netdev - Re: why are there messages like assertion ((int)tcp_packets_in

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Date:	Wed, 26 Mar 2008 11:58:59 -0300
From:	carlos@...ica.ufpr.br (Carlos Carvalho)
To:	"Ilpo Järvinen" <ilpo.jarvinen@...sinki.fi>
Cc:	Netdev <netdev@...r.kernel.org>
Subject: Re: why are there messages like assertion ((int)tcp_packets_in_flight(tp)...

Ilpo Järvinen (ilpo.jarvinen@...sinki.fi) wrote on 26 March 2008 14:57:
 >On Sun, 23 Mar 2008, Carlos Carvalho wrote:
 >
 >> We get these messages in the log from time to time:
 >> 
 >> assertion ((int)tcp_packets_in_flight(tp) >= 0) failed at net/ipv4/tcp_input.c (1274)
 >> 
 >> What do they mean? Is there a way to get rid of them?
 >
 >> They usually appear at high net traffic periods.
 >
 >Your mail is lacking key bit of information:
 >- What kernel version you're using?

2.6.22.18.

 >- Is this only message?

Yes.

 >Especially I'm interested in if Leak printouts show up, but more
 >complete snippet of the log wouldn't hurt (I don't need all those
 >boot up details though :-)).

I don't know what you mean by leak but there aren't any other
messages.

 >It may mean a number of things. Basically packet counting is not that 
 >accurate as it should, whether that's causing bad things or not, it 
 >depends...
 >
 >...In case it's something before 2.6.24, there's one potential patch 
 >available in archives adding one clearly missing left_out adjustment. 

Could you point it to me? I cannot upgrade now because I also use the
vserver patch. I cannot test without it because this message only
appears when net traffic is high enough, and this is our only machine
in this condition.

 >Nobody has confirmed that it actually silences the message nor I've a 
 >clear theory how it could cause this. In the case that was debugged 
 >(either 2.6.22 or 2.6.23, I don't remember anymore in which), this message 
 >was found to occur in a rather harmless situation, ie., when no packets 
 >are outstanding. Unless they occur in sheer number spamming your logs, 
 >it's not that big problem.

In the last 3 days it appeared 6 times, so it's rare.

I'm reporting because I don't know what it means and it could be a bug.
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