[RFC][PATCH] Add rcu_assign_pointer() to kill more memory barriers

From: Paul E. McKenney
Date: Tue Sep 07 2004 - 17:37:13 EST

Next message: David Lang: "Re: silent semantic changes with reiser4"
Previous message: Thor Kooda: "Re: [PATCH] 2.4.27 crypto: tea.c xtea_encrypt should use XTEA_DELTA"
Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ]

Hello!

Attached is a patch that adds an rcu_assign_pointer() that allows
a number of explicit smp_wmb() memory barriers to be dispensed with,
improving readability.

arch/x86_64/kernel/mce.c | 3 +--
include/linux/list.h | 2 --
include/linux/rcupdate.h | 18 ++++++++++++++++++
net/core/netfilter.c | 3 +--
net/decnet/dn_route.c | 13 +++++--------
net/ipv4/devinet.c | 3 +--
net/ipv4/route.c | 7 +++----
net/sched/sch_api.c | 3 +--
8 files changed, 30 insertions(+), 22 deletions(-)

Although this patch adds more lines that it deletes, the fact that
a number of the removed lines are smp_wmb() deserves some consideration.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Log of changes, non-changes, and questions (search for "?" for the latter):

Instances of smp_wmb() changed to rcu_assign_pointer():

o net/core/netfilter.c in nf_log_register() near line 754.

o net/decnet/dn_route.c in dn_insert_route() near line 290 and 292,
and also after the loop.

o net/ipv4/devinet.c in inetdev_init() near line 161.

o net/ipv4/route.c in rt_intern_hash near lines 796 and 802.

o net/sched/sch_api.c in qdisc_create() near line 454 -- but
instead convert list_add_tail() to list_add_tail_rcu().
Not clear where the corresponding rcu_read_lock()s are...

RCU-related instances of smp_wmb() that I did not convert to
rcu_assign_pointer():

o include/linux/list.h in hlist_add_head_rcu() near line 591.
Converting this causes some include-file pain, so ignoring
it for the moment.

o arch/x86_64/kernel/mce.c in mce_log() near line 50. This
appears to be more of a communication write than a structure
initialization.

Ditto for the pair near the end of mce_log().

o fs/dcache.c in d_move() near line 1241. The actual pointer
assignments are in the do_switch() macro. One approach would
be to update the do_switch() macro to use rcu_assign_pointer(),
but only one of four do_switch() invocations requires the
memory barrier. Leave for now.

o include/linux/list.h in __list_add_rcu() near line 94.
Both prev and next may be traversed, but don't want either
misleading code or extra smp_wmb()s. However, currently,
only next is traversed, so considering saying that one cannot
traverse prev with RCU protection. Thoughts? Any use of
smp_assign_pointer() here will cause the same include-file
pain seen in hlist_add_head_rcu() above.

o ipc/util.c in grow_ary() near line 144. This is changed
to use rcu_assign_pointer() in conjunction with the patch
that places the size with the array of entries, which I
am sending separately.

o net/sched/sch_generic.c in qdisc_create_dflt() near line 414.
The pointer is assigned by the caller. If this sort of
situation appears too often, it might be worth having an
rcu_return_pointer()... Another alternative would be to
recode the callers to use rcu_assign_pointer(). A third
alternative would be to recode the callers to pass the pointer
to be assigned in to qdisc_create_dflt(), so that
rcu_assign_pointer() could be used. The value could also be
returned to allow easy testing of the results. Thoughts?

Instances of smp_wmb() that appeared redundant:

o arch/x86_64/kernel/mce.c in mce_read() near line 361.
The synchronize_kernel() implies a context switch which implies
lots of smp_wmb() calls. I removed the smp_wmb().

Instances of smp_wmb() that appeared to have nothing to do with RCU:

o drivers/net/r8169.c in rtl8169_start_xmit() near line 1561.
Looks to be interacting with the device.

Ditto for uses in rtl8169_tx_interrupt() and rtl8169_poll() in
this same file.

o drivers/net/typhoon.c typhoon_hello() near line 471.
Looks like device interaction.

Ditto for a number of other instances in this same file.

o drivers/net/wan/dscc4.c in dscc4_tx_irq() near line 1671.
Interacting with device.

o fs/aio.c in aio_complete() near line 1000. Looks like a
lock-free protocol in aio, but no obvious use of RCU.

o include/asm-i386/pgtable-3level.h in set_pte() near line 54.
Forcing proper order of 64-bit-PTE update on x86.

o include/asm-ppc/rwsem.h in __down_read() near line 73.
Forcing ordering needed for locking primitive. Ditto for
__down_read_trylock(), __down_write(), __down_write_trylock(),
__up_read(), __up_write(), and __downgrade_write() in this
same file.

Ditto also for other architectures.

o include/asm-ppc/semaphore.h in down() near line 78.
Forcing ordering needed for locking primitive. Ditto for
down_interruptible(), down_trylock(), and up() in this
same file.

Ditto also for other architectures.

o include/linux/seqlock.h forces ordering needed for locking
primitive.

o kernel/timer.c in __run_timers() near line 456.
Locking protocol that does not use RCU.

Other questions:

o Is hlist_del_rcu_init() what we want? It causes a concurrent
scan of the list to end without warning... It also appears to
be unused. Nuking it, since I cannot come up with a legitimate
use for it. (Andi, am I missing something here?)

------------------------------------------------------------------------

diff -urpN -X ../dontdiff linux-2.5/arch/x86_64/kernel/mce.c linux-2.5-rap/arch/x86_64/kernel/mce.c
--- linux-2.5/arch/x86_64/kernel/mce.c Tue Sep 7 10:02:15 2004
+++ linux-2.5-rap/arch/x86_64/kernel/mce.c Tue Sep 7 10:29:18 2004
@@ -358,8 +358,7 @@ static ssize_t mce_read(struct file *fil

memset(mcelog.entry, 0, next * sizeof(struct mce));
mcelog.next = 0;
- smp_wmb();
-
+
synchronize_kernel();

/* Collect entries that were still getting written before the synchronize. */
diff -urpN -X ../dontdiff linux-2.5/include/linux/list.h linux-2.5-rap/include/linux/list.h
--- linux-2.5/include/linux/list.h Tue Sep 7 10:04:28 2004
+++ linux-2.5-rap/include/linux/list.h Tue Sep 7 10:42:56 2004
@@ -553,8 +553,6 @@ static inline void hlist_del_init(struct
}
}

-#define hlist_del_rcu_init hlist_del_init
-
static inline void hlist_add_head(struct hlist_node *n, struct hlist_head *h)
{
struct hlist_node *first = h->first;
diff -urpN -X ../dontdiff linux-2.5/include/linux/rcupdate.h linux-2.5-rap/include/linux/rcupdate.h
--- linux-2.5/include/linux/rcupdate.h Tue Sep 7 10:04:29 2004
+++ linux-2.5-rap/include/linux/rcupdate.h Tue Sep 7 12:12:09 2004
@@ -238,6 +238,24 @@ static inline int rcu_pending(int cpu)
(_________p1); \
})

+/**
+ * rcu_assign_pointer - assign (publicize) a pointer to a newly
+ * initialized structure that will be dereferenced by RCU read-side
+ * critical sections. Returns the value assigned.
+ *
+ * Inserts memory barriers on architectures that require them
+ * (pretty much all of them other than x86), and also prevents
+ * the compiler from reordering the code that initializes the
+ * structure after the pointer assignment. More importantly, this
+ * call documents which pointers will be dereferenced by RCU read-side
+ * code.
+ */
+
+#define rcu_assign_pointer(p, v) ({ \
+ smp_wmb(); \
+ (p) = (v); \
+ })
+
extern void rcu_init(void);
extern void rcu_check_callbacks(int cpu, int user);
extern void rcu_restart_cpu(int cpu);
diff -urpN -X ../dontdiff linux-2.5/net/core/netfilter.c linux-2.5-rap/net/core/netfilter.c
--- linux-2.5/net/core/netfilter.c Tue Sep 7 10:04:41 2004
+++ linux-2.5-rap/net/core/netfilter.c Tue Sep 7 10:29:20 2004
@@ -751,10 +751,9 @@ int nf_log_register(int pf, nf_logfn *lo

/* Any setup of logging members must be done before
* substituting pointer. */
- smp_wmb();
spin_lock(&nf_log_lock);
if (!nf_logging[pf]) {
- nf_logging[pf] = logfn;
+ rcu_assign_pointer(nf_logging[pf], logfn);
ret = 0;
}
spin_unlock(&nf_log_lock);
diff -urpN -X ../dontdiff linux-2.5/net/decnet/dn_route.c linux-2.5-rap/net/decnet/dn_route.c
--- linux-2.5/net/decnet/dn_route.c Tue Sep 7 10:04:41 2004
+++ linux-2.5-rap/net/decnet/dn_route.c Tue Sep 7 10:29:24 2004
@@ -287,10 +287,9 @@ static int dn_insert_route(struct dn_rou
if (compare_keys(&rth->fl, &rt->fl)) {
/* Put it first */
*rthp = rth->u.rt_next;
- smp_wmb();
- rth->u.rt_next = dn_rt_hash_table[hash].chain;
- smp_wmb();
- dn_rt_hash_table[hash].chain = rth;
+ rcu_assign_pointer(rth->u.rt_next,
+ dn_rt_hash_table[hash].chain);
+ rcu_assign_pointer(dn_rt_hash_table[hash].chain, rth);

rth->u.dst.__use++;
dst_hold(&rth->u.dst);
@@ -304,10 +303,8 @@ static int dn_insert_route(struct dn_rou
rthp = &rth->u.rt_next;
}

- smp_wmb();
- rt->u.rt_next = dn_rt_hash_table[hash].chain;
- smp_wmb();
- dn_rt_hash_table[hash].chain = rt;
+ rcu_assign_pointer(rt->u.rt_next, dn_rt_hash_table[hash].chain);
+ rcu_assign_pointer(dn_rt_hash_table[hash].chain, rt);

dst_hold(&rt->u.dst);
rt->u.dst.__use++;
diff -urpN -X ../dontdiff linux-2.5/net/ipv4/devinet.c linux-2.5-rap/net/ipv4/devinet.c
--- linux-2.5/net/ipv4/devinet.c Tue Sep 7 10:04:42 2004
+++ linux-2.5-rap/net/ipv4/devinet.c Tue Sep 7 10:29:25 2004
@@ -158,8 +158,7 @@ struct in_device *inetdev_init(struct ne

/* Account for reference dev->ip_ptr */
in_dev_hold(in_dev);
- smp_wmb();
- dev->ip_ptr = in_dev;
+ rcu_assign_pointer(dev->ip_ptr, in_dev);

#ifdef CONFIG_SYSCTL
devinet_sysctl_register(in_dev, &in_dev->cnf);
diff -urpN -X ../dontdiff linux-2.5/net/ipv4/route.c linux-2.5-rap/net/ipv4/route.c
--- linux-2.5/net/ipv4/route.c Tue Sep 7 10:04:42 2004
+++ linux-2.5-rap/net/ipv4/route.c Tue Sep 7 10:29:27 2004
@@ -793,14 +793,13 @@ restart:
* must be visible to another weakly ordered CPU before
* the insertion at the start of the hash chain.
*/
- smp_wmb();
- rth->u.rt_next = rt_hash_table[hash].chain;
+ rcu_assign_pointer(rth->u.rt_next,
+ rt_hash_table[hash].chain);
/*
* Since lookup is lockfree, the update writes
* must be ordered for consistency on SMP.
*/
- smp_wmb();
- rt_hash_table[hash].chain = rth;
+ rcu_assign_pointer(rt_hash_table[hash].chain, rth);

rth->u.dst.__use++;
dst_hold(&rth->u.dst);
diff -urpN -X ../dontdiff linux-2.5/net/sched/sch_api.c linux-2.5-rap/net/sched/sch_api.c
--- linux-2.5/net/sched/sch_api.c Tue Sep 7 10:04:46 2004
+++ linux-2.5-rap/net/sched/sch_api.c Tue Sep 7 10:29:28 2004
@@ -451,10 +451,9 @@ qdisc_create(struct net_device *dev, u32

/* enqueue is accessed locklessly - make sure it's visible
* before we set a netdevice's qdisc pointer to sch */
- smp_wmb();
if (!ops->init || (err = ops->init(sch, tca[TCA_OPTIONS-1])) == 0) {
qdisc_lock_tree(dev);
- list_add_tail(&sch->list, &dev->qdisc_list);
+ list_add_tail_rcu(&sch->list, &dev->qdisc_list);
qdisc_unlock_tree(dev);

#ifdef CONFIG_NET_ESTIMATOR
-
To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in
the body of a message to majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/

Next message: David Lang: "Re: silent semantic changes with reiser4"
Previous message: Thor Kooda: "Re: [PATCH] 2.4.27 crypto: tea.c xtea_encrypt should use XTEA_DELTA"
Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ]