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| author | Paul E. McKenney <paulmck@linux.vnet.ibm.com> | 2016-01-28 16:49:24 -0800 |
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| committer | Paul E. McKenney <paulmck@linux.vnet.ibm.com> | 2016-04-19 14:48:12 -0700 |
| commit | 5c1458478c49b905652fc002708d09369763f58f (patch) | |
| tree | 07283a23c021a587034b145b1445c1cececd1a67 /Documentation/RCU/Design/Data-Structures/Data-Structures.html | |
| parent | 0c7d10e4b998b2f751cebf98435f1ec2dd312c87 (diff) | |
documentation: Add documentation for RCU's major data structures
This commit adds documentation for RCU's major data structures,
including rcu_state, rcu_node, rcu_data, rcu_dynticks, and rcu_head.
Signed-off-by: Paul E. McKenney <paulmck@linux.vnet.ibm.com>
Diffstat (limited to 'Documentation/RCU/Design/Data-Structures/Data-Structures.html')
| -rw-r--r-- | Documentation/RCU/Design/Data-Structures/Data-Structures.html | 1333 |
1 files changed, 1333 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/RCU/Design/Data-Structures/Data-Structures.html b/Documentation/RCU/Design/Data-Structures/Data-Structures.html new file mode 100644 index 000000000000..7eb47ac25ad7 --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/RCU/Design/Data-Structures/Data-Structures.html @@ -0,0 +1,1333 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd"> + <html> + <head><title>A Tour Through TREE_RCU's Data Structures [LWN.net]</title> + <meta HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> + + <p>January 27, 2016</p> + <p>This article was contributed by Paul E. McKenney</p> + +<h3>Introduction</h3> + +This document describes RCU's major data structures and their relationship +to each other. + +<ol> +<li> <a href="#Data-Structure Relationships"> + Data-Structure Relationships</a> +<li> <a href="#The rcu_state Structure"> + The <tt>rcu_state</tt> Structure</a> +<li> <a href="#The rcu_node Structure"> + The <tt>rcu_node</tt> Structure</a> +<li> <a href="#The rcu_data Structure"> + The <tt>rcu_data</tt> Structure</a> +<li> <a href="#The rcu_dynticks Structure"> + The <tt>rcu_dynticks</tt> Structure</a> +<li> <a href="#The rcu_head Structure"> + The <tt>rcu_head</tt> Structure</a> +<li> <a href="#RCU-Specific Fields in the task_struct Structure"> + RCU-Specific Fields in the <tt>task_struct</tt> Structure</a> +<li> <a href="#Accessor Functions"> + Accessor Functions</a> +</ol> + +At the end we have the +<a href="#Answers to Quick Quizzes">answers to the quick quizzes</a>. + +<h3><a name="Data-Structure Relationships">Data-Structure Relationships</a></h3> + +<p>RCU is for all intents and purposes a large state machine, and its +data structures maintain the state in such a way as to allow RCU readers +to execute extremely quickly, while also processing the RCU grace periods +requested by updaters in an efficient and extremely scalable fashion. +The efficiency and scalability of RCU updaters is provided primarily +by a combining tree, as shown below: + +</p><p><img src="BigTreeClassicRCU.svg" alt="BigTreeClassicRCU.svg" width="30%"> + +</p><p>This diagram shows an enclosing <tt>rcu_state</tt> structure +containing a tree of <tt>rcu_node</tt> structures. +Each leaf node of the <tt>rcu_node</tt> tree has up to 16 +<tt>rcu_data</tt> structures associated with it, so that there +are <tt>NR_CPUS</tt> number of <tt>rcu_data</tt> structures, +one for each possible CPU. +This structure is adjusted at boot time, if needed, to handle the +common case where <tt>nr_cpu_ids</tt> is much less than +<tt>NR_CPUs</tt>. +For example, a number of Linux distributions set <tt>NR_CPUs=4096</tt>, +which results in a three-level <tt>rcu_node</tt> tree. +If the actual hardware has only 16 CPUs, RCU will adjust itself +at boot time, resulting in an <tt>rcu_node</tt> tree with only a single node. + +</p><p>The purpose of this combining tree is to allow per-CPU events +such as quiescent states, dyntick-idle transitions, +and CPU hotplug operations to be processed efficiently +and scalably. +Quiescent states are recorded by the per-CPU <tt>rcu_data</tt> structures, +and other events are recorded by the leaf-level <tt>rcu_node</tt> +structures. +All of these events are combined at each level of the tree until finally +grace periods are completed at the tree's root <tt>rcu_node</tt> +structure. +A grace period can be completed at the root once every CPU +(or, in the case of <tt>CONFIG_PREEMPT_RCU</tt>, task) +has passed through a quiescent state. +Once a grace period has completed, record of that fact is propagated +back down the tree. + +</p><p>As can be seen from the diagram, on a 64-bit system +a two-level tree with 64 leaves can accommodate 1,024 CPUs, with a fanout +of 64 at the root and a fanout of 16 at the leaves. + +<table> +<tr><th> </th></tr> +<tr><th align="left">Quick Quiz:</th></tr> +<tr><td> + Why isn't the fanout at the leaves also 64? +</td></tr> +<tr><th align="left">Answer:</th></tr> +<tr><td bgcolor="#ffffff"><font color="ffffff"> + Because there are more types of events that affect the leaf-level + <tt>rcu_node</tt> structures than further up the tree. + Therefore, if the leaf <tt>rcu_node</tt> structures have fanout of + 64, the contention on these structures' <tt>->structures</tt> + becomes excessive. + Experimentation on a wide variety of systems has shown that a fanout + of 16 works well for the leaves of the <tt>rcu_node</tt> tree. + </font> + + <p><font color="ffffff">Of course, further experience with + systems having hundreds or thousands of CPUs may demonstrate + that the fanout for the non-leaf <tt>rcu_node</tt> structures + must also be reduced. + Such reduction can be easily carried out when and if it proves + necessary. + In the meantime, if you are using such a system and running into + contention problems on the non-leaf <tt>rcu_node</tt> structures, + you may use the <tt>CONFIG_RCU_FANOUT</tt> kernel configuration + parameter to reduce the non-leaf fanout as needed. + </font> + + <p><font color="ffffff">Kernels built for systems with + strong NUMA characteristics might also need to adjust + <tt>CONFIG_RCU_FANOUT</tt> so that the domains of the + <tt>rcu_node</tt> structures align with hardware boundaries. + However, there has thus far been no need for this. +</font></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td></tr> +</table> + +<p>If your system has more than 1,024 CPUs (or more than 512 CPUs on +a 32-bit system), then RCU will automatically add more levels to the +tree. +For example, if you are crazy enough to build a 64-bit system with 65,536 +CPUs, RCU would configure the <tt>rcu_node</tt> tree as follows: + +</p><p><img src="HugeTreeClassicRCU.svg" alt="HugeTreeClassicRCU.svg" width="50%"> + +</p><p>RCU currently permits up to a four-level tree, which on a 64-bit system +accommodates up to 4,194,304 CPUs, though only a mere 524,288 CPUs for +32-bit systems. +On the other hand, you can set <tt>CONFIG_RCU_FANOUT</tt> to be +as small as 2 if you wish, which would permit only 16 CPUs, which +is useful for testing. + +</p><p>This multi-level combining tree allows us to get most of the +performance and scalability +benefits of partitioning, even though RCU grace-period detection is +inherently a global operation. +The trick here is that only the last CPU to report a quiescent state +into a given <tt>rcu_node</tt> structure need advance to the <tt>rcu_node</tt> +structure at the next level up the tree. +This means that at the leaf-level <tt>rcu_node</tt> structure, only +one access out of sixteen will progress up the tree. +For the internal <tt>rcu_node</tt> structures, the situation is even +more extreme: Only one access out of sixty-four will progress up +the tree. +Because the vast majority of the CPUs do not progress up the tree, +the lock contention remains roughly constant up the tree. +No matter how many CPUs there are in the system, at most 64 quiescent-state +reports per grace period will progress all the way to the root +<tt>rcu_node</tt> structure, thus ensuring that the lock contention +on that root <tt>rcu_node</tt> structure remains acceptably low. + +</p><p>In effect, the combining tree acts like a big shock absorber, +keeping lock contention under control at all tree levels regardless +of the level of loading on the system. + +</p><p>The Linux kernel actually supports multiple flavors of RCU +running concurrently, so RCU builds separate data structures for each +flavor. +For example, for <tt>CONFIG_TREE_RCU=y</tt> kernels, RCU provides +rcu_sched and rcu_bh, as shown below: + +</p><p><img src="BigTreeClassicRCUBH.svg" alt="BigTreeClassicRCUBH.svg" width="33%"> + +</p><p>Energy efficiency is increasingly important, and for that +reason the Linux kernel provides <tt>CONFIG_NO_HZ_IDLE</tt>, which +turns off the scheduling-clock interrupts on idle CPUs, which in +turn allows those CPUs to attain deeper sleep states and to consume +less energy. +CPUs whose scheduling-clock interrupts have been turned off are +said to be in <i>dyntick-idle mode</i>. +RCU must handle dyntick-idle CPUs specially +because RCU would otherwise wake up each CPU on every grace period, +which would defeat the whole purpose of <tt>CONFIG_NO_HZ_IDLE</tt>. +RCU uses the <tt>rcu_dynticks</tt> structure to track +which CPUs are in dyntick idle mode, as shown below: + +</p><p><img src="BigTreeClassicRCUBHdyntick.svg" alt="BigTreeClassicRCUBHdyntick.svg" width="33%"> + +</p><p>However, if a CPU is in dyntick-idle mode, it is in that mode +for all flavors of RCU. +Therefore, a single <tt>rcu_dynticks</tt> structure is allocated per +CPU, and all of a given CPU's <tt>rcu_data</tt> structures share +that <tt>rcu_dynticks</tt>, as shown in the figure. + +</p><p>Kernels built with <tt>CONFIG_PREEMPT_RCU</tt> support +rcu_preempt in addition to rcu_sched and rcu_bh, as shown below: + +</p><p><img src="BigTreePreemptRCUBHdyntick.svg" alt="BigTreePreemptRCUBHdyntick.svg" width="35%"> + +</p><p>RCU updaters wait for normal grace periods by registering +RCU callbacks, either directly via <tt>call_rcu()</tt> and +friends (namely <tt>call_rcu_bh()</tt> and <tt>call_rcu_sched()</tt>), +there being a separate interface per flavor of RCU) +or indirectly via <tt>synchronize_rcu()</tt> and friends. +RCU callbacks are represented by <tt>rcu_head</tt> structures, +which are queued on <tt>rcu_data</tt> structures while they are +waiting for a grace period to elapse, as shown in the following figure: + +</p><p><img src="BigTreePreemptRCUBHdyntickCB.svg" alt="BigTreePreemptRCUBHdyntickCB.svg" width="40%"> + +</p><p>This figure shows how <tt>TREE_RCU</tt>'s and +<tt>PREEMPT_RCU</tt>'s major data structures are related. +Lesser data structures will be introduced with the algorithms that +make use of them. + +</p><p>Note that each of the data structures in the above figure has +its own synchronization: + +<p><ol> +<li> Each <tt>rcu_state</tt> structures has a lock and a mutex, + and some fields are protected by the corresponding root + <tt>rcu_node</tt> structure's lock. +<li> Each <tt>rcu_node</tt> structure has a spinlock. +<li> The fields in <tt>rcu_data</tt> are private to the corresponding + CPU, although a few can be read and written by other CPUs. +<li> Similarly, the fields in <tt>rcu_dynticks</tt> are private + to the corresponding CPU, although a few can be read by + other CPUs. +</ol> + +<p>It is important to note that different data structures can have +very different ideas about the state of RCU at any given time. +For but one example, awareness of the start or end of a given RCU +grace period propagates slowly through the data structures. +This slow propagation is absolutely necessary for RCU to have good +read-side performance. +If this balkanized implementation seems foreign to you, one useful +trick is to consider each instance of these data structures to be +a different person, each having the usual slightly different +view of reality. + +</p><p>The general role of each of these data structures is as +follows: + +</p><ol> +<li> <tt>rcu_state</tt>: + This structure forms the interconnection between the + <tt>rcu_node</tt> and <tt>rcu_data</tt> structures, + tracks grace periods, serves as short-term repository + for callbacks orphaned by CPU-hotplug events, + maintains <tt>rcu_barrier()</tt> state, + tracks expedited grace-period state, + and maintains state used to force quiescent states when + grace periods extend too long, +<li> <tt>rcu_node</tt>: This structure forms the combining + tree that propagates quiescent-state + information from the leaves to the root, and also propagates + grace-period information from the root to the leaves. + It provides local copies of the grace-period state in order + to allow this information to be accessed in a synchronized + manner without suffering the scalability limitations that + would otherwise be imposed by global locking. + In <tt>CONFIG_PREEMPT_RCU</tt> kernels, it manages the lists + of tasks that have blocked while in their current + RCU read-side critical section. + In <tt>CONFIG_PREEMPT_RCU</tt> with + <tt>CONFIG_RCU_BOOST</tt>, it manages the + per-<tt>rcu_node</tt> priority-boosting + kernel threads (kthreads) and state. + Finally, it records CPU-hotplug state in order to determine + which CPUs should be ignored during a given grace period. +<li> <tt>rcu_data</tt>: This per-CPU structure is the + focus of quiescent-state detection and RCU callback queuing. + It also tracks its relationship to the corresponding leaf + <tt>rcu_node</tt> structure to allow more-efficient + propagation of quiescent states up the <tt>rcu_node</tt> + combining tree. + Like the <tt>rcu_node</tt> structure, it provides a local + copy of the grace-period information to allow for-free + synchronized + access to this information from the corresponding CPU. + Finally, this structure records past dyntick-idle state + for the corresponding CPU and also tracks statistics. +<li> <tt>rcu_dynticks</tt>: + This per-CPU structure tracks the current dyntick-idle + state for the corresponding CPU. + Unlike the other three structures, the <tt>rcu_dynticks</tt> + structure is not replicated per RCU flavor. +<li> <tt>rcu_head</tt>: + This structure represents RCU callbacks, and is the + only structure allocated and managed by RCU users. + The <tt>rcu_head</tt> structure is normally embedded + within the RCU-protected data structure. +</ol> + +<p>If all you wanted from this article was a general notion of how +RCU's data structures are related, you are done. +Otherwise, each of the following sections give more details on +the <tt>rcu_state</tt>, <tt>rcu_node</tt>, <tt>rcu_data</tt>, +and <tt>rcu_dynticks</tt> data structures. + +<h3><a name="The rcu_state Structure"> +The <tt>rcu_state</tt> Structure</a></h3> + +<p>The <tt>rcu_state</tt> structure is the base structure that +represents a flavor of RCU. +This structure forms the interconnection between the +<tt>rcu_node</tt> and <tt>rcu_data</tt> structures, +tracks grace periods, contains the lock used to +synchronize with CPU-hotplug events, +and maintains state used to force quiescent states when +grace periods extend too long, + +</p><p>A few of the <tt>rcu_state</tt> structure's fields are discussed, +singly and in groups, in the following sections. +The more specialized fields are covered in the discussion of their +use. + +<h5>Relationship to rcu_node and rcu_data Structures</h5> + +This portion of the <tt>rcu_state</tt> structure is declared +as follows: + +<pre> + 1 struct rcu_node node[NUM_RCU_NODES]; + 2 struct rcu_node *level[NUM_RCU_LVLS + 1]; + 3 struct rcu_data __percpu *rda; +</pre> + +<table> +<tr><th> </th></tr> +<tr><th align="left">Quick Quiz:</th></tr> +<tr><td> + Wait a minute! + You said that the <tt>rcu_node</tt> structures formed a tree, + but they are declared as a flat array! + What gives? +</td></tr> +<tr><th align="left">Answer:</th></tr> +<tr><td bgcolor="#ffffff"><font color="ffffff"> + The tree is laid out in the array. + The first node In the array is the head, the next set of nodes in the + array are children of the head node, and so on until the last set of + nodes in the array are the leaves. + </font> + + <p><font color="ffffff">See the following diagrams to see how + this works. +</font></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td></tr> +</table> + +<p>The <tt>rcu_node</tt> tree is embedded into the +<tt>->node[]</tt> array as shown in the following figure: + +</p><p><img src="TreeMapping.svg" alt="TreeMapping.svg" width="40%"> + +</p><p>One interesting consequence of this mapping is that a +breadth-first traversal of the tree is implemented as a simple +linear scan of the array, which is in fact what the +<tt>rcu_for_each_node_breadth_first()</tt> macro does. +This macro is used at the beginning and ends of grace periods. + +</p><p>Each entry of the <tt>->level</tt> array references +the first <tt>rcu_node</tt> structure on the corresponding level +of the tree, for example, as shown below: + +</p><p><img src="TreeMappingLevel.svg" alt="TreeMappingLevel.svg" width="40%"> + +</p><p>The zero<sup>th</sup> element of the array references the root +<tt>rcu_node</tt> structure, the first element references the +first child of the root <tt>rcu_node</tt>, and finally the second +element references the first leaf <tt>rcu_node</tt> structure. + +</p><p>For whatever it is worth, if you draw the tree to be tree-shaped +rather than array-shaped, it is easy to draw a planar representation: + +</p><p><img src="TreeLevel.svg" alt="TreeLevel.svg" width="60%"> + +</p><p>Finally, the <tt>->rda</tt> field references a per-CPU +pointer to the corresponding CPU's <tt>rcu_data</tt> structure. + +</p><p>All of these fields are constant once initialization is complete, +and therefore need no protection. + +<h5>Grace-Period Tracking</h5> + +<p>This portion of the <tt>rcu_state</tt> structure is declared +as follows: + +<pre> + 1 unsigned long gpnum; + 2 unsigned long completed; +</pre> + +<p>RCU grace periods are numbered, and +the <tt>->gpnum</tt> field contains the number of the grace +period that started most recently. +The <tt>->completed</tt> field contains the number of the +grace period that completed most recently. +If the two fields are equal, the RCU grace period that most recently +started has already completed, and therefore the corresponding +flavor of RCU is idle. +If <tt>->gpnum</tt> is one greater than <tt>->completed</tt>, +then <tt>->gpnum</tt> gives the number of the current RCU +grace period, which has not yet completed. +Any other combination of values indicates that something is broken. +These two fields are protected by the root <tt>rcu_node</tt>'s +<tt>->lock</tt> field. + +</p><p>There are <tt>->gpnum</tt> and <tt>->completed</tt> fields +in the <tt>rcu_node</tt> and <tt>rcu_data</tt> structures +as well. +The fields in the <tt>rcu_state</tt> structure represent the +most current values, and those of the other structures are compared +in order to detect the start of a new grace period in a distributed +fashion. +The values flow from <tt>rcu_state</tt> to <tt>rcu_node</tt> +(down the tree from the root to the leaves) to <tt>rcu_data</tt>. + +<h5>Miscellaneous</h5> + +<p>This portion of the <tt>rcu_state</tt> structure is declared +as follows: + +<pre> + 1 unsigned long gp_max; + 2 char abbr; + 3 char *name; +</pre> + +<p>The <tt>->gp_max</tt> field tracks the duration of the longest +grace period in jiffies. +It is protected by the root <tt>rcu_node</tt>'s <tt>->lock</tt>. + +<p>The <tt>->name</tt> field points to the name of the RCU flavor +(for example, “rcu_sched”), and is constant. +The <tt>->abbr</tt> field contains a one-character abbreviation, +for example, “s” for RCU-sched. + +<h3><a name="The rcu_node Structure"> +The <tt>rcu_node</tt> Structure</a></h3> + +<p>The <tt>rcu_node</tt> structures form the combining +tree that propagates quiescent-state +information from the leaves to the root and also that propagates +grace-period information from the root down to the leaves. +They provides local copies of the grace-period state in order +to allow this information to be accessed in a synchronized +manner without suffering the scalability limitations that +would otherwise be imposed by global locking. +In <tt>CONFIG_PREEMPT_RCU</tt> kernels, they manage the lists +of tasks that have blocked while in their current +RCU read-side critical section. +In <tt>CONFIG_PREEMPT_RCU</tt> with +<tt>CONFIG_RCU_BOOST</tt>, they manage the +per-<tt>rcu_node</tt> priority-boosting +kernel threads (kthreads) and state. +Finally, they record CPU-hotplug state in order to determine +which CPUs should be ignored during a given grace period. + +</p><p>The <tt>rcu_node</tt> structure's fields are discussed, +singly and in groups, in the following sections. + +<h5>Connection to Combining Tree</h5> + +<p>This portion of the <tt>rcu_node</tt> structure is declared +as follows: + +<pre> + 1 struct rcu_node *parent; + 2 u8 level; + 3 u8 grpnum; + 4 unsigned long grpmask; + 5 int grplo; + 6 int grphi; +</pre> + +<p>The <tt>->parent</tt> pointer references the <tt>rcu_node</tt> +one level up in the tree, and is <tt>NULL</tt> for the root +<tt>rcu_node</tt>. +The RCU implementation makes heavy use of this field to push quiescent +states up the tree. +The <tt>->level</tt> field gives the level in the tree, with +the root being at level zero, its children at level one, and so on. +The <tt>->grpnum</tt> field gives this node's position within +the children of its parent, so this number can range between 0 and 31 +on 32-bit systems and between 0 and 63 on 64-bit systems. +The <tt>->level</tt> and <tt>->grpnum</tt> fields are +used only during initialization and for tracing. +The <tt>->grpmask</tt> field is the bitmask counterpart of +<tt>->grpnum</tt>, and therefore always has exactly one bit set. +This mask is used to clear the bit corresponding to this <tt>rcu_node</tt> +structure in its parent's bitmasks, which are described later. +Finally, the <tt>->grplo</tt> and <tt>->grphi</tt> fields +contain the lowest and highest numbered CPU served by this +<tt>rcu_node</tt> structure, respectively. + +</p><p>All of these fields are constant, and thus do not require any +synchronization. + +<h5>Synchronization</h5> + +<p>This field of the <tt>rcu_node</tt> structure is declared +as follows: + +<pre> + 1 raw_spinlock_t lock; +</pre> + +<p>This field is used to protect the remaining fields in this structure, +unless otherwise stated. +That said, all of the fields in this structure can be accessed without +locking for tracing purposes. +Yes, this can result in confusing traces, but better some tracing confusion +than to be heisenbugged out of existence. + +<h5>Grace-Period Tracking</h5> + +<p>This portion of the <tt>rcu_node</tt> structure is declared +as follows: + +<pre> + 1 unsigned long gpnum; + 2 unsigned long completed; +</pre> + +<p>These fields are the counterparts of the fields of the same name in +the <tt>rcu_state</tt> structure. +They each may lag up to one behind their <tt>rcu_state</tt> +counterparts. +If a given <tt>rcu_node</tt> structure's <tt>->gpnum</tt> and +<tt>->complete</tt> fields are equal, then this <tt>rcu_node</tt> +structure believes that RCU is idle. +Otherwise, as with the <tt>rcu_state</tt> structure, +the <tt>->gpnum</tt> field will be one greater than the +<tt>->complete</tt> fields, with <tt>->gpnum</tt> +indicating which grace period this <tt>rcu_node</tt> believes +is still being waited for. + +</p><p>The <tt>>gpnum</tt> field of each <tt>rcu_node</tt> +structure is updated at the beginning +of each grace period, and the <tt>->completed</tt> fields are +updated at the end of each grace period. + +<h5>Quiescent-State Tracking</h5> + +<p>These fields manage the propagation of quiescent states up the +combining tree. + +</p><p>This portion of the <tt>rcu_node</tt> structure has fields +as follows: + +<pre> + 1 unsigned long qsmask; + 2 unsigned long expmask; + 3 unsigned long qsmaskinit; + 4 unsigned long expmaskinit; +</pre> + +<p>The <tt>->qsmask</tt> field tracks which of this +<tt>rcu_node</tt> structure's children still need to report +quiescent states for the current normal grace period. +Such children will have a value of 1 in their corresponding bit. +Note that the leaf <tt>rcu_node</tt> structures should be +thought of as having <tt>rcu_data</tt> structures as their +children. +Similarly, the <tt>->expmask</tt> field tracks which +of this <tt>rcu_node</tt> structure's children still need to report +quiescent states for the current expedited grace period. +An expedited grace period has +the same conceptual properties as a normal grace period, but the +expedited implementation accepts extreme CPU overhead to obtain +much lower grace-period latency, for example, consuming a few +tens of microseconds worth of CPU time to reduce grace-period +duration from milliseconds to tens of microseconds. +The <tt>->qsmaskinit</tt> field tracks which of this +<tt>rcu_node</tt> structure's children cover for at least +one online CPU. +This mask is used to initialize <tt>->qsmask</tt>, +and <tt>->expmaskinit</tt> is used to initialize +<tt>->expmask</tt> and the beginning of the +normal and expedited grace periods, respectively. + +<table> +<tr><th> </th></tr> +<tr><th align="left">Quick Quiz:</th></tr> +<tr><td> + Why are these bitmasks protected by locking? + Come on, haven't you heard of atomic instructions??? +</td></tr> +<tr><th align="left">Answer:</th></tr> +<tr><td bgcolor="#ffffff"><font color="ffffff"> + Lockless grace-period computation! Such a tantalizing possibility! + </font> + + <p><font color="ffffff">But consider the following sequence of events: + </font> + + <ol> + <li> <font color="ffffff">CPU 0 has been in dyntick-idle + mode for quite some time. + When it wakes up, it notices that the current RCU + grace period needs it to report in, so it sets a + flag where the scheduling clock interrupt will find it. + </font><p> + <li> <font color="ffffff">Meanwhile, CPU 1 is running + <tt>force_quiescent_state()</tt>, + and notices that CPU 0 has been in dyntick idle mode, + which qualifies as an extended quiescent state. + </font><p> + <li> <font color="ffffff">CPU 0's scheduling clock + interrupt fires in the + middle of an RCU read-side critical section, and notices + that the RCU core needs something, so commences RCU softirq + processing. + </font> + <p> + <li> <font color="ffffff">CPU 0's softirq handler + executes and is just about ready + to report its quiescent state up the <tt>rcu_node</tt> + tree. + </font><p> + <li> <font color="ffffff">But CPU 1 beats it to the punch, + completing the current + grace period and starting a new one. + </font><p> + <li> <font color="ffffff">CPU 0 now reports its quiescent + state for the wrong + grace period. + That grace period might now end before the RCU read-side + critical section. + If that happens, disaster will ensue. + </font> + </ol> + + <p><font color="ffffff">So the locking is absolutely required in + order to coordinate + clearing of the bits with the grace-period numbers in + <tt>->gpnum</tt> and <tt>->completed</tt>. +</font></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td></tr> +</table> + +<h5>Blocked-Task Management</h5> + +<p><tt>PREEMPT_RCU</tt> allows tasks to be preempted in the +midst of their RCU read-side critical sections, and these tasks +must be tracked explicitly. +The details of exactly why and how they are tracked will be covered +in a separate article on RCU read-side processing. +For now, it is enough to know that the <tt>rcu_node</tt> +structure tracks them. + +<pre> + 1 struct list_head blkd_tasks; + 2 struct list_head *gp_tasks; + 3 struct list_head *exp_tasks; + 4 bool wait_blkd_tasks; +</pre> + +<p>The <tt>->blkd_tasks</tt> field is a list header for +the list of blocked and preempted tasks. +As tasks undergo context switches within RCU read-side critical +sections, their <tt>task_struct</tt> structures are enqueued +(via the <tt>task_struct</tt>'s <tt>->rcu_node_entry</tt> +field) onto the head of the <tt>->blkd_tasks</tt> list for the +leaf <tt>rcu_node</tt> structure corresponding to the CPU +on which the outgoing context switch executed. +As these tasks later exit their RCU read-side critical sections, +they remove themselves from the list. +This list is therefore in reverse time order, so that if one of the tasks +is blocking the current grace period, all subsequent tasks must +also be blocking that same grace period. +Therefore, a single pointer into this list suffices to track +all tasks blocking a given grace period. +That pointer is stored in <tt>->gp_tasks</tt> for normal +grace periods and in <tt>->exp_tasks</tt> for expedited +grace periods. +These last two fields are <tt>NULL</tt> if either there is +no grace period in flight or if there are no blocked tasks +preventing that grace period from completing. +If either of these two pointers is referencing a task that +removes itself from the <tt>->blkd_tasks</tt> list, +then that task must advance the pointer to the next task on +the list, or set the pointer to <tt>NULL</tt> if there +are no subsequent tasks on the list. + +</p><p>For example, suppose that tasks T1, T2, and T3 are +all hard-affinitied to the largest-numbered CPU in the system. +Then if task T1 blocked in an RCU read-side +critical section, then an expedited grace period started, +then task T2 blocked in an RCU read-side critical section, +then a normal grace period started, and finally task 3 blocked +in an RCU read-side critical section, then the state of the +last leaf <tt>rcu_node</tt> structure's blocked-task list +would be as shown below: + +</p><p><img src="blkd_task.svg" alt="blkd_task.svg" width="60%"> + +</p><p>Task T1 is blocking both grace periods, task T2 is +blocking only the normal grace period, and task T3 is blocking +neither grace period. +Note that these tasks will not remove themselves from this list +immediately upon resuming execution. +They will instead remain on the list until they execute the outermost +<tt>rcu_read_unlock()</tt> that ends their RCU read-side critical +section. + +<p> +The <tt>->wait_blkd_tasks</tt> field indicates whether or not +the current grace period is waiting on a blocked task. + +<h5>Sizing the <tt>rcu_node</tt> Array</h5> + +<p>The <tt>rcu_node</tt> array is sized via a series of +C-preprocessor expressions as follows: + +<pre> + 1 #ifdef CONFIG_RCU_FANOUT + 2 #define RCU_FANOUT CONFIG_RCU_FANOUT + 3 #else + 4 # ifdef CONFIG_64BIT + 5 # define RCU_FANOUT 64 + 6 # else + 7 # define RCU_FANOUT 32 + 8 # endif + 9 #endif +10 +11 #ifdef CONFIG_RCU_FANOUT_LEAF +12 #define RCU_FANOUT_LEAF CONFIG_RCU_FANOUT_LEAF +13 #else +14 # ifdef CONFIG_64BIT +15 # define RCU_FANOUT_LEAF 64 +16 # else +17 # define RCU_FANOUT_LEAF 32 +18 # endif +19 #endif +20 +21 #define RCU_FANOUT_1 (RCU_FANOUT_LEAF) +22 #define RCU_FANOUT_2 (RCU_FANOUT_1 * RCU_FANOUT) +23 #define RCU_FANOUT_3 (RCU_FANOUT_2 * RCU_FANOUT) +24 #define RCU_FANOUT_4 (RCU_FANOUT_3 * RCU_FANOUT) +25 +26 #if NR_CPUS <= RCU_FANOUT_1 +27 # define RCU_NUM_LVLS 1 +28 # define NUM_RCU_LVL_0 1 +29 # define NUM_RCU_NODES NUM_RCU_LVL_0 +30 # define NUM_RCU_LVL_INIT { NUM_RCU_LVL_0 } +31 # define RCU_NODE_NAME_INIT { "rcu_node_0" } +32 # define RCU_FQS_NAME_INIT { "rcu_node_fqs_0" } +33 # define RCU_EXP_NAME_INIT { "rcu_node_exp_0" } +34 #elif NR_CPUS <= RCU_FANOUT_2 +35 # define RCU_NUM_LVLS 2 +36 # define NUM_RCU_LVL_0 1 +37 # define NUM_RCU_LVL_1 DIV_ROUND_UP(NR_CPUS, RCU_FANOUT_1) +38 # define NUM_RCU_NODES (NUM_RCU_LVL_0 + NUM_RCU_LVL_1) +39 # define NUM_RCU_LVL_INIT { NUM_RCU_LVL_0, NUM_RCU_LVL_1 } +40 # define RCU_NODE_NAME_INIT { "rcu_node_0", "rcu_node_1" } +41 # define RCU_FQS_NAME_INIT { "rcu_node_fqs_0", "rcu_node_fqs_1" } +42 # define RCU_EXP_NAME_INIT { "rcu_node_exp_0", "rcu_node_exp_1" } +43 #elif NR_CPUS <= RCU_FANOUT_3 +44 # define RCU_NUM_LVLS 3 +45 # define NUM_RCU_LVL_0 1 +46 # define NUM_RCU_LVL_1 DIV_ROUND_UP(NR_CPUS, RCU_FANOUT_2) +47 # define NUM_RCU_LVL_2 DIV_ROUND_UP(NR_CPUS, RCU_FANOUT_1) +48 # define NUM_RCU_NODES (NUM_RCU_LVL_0 + NUM_RCU_LVL_1 + NUM_RCU_LVL_2) +49 # define NUM_RCU_LVL_INIT { NUM_RCU_LVL_0, NUM_RCU_LVL_1, NUM_RCU_LVL_2 } +50 # define RCU_NODE_NAME_INIT { "rcu_node_0", "rcu_node_1", "rcu_node_2" } +51 # define RCU_FQS_NAME_INIT { "rcu_node_fqs_0", "rcu_node_fqs_1", "rcu_node_fqs_2" } +52 # define RCU_EXP_NAME_INIT { "rcu_node_exp_0", "rcu_node_exp_1", "rcu_node_exp_2" } +53 #elif NR_CPUS <= RCU_FANOUT_4 +54 # define RCU_NUM_LVLS 4 +55 # define NUM_RCU_LVL_0 1 +56 # define NUM_RCU_LVL_1 DIV_ROUND_UP(NR_CPUS, RCU_FANOUT_3) +57 # define NUM_RCU_LVL_2 DIV_ROUND_UP(NR_CPUS, RCU_FANOUT_2) +58 # define NUM_RCU_LVL_3 DIV_ROUND_UP(NR_CPUS, RCU_FANOUT_1) +59 # define NUM_RCU_NODES (NUM_RCU_LVL_0 + NUM_RCU_LVL_1 + NUM_RCU_LVL_2 + NUM_RCU_LVL_3) +60 # define NUM_RCU_LVL_INIT { NUM_RCU_LVL_0, NUM_RCU_LVL_1, NUM_RCU_LVL_2, NUM_RCU_LVL_3 } +61 # define RCU_NODE_NAME_INIT { "rcu_node_0", "rcu_node_1", "rcu_node_2", "rcu_node_3" } +62 # define RCU_FQS_NAME_INIT { "rcu_node_fqs_0", "rcu_node_fqs_1", "rcu_node_fqs_2", "rcu_node_fqs_3" } +63 # define RCU_EXP_NAME_INIT { "rcu_node_exp_0", "rcu_node_exp_1", "rcu_node_exp_2", "rcu_node_exp_3" } +64 #else +65 # error "CONFIG_RCU_FANOUT insufficient for NR_CPUS" +66 #endif +</pre> + +<p>The maximum number of levels in the <tt>rcu_node</tt> structure +is currently limited to four, as specified by lines 21-24 +and the structure of the subsequent “if” statement. +For 32-bit systems, this allows 16*32*32*32=524,288 CPUs, which +should be sufficient for the next few years at least. +For 64-bit systems, 16*64*64*64=4,194,304 CPUs is allowed, which +should see us through the next decade or so. +This four-level tree also allows kernels built with +<tt>CONFIG_RCU_FANOUT=8</tt> to support up to 4096 CPUs, +which might be useful in very large systems having eight CPUs per +socket (but please note that no one has yet shown any measurable +performance degradation due to misaligned socket and <tt>rcu_node</tt> +boundaries). +In addition, building kernels with a full four levels of <tt>rcu_node</tt> +tree permits better testi |