I'd missed that back then, but... if (file->f_pos > i_size_read(file->f_mapping->host)) orangefs_i_size_write(file->f_mapping->host, file->f_pos); rc = generic_write_checks(iocb, iter); if (rc <= 0) { gossip_err("%s: generic_write_checks failed, rc:%zd:.\n", __func__, rc); goto out; } /* * if we are appending, generic_write_checks would have updated * pos to the end of the file, so we will wait till now to set * pos... */ pos = *(&iocb->ki_pos); looks suspicious as hell. What's going on there? Not to mention anything else file->f_pos might be completely unrelated to any IO going on - consider e.g. pwrite(2), where the position (in iocb->ki_pos) has nothing to do with file->f_pos. Then there's the question of WTF is write() (or pwrite()) past the current EOF doing bumping the file size, before it even gets a chance to decide whether it'll be trying to do any IO at all. _Then_ there's the deadlock on 32bit SMP in that code. Look: several lines prior we'd done inode_lock(file->f_mapping->host); and hadn't unlocked the sucker since then. And static inline void orangefs_i_size_write(struct inode *inode, loff_t i_size) { #if BITS_PER_LONG == 32 && defined(CONFIG_SMP) inode_lock(inode); #endif i_size_write(inode, i_size); #if BITS_PER_LONG == 32 && defined(CONFIG_SMP) inode_unlock(inode); #endif } means that if we get around to calling it there in SMP/32bit case, we'll get as plain a deadlock as possible. And AFAICS it had been that way since the initial merge. What the hell is that code about and what is it trying to do? PS: While we are at it, what's the point of that *(&...) in there?