On Fri, Dec 08, 2023 at 05:07:22PM +0000, Jim Harris wrote: > On Thu, Dec 07, 2023 at 07:48:10PM -0400, Jason Gunthorpe wrote: > > On Thu, Dec 07, 2023 at 04:21:48PM -0700, Alex Williamson wrote: > > > On Thu, 7 Dec 2023 22:38:23 +0000 > > > Jim Harris <jim.harris@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > > > > > > device_lock() has been a recurring problem. We don't have a lot of > > > leeway in how we support the driver remove callback, the device needs > > > to be released. We can't return -EBUSY and I don't think we can drop > > > the mutex while we're waiting on userspace. > > > > The mechanism of waiting in remove for userspace is inherently flawed, > > it can never work fully correctly. :( I've hit this many times. > > > > Upon remove VFIO should immediately remove itself and leave behind a > > non-functional file descriptor. Userspace should catch up eventually > > and see it is toast. > > > > The kernel locking model just cannot support userspace delaying this > > process. > > > > Jason > > Maybe for now we just whack this specific mole with a separate mutex > for synchronizing access to sriov->num_VFs in the sysfs paths? > Something like this (tested on my system): TBH, I don't have the time right now to unpack this locking mystery. Maybe Leon remembers? device_lock() gets everywhere and does a lot of different stuff, so I would be surprised if it was so easy.. Jason