linux-kernel - [PATCH tip/core/rcu 3/7] rcu: document ways of stalling updates in low-memory situations

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Message-Id: <1282329945-26043-3-git-send-email-paulmck@linux.vnet.ibm.com>
Date:	Fri, 20 Aug 2010 11:45:41 -0700
From:	"Paul E. McKenney" <paulmck@...ux.vnet.ibm.com>
To:	linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org
Cc:	mingo@...e.hu, laijs@...fujitsu.com, dipankar@...ibm.com,
	akpm@...ux-foundation.org, mathieu.desnoyers@...ymtl.ca,
	josh@...htriplett.org, dvhltc@...ibm.com, niv@...ibm.com,
	tglx@...utronix.de, peterz@...radead.org, rostedt@...dmis.org,
	Valdis.Kletnieks@...edu, dhowells@...hat.com,
	eric.dumazet@...il.com,
	"Paul E. McKenney" <paulmck@...ux.vnet.ibm.com>
Subject: [PATCH tip/core/rcu 3/7] rcu: document ways of stalling updates in low-memory situations

Signed-off-by: Paul E. McKenney <paulmck@...ux.vnet.ibm.com>
---
 Documentation/RCU/checklist.txt |   23 ++++++++++++++++-------
 1 files changed, 16 insertions(+), 7 deletions(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/RCU/checklist.txt b/Documentation/RCU/checklist.txt
index c7c6788..0c134f8 100644
--- a/Documentation/RCU/checklist.txt
+++ b/Documentation/RCU/checklist.txt
@@ -218,13 +218,22 @@ over a rather long period of time, but improvements are always welcome!
 	include:
 
 	a.	Keeping a count of the number of data-structure elements
-		used by the RCU-protected data structure, including those
-		waiting for a grace period to elapse.  Enforce a limit
-		on this number, stalling updates as needed to allow
-		previously deferred frees to complete.
-
-		Alternatively, limit only the number awaiting deferred
-		free rather than the total number of elements.
+		used by the RCU-protected data structure, including
+		those waiting for a grace period to elapse.  Enforce a
+		limit on this number, stalling updates as needed to allow
+		previously deferred frees to complete.	Alternatively,
+		limit only the number awaiting deferred free rather than
+		the total number of elements.
+
+		One way to stall the updates is to acquire the update-side
+		mutex.	(Don't try this with a spinlock -- other CPUs
+		spinning on the lock could prevent the grace period
+		from ever ending.)  Another way to stall the updates
+		is for the updates to use a wrapper function around
+		the memory allocator, so that this wrapper function
+		simulates OOM when there is too much memory awaiting an
+		RCU grace period.  There are of course many other
+		variations on this theme.
 
 	b.	Limiting update rate.  For example, if updates occur only
 		once per hour, then no explicit rate limiting is required,
-- 
1.7.0.6

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