On Thu, Dec 8, 2011 at 12:37 PM, David Rientjes <rientjes@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > On Thu, 8 Dec 2011, Kautuk Consul wrote: > >> diff --git a/mm/vmalloc.c b/mm/vmalloc.c >> index 3231bf3..2228971 100644 >> --- a/mm/vmalloc.c >> +++ b/mm/vmalloc.c >> @@ -855,11 +855,14 @@ static void purge_fragmented_blocks(int cpu) >> >> rcu_read_lock(); >> list_for_each_entry_rcu(vb, &vbq->free, free_list) { >> + spin_lock(&vb->lock); >> >> - if (!(vb->free + vb->dirty == VMAP_BBMAP_BITS && vb->dirty != VMAP_BBMAP_BITS)) >> + if (!(vb->free + vb->dirty == VMAP_BBMAP_BITS && >> + vb->dirty != VMAP_BBMAP_BITS)) { >> + spin_unlock(&vb->lock); >> continue; >> + } >> >> - spin_lock(&vb->lock); >> if (vb->free + vb->dirty == VMAP_BBMAP_BITS && vb->dirty != VMAP_BBMAP_BITS) { >> vb->free = 0; /* prevent further allocs after releasing lock */ >> vb->dirty = VMAP_BBMAP_BITS; /* prevent purging it again */ > > Nack, this is wrong because the if-clause you're modifying isn't the > criteria that is used to determine whether the purge occurs or not. It's > merely an optimization to prevent doing exactly what your patch is doing: > taking vb->lock unnecessarily. I agree. > > In the original code, if the if-clause fails, the lock is only then taken > and the exact same test occurs again while protected. If the test now > fails, the lock is immediately dropped. A branch here is faster than a > contented spinlock. But, if there is some concurrent change happening to vb->free and vb->dirty, dont you think that it will continue and then go to the next vmap_block ? If yes, then it will not be put into the purge list. So, can we make a change where we simply remove the first check ? -- To unsubscribe, send a message with 'unsubscribe linux-mm' in the body to majordomo@xxxxxxxxx. For more info on Linux MM, see: http://www.linux-mm.org/ . Fight unfair telecom internet charges in Canada: sign http://stopthemeter.ca/ Don't email: <a href