1
linux/arch/x86
Thomas Gleixner b8f8c3cf0a nohz: prevent tick stop outside of the idle loop
Jack Ren and Eric Miao tracked down the following long standing
problem in the NOHZ code:

	scheduler switch to idle task
	enable interrupts

Window starts here

	----> interrupt happens (does not set NEED_RESCHED)
	      	irq_exit() stops the tick

	----> interrupt happens (does set NEED_RESCHED)

	return from schedule()
	
	cpu_idle(): preempt_disable();

Window ends here

The interrupts can happen at any point inside the race window. The
first interrupt stops the tick, the second one causes the scheduler to
rerun and switch away from idle again and we end up with the tick
disabled.

The fact that it needs two interrupts where the first one does not set
NEED_RESCHED and the second one does made the bug obscure and extremly
hard to reproduce and analyse. Kudos to Jack and Eric.

Solution: Limit the NOHZ functionality to the idle loop to make sure
that we can not run into such a situation ever again.

cpu_idle()
{
	preempt_disable();

	while(1) {
		 tick_nohz_stop_sched_tick(1); <- tell NOHZ code that we
		 			          are in the idle loop

		 while (!need_resched())
		       halt();

		 tick_nohz_restart_sched_tick(); <- disables NOHZ mode
		 preempt_enable_no_resched();
		 schedule();
		 preempt_disable();
	}
}

In hindsight we should have done this forever, but ... 

/me grabs a large brown paperbag.

Debugged-by: Jack Ren <jack.ren@marvell.com>, 
Debugged-by: eric miao <eric.y.miao@gmail.com>
Signed-off-by: Thomas Gleixner <tglx@linutronix.de>
2008-07-18 18:10:28 +02:00
..
boot x86: fix integer as NULL pointer warning 2008-05-23 08:11:06 -07:00
configs x86: add optimized inlining 2008-04-26 17:44:55 +02:00
crypto
ia32 signals: x86 TS_RESTORE_SIGMASK 2008-04-30 08:29:37 -07:00
kernel nohz: prevent tick stop outside of the idle loop 2008-07-18 18:10:28 +02:00
kvm namespacecheck: automated fixes 2008-05-23 14:08:06 +02:00
lguest
lib x86: fix csum_partial() export 2008-05-13 19:38:47 +02:00
mach-default
mach-es7000
mach-generic
mach-rdc321x
mach-visws
mach-voyager x86, voyager: fix ioremap_nocache() 2008-04-30 23:15:34 +02:00
math-emu
mm x86: fix crash on cpu hotplug on pat-incapable machines 2008-05-17 22:57:20 +02:00
oprofile
pci PCI: Correct last two HP entries in the bfsort whitelist 2008-05-19 12:21:36 -07:00
power
vdso x86: use explicit copy in vdso_gettimeofday() 2008-05-23 14:08:06 +02:00
video x86: video/fbdev.c: add MODULE_LICENSE 2008-05-04 20:04:46 +02:00
xen x86/xen: fix arbitrary_virt_to_machine() 2008-05-23 14:08:06 +02:00
Kconfig Kconfig: introduce ARCH_DEFCONFIG to DEFCONFIG_LIST 2008-05-25 23:03:18 +02:00
Kconfig.cpu x86: CONFIG_X86_ELAN fix 2008-04-30 23:15:35 +02:00
Kconfig.debug x86: Mark OPTIMIZE_INLINING broken 2008-04-30 20:07:22 -07:00
Makefile
Makefile_32.cpu