Date:	Tue, 03 May 2011 18:43:48 +0300
From:	Surbhi Palande <surbhi.palande@...onical.com>
To:	Jan Kara <jack@...e.cz>
CC:	toshi.okajima@...fujitsu.com, tytso@....edu,
	m.mizuma@...fujitsu.com, adilger.kernel@...ger.ca,
	linux-ext4@...r.kernel.org, linux-fsdevel@...r.kernel.org,
	sandeen@...hat.com
Subject: Re: your mail

On 05/03/2011 06:36 PM, Jan Kara wrote:
> On Tue 03-05-11 16:56:57, Surbhi Palande wrote:
>> On 05/03/2011 04:46 PM, Jan Kara wrote:
>>> On Tue 03-05-11 16:08:36, Surbhi Palande wrote:
>>
>> Sorry for missing the subject line :(
>>>> On munmap() zap_pte_range() is called which dirties the PTE dirty pages as
>>>> Toshiyuki pointed out.
>>>>
>>>> zap_pte_range()
>>>>    mapping->a_ops->set_page_dirty (= ext4_journalled_set_page_dirty)
>>>>
>>>> So, I think that it is here that we should do the checking for a ext4 F.S
>>>> frozen state and also prevent a parallel ext4 F.S freeze from happening.
>>>>
>>>> Attaching a patch for initial review. Please do let me know your thoughts!
>>>    This is definitely the wrong place. ->set_page_dirty() callbacks are
>>> called with various locks held and the page need not be locked (thus
>>> dereferencing page->mapping is oopsable). Moreover this particular callback
>>> is called only in data=journal mode.
>> Ok! Thanks for that!
>>
>>>
>>> Believe me, the right place is page_mkwrite() - you have to catch the
>>> read-only =>   read-write page transition. Once the page is mapped
>>> read-write, you've already lost the race.
>>
>> My only point is:
>> 1) something should prevent the freeze from happening. We cant
>> merely check the vfs_check_frozen()?
>    Yes, I agree - see my other email with patches.
>
>> And this should be done where the page is marked dirty.Also, I
>> thought that the page is marked read-write only in the page table in
>> the __do_page_fault()? i.e the zap_pte_range() marks them dirty in
>> the page cache? Is this understanding right?
>    The page can become dirty either because it was written via standard
> write - write_begin is responsible for reliable check here - or it was
> written via mmap - here we rely on page_mkwrite to do a reliable check -
> it is analogous to write_begin callback. There should be no other way
> to dirty a page.
>
> With dirty bits it is a bit complicated. We have two of them in fact. One
> in page table entry maintained by mmu and one in page structure maintained
> by kernel. Some functions (such as zap_pte_range()) copy the dirty bits
> from page table into struct page. This is a lazy process so page can in
> principle have new data without a dirty bit set in struct page because we
> have not yet copied the dirty bit from page table. Only at moments where it
> is important (like when we want to unmap the page, or throw away the page,
> or so), we make sure struct page and page table bits are in sync.
>
> Another subtle thing you need not be aware of it that when we clear page
> dirty bit, we also writeprotect the page. So we are guaranteed to get a
> page fault when the page is written to again.
>
>> IMHO, whatever code dirties the page in the page cache should call a
>> F.S specific function and let it _prevent_ a fsfreeze while the page
>> is getting dirtied, so that a freeze called after this point flushes
>> this page!
>    Agreed, that's what code in write_begin() and page_mkwrite() should
> achieve.
> 								Honza
Thanks a lot for the wonderful explanation :)

How about the revert : i.e calling  jbd2_journal_unlock_updates() from 
ext4_unfreeze() instead of the ext4_freeze()? Do you agree to that?


Warm Regards,
Surbhi.

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