It is incorrect to test inode dirty bits without participating in the inode writeback protocol. Inode writeback sets I_SYNC and clears I_DIRTY_?, then writes out the particular bits, then clears I_SYNC when it is done. BTW. it may not completely write all pages out, so I_DIRTY_PAGES would get set again. This is a standard pattern used throughout the kernel's writeback caches (I_SYNC ~= I_WRITEBACK, if that makes it clearer). And so it is not possible to determine an inode's dirty status just by checking I_DIRTY bits. Especially not for the purpose of data integrity syncs. Missing the check for these bits means that fsync can complete while writeback to the inode is underway. Inode writeback functions get this right, so call into them rather than try to shortcut things by testing dirty state improperly. Signed-off-by: Nick Piggin <npiggin@xxxxxxxxx> Index: linux-2.6/fs/libfs.c =================================================================== --- linux-2.6.orig/fs/libfs.c 2010-11-19 16:44:39.000000000 +1100 +++ linux-2.6/fs/libfs.c 2010-11-19 16:49:42.000000000 +1100 @@ -895,11 +895,6 @@ int generic_file_fsync(struct file *file int ret; ret = sync_mapping_buffers(inode->i_mapping); - if (!(inode->i_state & I_DIRTY)) - return ret; - if (datasync && !(inode->i_state & I_DIRTY_DATASYNC)) - return ret; - err = sync_inode_metadata(inode, 1); if (ret == 0) ret = err; Index: linux-2.6/fs/exofs/file.c =================================================================== --- linux-2.6.orig/fs/exofs/file.c 2010-11-19 16:50:00.000000000 +1100 +++ linux-2.6/fs/exofs/file.c 2010-11-19 16:50:07.000000000 +1100 @@ -48,11 +48,6 @@ static int exofs_file_fsync(struct file struct inode *inode = filp->f_mapping->host; struct super_block *sb; - if (!(inode->i_state & I_DIRTY)) - return 0; - if (datasync && !(inode->i_state & I_DIRTY_DATASYNC)) - return 0; - ret = sync_inode_metadata(inode, 1); /* This is a good place to write the sb */ -- To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-fsdevel" in the body of a message to majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
