sarma and Maneesh Soni" +,Title="Read-Copy Update" +,Booktitle="{Ottawa Linux Symposium}" +,Month="July" +,Year="2001" +,note="Available: +\url{http://www.linuxsymposium.org/2001/abstracts/readcopy.php} +\url{http://www.rdrop.com/users/paulmck/rclock/rclock_OLS.2001.05.01c.pdf} +[Viewed June 23, 2004]" +annotation=" +Described RCU, and presented some patches implementing and using it in +the Linux kernel. +" +} + +@Conference{Linder02a +,Author="Hanna Linder and Dipankar Sarma and Maneesh Soni" +,Title="Scalability of the Directory Entry Cache" +,Booktitle="{Ottawa Linux Symposium}" +,Month="June" +,Year="2002" +,pages="289-300" +} + +@Conference{McKenney02a +,Author="Paul E. McKenney and Dipankar Sarma and +Andrea Arcangeli and Andi Kleen and Orran Krieger and Rusty Russell" +,Title="Read-Copy Update" +,Booktitle="{Ottawa Linux Symposium}" +,Month="June" +,Year="2002" +,pages="338-367" +,note="Available: +\url{http://www.linux.org.uk/~ajh/ols2002_proceedings.pdf.gz} +[Viewed June 23, 2004]" +} + +@article{Appavoo03a +,author="J. Appavoo and K. Hui and C. A. N. Soules and R. W. Wisniewski and +D. M. {Da Silva} and O. Krieger and M. A. Auslander and D. J. Edelsohn and +B. Gamsa and G. R. Ganger and P. McKenney and M. Ostrowski and +B. Rosenburg and M. Stumm and J. Xenidis" +,title="Enabling Autonomic Behavior in Systems Software With Hot Swapping" +,Year="2003" +,Month="January" +,journal="IBM Systems Journal" +,volume="42" +,number="1" +,pages="60-76" +} + +@Conference{Arcangeli03 +,Author="Andrea Arcangeli and Mingming Cao and Paul E. McKenney and +Dipankar Sarma" +,Title="Using Read-Copy Update Techniques for {System V IPC} in the +{Linux} 2.5 Kernel" +,Booktitle="Proceedings of the 2003 USENIX Annual Technical Conference +(FREENIX Track)" +,Publisher="USENIX Association" +,year="2003" +,month="June" +,pages="297-310" +} + +@article{McKenney03a +,author="Paul E. McKenney" +,title="Using {RCU} in the {Linux} 2.5 Kernel" +,Year="2003" +,Month="October" +,journal="Linux Journal" +,volume="1" +,number="114" +,pages="18-26" +} + +@article{McKenney04a +,author="Paul E. McKenney and Dipankar Sarma and Maneesh Soni" +,title="Scaling dcache with {RCU}" +,Year="2004" +,Month="January" +,journal="Linux Journal" +,volume="1" +,number="118" +,pages="38-46" +} + +@Conference{McKenney04b +,Author="Paul E. McKenney" +,Title="{RCU} vs. Locking Performance on Different {CPUs}" +,Booktitle="{linux.conf.au}" +,Month="January" +,Year="2004" +,Address="Adelaide, Australia" +,note="Available: +\url{http://www.linux.org.au/conf/2004/abstracts.html#90} +\url{http://www.rdrop.com/users/paulmck/rclock/lockperf.2004.01.17a.pdf} +[Viewed June 23, 2004]" +} + +@phdthesis{PaulEdwardMcKenneyPhD +,author="Paul E. McKenney" +,title="Exploiting Deferred Destruction: +An Analysis of Read-Copy-Update Techniques +in Operating System Kernels" +,school="OGI School of Science and Engineering at +Oregon Health and Sciences University" +,year="2004" +} + +@Conference{Sarma04c +,Author="Dipankar Sarma and Paul E. McKenney" +,Title="Making RCU Safe for Deep Sub-Millisecond Response Realtime Applications" +,Booktitle="Proceedings of the 2004 USENIX Annual Technical Conference +(FREENIX Track)" +,Publisher="USENIX Association" +,year="2004" +,month="June" +,pages="182-191" +} diff --git a/Documentation/RCU/UP.txt b/Documentation/RCU/UP.txt new file mode 100644 index 000000000000..551a803d82a8 --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/RCU/UP.txt @@ -0,0 +1,64 @@ +RCU on Uniprocessor Systems + + +A common misconception is that, on UP systems, the call_rcu() primitive +may immediately invoke its function, and that the synchronize_kernel +primitive may return immediately. The basis of this misconception +is that since there is only one CPU, it should not be necessary to +wait for anything else to get done, since there are no other CPUs for +anything else to be happening on. Although this approach will sort of +work a surprising amount of the time, it is a very bad idea in general. +This document presents two examples that demonstrate exactly how bad an +idea this is. + + +Example 1: softirq Suicide + +Suppose that an RCU-based algorithm scans a linked list containing +elements A, B, and C in process context, and can delete elements from +this same list in softirq context. Suppose that the process-context scan +is referencing element B when it is interrupted by softirq processing, +which deletes element B, and then invokes call_rcu() to free element B +after a grace period. + +Now, if call_rcu() were to directly invoke its arguments, then upon return +from softirq, the list scan would find itself referencing a newly freed +element B. This situation can greatly decrease the life expectancy of +your kernel. + + +Example 2: Function-Call Fatality + +Of course, one could avert the suicide described in the preceding example +by having call_rcu() directly invoke its arguments only if it was called +from process context. However, this can fail in a similar manner. + +Suppose that an RCU-based algorithm again scans a linked list containing +elements A, B, and C in process contexts, but that it invokes a function +on each element as it is scanned. Suppose further that this function +deletes element B from the list, then passes it to call_rcu() for deferred +freeing. This may be a bit unconventional, but it is perfectly legal +RCU usage, since call_rcu() must wait for a grace period to elapse. +Therefore, in this case, allowing call_rcu() to immediately invoke +its arguments would cause it to fail to make the fundamental guarantee +underlying RCU, namely that call_rcu() defers invoking its arguments until +all RCU read-side critical sections currently executing have completed. + +Quick Quiz: why is it -not- legal to invoke synchronize_kernel() in +this case? + + +Summary + +Permitting call_rcu() to immediately invoke its arguments or permitting +synchronize_kernel() to immediately return breaks RCU, even on a UP system. +So do not do it! Even on a UP system, the RCU infrastructure -must- +respect grace periods. + + +Answer to Quick Quiz + +The calling function is scanning an RCU-protected linked list, and +is therefore within an RCU read-side critical section. Therefore, +the called function has been invoked within an RCU read-side critical +section, and is not permitted to block. diff --git a/Documentation/RCU/arrayRCU.txt b/Documentation/RCU/arrayRCU.txt new file mode 100644 index 000000000000..453ebe6953ee --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/RCU/arrayRCU.txt @@ -0,0 +1,141 @@ +Using RCU to Protect Read-Mostly Arrays + + +Although RCU is more commonly used to protect linked lists, it can +also be used to protect arrays. Three situations are as follows: + +1. Hash Tables + +2. Static Arrays + +3. Resizeable Arrays + +Each of these situations are discussed below. + + +Situation 1: Hash Tables + +Hash tables are often implemented as an array, where each array entry +has a linked-list hash chain. Each hash chain can be protected by RCU +as described in the listRCU.txt document. This approach also applies +to other array-of-list situations, such as radix trees. + + +Situation 2: Static Arrays + +Static arrays, where the data (rather than a pointer to the data) is +located in each array element, and where the array is never resized, +have not been used with RCU. Rik van Riel recommends using seqlock in +this situation, which would also have minimal read-side overhead as long +as updates are rare. + +Quick Quiz: Why is it so important that updates be rare when + using seqlock? + + +Situation 3: Resizeable Arrays + +Use of RCU for resizeable arrays is demonstrated by the grow_ary() +function used by the System V IPC code. The array is used to map from +semaphore, message-queue, and shared-memory IDs to the data structure +that represents the corresponding IPC construct. The grow_ary() +function does not acquire any locks; instead its caller must hold the +ids->sem semaphore. + +The grow_ary() function, shown below, does some limit checks, allocates a +new ipc_id_ary, copies the old to the new portion of the new, initializes +the remainder of the new, updates the ids->entries pointer to point to +the new array, and invokes ipc_rcu_putref() to free up the old array. +Note that rcu_assign_pointer() is used to update the ids->entries pointer, +which includes any memory barriers required on whatever architecture +you are running on. + + static int grow_ary(struct ipc_ids* ids, int newsize) + { + struct ipc_id_ary* new; + struct ipc_id_ary* old; + int i; + int size = ids->entries->size; + + if(newsize > IPCMNI) + newsize = IPCMNI; + if(newsize <= size) + return newsize; + + new = ipc_rcu_alloc(sizeof(struct kern_ipc_perm *)*newsize + + sizeof(struct ipc_id_ary)); + if(new == NULL) + return size; + new->size = newsize; + memcpy(new->p, ids->entries->p, + sizeof(struct kern_ipc_perm *)*size + + sizeof(struct ipc_id_ary)); + for(i=size;i<newsize;i++) { + new->p[i] = NULL; + } + old = ids->entries; + + /* + * Use rcu_assign_pointer() to make sure the memcpyed + * contents of the new array are visible before the new + * array becomes visible. + */ + rcu_assign_pointer(ids->entries, new); + + ipc_rcu_putref(old); + return newsize; + } + +The ipc_rcu_putref() function decrements the array's reference count +and then, if the reference count has dropped to zero, uses call_rcu() +to free the array after a grace period has elapsed. + +The array is traversed by the ipc_lock() function. This function +indexes into the array under the protection of rcu_read_lock(), +using rcu_dereference() to pick up the pointer to the array so +that it may later safely be dereferenced -- memory barriers are +required on the Alpha CPU. Since the size of the array is stored +with the array itself, there can be no array-size mismatches, so +a simple check suffices. The pointer to the structure corresponding +to the desired IPC object is placed in "out", with NULL indicating +a non-existent entry. After acquiring "out->lock", the "out->deleted" +flag indicates whether the IPC object is in the process of being +deleted, and, if not, the pointer is returned. + + struct kern_ipc_perm* ipc_lock(struct ipc_ids* ids, int id) + { + struct kern_ipc_perm* out; + int lid = id % SEQ_MULTIPLIER; + struct ipc_id_ary* entries; + + rcu_read_lock(); + entries = rcu_dereference(ids->entries); + if(lid >= entries->size) { + rcu_read_unlock(); + return NULL; + } + out = entries->p[lid]; + if(out == NULL) { + rcu_read_unlock(); + return NULL; + } + spin_lock(&out->lock); + + /* ipc_rmid() may have already freed the ID while ipc_lock + * was spinning: here verify that the structure is still valid + */ + if (out->deleted) { + spin_unlock(&out->lock); + rcu_read_unlock(); + return NULL; + } + return out; + } + + +Answer to Quick Quiz: + + The reason that it is important that updates be rare when + using seqlock is that frequent updates can livelock readers. + One way to avoid this problem is to assign a seqlock for + each array entry rather than to the entire array. diff --git a/Documentation/RCU/checklist.txt b/Documentation/RCU/checklist.txt new file mode 100644 index 000000000000..b3a568abe6b1 --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/RCU/checklist.txt @@ -0,0 +1,157 @@ +Review Checklist for RCU Patches + + +This document contains a checklist for producing and reviewing patches +that make use of RCU. Violating any of the rules listed below will +result in the same sorts of problems that leaving out a locking primitive +would cause. This list is based on experiences reviewing such patches +over a rather long period of time, but improvements are always welcome! + +0. Is RCU being applied to a read-mostly situation? If the data + structure is updated more than about 10% of the time, then + you should strongly consider some other approach, unless + detailed performance measurements show that RCU is nonetheless + the right tool for the job. + + The other exception would be where performance is not an issue, + and RCU provides a simpler implementation. An example of this + situation is the dynamic NMI code in the Linux 2.6 kernel, + at least on architectures where NMIs are rare. + +1. Does the update code have proper mutual exclusion? + + RCU does allow -readers- to run (almost) naked, but -writers- must + still use some sort of mutual exclusion, such as: + + a. locking, + b. atomic operations, or + c. restricting updates to a single task. + + If you choose #b, be prepared to describe how you have handled + memory barriers on weakly ordered machines (pretty much all of + them -- even x86 allows reads to be reordered), and be prepared + to explain why this added complexity is worthwhile. If you + choose #c, be prepared to explain how this single task does not + become a major bottleneck on big multiprocessor machines. + +2. Do the RCU read-side critical sections make proper use of + rcu_read_lock() and friends? These primitives are needed + to suppress preemption (or bottom halves, in the case of + rcu_read_lock_bh()) in the read-side critical sections, + and are also an excellent aid to readability. + +3. Does the update code tolerate concurrent accesses? + + The whole point of RCU is to permit readers to run without + any locks or atomic operations. This means that readers will + be running while updates are in progress. There are a number + of ways to handle this concurrency, depending on the situation: + + a. Make updates appear atomic to readers. For example, + pointer updates to properly aligned fields will appear + atomic, as will individual atomic primitives. Operations + performed under a lock and sequences of multiple atomic + primitives will -not- appear to be atomic. + + This is almost always the best approach. + + b. Carefully order the updates and the reads so that + readers see valid data at all phases of the update. + This is often more difficult than it sounds, especially + given modern CPUs' tendency to reorder memory references. + One must usually liberally sprinkle memory barriers + (smp_wmb(), smp_rmb(), smp_mb()) through the code, + making it difficult to understand and to test. + + It is usually better to group the changing data into + a separate structure, so that the change may be made + to appear atomic by updating a pointer to reference + a new structure containing updated values. + +4. Weakly ordered CPUs pose special challenges. Almost all CPUs + are weakly ordered -- even i386 CPUs allow reads to be reordered. + RCU code must take all of the following measures to prevent + memory-corruption problems: + + a. Readers must maintain proper ordering of their memory + accesses. The rcu_dereference() primitive ensures that + the CPU picks up the pointer before it picks up the data + that the pointer points to. This really is necessary + on Alpha CPUs. If you don't believe me, see: + + http://www.openvms.compaq.com/wizard/wiz_2637.html + + The rcu_dereference() primitive is also an excellent + documentation aid, letting the person reading the code + know exactly which pointers are protected by RCU. + + The rcu_dereference() primitive is used by the various + "_rcu()" list-traversal primitives, such as the + list_for_each_entry_rcu(). + + b. If the list macros are being used, the list_del_rcu(), + list_add_tail_rcu(), and list_del_rcu() primitives must + be used in order to prevent weakly ordered machines from + misordering structure initialization and pointer planting. + Similarly, if the hlist macros are being used, the + hlist_del_rcu() and hlist_add_head_rcu() primitives + are required. + + c. Updates must ensure that initialization of a given + structure happens before pointers to that structure are + publicized. Use the rcu_assign_pointer() primitive + when publicizing a pointer to a structure that can + be traversed by an RCU read-side critical section. + + [The rcu_assign_pointer() primitive is in process.] + +5. If call_rcu(), or a related primitive such as call_rcu_bh(), + is used, the callback function must be written to be called + from softirq context. In particular, it cannot block. + +6. Since synchronize_kernel() blocks, it cannot be called from + any sort of irq context. + +7. If the updater uses call_rcu(), then the corresponding readers + must use rcu_read_lock() and rcu_read_unlock(). If the updater + uses call_rcu_bh(), then the corresponding readers must use + rcu_read_lock_bh() and rcu_read_unlock_bh(). Mixing things up + will result in confusion and broken kernels. + + One exception to this rule: rcu_read_lock() and rcu_read_unlock() + may be substituted for rcu_read_lock_bh() and rcu_read_unlock_bh() + in cases where local bottom halves are already known to be + disabled, for example, in irq or softirq context. Commenting + such cases is a must, of course! And the jury is still out on + whether the increased speed is worth it. + +8. Although synchronize_kernel() is a bit slower than is call_rcu(), + it usually results in simpler code. So, unless update performance + is important or the updaters cannot block, synchronize_kernel() + should be used in preference to call_rcu(). + +9. All RCU list-traversal primitives, which include + list_for_each_rcu(), list_for_each_entry_rcu(), + list_for_each_continue_rcu(), and list_for_each_safe_rcu(), + must be within an RCU read-side critical section. RCU + read-side critical sections are delimited by rcu_read_lock() + and rcu_read_unlock(), or by similar primitives such as + rcu_read_lock_bh() and rcu_read_unlock_bh(). + + Use of the _rcu() list-traversal primitives outside of an + RCU read-side critical section causes no harm other than + a slight performance degradation on Alpha CPUs and some + confusion on the part of people trying to read the code. + + Another way of thinking of this is "If you are holding the + lock that prevents the data structure from changing, why do + you also need RCU-based protection?" That said, there may + well be situations where use of the _rcu() list-traversal + primitives while the update-side lock is held results in + simpler and more maintainable code. The jury is still out + on this question. + +10. Conversely, if you are in an RCU read-side critical section, + you -must- use the "_rcu()" variants of the list macros. + Failing to do so will break Alpha and confuse people reading + your code. diff --git a/Documentation/RCU/listRCU.txt b/Documentation/RCU/listRCU.txt new file mode 100644 index 000000000000..bda6ead69bd0 --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/RCU/listRCU.txt @@ -0,0 +1,307 @@ +Using RCU to Protect Read-Mostly Linked Lists + + +One of the best applications of RCU is to protect read-mostly linked lists +("struct list_head" in list.h). One big advantage of this approach +is that all of the required memory barriers are included for you in +the list macros. This document describes several applications of RCU, +with the best fits first. + + +Example 1: Read-Side Action Taken Outside of Lock, No In-Place Updates + +The best applications are cases where, if reader-writer locking were +used, the read-side lock would be dropped before taking any action +based on the results of the search. The most celebrated example is +the routing table. Because the routing table is tracking the state of +equipment outside of the computer, it will at times contain stale data. +Therefore, once the route has been computed, there is no need to hold +the routing table static during transmission of the packet. After all, +you can hold the routing table static all you want, but that won't keep +the external Internet from changing, and it is the state of the external +Internet that really matters. In addition, routing entries are typically +added or deleted, rather than being modified in place. + +A straightforward example of this use of RCU may be found in the +system-call auditing support. For example, a reader-writer locked +implementation of audit_filter_task() might be as follows: + + static enum audit_state audit_filter_task(struct task_struct *tsk) + { + struct audit_entry *e; + enum audit_state state; + + read_lock(&auditsc_lock); + list_for_each_entry(e, &audit_tsklist, list) { + if (audit_filter_rules(tsk, &e->rule, NULL, &state)) { + read_unlock(&auditsc_lock); + return state; + } + } + read_unlock(&auditsc_lock); + return AUDIT_BUILD_CONTEXT; + } + +Here the list is searched under the lock, but the lock is dropped before +the corresponding value is returned. By the time that this value is acted +on, the list may well have been modified. This makes sense, since if +you are turning auditing off, it is OK to audit a few extra system calls. + +This means that RCU can be easily applied to the read side, as follows: + + static enum audit_state audit_filter_task(struct task_struct *tsk) + { + struct audit_entry *e; + enum audit_state state; + + rcu_read_lock(); + list_for_each_entry_rcu(e, &audit_tsklist, list) { + if (audit_filter_rules(tsk, &e->rule, NULL, &state)) { + rcu_read_unlock(); + return state; + } + } + rcu_read_unlock(); + return AUDIT_BUILD_CONTEXT; + } + +The read_lock() and read_unlock() calls have become rcu_read_lock() +and rcu_read_unlock(), respectively, and the list_for_each_entry() has +become list_for_each_entry_rcu(). The _rcu() list-traversal primitives +insert the read-side memory barriers that are required on DEC Alpha CPUs. + +The changes to the update side are also straightforward. A reader-writer +lock might be used as follows for deletion and insertion: + + static inline int audit_del_rule(struct audit_rule *rule, + struct list_head *list) + { + struct audit_entry *e; + + write_lock(&auditsc_lock); + list_for_each_entry(e, list, list) { + if (!audit_compare_rule(rule, &e->rule)) { + list_del(&e->list); + write_unlock(&auditsc_lock); + return 0; + } + } + write_unlock(&auditsc_lock); + return -EFAULT; /* No matching rule */ + } + + static inline int audit_add_rule(struct audit_entry *entry, + struct list_head *list) + { + write_lock(&auditsc_lock); + if (entry->rule.flags & AUDIT_PREPEND) { + entry->rule.flags &= ~AUDIT_PREPEND; + list_add(&entry->list, list); + } else { + list_add_tail(&entry->list, list); + } + write_unlock(&auditsc_lock); + return 0; + } + +Following are the RCU equivalents for these two functions: + + static inline int audit_del_rule(struct audit_rule *rule, + struct list_head *list) + { + struct audit_entry *e; + + /* Do not use the _rcu iterator here, since this is the only + * deletion routine. */ + list_for_each_entry(e, list, list) { + if (!audit_compare_rule(rule, &e->rule)) { + list_del_rcu(&e->list); + call_rcu(&e->rcu, audit_free_rule, e); + return 0; + } + } + return -EFAULT; /* No matching rule */ + } + + static inline int audit_add_rule(struct audit_entry *entry, + struct list_head *list) + { + if (entry->rule.flags & AUDIT_PREPEND) { + entry->rule.flags &= ~AUDIT_PREPEND; + list_add_rcu(&entry->list, list); + } else { + list_add_tail_rcu(&entry->list, list); + } + return 0; + } + +Normally, the write_lock() and write_unlock() would be replaced by +a spin_lock() and a spin_unlock(), but in this case, all callers hold +audit_netlink_sem, so no additional locking is required. The auditsc_lock +can therefore be eliminated, since use of RCU eliminates the need for +writers to exclude readers. + +The list_del(), list_add(), and list_add_tail() primitives have been +replaced by list_del_rcu(), list_add_rcu(), and list_add_tail_rcu(). +The _rcu() list-manipulation primitives add memory barriers that are +needed on weakly ordered CPUs (most of them!). + +So, when readers can tolerate stale data and when entries are either added +or deleted, without in-place modification, it is very easy to use RCU! + + +Example 2: Handling In-Place Updates + +The system-call auditing code does not update auditing rules in place. +However, if it did, reader-writer-locked code to do so might look as +follows (presumably, the field_count is only permitted to decrease, +otherwise, the added fields would need to be filled in): + + static inline int audit_upd_rule(struct audit_rule *rule, + struct list_head *list, + __u32 newaction, + __u32 newfield_count) + { + struct audit_entry *e; + struct audit_newentry *ne; + + write_lock(&auditsc_lock); + list_for_each_entry(e, list, list) { + if (!audit_compare_rule(rule, &e->rule)) { + e->rule.action = newaction; + e->rule.file_count = newfield_count; + write_unlock(&auditsc_lock); + return 0; + } + } + write_unlock(&auditsc_lock); + return -EFAULT; /* No matching rule */ + } + +The RCU version creates a copy, updates the copy, then replaces the old +entry with the newly updated entry. This sequence of actions, allowing +concurrent reads while doing a copy to perform an update, is what gives +RCU ("read-copy update") its name. The RCU code is as follows: + + static inline int audit_upd_rule(struct audit_rule *rule, + struct list_head *list, + __u32 newaction, + __u32 newfield_count) + { + struct audit_entry *e; + struct audit_newentry *ne; + + list_for_each_entry(e, list, list) { + if (!audit_compare_rule(rule, &e->rule)) { + ne = kmalloc(sizeof(*entry), GFP_ATOMIC); + if (ne == NULL) + return -ENOMEM; + audit_copy_rule(&ne->rule, &e->rule); + ne->rule.action = newaction; + ne->rule.file_count = newfield_count; + list_add_rcu(ne, e); + list_del(e); + call_rcu(&e->rcu, audit_free_rule, e); + return 0; + } + } + return -EFAULT; /* No matching rule */ + } + +Again, this assumes that the caller holds audit_netlink_sem. Normally, +the reader-writer lock would become a spinlock in this sort of code. + + +Example 3: Eliminating Stale Data + +The auditing examples above tolerate stale data, as do most algorithms +that are tracking external state. Because there is a delay from the +time the external state changes before Linux becomes aware of the change, +additional RCU-induced staleness is normally not a problem. + +However, there are many examples where stale data cannot be tolerated. +One example in the Linux kernel is the System V IPC (see the ipc_lock() +function in ipc/util.c). This code checks a "deleted" flag under a +per-entry spinlock, and, if the "deleted" flag is set, pretends that the +entry does not exist. For this to be helpful, the search function must +return holding the per-entry spinlock, as ipc_lock() does in fact do. + +Quick Quiz: Why does the search function need to return holding the +per-entry lock for this deleted-flag technique to be helpful? + +If the system-call audit module were to ever need to reject stale data, +one way to accomplish this would be to add a "deleted" flag and a "lock" +spinlock to the audit_entry structure, and modify audit_filter_task() +as follows: + + static enum audit_state audit_filter_task(struct task_struct *tsk) + { + struct audit_entry *e; + enum audit_state state; + + rcu_read_lock(); + list_for_each_entry_rcu(e, &audit_tsklist, list) { + if (audit_filter_rules(tsk, &e->rule, NULL, &state)) { + spin_lock(&e->lock); + if (e->deleted) { + spin_unlock(&e->lock); + rcu_read_unlock(); + return AUDIT_BUILD_CONTEXT; + } + rcu_read_unlock(); + return state; + } + } + rcu_read_unlock(); + return AUDIT_BUILD_CONTEXT; + } + +Note that this example assumes that entries are only added and deleted. +Additional mechanism is required to deal correctly with the +update-in-place performed by audit_upd_rule(). For one thing, +audit_upd_rule() would need additional memory barriers to ensure +that the list_add_rcu() was really executed before the list_del_rcu(). + +The audit_del_rule() function would need to set the "deleted" +flag under the spinlock as follows: + + static inline int audit_del_rule(struct audit_rule *rule, + struct list_head *list) + { + struct audit_entry *e; + + /* Do not use the _rcu iterator here, since this is the only + * deletion routine. */ + list_for_each_entry(e, list, list) { + if (!audit_compare_rule(rule, &e->rule)) { + spin_lock(&e->lock); + list_del_rcu(&e->list); + e->deleted = 1; + spin_unlock(&e->lock); + call_rcu(&e->rcu, audit_free_rule, e); + return 0; + } + } + return -EFAULT; /* No matching rule */ + } + + +Summary + +Read-mostly list-based data structures that can tolerate stale data are +the most amenable to use of RCU. The simplest case is where entries are +either added or deleted from the data structure (or atomically modified +in place), but non-atomic in-place modifications can be handled by making +a copy, updating the copy, then replacing the original with the copy. +If stale data cannot be tolerated, then a "deleted" flag may be used +in conjunction with a per-entry spinlock in order to allow the search +function to reject newly deleted data. + + +Answer to Quick Quiz + +If the search function drops the per-entry lock before returning, then +the caller will be processing stale data in any case. If it is really +OK to be processing stale data, then you don't need a "deleted" flag. +If processing stale data really is a problem, then you need to hold the +per-entry lock across all of the code that uses the value looked up. diff --git a/Documentation/RCU/rcu.txt b/Documentation/RCU/rcu.txt new file mode 100644 index 000000000000..7e0c2ab6f2bd --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/RCU/rcu.txt @@ -0,0 +1,67 @@ +RCU Concepts + + +The basic idea behind RCU (read-copy update) is to split destructive +operations into two parts, one that prevents anyone from seeing the data +item being destroyed, and one that actually carries out the destruction. +A "grace period" must elapse between the two parts, and this grace period +must be long enough that any readers accessing the item being deleted have +since dropped their references. For example, an RCU-protected deletion +from a linked list would first remove the item from the list, wait for +a grace period to elapse, then free the element. See the listRCU.txt +file for more information on using RCU with linked lists. + + +Frequently Asked Questions + +o Why would anyone want to use RCU? + + The advantage of RCU's two-part approach is that RCU readers need + not acquire any locks, perform any atomic instructions, write to + shared memory, or (on CPUs other than Alpha) execute any memory + barriers. The fact that these operations are quite expensive + on modern CPUs is what gives RCU its performance advantages + in read-mostly situations. The fact that RCU readers need not + acquire locks can also greatly simplify deadlock-avoidance code. + +o How can the updater tell when a grace period has completed + if the RCU readers give no indication when they are done? + + Just as with spinlocks, RCU readers are not permitted to + block, switch to user-mode execution, or enter the idle loop. + Therefore, as soon as a CPU is seen passing through any of these + three states, we know that that CPU has exited any previous RCU + read-side critical sections. So, if we remove an item from a + linked list, and then wait until all CPUs have switched context, + executed in user mode, or executed in the idle loop, we can + safely free up that item. + +o If I am running on a uniprocessor kernel, which can only do one + thing at a time, why should I wait for a grace period? + + See the UP.txt file in this directory. + +o How can I see where RCU is currently used in the Linux kernel? + + Search for "rcu_read_lock", "call_rcu", and "synchronize_kernel". + +o What guidelines should I follow when writing code that uses RCU? + + See the checklist.txt file in this directory. + +o Why the name "RCU"? + + "RCU" stands for "read-copy update". The file listRCU.txt has + more information on where this name came from, search for + "read-copy update" to find it. + +o I hear that RCU is patented? What is with that? + + Yes, it is. There are several known patents related to RCU, + search for the string "Patent" in RTFP.txt to find them. + Of these, one was allowed to lapse by the assignee, and the + others have been contributed to the Linux kernel under GPL. + +o Where can I find more information on RCU? + + See the RTFP.txt file in this directory. |