linux-ext4 - [PATCH] Fix assertion failure in fs/jbd/checkpoint.c

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Message-ID: <20071128143410.GD11350@duck.suse.cz>
Date:	Wed, 28 Nov 2007 15:34:11 +0100
From:	Jan Kara <jack@...e.cz>
To:	Andrew Morton <akpm@...ux-foundation.org>
Cc:	linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org, linux-ext4@...r.kernel.org,
	Alexey Dobriyan <adobriyan@...il.com>
Subject: [PATCH] Fix assertion failure in fs/jbd/checkpoint.c

  Hi,

  the patch below should fix an assertion failure in JBD checkpointing
code. The patch survived some fsstress and similar runs on my test machine
so it shouldn't be obviously wrong ;).

								Honza
-- 
Jan Kara <jack@...e.cz>
SUSE Labs, CR
---

Before we start committing a transaction, we call
__journal_clean_checkpoint_list() to cleanup transaction's written-back
buffers. If this call happens to remove all of them (and there were already
some buffers), __journal_remove_checkpoint() will decide to free the
transaction because it isn't (yet) a committing transaction and soon we fail
some assertion - the transaction really isn't ready to be freed :).
We change the check in __journal_remove_checkpoint() to free only a transaction
in T_FINISHED state. The locking there is subtle though (as everywhere in
JBD ;(). We use j_list_lock to protect the check and a subsequent call to
__journal_drop_transaction() and do the same in the end of
journal_commit_transaction() which is the only place where a transaction can
get to T_FINISHED state. Probably I'm too paranoid here and such locking is
not really necessary - checkpoint lists are processed only from
log_do_checkpoint() where a transaction must be already committed to be
processed or from __journal_clean_checkpoint_list() where kjournald itself
calls it and thus transaction cannot change state either. Better be safe if
something changes in future...

Signed-off-by: Jan Kara <jack@...e.cz>

diff --git a/fs/jbd/checkpoint.c b/fs/jbd/checkpoint.c
index 47552d4..0f69c41 100644
--- a/fs/jbd/checkpoint.c
+++ b/fs/jbd/checkpoint.c
@@ -602,15 +602,15 @@ int __journal_remove_checkpoint(struct journal_head *jh)

 	/*
 	 * There is one special case to worry about: if we have just pulled the
-	 * buffer off a committing transaction's forget list, then even if the
-	 * checkpoint list is empty, the transaction obviously cannot be
-	 * dropped!
+	 * buffer off a running or committing transaction's checkpoing list,
+	 * then even if the checkpoint list is empty, the transaction obviously
+	 * cannot be dropped!
 	 *
-	 * The locking here around j_committing_transaction is a bit sleazy.
+	 * The locking here around t_state is a bit sleazy.
 	 * See the comment at the end of journal_commit_transaction().
 	 */
-	if (transaction == journal->j_committing_transaction) {
-		JBUFFER_TRACE(jh, "belongs to committing transaction");
+	if (transaction->t_state != T_FINISHED) {
+		JBUFFER_TRACE(jh, "belongs to running/committing transaction");
 		goto out;
 	}

diff --git a/fs/jbd/commit.c b/fs/jbd/commit.c
index 8f1f2aa..610264b 100644
--- a/fs/jbd/commit.c
+++ b/fs/jbd/commit.c
@@ -858,10 +858,10 @@ restart_loop:
 	}
 	spin_unlock(&journal->j_list_lock);
 	/*
-	 * This is a bit sleazy.  We borrow j_list_lock to protect
-	 * journal->j_committing_transaction in __journal_remove_checkpoint.
-	 * Really, __journal_remove_checkpoint should be using j_state_lock but
-	 * it's a bit hassle to hold that across __journal_remove_checkpoint
+	 * This is a bit sleazy.  We use j_list_lock to protect transition
+	 * of a transaction into T_FINISHED state and calling
+	 * __journal_drop_transaction(). Otherwise we could race with
+	 * other checkpointing code processing the transaction...
 	 */
 	spin_lock(&journal->j_state_lock);
 	spin_lock(&journal->j_list_lock);
diff --git a/include/linux/jbd.h b/include/linux/jbd.h
index 16e7ed8..d9ecd13 100644
--- a/include/linux/jbd.h
+++ b/include/linux/jbd.h
@@ -439,6 +439,8 @@ struct transaction_s
 	/*
 	 * Transaction's current state
 	 * [no locking - only kjournald alters this]
+	 * [j_list_lock] guards transition of a transaction into T_FINISHED
+	 * state and subsequent call of __journal_drop_transaction()
 	 * FIXME: needs barriers
 	 * KLUDGE: [use j_state_lock]
 	 */
-
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