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diff --git a/Documentation/locking/locktypes.rst b/Documentation/locking/locktypes.rst new file mode 100644 index 000000000000..09f45ce38d26 --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/locking/locktypes.rst @@ -0,0 +1,347 @@ +.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0 + +.. _kernel_hacking_locktypes: + +========================== +Lock types and their rules +========================== + +Introduction +============ + +The kernel provides a variety of locking primitives which can be divided +into two categories: + + - Sleeping locks + - Spinning locks + +This document conceptually describes these lock types and provides rules +for their nesting, including the rules for use under PREEMPT_RT. + + +Lock categories +=============== + +Sleeping locks +-------------- + +Sleeping locks can only be acquired in preemptible task context. + +Although implementations allow try_lock() from other contexts, it is +necessary to carefully evaluate the safety of unlock() as well as of +try_lock(). Furthermore, it is also necessary to evaluate the debugging +versions of these primitives. In short, don't acquire sleeping locks from +other contexts unless there is no other option. + +Sleeping lock types: + + - mutex + - rt_mutex + - semaphore + - rw_semaphore + - ww_mutex + - percpu_rw_semaphore + +On PREEMPT_RT kernels, these lock types are converted to sleeping locks: + + - spinlock_t + - rwlock_t + +Spinning locks +-------------- + + - raw_spinlock_t + - bit spinlocks + +On non-PREEMPT_RT kernels, these lock types are also spinning locks: + + - spinlock_t + - rwlock_t + +Spinning locks implicitly disable preemption and the lock / unlock functions +can have suffixes which apply further protections: + + =================== ==================================================== + _bh() Disable / enable bottom halves (soft interrupts) + _irq() Disable / enable interrupts + _irqsave/restore() Save and disable / restore interrupt disabled state + =================== ==================================================== + +Owner semantics +=============== + +The aforementioned lock types except semaphores have strict owner +semantics: + + The context (task) that acquired the lock must release it. + +rw_semaphores have a special interface which allows non-owner release for +readers. + + +rtmutex +======= + +RT-mutexes are mutexes with support for priority inheritance (PI). + +PI has limitations on non-PREEMPT_RT kernels due to preemption and +interrupt disabled sections. + +PI clearly cannot preempt preemption-disabled or interrupt-disabled +regions of code, even on PREEMPT_RT kernels. Instead, PREEMPT_RT kernels +execute most such regions of code in preemptible task context, especially +interrupt handlers and soft interrupts. This conversion allows spinlock_t +and rwlock_t to be implemented via RT-mutexes. + + +semaphore +========= + +semaphore is a counting semaphore implementation. + +Semaphores are often used for both serialization and waiting, but new use +cases should instead use separate serialization and wait mechanisms, such +as mutexes and completions. + +semaphores and PREEMPT_RT +---------------------------- + +PREEMPT_RT does not change the semaphore implementation because counting +semaphores have no concept of owners, thus preventing PREEMPT_RT from +providing priority inheritance for semaphores. After all, an unknown +owner cannot be boosted. As a consequence, blocking on semaphores can +result in priority inversion. + + +rw_semaphore +============ + +rw_semaphore is a multiple readers and single writer lock mechanism. + +On non-PREEMPT_RT kernels the implementation is fair, thus preventing +writer starvation. + +rw_semaphore complies by default with the strict owner semantics, but there +exist special-purpose interfaces that allow non-owner release for readers. +These interfaces work independent of the kernel configuration. + +rw_semaphore and PREEMPT_RT +--------------------------- + +PREEMPT_RT kernels map rw_semaphore to a separate rt_mutex-based +implementation, thus changing the fairness: + + Because an rw_semaphore writer cannot grant its priority to multiple + readers, a preempted low-priority reader will continue holding its lock, + thus starving even high-priority writers. In contrast, because readers + can grant their priority to a writer, a preempted low-priority writer will + have its priority boosted until it releases the lock, thus preventing that + writer from starving readers. + + +raw_spinlock_t and spinlock_t +============================= + +raw_spinlock_t +-------------- + +raw_spinlock_t is a strict spinning lock implementation regardless of the +kernel configuration including PREEMPT_RT enabled kernels. + +raw_spinlock_t is a strict spinning lock implementation in all kernels, +including PREEMPT_RT kernels. Use raw_spinlock_t only in real critical +core code, low-level interrupt handling and places where disabling +preemption or interrupts is required, for example, to safely access +hardware state. raw_spinlock_t can sometimes also be used when the +critical section is tiny, thus avoiding RT-mutex overhead. + +spinlock_t +---------- + +The semantics of spinlock_t change with the state of PREEMPT_RT. + +On a non-PREEMPT_RT kernel spinlock_t is mapped to raw_spinlock_t and has +exactly the same semantics. + +spinlock_t and PREEMPT_RT +------------------------- + +On a PREEMPT_RT kernel spinlock_t is mapped to a separate implementation +based on rt_mutex which changes the semantics: + + - Preemption is not disabled. + + - The hard interrupt related suffixes for spin_lock / spin_unlock + operations (_irq, _irqsave / _irqrestore) do not affect the CPU's + interrupt disabled state. + + - The soft interrupt related suffix (_bh()) still disables softirq + handlers. + + Non-PREEMPT_RT kernels disable preemption to get this effect. + + PREEMPT_RT kernels use a per-CPU lock for serialization which keeps + preemption disabled. The lock disables softirq handlers and also + prevents reentrancy due to task preemption. + +PREEMPT_RT kernels preserve all other spinlock_t semantics: + + - Tasks holding a spinlock_t do not migrate. Non-PREEMPT_RT kernels + avoid migration by disabling preemption. PREEMPT_RT kernels instead + disable migration, which ensures that pointers to per-CPU variables + remain valid even if the task is preempted. + + - Task state is preserved across spinlock acquisition, ensuring that the + task-state rules apply to all kernel configurations. Non-PREEMPT_RT + kernels leave task state untouched. However, PREEMPT_RT must change + task state if the task blocks during acquisition. Therefore, it saves + the current task state before blocking and the corresponding lock wakeup + restores it, as shown below:: + + task->state = TASK_INTERRUPTIBLE + lock() + block() + task->saved_state = task->state + task->state = TASK_UNINTERRUPTIBLE + schedule() + lock wakeup + task->state = task->saved_state + + Other types of wakeups would normally unconditionally set the task state + to RUNNING, but that does not work here because the task must remain + blocked until the lock becomes available. Therefore, when a non-lock + wakeup attempts to awaken a task blocked waiting for a spinlock, it + instead sets the saved state to RUNNING. Then, when the lock + acquisition completes, the lock wakeup sets the task state to the saved + state, in this case setting it to RUNNING:: + + task->state = TASK_INTERRUPTIBLE + lock() + block() + task->saved_state = task->state + task->state = TASK_UNINTERRUPTIBLE + schedule() + non lock wakeup + task->saved_state = TASK_RUNNING + + lock wakeup + task->state = task->saved_state + + This ensures that the real wakeup cannot be lost. + + +rwlock_t +======== + +rwlock_t is a multiple readers and single writer lock mechanism. + +Non-PREEMPT_RT kernels implement rwlock_t as a spinning lock and the +suffix rules of spinlock_t apply accordingly. The implementation is fair, +thus preventing writer starvation. + +rwlock_t and PREEMPT_RT +----------------------- + +PREEMPT_RT kernels map rwlock_t to a separate rt_mutex-based +implementation, thus changing semantics: + + - All the spinlock_t changes also apply to rwlock_t. + + - Because an rwlock_t writer cannot grant its priority to multiple + readers, a preempted low-priority reader will continue holding its lock, + thus starving even high-priority writers. In contrast, because readers + can grant their priority to a writer, a preempted low-priority writer + will have its priority boosted until it releases the lock, thus + preventing that writer from starving readers. + + +PREEMPT_RT caveats +================== + +spinlock_t and rwlock_t +----------------------- + +These changes in spinlock_t and rwlock_t semantics on PREEMPT_RT kernels +have a few implications. For example, on a non-PREEMPT_RT kernel the +following code sequence works as expected:: + + local_irq_disable(); + spin_lock(&lock); + +and is fully equivalent to:: + + spin_lock_irq(&lock); + +Same applies to rwlock_t and the _irqsave() suffix variants. + +On PREEMPT_RT kernel this code sequence breaks because RT-mutex requires a +fully preemptible context. Instead, use spin_lock_irq() or +spin_lock_irqsave() and their unlock counterparts. In cases where the +interrupt disabling and locking must remain separate, PREEMPT_RT offers a +local_lock mechanism. Acquiring the local_lock pins the task to a CPU, +allowing things like per-CPU interrupt disabled locks to be acquired. +However, this approach should be used only where absolutely necessary. + + +raw_spinlock_t +-------------- + +Acquiring a raw_spinlock_t disables preemption and possibly also +interrupts, so the critical section must avoid acquiring a regular +spinlock_t or rwlock_t, for example, the critical section must avoid +allocating memory. Thus, on a non-PREEMPT_RT kernel the following code +works perfectly:: + + raw_spin_lock(&lock); + p = kmalloc(sizeof(*p), GFP_ATOMIC); + +But this code fails on PREEMPT_RT kernels because the memory allocator is +fully preemptible and therefore cannot be invoked from truly atomic +contexts. However, it is perfectly fine to invoke the memory allocator +while holding normal non-raw spinlocks because they do not disable +preemption on PREEMPT_RT kernels:: + + spin_lock(&lock); + p = kmalloc(sizeof(*p), GFP_ATOMIC); + + +bit spinlocks +------------- + +PREEMPT_RT cannot substitute bit spinlocks because a single bit is too +small to accommodate an RT-mutex. Therefore, the semantics of bit +spinlocks are preserved on PREEMPT_RT kernels, so that the raw_spinlock_t +caveats also apply to bit spinlocks. + +Some bit spinlocks are replaced with regular spinlock_t for PREEMPT_RT +using conditional (#ifdef'ed) code changes at the usage site. In contrast, +usage-site changes are not needed for the spinlock_t substitution. +Instead, conditionals in header files and the core locking implemementation +enable the compiler to do the substitution transparently. + + +Lock type nesting rules +======================= + +The most basic rules are: + + - Lock types of the same lock category (sleeping, spinning) can nest + arbitrarily as long as they respect the general lock ordering rules to + prevent deadlocks. + + - Sleeping lock types cannot nest inside spinning lock types. + + - Spinning lock types can nest inside sleeping lock types. + +These constraints apply both in PREEMPT_RT and otherwise. + +The fact that PREEMPT_RT changes the lock category of spinlock_t and +rwlock_t from spinning to sleeping means that they cannot be acquired while +holding a raw spinlock. This results in the following nesting ordering: + + 1) Sleeping locks + 2) spinlock_t and rwlock_t + 3) raw_spinlock_t and bit spinlocks + +Lockdep will complain if these constraints are violated, both in +PREEMPT_RT and otherwise. |