2008-12-29 04:18:32

by Indan Zupancic

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: [PATCH] Fix race in ring_buffer_consume()

Hello,

While doing a grep -r as root somewhere in /proc, grep founds its way
into /mnt/debug/tracing and caused the below snippet:

------------[ cut here ]------------
kernel BUG at /home/indan/src/linux-2.6/kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c:1676!
invalid opcode: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT
last sysfs file: /sys/devices/virtual/backlight/thinkpad_screen/brightness
Dumping ftrace buffer:
(ftrace buffer empty)
Modules linked in: i915 drm pl2303 usbserial usb_storage uhci_hcd ehci_hcd
usbcore

Pid: 10660, comm: grep Not tainted (2.6.28phc #12) 2371GHG
EIP: 0060:[<c0241464>] EFLAGS: 00010246 CPU: 0
EIP is at rb_advance_reader+0xe/0xd7
EAX: 00000000 EBX: f703c000 ECX: f717ea80 EDX: 00000003
ESI: f70081c0 EDI: f7008240 EBP: 00000fff ESP: f6ac2f3c
DS: 007b ES: 007b FS: 0000 GS: 0033 SS: 0068
Process grep (pid: 10660, ti=f6ac2000 task=f689b900 task.ti=f6ac2000)
Stack:
f703c000 f70081c0 00000000 c024171e f2de2000 f2de2000 f2de3038 c0242fc8
00000a6a c0245105 089adff4 f2dca400 f2de2010 00005000 f2dca400 c0244f8f
089adff4 c0263633 f6ac2fa0 f2dca400 fffffff7 00001000 f6ac2000 c02636f9
Call Trace:
[<c024171e>] ring_buffer_consume+0x2b/0x31
[<c0242fc8>] trace_consume+0x1d/0x23
[<c0245105>] tracing_read_pipe+0x176/0x1dc
[<c0244f8f>] tracing_read_pipe+0x0/0x1dc
[<c0263633>] vfs_read+0x73/0xa1
[<c02636f9>] sys_read+0x3c/0x63
[<c0202ef5>] sysenter_do_call+0x12/0x2a
Code: 00 25 00 f0 ff ff e8 f9 fb ff ff 85 c0 74 05 e8 8c 61 1c 00
89 f0 5e 5f 5b 5e 5f 5d c3 57 89 c7 56 53 e8 c2 fe ff ff 85 c0 75
04 <0f> 0b eb fe 8b 47 1c 8b 70 1c 03 70 10 8a 06 24 03 3c 03 75 03
EIP: [<c0241464>] rb_advance_reader+0xe/0xd7 SS:ESP 0068:f6ac2f3c
---[ end trace 77bf081d52bacbc7 ]---
note: grep[10660] exited with preempt_count 1

I think preemptirqsoff tracing is enabled, can't check because doing
cat on most files in debug/tracing hangs. Kernel was booted with
initcall_debug. Kernel is 2.6.28.

$ zcat /proc/config.gz |grep TRACER=
CONFIG_NOP_TRACER=y
CONFIG_HAVE_FUNCTION_TRACER=y
CONFIG_IRQSOFF_TRACER=y
CONFIG_PREEMPT_TRACER=y
CONFIG_CONTEXT_SWITCH_TRACER=y
CONFIG_BOOT_TRACER=y

ring_buffer.c:1676:

static void rb_advance_reader(struct ring_buffer_per_cpu *cpu_buffer)
{
struct ring_buffer_event *event;
struct buffer_page *reader;
unsigned length;

reader = rb_get_reader_page(cpu_buffer);

/* This function should not be called when buffer is empty */
BUG_ON(!reader);

Called by ring_buffer_consume():

ring_buffer_consume(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu, u64 *ts)
{
struct ring_buffer_per_cpu *cpu_buffer;
struct ring_buffer_event *event;

if (!cpu_isset(cpu, buffer->cpumask))
return NULL;

event = ring_buffer_peek(buffer, cpu, ts);
if (!event)
return NULL;

cpu_buffer = buffer->buffers[cpu];
rb_advance_reader(cpu_buffer);

ring_buffer_peek() is complicated, but boils down to:

ring_buffer_peek(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu, u64 *ts)
{
[...]
cpu_buffer = buffer->buffers[cpu];
[...]
reader = rb_get_reader_page(cpu_buffer);
if (!reader)
return NULL;

event = rb_reader_event(cpu_buffer);
[...]
return event or return NULL;
}

So between the rb_get_reader_page() call in ring_buffer_peek() and
the one in rb_advance_reader() something happened causing the event
to disappear. Also note: grep[10660] exited with preempt_count 1.
There's no locking between the ring_buffer_peek and rb_advance_reader
calls in ring_buffer_consume, so a tentative guess is that there should
be some.

Then again, the double tracing_read_pipe() in the backtrace seems weird,
so maybe something else is going on.

Easiest fix seems to merge ring_buffer_peek and ring_buffer_consume into
ring_buffer_get, which is the same as the current peek, but with an extra
parameter telling it to consume the buffer or not.

The same might be needed for ring_buffer_iter_peek() and ring_buffer_read().

Patch doing this:

commit 648cf957210619595856b78f12bd11752ae22aa5
Author: Indan Zupancic <[email protected]>
Date: Mon Dec 29 14:27:18 2008 +1100

Fix race in ring_buffer_consume(): Replace ring_buffer_consume and
ring_buffer_peek with ring_buffer_get_event

Signed-off-by: Indan Zupancic <[email protected]>

include/linux/ring_buffer.h | 4 +---
kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c | 39 ++++++++-------------------------------
kernel/trace/trace.c | 15 ++++++++-------
kernel/trace/trace_selftest.c | 2 +-
4 files changed, 18 insertions(+), 42 deletions(-)

diff --git a/include/linux/ring_buffer.h b/include/linux/ring_buffer.h
index e097c2e..d9320bd 100644
--- a/include/linux/ring_buffer.h
+++ b/include/linux/ring_buffer.h
@@ -83,9 +83,7 @@ int ring_buffer_write(struct ring_buffer *buffer,
unsigned long length, void *data);

struct ring_buffer_event *
-ring_buffer_peek(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu, u64 *ts);
-struct ring_buffer_event *
-ring_buffer_consume(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu, u64 *ts);
+ring_buffer_get_event(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu, u64 *ts, int
consume);

struct ring_buffer_iter *
ring_buffer_read_start(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu);
diff --git a/kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c b/kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c
index 668bbb5..d4e5dbc 100644
--- a/kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c
+++ b/kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c
@@ -1727,16 +1727,18 @@ static void rb_advance_iter(struct ring_buffer_iter
*iter)
}

/**
- * ring_buffer_peek - peek at the next event to be read
+ * ring_buffer_get_event - get the next event to be read
* @buffer: The ring buffer to read
* @cpu: The cpu to peak at
* @ts: The timestamp counter of this event.
+ * @consume: Whether the event should be consumed.
+ * If true, sequential reads will keep returning a different event,
+ * and eventually empty the ring buffer if the producer is slower.
*
- * This will return the event that will be read next, but does
- * not consume the data.
+ * This will return the event that will be read next.
*/
struct ring_buffer_event *
-ring_buffer_peek(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu, u64 *ts)
+ring_buffer_get_event(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu, u64 *ts, int consume)
{
struct ring_buffer_per_cpu *cpu_buffer;
struct ring_buffer_event *event;
@@ -1789,6 +1791,8 @@ ring_buffer_peek(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu,
u64 *ts)
*ts = cpu_buffer->read_stamp + event->time_delta;
ring_buffer_normalize_time_stamp(cpu_buffer->cpu, ts);
}
+ if (consume)
+ rb_advance_reader(cpu_buffer);
return event;

default:
@@ -1869,33 +1873,6 @@ ring_buffer_iter_peek(struct ring_buffer_iter *iter,
u64 *ts)
}

/**
- * ring_buffer_consume - return an event and consume it
- * @buffer: The ring buffer to get the next event from
- *
- * Returns the next event in the ring buffer, and that event is consumed.
- * Meaning, that sequential reads will keep returning a different event,
- * and eventually empty the ring buffer if the producer is slower.
- */
-struct ring_buffer_event *
-ring_buffer_consume(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu, u64 *ts)
-{
- struct ring_buffer_per_cpu *cpu_buffer;
- struct ring_buffer_event *event;
-
- if (!cpu_isset(cpu, buffer->cpumask))
- return NULL;
-
- event = ring_buffer_peek(buffer, cpu, ts);
- if (!event)
- return NULL;
-
- cpu_buffer = buffer->buffers[cpu];
- rb_advance_reader(cpu_buffer);
-
- return event;
-}
-
-/**
* ring_buffer_read_start - start a non consuming read of the buffer
* @buffer: The ring buffer to read from
* @cpu: The cpu buffer to iterate over
diff --git a/kernel/trace/trace.c b/kernel/trace/trace.c
index d86e325..f1329ed 100644
--- a/kernel/trace/trace.c
+++ b/kernel/trace/trace.c
@@ -938,7 +938,7 @@ peek_next_entry(struct trace_iterator *iter, int cpu, u64
*ts)
if (buf_iter)
event = ring_buffer_iter_peek(buf_iter, ts);
else
- event = ring_buffer_peek(iter->tr->buffer, cpu, ts);
+ event = ring_buffer_get_event(iter->tr->buffer, cpu, ts, 0);

ftrace_enable_cpu();

@@ -1002,7 +1002,7 @@ static void trace_consume(struct trace_iterator *iter)
{
/* Don't allow ftrace to trace into the ring buffers */
ftrace_disable_cpu();
- ring_buffer_consume(iter->tr->buffer, iter->cpu, &iter->ts);
+ ring_buffer_get_event(iter->tr->buffer, iter->cpu, &iter->ts, 1);
ftrace_enable_cpu();
}

@@ -1310,8 +1310,9 @@ void trace_seq_print_cont(struct trace_seq *s, struct
trace_iterator *iter)
struct trace_entry *ent;
struct trace_field_cont *cont;
bool ok = true;
+ int cpu = iter->cpu;

- ent = peek_next_entry(iter, iter->cpu, NULL);
+ ent = peek_next_entry(iter, cpu, NULL);
if (!ent || ent->type != TRACE_CONT) {
trace_seq_putc(s, '\n');
return;
@@ -1324,14 +1325,14 @@ void trace_seq_print_cont(struct trace_seq *s, struct
trace_iterator *iter)

ftrace_disable_cpu();

- if (iter->buffer_iter[iter->cpu])
- ring_buffer_read(iter->buffer_iter[iter->cpu], NULL);
+ if (iter->buffer_iter[cpu])
+ ring_buffer_read(iter->buffer_iter[cpu], NULL);
else
- ring_buffer_consume(iter->tr->buffer, iter->cpu, NULL);
+ ring_buffer_get_event(iter->tr->buffer, cpu, NULL, 1);

ftrace_enable_cpu();

- ent = peek_next_entry(iter, iter->cpu, NULL);
+ ent = peek_next_entry(iter, cpu, NULL);
} while (ent && ent->type == TRACE_CONT);

if (!ok)
diff --git a/kernel/trace/trace_selftest.c b/kernel/trace/trace_selftest.c
index 90bc752..3894989 100644
--- a/kernel/trace/trace_selftest.c
+++ b/kernel/trace/trace_selftest.c
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ static int trace_test_buffer_cpu(struct trace_array *tr, int
cpu)
struct ring_buffer_event *event;
struct trace_entry *entry;

- while ((event = ring_buffer_consume(tr->buffer, cpu, NULL))) {
+ while ((event = ring_buffer_get_event(tr->buffer, cpu, NULL, 1))) {
entry = ring_buffer_event_data(event);

if (!trace_valid_entry(entry)) {


2008-12-29 07:33:35

by Indan Zupancic

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: [PATCH] Fix race in ring_buffer_consume(): Replace ring_buffer_consume and ring_buffer_peek with ring_buffer_get_event

Original mail was mangled, patch resent via git.

Signed-off-by: Indan Zupancic <[email protected]>
---
include/linux/ring_buffer.h | 4 +---
kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c | 39 ++++++++-------------------------------
kernel/trace/trace.c | 15 ++++++++-------
kernel/trace/trace_selftest.c | 2 +-
4 files changed, 18 insertions(+), 42 deletions(-)

diff --git a/include/linux/ring_buffer.h b/include/linux/ring_buffer.h
index e097c2e..d9320bd 100644
--- a/include/linux/ring_buffer.h
+++ b/include/linux/ring_buffer.h
@@ -83,9 +83,7 @@ int ring_buffer_write(struct ring_buffer *buffer,
unsigned long length, void *data);

struct ring_buffer_event *
-ring_buffer_peek(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu, u64 *ts);
-struct ring_buffer_event *
-ring_buffer_consume(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu, u64 *ts);
+ring_buffer_get_event(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu, u64 *ts, int consume);

struct ring_buffer_iter *
ring_buffer_read_start(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu);
diff --git a/kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c b/kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c
index 668bbb5..d4e5dbc 100644
--- a/kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c
+++ b/kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c
@@ -1727,16 +1727,18 @@ static void rb_advance_iter(struct ring_buffer_iter *iter)
}

/**
- * ring_buffer_peek - peek at the next event to be read
+ * ring_buffer_get_event - get the next event to be read
* @buffer: The ring buffer to read
* @cpu: The cpu to peak at
* @ts: The timestamp counter of this event.
+ * @consume: Whether the event should be consumed.
+ * If true, sequential reads will keep returning a different event,
+ * and eventually empty the ring buffer if the producer is slower.
*
- * This will return the event that will be read next, but does
- * not consume the data.
+ * This will return the event that will be read next.
*/
struct ring_buffer_event *
-ring_buffer_peek(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu, u64 *ts)
+ring_buffer_get_event(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu, u64 *ts, int consume)
{
struct ring_buffer_per_cpu *cpu_buffer;
struct ring_buffer_event *event;
@@ -1789,6 +1791,8 @@ ring_buffer_peek(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu, u64 *ts)
*ts = cpu_buffer->read_stamp + event->time_delta;
ring_buffer_normalize_time_stamp(cpu_buffer->cpu, ts);
}
+ if (consume)
+ rb_advance_reader(cpu_buffer);
return event;

default:
@@ -1869,33 +1873,6 @@ ring_buffer_iter_peek(struct ring_buffer_iter *iter, u64 *ts)
}

/**
- * ring_buffer_consume - return an event and consume it
- * @buffer: The ring buffer to get the next event from
- *
- * Returns the next event in the ring buffer, and that event is consumed.
- * Meaning, that sequential reads will keep returning a different event,
- * and eventually empty the ring buffer if the producer is slower.
- */
-struct ring_buffer_event *
-ring_buffer_consume(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu, u64 *ts)
-{
- struct ring_buffer_per_cpu *cpu_buffer;
- struct ring_buffer_event *event;
-
- if (!cpu_isset(cpu, buffer->cpumask))
- return NULL;
-
- event = ring_buffer_peek(buffer, cpu, ts);
- if (!event)
- return NULL;
-
- cpu_buffer = buffer->buffers[cpu];
- rb_advance_reader(cpu_buffer);
-
- return event;
-}
-
-/**
* ring_buffer_read_start - start a non consuming read of the buffer
* @buffer: The ring buffer to read from
* @cpu: The cpu buffer to iterate over
diff --git a/kernel/trace/trace.c b/kernel/trace/trace.c
index d86e325..f1329ed 100644
--- a/kernel/trace/trace.c
+++ b/kernel/trace/trace.c
@@ -938,7 +938,7 @@ peek_next_entry(struct trace_iterator *iter, int cpu, u64 *ts)
if (buf_iter)
event = ring_buffer_iter_peek(buf_iter, ts);
else
- event = ring_buffer_peek(iter->tr->buffer, cpu, ts);
+ event = ring_buffer_get_event(iter->tr->buffer, cpu, ts, 0);

ftrace_enable_cpu();

@@ -1002,7 +1002,7 @@ static void trace_consume(struct trace_iterator *iter)
{
/* Don't allow ftrace to trace into the ring buffers */
ftrace_disable_cpu();
- ring_buffer_consume(iter->tr->buffer, iter->cpu, &iter->ts);
+ ring_buffer_get_event(iter->tr->buffer, iter->cpu, &iter->ts, 1);
ftrace_enable_cpu();
}

@@ -1310,8 +1310,9 @@ void trace_seq_print_cont(struct trace_seq *s, struct trace_iterator *iter)
struct trace_entry *ent;
struct trace_field_cont *cont;
bool ok = true;
+ int cpu = iter->cpu;

- ent = peek_next_entry(iter, iter->cpu, NULL);
+ ent = peek_next_entry(iter, cpu, NULL);
if (!ent || ent->type != TRACE_CONT) {
trace_seq_putc(s, '\n');
return;
@@ -1324,14 +1325,14 @@ void trace_seq_print_cont(struct trace_seq *s, struct trace_iterator *iter)

ftrace_disable_cpu();

- if (iter->buffer_iter[iter->cpu])
- ring_buffer_read(iter->buffer_iter[iter->cpu], NULL);
+ if (iter->buffer_iter[cpu])
+ ring_buffer_read(iter->buffer_iter[cpu], NULL);
else
- ring_buffer_consume(iter->tr->buffer, iter->cpu, NULL);
+ ring_buffer_get_event(iter->tr->buffer, cpu, NULL, 1);

ftrace_enable_cpu();

- ent = peek_next_entry(iter, iter->cpu, NULL);
+ ent = peek_next_entry(iter, cpu, NULL);
} while (ent && ent->type == TRACE_CONT);

if (!ok)
diff --git a/kernel/trace/trace_selftest.c b/kernel/trace/trace_selftest.c
index 90bc752..3894989 100644
--- a/kernel/trace/trace_selftest.c
+++ b/kernel/trace/trace_selftest.c
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ static int trace_test_buffer_cpu(struct trace_array *tr, int cpu)
struct ring_buffer_event *event;
struct trace_entry *entry;

- while ((event = ring_buffer_consume(tr->buffer, cpu, NULL))) {
+ while ((event = ring_buffer_get_event(tr->buffer, cpu, NULL, 1))) {
entry = ring_buffer_event_data(event);

if (!trace_valid_entry(entry)) {
--
1.6.0.6

2008-12-29 12:25:15

by Ingo Molnar

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: Re: [PATCH] Fix race in ring_buffer_consume(): Replace ring_buffer_consume and ring_buffer_peek with ring_buffer_get_event


* Indan Zupancic <[email protected]> wrote:

> Original mail was mangled, patch resent via git.
>
> Signed-off-by: Indan Zupancic <[email protected]>
> ---
> include/linux/ring_buffer.h | 4 +---
> kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c | 39 ++++++++-------------------------------
> kernel/trace/trace.c | 15 ++++++++-------
> kernel/trace/trace_selftest.c | 2 +-
> 4 files changed, 18 insertions(+), 42 deletions(-)

there's been a number of updates here - could you please do a patch
against tip/master:

http://people.redhat.com/mingo/tip.git/README

Thanks,

Ingo

2008-12-29 14:47:26

by Steven Rostedt

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: Re: [PATCH] Fix race in ring_buffer_consume()


On Mon, 2008-12-29 at 04:59 +0100, Indan Zupancic wrote:
> Hello,
>
> While doing a grep -r as root somewhere in /proc, grep founds its way
> into /mnt/debug/tracing and caused the below snippet:
>
> ------------[ cut here ]------------
> kernel BUG at /home/indan/src/linux-2.6/kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c:1676!
> invalid opcode: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT
> last sysfs file: /sys/devices/virtual/backlight/thinkpad_screen/brightness
> Dumping ftrace buffer:
> (ftrace buffer empty)
> Modules linked in: i915 drm pl2303 usbserial usb_storage uhci_hcd ehci_hcd
> usbcore
>
> Pid: 10660, comm: grep Not tainted (2.6.28phc #12) 2371GHG
> EIP: 0060:[<c0241464>] EFLAGS: 00010246 CPU: 0
> EIP is at rb_advance_reader+0xe/0xd7
> EAX: 00000000 EBX: f703c000 ECX: f717ea80 EDX: 00000003
> ESI: f70081c0 EDI: f7008240 EBP: 00000fff ESP: f6ac2f3c
> DS: 007b ES: 007b FS: 0000 GS: 0033 SS: 0068
> Process grep (pid: 10660, ti=f6ac2000 task=f689b900 task.ti=f6ac2000)
> Stack:
> f703c000 f70081c0 00000000 c024171e f2de2000 f2de2000 f2de3038 c0242fc8
> 00000a6a c0245105 089adff4 f2dca400 f2de2010 00005000 f2dca400 c0244f8f
> 089adff4 c0263633 f6ac2fa0 f2dca400 fffffff7 00001000 f6ac2000 c02636f9
> Call Trace:
> [<c024171e>] ring_buffer_consume+0x2b/0x31
> [<c0242fc8>] trace_consume+0x1d/0x23
> [<c0245105>] tracing_read_pipe+0x176/0x1dc
> [<c0244f8f>] tracing_read_pipe+0x0/0x1dc
> [<c0263633>] vfs_read+0x73/0xa1
> [<c02636f9>] sys_read+0x3c/0x63
> [<c0202ef5>] sysenter_do_call+0x12/0x2a
> Code: 00 25 00 f0 ff ff e8 f9 fb ff ff 85 c0 74 05 e8 8c 61 1c 00
> 89 f0 5e 5f 5b 5e 5f 5d c3 57 89 c7 56 53 e8 c2 fe ff ff 85 c0 75
> 04 <0f> 0b eb fe 8b 47 1c 8b 70 1c 03 70 10 8a 06 24 03 3c 03 75 03
> EIP: [<c0241464>] rb_advance_reader+0xe/0xd7 SS:ESP 0068:f6ac2f3c
> ---[ end trace 77bf081d52bacbc7 ]---
> note: grep[10660] exited with preempt_count 1
>
> I think preemptirqsoff tracing is enabled, can't check because doing
> cat on most files in debug/tracing hangs. Kernel was booted with
> initcall_debug. Kernel is 2.6.28.
>
> $ zcat /proc/config.gz |grep TRACER=
> CONFIG_NOP_TRACER=y
> CONFIG_HAVE_FUNCTION_TRACER=y
> CONFIG_IRQSOFF_TRACER=y
> CONFIG_PREEMPT_TRACER=y
> CONFIG_CONTEXT_SWITCH_TRACER=y
> CONFIG_BOOT_TRACER=y
>
> ring_buffer.c:1676:
>
> static void rb_advance_reader(struct ring_buffer_per_cpu *cpu_buffer)
> {
> struct ring_buffer_event *event;
> struct buffer_page *reader;
> unsigned length;
>
> reader = rb_get_reader_page(cpu_buffer);
>
> /* This function should not be called when buffer is empty */
> BUG_ON(!reader);
>
> Called by ring_buffer_consume():
>
> ring_buffer_consume(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu, u64 *ts)
> {
> struct ring_buffer_per_cpu *cpu_buffer;
> struct ring_buffer_event *event;
>
> if (!cpu_isset(cpu, buffer->cpumask))
> return NULL;
>
> event = ring_buffer_peek(buffer, cpu, ts);
> if (!event)
> return NULL;
>
> cpu_buffer = buffer->buffers[cpu];
> rb_advance_reader(cpu_buffer);
>
> ring_buffer_peek() is complicated, but boils down to:
>
> ring_buffer_peek(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu, u64 *ts)
> {
> [...]
> cpu_buffer = buffer->buffers[cpu];
> [...]
> reader = rb_get_reader_page(cpu_buffer);
> if (!reader)
> return NULL;
>
> event = rb_reader_event(cpu_buffer);
> [...]
> return event or return NULL;
> }
>
> So between the rb_get_reader_page() call in ring_buffer_peek() and
> the one in rb_advance_reader() something happened causing the event
> to disappear. Also note: grep[10660] exited with preempt_count 1.
> There's no locking between the ring_buffer_peek and rb_advance_reader
> calls in ring_buffer_consume, so a tentative guess is that there should
> be some.
>
> Then again, the double tracing_read_pipe() in the backtrace seems weird,
> so maybe something else is going on.
>
> Easiest fix seems to merge ring_buffer_peek and ring_buffer_consume into
> ring_buffer_get, which is the same as the current peek, but with an extra
> parameter telling it to consume the buffer or not.
>
> The same might be needed for ring_buffer_iter_peek() and ring_buffer_read().
>
> Patch doing this:
>
> commit 648cf957210619595856b78f12bd11752ae22aa5
> Author: Indan Zupancic <[email protected]>
> Date: Mon Dec 29 14:27:18 2008 +1100
>
> Fix race in ring_buffer_consume(): Replace ring_buffer_consume and
> ring_buffer_peek with ring_buffer_get_event
>
> Signed-off-by: Indan Zupancic <[email protected]>
>
> include/linux/ring_buffer.h | 4 +---
> kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c | 39 ++++++++-------------------------------
> kernel/trace/trace.c | 15 ++++++++-------
> kernel/trace/trace_selftest.c | 2 +-
> 4 files changed, 18 insertions(+), 42 deletions(-)

Hi Indan,

I really would like to analyze this more, but I'm on leave till
January 5th. I'll definitely take a good look at what is happening then.

Thanks,

-- Steve

2009-01-01 05:10:37

by Indan Zupancic

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: Re: [PATCH] Fix race in ring_buffer_consume(): Replace ring_buffer_consume and ring_buffer_peek with ring_buffer_get_event

On Mon, December 29, 2008 13:24, Ingo Molnar wrote:
>
> * Indan Zupancic <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> Original mail was mangled, patch resent via git.
>>
>> Signed-off-by: Indan Zupancic <[email protected]>
>> ---
>> include/linux/ring_buffer.h | 4 +---
>> kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c | 39
>> ++++++++-------------------------------
>> kernel/trace/trace.c | 15 ++++++++-------
>> kernel/trace/trace_selftest.c | 2 +-
>> 4 files changed, 18 insertions(+), 42 deletions(-)
>
> there's been a number of updates here - could you please do a patch
> against tip/master:
>
> http://people.redhat.com/mingo/tip.git/README

Thanks for that readme, now I discovered git remote, which is not
mentioned often enough for some reason.

A lot changed indeed, most importantly the race that I hit is
fixed in tip by improved locking. Replace ring_buffer_consume()
and ring_buffer_peek() with ring_buffer_get_event() or not is
just a matter of taste now. Are you still interested in such a
patch?

(34 EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPLs in ring_buffer.c seems a bit excessive though.)

Greetings,

Indan

2009-01-02 22:08:37

by Ingo Molnar

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: Re: [PATCH] Fix race in ring_buffer_consume(): Replace ring_buffer_consume and ring_buffer_peek with ring_buffer_get_event


* Indan Zupancic <[email protected]> wrote:

> On Mon, December 29, 2008 13:24, Ingo Molnar wrote:
> >
> > * Indan Zupancic <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> >> Original mail was mangled, patch resent via git.
> >>
> >> Signed-off-by: Indan Zupancic <[email protected]>
> >> ---
> >> include/linux/ring_buffer.h | 4 +---
> >> kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c | 39
> >> ++++++++-------------------------------
> >> kernel/trace/trace.c | 15 ++++++++-------
> >> kernel/trace/trace_selftest.c | 2 +-
> >> 4 files changed, 18 insertions(+), 42 deletions(-)
> >
> > there's been a number of updates here - could you please do a patch
> > against tip/master:
> >
> > http://people.redhat.com/mingo/tip.git/README
>
> Thanks for that readme, now I discovered git remote, which is not
> mentioned often enough for some reason.
>
> A lot changed indeed, most importantly the race that I hit is
> fixed in tip by improved locking. Replace ring_buffer_consume()
> and ring_buffer_peek() with ring_buffer_get_event() or not is
> just a matter of taste now. Are you still interested in such a
> patch?

the code gets simpler and more readable, so why not? Steve, any
objections?

> (34 EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPLs in ring_buffer.c seems a bit excessive though.)

agreed.

Ingo

2009-01-03 23:55:37

by Steven Rostedt

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: Re: [PATCH] Fix race in ring_buffer_consume(): Replace ring_buffer_consume and ring_buffer_peek with ring_buffer_get_event


On Fri, 2009-01-02 at 23:08 +0100, Ingo Molnar wrote:
> * Indan Zupancic <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > On Mon, December 29, 2008 13:24, Ingo Molnar wrote:
> > >
> > > * Indan Zupancic <[email protected]> wrote:
> > >
> > >> Original mail was mangled, patch resent via git.
> > >>
> > >> Signed-off-by: Indan Zupancic <[email protected]>
> > >> ---
> > >> include/linux/ring_buffer.h | 4 +---
> > >> kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c | 39
> > >> ++++++++-------------------------------
> > >> kernel/trace/trace.c | 15 ++++++++-------
> > >> kernel/trace/trace_selftest.c | 2 +-
> > >> 4 files changed, 18 insertions(+), 42 deletions(-)
> > >
> > > there's been a number of updates here - could you please do a patch
> > > against tip/master:
> > >
> > > http://people.redhat.com/mingo/tip.git/README
> >
> > Thanks for that readme, now I discovered git remote, which is not
> > mentioned often enough for some reason.
> >
> > A lot changed indeed, most importantly the race that I hit is
> > fixed in tip by improved locking. Replace ring_buffer_consume()
> > and ring_buffer_peek() with ring_buffer_get_event() or not is
> > just a matter of taste now. Are you still interested in such a
> > patch?
>
> the code gets simpler and more readable, so why not? Steve, any
> objections?

I'd like to look closer at this code on Monday.

Thanks,

-- Steve

2009-01-05 15:09:53

by Steven Rostedt

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: Re: [PATCH] Fix race in ring_buffer_consume(): Replace ring_buffer_consume and ring_buffer_peek with ring_buffer_get_event


On Mon, 2008-12-29 at 18:34 +1100, Indan Zupancic wrote:
> Original mail was mangled, patch resent via git.
>

Indan,

I like the patch except for one thing. Could you make the
ring_buffer_get_event into a static function called rb_get_event. And
then you could have:

struct ring_buffer_event *
ring_buffer_peek(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu, u64 *ts)
{
rb_get_event(buffer, cpu, ts, 0);
}

struct ring_buffer_event *
ring_buffer_consume(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu, u64 *ts)
{
rb_get_event(buffer, cpu, ts, 1);
}

I just hate public functions that have flags that can get confusing.
Looking at code where I see:

ring_buffer_get_event(buffer, cpu, ts, 0);

I find it hard to know if the ",0" is correct or should be a ",1"
instead.

This would also make the patch only need to touch ring_buffer.c and not
all the places that use it.

Thanks,

-- Steve


> Signed-off-by: Indan Zupancic <[email protected]>
> ---
> include/linux/ring_buffer.h | 4 +---
> kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c | 39 ++++++++-------------------------------
> kernel/trace/trace.c | 15 ++++++++-------
> kernel/trace/trace_selftest.c | 2 +-
> 4 files changed, 18 insertions(+), 42 deletions(-)
>
> diff --git a/include/linux/ring_buffer.h b/include/linux/ring_buffer.h
> index e097c2e..d9320bd 100644
> --- a/include/linux/ring_buffer.h
> +++ b/include/linux/ring_buffer.h
> @@ -83,9 +83,7 @@ int ring_buffer_write(struct ring_buffer *buffer,
> unsigned long length, void *data);
>
> struct ring_buffer_event *
> -ring_buffer_peek(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu, u64 *ts);
> -struct ring_buffer_event *
> -ring_buffer_consume(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu, u64 *ts);
> +ring_buffer_get_event(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu, u64 *ts, int consume);
>
> struct ring_buffer_iter *
> ring_buffer_read_start(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu);
> diff --git a/kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c b/kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c
> index 668bbb5..d4e5dbc 100644
> --- a/kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c
> +++ b/kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c
> @@ -1727,16 +1727,18 @@ static void rb_advance_iter(struct ring_buffer_iter *iter)
> }
>
> /**
> - * ring_buffer_peek - peek at the next event to be read
> + * ring_buffer_get_event - get the next event to be read
> * @buffer: The ring buffer to read
> * @cpu: The cpu to peak at
> * @ts: The timestamp counter of this event.
> + * @consume: Whether the event should be consumed.
> + * If true, sequential reads will keep returning a different event,
> + * and eventually empty the ring buffer if the producer is slower.
> *
> - * This will return the event that will be read next, but does
> - * not consume the data.
> + * This will return the event that will be read next.
> */
> struct ring_buffer_event *
> -ring_buffer_peek(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu, u64 *ts)
> +ring_buffer_get_event(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu, u64 *ts, int consume)
> {
> struct ring_buffer_per_cpu *cpu_buffer;
> struct ring_buffer_event *event;
> @@ -1789,6 +1791,8 @@ ring_buffer_peek(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu, u64 *ts)
> *ts = cpu_buffer->read_stamp + event->time_delta;
> ring_buffer_normalize_time_stamp(cpu_buffer->cpu, ts);
> }
> + if (consume)
> + rb_advance_reader(cpu_buffer);
> return event;
>
> default:
> @@ -1869,33 +1873,6 @@ ring_buffer_iter_peek(struct ring_buffer_iter *iter, u64 *ts)
> }
>
> /**
> - * ring_buffer_consume - return an event and consume it
> - * @buffer: The ring buffer to get the next event from
> - *
> - * Returns the next event in the ring buffer, and that event is consumed.
> - * Meaning, that sequential reads will keep returning a different event,
> - * and eventually empty the ring buffer if the producer is slower.
> - */
> -struct ring_buffer_event *
> -ring_buffer_consume(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu, u64 *ts)
> -{
> - struct ring_buffer_per_cpu *cpu_buffer;
> - struct ring_buffer_event *event;
> -
> - if (!cpu_isset(cpu, buffer->cpumask))
> - return NULL;
> -
> - event = ring_buffer_peek(buffer, cpu, ts);
> - if (!event)
> - return NULL;
> -
> - cpu_buffer = buffer->buffers[cpu];
> - rb_advance_reader(cpu_buffer);
> -
> - return event;
> -}
> -
> -/**
> * ring_buffer_read_start - start a non consuming read of the buffer
> * @buffer: The ring buffer to read from
> * @cpu: The cpu buffer to iterate over
> diff --git a/kernel/trace/trace.c b/kernel/trace/trace.c
> index d86e325..f1329ed 100644
> --- a/kernel/trace/trace.c
> +++ b/kernel/trace/trace.c
> @@ -938,7 +938,7 @@ peek_next_entry(struct trace_iterator *iter, int cpu, u64 *ts)
> if (buf_iter)
> event = ring_buffer_iter_peek(buf_iter, ts);
> else
> - event = ring_buffer_peek(iter->tr->buffer, cpu, ts);
> + event = ring_buffer_get_event(iter->tr->buffer, cpu, ts, 0);
>
> ftrace_enable_cpu();
>
> @@ -1002,7 +1002,7 @@ static void trace_consume(struct trace_iterator *iter)
> {
> /* Don't allow ftrace to trace into the ring buffers */
> ftrace_disable_cpu();
> - ring_buffer_consume(iter->tr->buffer, iter->cpu, &iter->ts);
> + ring_buffer_get_event(iter->tr->buffer, iter->cpu, &iter->ts, 1);
> ftrace_enable_cpu();
> }
>
> @@ -1310,8 +1310,9 @@ void trace_seq_print_cont(struct trace_seq *s, struct trace_iterator *iter)
> struct trace_entry *ent;
> struct trace_field_cont *cont;
> bool ok = true;
> + int cpu = iter->cpu;
>
> - ent = peek_next_entry(iter, iter->cpu, NULL);
> + ent = peek_next_entry(iter, cpu, NULL);
> if (!ent || ent->type != TRACE_CONT) {
> trace_seq_putc(s, '\n');
> return;
> @@ -1324,14 +1325,14 @@ void trace_seq_print_cont(struct trace_seq *s, struct trace_iterator *iter)
>
> ftrace_disable_cpu();
>
> - if (iter->buffer_iter[iter->cpu])
> - ring_buffer_read(iter->buffer_iter[iter->cpu], NULL);
> + if (iter->buffer_iter[cpu])
> + ring_buffer_read(iter->buffer_iter[cpu], NULL);
> else
> - ring_buffer_consume(iter->tr->buffer, iter->cpu, NULL);
> + ring_buffer_get_event(iter->tr->buffer, cpu, NULL, 1);
>
> ftrace_enable_cpu();
>
> - ent = peek_next_entry(iter, iter->cpu, NULL);
> + ent = peek_next_entry(iter, cpu, NULL);
> } while (ent && ent->type == TRACE_CONT);
>
> if (!ok)
> diff --git a/kernel/trace/trace_selftest.c b/kernel/trace/trace_selftest.c
> index 90bc752..3894989 100644
> --- a/kernel/trace/trace_selftest.c
> +++ b/kernel/trace/trace_selftest.c
> @@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ static int trace_test_buffer_cpu(struct trace_array *tr, int cpu)
> struct ring_buffer_event *event;
> struct trace_entry *entry;
>
> - while ((event = ring_buffer_consume(tr->buffer, cpu, NULL))) {
> + while ((event = ring_buffer_get_event(tr->buffer, cpu, NULL, 1))) {
> entry = ring_buffer_event_data(event);
>
> if (!trace_valid_entry(entry)) {

2009-01-11 08:35:54

by Indan Zupancic

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: [PATCH] Minor cleanups in ring_buffer.c

Signed-off-by: Indan Zupancic <[email protected]>
---
kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c | 37 +++++++++++++------------------------
1 files changed, 13 insertions(+), 24 deletions(-)

diff --git a/kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c b/kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c
index 4832ffa..11560b3 100644
--- a/kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c
+++ b/kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c
@@ -1849,7 +1849,7 @@ static void rb_advance_iter(struct ring_buffer_iter *iter)
}

static struct ring_buffer_event *
-rb_buffer_peek(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu, u64 *ts)
+rb_get_event(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu, u64 *ts, int consume)
{
struct ring_buffer_per_cpu *cpu_buffer;
struct ring_buffer_event *event;
@@ -1900,6 +1900,8 @@ rb_buffer_peek(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu, u64 *ts)
*ts = cpu_buffer->read_stamp + event->time_delta;
ring_buffer_normalize_time_stamp(cpu_buffer->cpu, ts);
}
+ if (consume)
+ rb_advance_reader(cpu_buffer);
return event;

default:
@@ -1908,10 +1910,9 @@ rb_buffer_peek(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu, u64 *ts)

return NULL;
}
-EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(ring_buffer_peek);

static struct ring_buffer_event *
-rb_iter_peek(struct ring_buffer_iter *iter, u64 *ts)
+rb_iter_get(struct ring_buffer_iter *iter, u64 *ts, int consume)
{
struct ring_buffer *buffer;
struct ring_buffer_per_cpu *cpu_buffer;
@@ -1961,6 +1962,8 @@ rb_iter_peek(struct ring_buffer_iter *iter, u64 *ts)
*ts = iter->read_stamp + event->time_delta;
ring_buffer_normalize_time_stamp(cpu_buffer->cpu, ts);
}
+ if (consume)
+ rb_advance_iter(iter);
return event;

default:
@@ -1988,11 +1991,12 @@ ring_buffer_peek(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu, u64 *ts)
unsigned long flags;

spin_lock_irqsave(&cpu_buffer->reader_lock, flags);
- event = rb_buffer_peek(buffer, cpu, ts);
+ event = rb_get_event(buffer, cpu, ts, 0);
spin_unlock_irqrestore(&cpu_buffer->reader_lock, flags);

return event;
}
+EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(ring_buffer_peek);

/**
* ring_buffer_iter_peek - peek at the next event to be read
@@ -2010,7 +2014,7 @@ ring_buffer_iter_peek(struct ring_buffer_iter *iter, u64 *ts)
unsigned long flags;

spin_lock_irqsave(&cpu_buffer->reader_lock, flags);
- event = rb_iter_peek(iter, ts);
+ event = rb_iter_peek(iter, ts, 0);
spin_unlock_irqrestore(&cpu_buffer->reader_lock, flags);

return event;
@@ -2031,18 +2035,8 @@ ring_buffer_consume(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu, u64 *ts)
struct ring_buffer_event *event;
unsigned long flags;

- if (!cpumask_test_cpu(cpu, buffer->cpumask))
- return NULL;
-
spin_lock_irqsave(&cpu_buffer->reader_lock, flags);
-
- event = rb_buffer_peek(buffer, cpu, ts);
- if (!event)
- goto out;
-
- rb_advance_reader(cpu_buffer);
-
- out:
+ event = rb_get_event(buffer, cpu, ts, 1);
spin_unlock_irqrestore(&cpu_buffer->reader_lock, flags);

return event;
@@ -2124,12 +2118,7 @@ ring_buffer_read(struct ring_buffer_iter *iter, u64 *ts)
unsigned long flags;

spin_lock_irqsave(&cpu_buffer->reader_lock, flags);
- event = rb_iter_peek(iter, ts);
- if (!event)
- goto out;
-
- rb_advance_iter(iter);
- out:
+ event = rb_iter_peek(iter, ts, 1);
spin_unlock_irqrestore(&cpu_buffer->reader_lock, flags);

return event;
@@ -2404,10 +2393,10 @@ int ring_buffer_read_page(struct ring_buffer *buffer,
spin_lock_irqsave(&cpu_buffer->reader_lock, flags);

/*
- * rb_buffer_peek will get the next ring buffer if
+ * rb_get_event will get the next ring buffer if
* the current reader page is empty.
*/
- event = rb_buffer_peek(buffer, cpu, NULL);
+ event = rb_get_event(buffer, cpu, NULL, 0);
if (!event)
goto out;

--
1.6.1

2009-01-11 08:46:36

by Indan Zupancic

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: [PATCH] Minor cleanups in ring_buffer.c, try 2.

Signed-off-by: Indan Zupancic <[email protected]>
---
kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c | 37 +++++++++++++------------------------
1 files changed, 13 insertions(+), 24 deletions(-)

diff --git a/kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c b/kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c
index 4832ffa..875fdce 100644
--- a/kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c
+++ b/kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c
@@ -1849,7 +1849,7 @@ static void rb_advance_iter(struct ring_buffer_iter *iter)
}

static struct ring_buffer_event *
-rb_buffer_peek(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu, u64 *ts)
+rb_get_event(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu, u64 *ts, int consume)
{
struct ring_buffer_per_cpu *cpu_buffer;
struct ring_buffer_event *event;
@@ -1900,6 +1900,8 @@ rb_buffer_peek(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu, u64 *ts)
*ts = cpu_buffer->read_stamp + event->time_delta;
ring_buffer_normalize_time_stamp(cpu_buffer->cpu, ts);
}
+ if (consume)
+ rb_advance_reader(cpu_buffer);
return event;

default:
@@ -1908,10 +1910,9 @@ rb_buffer_peek(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu, u64 *ts)

return NULL;
}
-EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(ring_buffer_peek);

static struct ring_buffer_event *
-rb_iter_peek(struct ring_buffer_iter *iter, u64 *ts)
+rb_iter_get(struct ring_buffer_iter *iter, u64 *ts, int consume)
{
struct ring_buffer *buffer;
struct ring_buffer_per_cpu *cpu_buffer;
@@ -1961,6 +1962,8 @@ rb_iter_peek(struct ring_buffer_iter *iter, u64 *ts)
*ts = iter->read_stamp + event->time_delta;
ring_buffer_normalize_time_stamp(cpu_buffer->cpu, ts);
}
+ if (consume)
+ rb_advance_iter(iter);
return event;

default:
@@ -1988,11 +1991,12 @@ ring_buffer_peek(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu, u64 *ts)
unsigned long flags;

spin_lock_irqsave(&cpu_buffer->reader_lock, flags);
- event = rb_buffer_peek(buffer, cpu, ts);
+ event = rb_get_event(buffer, cpu, ts, 0);
spin_unlock_irqrestore(&cpu_buffer->reader_lock, flags);

return event;
}
+EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(ring_buffer_peek);

/**
* ring_buffer_iter_peek - peek at the next event to be read
@@ -2010,7 +2014,7 @@ ring_buffer_iter_peek(struct ring_buffer_iter *iter, u64 *ts)
unsigned long flags;

spin_lock_irqsave(&cpu_buffer->reader_lock, flags);
- event = rb_iter_peek(iter, ts);
+ event = rb_iter_get(iter, ts, 0);
spin_unlock_irqrestore(&cpu_buffer->reader_lock, flags);

return event;
@@ -2031,18 +2035,8 @@ ring_buffer_consume(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu, u64 *ts)
struct ring_buffer_event *event;
unsigned long flags;

- if (!cpumask_test_cpu(cpu, buffer->cpumask))
- return NULL;
-
spin_lock_irqsave(&cpu_buffer->reader_lock, flags);
-
- event = rb_buffer_peek(buffer, cpu, ts);
- if (!event)
- goto out;
-
- rb_advance_reader(cpu_buffer);
-
- out:
+ event = rb_get_event(buffer, cpu, ts, 1);
spin_unlock_irqrestore(&cpu_buffer->reader_lock, flags);

return event;
@@ -2124,12 +2118,7 @@ ring_buffer_read(struct ring_buffer_iter *iter, u64 *ts)
unsigned long flags;

spin_lock_irqsave(&cpu_buffer->reader_lock, flags);
- event = rb_iter_peek(iter, ts);
- if (!event)
- goto out;
-
- rb_advance_iter(iter);
- out:
+ event = rb_iter_get(iter, ts, 1);
spin_unlock_irqrestore(&cpu_buffer->reader_lock, flags);

return event;
@@ -2404,10 +2393,10 @@ int ring_buffer_read_page(struct ring_buffer *buffer,
spin_lock_irqsave(&cpu_buffer->reader_lock, flags);

/*
- * rb_buffer_peek will get the next ring buffer if
+ * rb_get_event will get the next ring buffer if
* the current reader page is empty.
*/
- event = rb_buffer_peek(buffer, cpu, NULL);
+ event = rb_get_event(buffer, cpu, NULL, 0);
if (!event)
goto out;

--
1.6.1

2009-01-11 09:49:26

by Indan Zupancic

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: Re: [PATCH] Fix race in ring_buffer_consume(): Replace ring_buffer_consume and ring_buffer_peek with ring_buffer_get_event

On Mon, January 5, 2009 16:09, Steven Rostedt wrote:
> I just hate public functions that have flags that can get confusing.
> Looking at code where I see:
>
> ring_buffer_get_event(buffer, cpu, ts, 0);
>
> I find it hard to know if the ",0" is correct or should be a ",1"
> instead.

That's what I didn't like about the original patch either.
Sent a new patch against tip doing the above, as well as doing
the same for rb_iter_peek (ignore the first one, see try 2).

Slightly different topic, there are quite a few unused functions,
e.g. ring_buffer_read_page(). Should those be removed until they
are actually used, or are there things in the pipeline that will
use them?

I'm not sure if rb_event_length() is safe as it is, returning -1
for RINGBUF_TYPE_PADDING, for an unsigned return value. That
easily overflows into a low value in e.g. rb_advance_iter().
Wouldn't it be better to return the maximum possible size?

rb_advance_reader() calls rb_get_reader_page() and rb_reader_event(),
but rb_get_event(), which is the only caller of rb_advance_reader,
does that as well, which seems a bit more of the same.

Further, rb_get_reader_page() takes cpu_buffer->lock, but all callers
of rb_get_event() take the cpu_buffer->reader_lock. As rb_get_event()
always calls rb_get_reader_page(), both locks will be taken for each
of those calls. Doesn't that make the cpu_buffer->lock redundant?
Getting rid of it and moving the locking into rb_get_event() would
simplify things (except that ring_buffer_read_page() is a bit funny).

Greetings,

Indan