On 8/22/10, wu zhangjin <wuzhangjin@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> (Add 'another' Steven in this loop)
>
> On 8/22/10, wu zhangjin <wuzhangjin@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>> Hi, all
>>
>> For I didn't have a SMP machine, I haven't used Ftrace(in 2.6.34) for
>> MIPS on SMP system before, Yesterday, I got a RMI XLS machine and
>> found Ftrace for MIPS hanged on it after I issued:
>>
>> $ echo function > /debug/tracing/current_tracer
>>
>> I have gotten the root cause, that is:
>>
>> in kernel/trace/ftrace.c:
>>
>> stop_machine() disables the irqs of the other cpus and then modify the
>> codes via calling the arch specific ftrace_modify_code() in
>> __ftrace_modify_code().
>>
>> As the description about stop_machine() in arch/x86/kernel/ftrace.c
>> shows:
>>
>> /*
>> * Modifying code must take extra care. On an SMP machine, if
>> * the code being modified is also being executed on another CPU
>> * that CPU will have undefined results and possibly take a GPF.
>> * We use kstop_machine to stop other CPUS from exectuing code.
>> [snip]
>>
>> Then, it is reasonable to use stop_machine() here.
>>
>> And in arch/mips/kernel/ftrace.c:
>>
>> flush_icache_range() is called in ftrace_modify_code() to ensure the
>> intructions will be executed are what we want.
>>
>> In UP system, there is no problem for flush_icache_range() simply
>> flush the instruction cache, but In SMP system, this may be different,
>> for flush_icache_range() may also need to ask the other cpus (via
>> sending ipi interrupt) to flush their icaches and will wait for them
>> till the other cpus finish their flushing.
>>
>> But as we know above, the irqs of the other cpus are disabled by
>> stop_machine(), they have no opportunity to flush their icache and
>> will let the current cpu wait for them all the time, then soft lock
>> --> hang.
>>
>> To fix it, there are two potential solutions:
>>
>> 1. replace flush_icache_range() by something else, maybe we can use
>> the similar method in arch/x86/kernel/ftrace.c, x86 uses sync_core()
>> defined in arch/x86/include/asm/processor.h to flush the icache on all
>> processors:
>>
>> /* Stop speculative execution and prefetching of modified code. */
>> static inline void sync_core(void)
>> {
>> int tmp;
>>
>> #if defined(CONFIG_M386) || defined(CONFIG_M486)
>> if (boot_cpu_data.x86 < 5)
>> /* There is no speculative execution.
>> * jmp is a barrier to prefetching. */
>> asm volatile("jmp 1f\n1:\n" ::: "memory");
>> else
>> #endif
>> /* cpuid is a barrier to speculative execution.
>> * Prefetched instructions are automatically
>> * invalidated when modified. */
>> asm volatile("cpuid" : "=a" (tmp) : "0" (1)
>> : "ebx", "ecx", "edx", "memory");
>> }
>>
>> But is there a cpuid like hardware instruction in MIPS SMP? As I know,
>> in UP, we may be possible to use prefetch instruction to push the
>> instruction to the cache, but in SMP, is there a instruction to force
>> the other cpus to flush their cache too?
>>
>> 2. Replace the stop_machine() by something else
>>
>> I have written such a patch:
>>
>> diff --git a/kernel/trace/ftrace.c b/kernel/trace/ftrace.c
>> index 2404b59..e4d058f 100644
>> --- a/kernel/trace/ftrace.c
>> +++ b/kernel/trace/ftrace.c
>> @@ -1129,13 +1129,18 @@ static int __ftrace_modify_code(void *data)
>> static void ftrace_run_update_code(int command)
>> {
>> int ret;
>> + unsigned long flags;
>>
>> ret = ftrace_arch_code_modify_prepare();
>> FTRACE_WARN_ON(ret);
>> if (ret)
>> return;
>>
>> - stop_machine(__ftrace_modify_code, &command, NULL);
>> + preempt_disable();
>> + local_irq_save(flags);
>> + __ftrace_modify_code(&command);
>> + local_irq_restore(flags);
>> + preempt_enable();
>>
>> ret = ftrace_arch_code_modify_post_process();
>> FTRACE_WARN_ON(ret);
>>
We may need to protect the __ftrace_modify_code() with raw spin lock.
>> It works without any hang but I'm not sure whether it will guarantee
>> the "undefined results" problem mentioned above. Here we may need to
>> prevent the other cpus from executing the source code for we are
>> modifying the source code but also need to allow them to get the ipi
>> interrupt and flush their icaches.
>>
>> And I have took a look at the part of code modification in kgdb
>> system, seems it doesn't use stop_machine().
>>
>> What's your ideas?
>>
>> Thanks & Regards,
>> Wu Zhangjin
>>
>
>
> --
> MSN+Gtalk: wuzhangjin@xxxxxxxxx
> Blog: http://falcon.oss.lzu.edu.cn
> Tel:+86-18710032278
>
--
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Blog: http://falcon.oss.lzu.edu.cn
Tel:+86-18710032278
