linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH tip/core/rcu 1/9] rcu: Provide GP ordering in face of migrations and delays

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Message-Id: <20171005145513.GO3521@linux.vnet.ibm.com>
Date:   Thu, 5 Oct 2017 07:55:13 -0700
From:   "Paul E. McKenney" <paulmck@...ux.vnet.ibm.com>
To:     Peter Zijlstra <peterz@...radead.org>
Cc:     linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org, mingo@...nel.org,
        jiangshanlai@...il.com, dipankar@...ibm.com,
        akpm@...ux-foundation.org, mathieu.desnoyers@...icios.com,
        josh@...htriplett.org, tglx@...utronix.de, rostedt@...dmis.org,
        dhowells@...hat.com, edumazet@...gle.com, fweisbec@...il.com,
        oleg@...hat.com
Subject: Re: [PATCH tip/core/rcu 1/9] rcu: Provide GP ordering in face of
 migrations and delays

On Thu, Oct 05, 2017 at 11:41:14AM +0200, Peter Zijlstra wrote:
> On Wed, Oct 04, 2017 at 02:29:27PM -0700, Paul E. McKenney wrote:
> > Consider the following admittedly improbable sequence of events:
> > 
> > o	RCU is initially idle.
> > 
> > o	Task A on CPU 0 executes rcu_read_lock().
> > 
> > o	Task B on CPU 1 executes synchronize_rcu(), which must
> > 	wait on Task A:
> > 
> > 	o	Task B registers the callback, which starts a new
> > 		grace period, awakening the grace-period kthread
> > 		on CPU 3, which immediately starts a new grace period.
> > 
> > 	o	Task B migrates to CPU 2, which provides a quiescent
> > 		state for both CPUs 1 and 2.
> > 
> > 	o	Both CPUs 1 and 2 take scheduling-clock interrupts,
> > 		and both invoke RCU_SOFTIRQ, both thus learning of the
> > 		new grace period.
> > 
> > 	o	Task B is delayed, perhaps by vCPU preemption on CPU 2.
> > 
> > o	CPUs 2 and 3 pass through quiescent states, which are reported
> > 	to core RCU.
> > 
> > o	Task B is resumed just long enough to be migrated to CPU 3,
> > 	and then is once again delayed.
> > 
> > o	Task A executes rcu_read_unlock(), exiting its RCU read-side
> > 	critical section.
> > 
> > o	CPU 0 passes through a quiescent sate, which is reported to
> > 	core RCU.  Only CPU 1 continues to block the grace period.
> > 
> > o	CPU 1 passes through a quiescent state, which is reported to
> > 	core RCU.  This ends the grace period, and CPU 1 therefore
> > 	invokes its callbacks, one of which awakens Task B via
> > 	complete().
> > 
> > o	Task B resumes (still on CPU 3) and starts executing
> > 	wait_for_completion(), which sees that the completion has
> > 	already completed, and thus does not block.  It returns from
> > 	the synchronize_rcu() without any ordering against the
> > 	end of Task A's RCU read-side critical section.
> > 
> > 	It can therefore mess up Task A's RCU read-side critical section,
> > 	in theory, anyway.
> 
> I'm not sure I follow, at the very least the wait_for_completion() does
> an ACQUIRE such that it observes the state prior to the RELEASE as done
> by complete(), no?

Your point being that both wait_for_completion() and complete() acquire
and release the same lock?  (Yes, I suspect that I was confusing this
with wait_event() and wake_up(), just so you know.)

> And is not CPU0's QS reporting ordered against that complete()?

Mumble mumble mumble powerpc mumble mumble mumble...

OK, I will make this new memory barrier only execute for powerpc.

Or am I missing something else here?

							Thanx, Paul