2012-02-09 22:43:02

by Don Zickus

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: [PATCH 1/3] watchdog: update documentation

From: Fernando Luis Vázquez Cao <[email protected]>

The soft and hard lockup detectors are now built on top of the hrtimer
and perf subsystems. Update the documentation accordingly.

Signed-off-by: Fernando Luis Vazquez Cao<[email protected]>
Acked-by: Randy Dunlap <[email protected]>
Signed-off-by: Don Zickus <[email protected]>
---
Documentation/lockup-watchdogs.txt | 63 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Documentation/nmi_watchdog.txt | 83 ------------------------------------
2 files changed, 63 insertions(+), 83 deletions(-)
create mode 100644 Documentation/lockup-watchdogs.txt
delete mode 100644 Documentation/nmi_watchdog.txt

diff --git a/Documentation/lockup-watchdogs.txt b/Documentation/lockup-watchdogs.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d2a3660
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Documentation/lockup-watchdogs.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+===============================================================
+Softlockup detector and hardlockup detector (aka nmi_watchdog)
+===============================================================
+
+The Linux kernel can act as a watchdog to detect both soft and hard
+lockups.
+
+A 'softlockup' is defined as a bug that causes the kernel to loop in
+kernel mode for more than 20 seconds (see "Implementation" below for
+details), without giving other tasks a chance to run. The current
+stack trace is displayed upon detection and, by default, the system
+will stay locked up. Alternatively, the kernel can be configured to
+panic; a sysctl, "kernel.softlockup_panic", a kernel parameter,
+"softlockup_panic" (see "Documentation/kernel-parameters.txt" for
+details), and a compile option, "BOOTPARAM_HARDLOCKUP_PANIC", are
+provided for this.
+
+A 'hardlockup' is defined as a bug that causes the CPU to loop in
+kernel mode for more than 10 seconds (see "Implementation" below for
+details), without letting other interrupts have a chance to run.
+Similarly to the softlockup case, the current stack trace is displayed
+upon detection and the system will stay locked up unless the default
+behavior is changed, which can be done through a compile time knob,
+"BOOTPARAM_HARDLOCKUP_PANIC", and a kernel parameter, "nmi_watchdog"
+(see "Documentation/kernel-parameters.txt" for details).
+
+The panic option can be used in combination with panic_timeout (this
+timeout is set through the confusingly named "kernel.panic" sysctl),
+to cause the system to reboot automatically after a specified amount
+of time.
+
+=== Implementation ===
+
+The soft and hard lockup detectors are built on top of the hrtimer and
+perf subsystems, respectively. A direct consequence of this is that,
+in principle, they should work in any architecture where these
+subsystems are present.
+
+A periodic hrtimer runs to generate interrupts and kick the watchdog
+task. An NMI perf event is generated every "watchdog_thresh"
+(compile-time initialized to 10 and configurable through sysctl of the
+same name) seconds to check for hardlockups. If any CPU in the system
+does not receive any hrtimer interrupt during that time the
+'hardlockup detector' (the handler for the NMI perf event) will
+generate a kernel warning or call panic, depending on the
+configuration.
+
+The watchdog task is a high priority kernel thread that updates a
+timestamp every time it is scheduled. If that timestamp is not updated
+for 2*watchdog_thresh seconds (the softlockup threshold) the
+'softlockup detector' (coded inside the hrtimer callback function)
+will dump useful debug information to the system log, after which it
+will call panic if it was instructed to do so or resume execution of
+other kernel code.
+
+The period of the hrtimer is 2*watchdog_thresh/5, which means it has
+two or three chances to generate an interrupt before the hardlockup
+detector kicks in.
+
+As explained above, a kernel knob is provided that allows
+administrators to configure the period of the hrtimer and the perf
+event. The right value for a particular environment is a trade-off
+between fast response to lockups and detection overhead.
diff --git a/Documentation/nmi_watchdog.txt b/Documentation/nmi_watchdog.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index bf9f80a..0000000
--- a/Documentation/nmi_watchdog.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,83 +0,0 @@
-
-[NMI watchdog is available for x86 and x86-64 architectures]
-
-Is your system locking up unpredictably? No keyboard activity, just
-a frustrating complete hard lockup? Do you want to help us debugging
-such lockups? If all yes then this document is definitely for you.
-
-On many x86/x86-64 type hardware there is a feature that enables
-us to generate 'watchdog NMI interrupts'. (NMI: Non Maskable Interrupt
-which get executed even if the system is otherwise locked up hard).
-This can be used to debug hard kernel lockups. By executing periodic
-NMI interrupts, the kernel can monitor whether any CPU has locked up,
-and print out debugging messages if so.
-
-In order to use the NMI watchdog, you need to have APIC support in your
-kernel. For SMP kernels, APIC support gets compiled in automatically. For
-UP, enable either CONFIG_X86_UP_APIC (Processor type and features -> Local
-APIC support on uniprocessors) or CONFIG_X86_UP_IOAPIC (Processor type and
-features -> IO-APIC support on uniprocessors) in your kernel config.
-CONFIG_X86_UP_APIC is for uniprocessor machines without an IO-APIC.
-CONFIG_X86_UP_IOAPIC is for uniprocessor with an IO-APIC. [Note: certain
-kernel debugging options, such as Kernel Stack Meter or Kernel Tracer,
-may implicitly disable the NMI watchdog.]
-
-For x86-64, the needed APIC is always compiled in.
-
-Using local APIC (nmi_watchdog=2) needs the first performance register, so
-you can't use it for other purposes (such as high precision performance
-profiling.) However, at least oprofile and the perfctr driver disable the
-local APIC NMI watchdog automatically.
-
-To actually enable the NMI watchdog, use the 'nmi_watchdog=N' boot
-parameter. Eg. the relevant lilo.conf entry:
-
- append="nmi_watchdog=1"
-
-For SMP machines and UP machines with an IO-APIC use nmi_watchdog=1.
-For UP machines without an IO-APIC use nmi_watchdog=2, this only works
-for some processor types. If in doubt, boot with nmi_watchdog=1 and
-check the NMI count in /proc/interrupts; if the count is zero then
-reboot with nmi_watchdog=2 and check the NMI count. If it is still
-zero then log a problem, you probably have a processor that needs to be
-added to the nmi code.
-
-A 'lockup' is the following scenario: if any CPU in the system does not
-execute the period local timer interrupt for more than 5 seconds, then
-the NMI handler generates an oops and kills the process. This
-'controlled crash' (and the resulting kernel messages) can be used to
-debug the lockup. Thus whenever the lockup happens, wait 5 seconds and
-the oops will show up automatically. If the kernel produces no messages
-then the system has crashed so hard (eg. hardware-wise) that either it
-cannot even accept NMI interrupts, or the crash has made the kernel
-unable to print messages.
-
-Be aware that when using local APIC, the frequency of NMI interrupts
-it generates, depends on the system load. The local APIC NMI watchdog,
-lacking a better source, uses the "cycles unhalted" event. As you may
-guess it doesn't tick when the CPU is in the halted state (which happens
-when the system is idle), but if your system locks up on anything but the
-"hlt" processor instruction, the watchdog will trigger very soon as the
-"cycles unhalted" event will happen every clock tick. If it locks up on
-"hlt", then you are out of luck -- the event will not happen at all and the
-watchdog won't trigger. This is a shortcoming of the local APIC watchdog
--- unfortunately there is no "clock ticks" event that would work all the
-time. The I/O APIC watchdog is driven externally and has no such shortcoming.
-But its NMI frequency is much higher, resulting in a more significant hit
-to the overall system performance.
-
-On x86 nmi_watchdog is disabled by default so you have to enable it with
-a boot time parameter.
-
-It's possible to disable the NMI watchdog in run-time by writing "0" to
-/proc/sys/kernel/nmi_watchdog. Writing "1" to the same file will re-enable
-the NMI watchdog. Notice that you still need to use "nmi_watchdog=" parameter
-at boot time.
-
-NOTE: In kernels prior to 2.4.2-ac18 the NMI-oopser is enabled unconditionally
-on x86 SMP boxes.
-
-[ feel free to send bug reports, suggestions and patches to
- Ingo Molnar <[email protected]> or the Linux SMP mailing
- list at <[email protected]> ]
-
--
1.7.7.6


2012-02-09 22:42:55

by Don Zickus

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: [PATCH 2/3] watchdog: update Kconfig entries

From: Fernando Luis Vázquez Cao <[email protected]>

The soft and hard lockup thresholds have changed so the corresponding Kconfig
entries need to be updated accordingly. Add a reference to watchdog_thresh
while at it.

Signed-off-by: Fernando Luis Vazquez Cao <[email protected]>
Signed-off-by: Don Zickus <[email protected]>
---
lib/Kconfig.debug | 18 +++++++++++-------
1 files changed, 11 insertions(+), 7 deletions(-)

diff --git a/lib/Kconfig.debug b/lib/Kconfig.debug
index 63696aa..1e37364 100644
--- a/lib/Kconfig.debug
+++ b/lib/Kconfig.debug
@@ -166,18 +166,21 @@ config LOCKUP_DETECTOR
hard and soft lockups.

Softlockups are bugs that cause the kernel to loop in kernel
- mode for more than 60 seconds, without giving other tasks a
+ mode for more than 20 seconds, without giving other tasks a
chance to run. The current stack trace is displayed upon
detection and the system will stay locked up.

Hardlockups are bugs that cause the CPU to loop in kernel mode
- for more than 60 seconds, without letting other interrupts have a
+ for more than 10 seconds, without letting other interrupts have a
chance to run. The current stack trace is displayed upon detection
and the system will stay locked up.

The overhead should be minimal. A periodic hrtimer runs to
- generate interrupts and kick the watchdog task every 10-12 seconds.
- An NMI is generated every 60 seconds or so to check for hardlockups.
+ generate interrupts and kick the watchdog task every 4 seconds.
+ An NMI is generated every 10 seconds or so to check for hardlockups.
+
+ The frequency of hrtimer and NMI events and the soft and hard lockup
+ thresholds can be controlled through the sysctl watchdog_thresh.

config HARDLOCKUP_DETECTOR
def_bool LOCKUP_DETECTOR && PERF_EVENTS && HAVE_PERF_EVENTS_NMI && \
@@ -189,7 +192,8 @@ config BOOTPARAM_HARDLOCKUP_PANIC
help
Say Y here to enable the kernel to panic on "hard lockups",
which are bugs that cause the kernel to loop in kernel
- mode with interrupts disabled for more than 60 seconds.
+ mode with interrupts disabled for more than 10 seconds (configurable
+ using the watchdog_thresh sysctl).

Say N if unsure.

@@ -206,8 +210,8 @@ config BOOTPARAM_SOFTLOCKUP_PANIC
help
Say Y here to enable the kernel to panic on "soft lockups",
which are bugs that cause the kernel to loop in kernel
- mode for more than 60 seconds, without giving other tasks a
- chance to run.
+ mode for more than 20 seconds (configurable using the watchdog_thresh
+ sysctl), without giving other tasks a chance to run.

The panic can be used in combination with panic_timeout,
to cause the system to reboot automatically after a
--
1.7.7.6

2012-02-09 22:43:04

by Don Zickus

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: [PATCH 3/3] watchdog: fix code/comments mismatches

From: Fernando Luis Vázquez Cao <[email protected]>

Reflect the change in the soft and hard lockup thresholds and their relation to
the frequency of the hrtimer and NMI events in the code comments. While at it,
remove references to files that do not exist anymore.

Signed-off-by: Fernando Luis Vazquez Cao <[email protected]>
Signed-off-by: Don Zickus <[email protected]>
---
kernel/watchdog.c | 24 ++++++++++++------------
1 files changed, 12 insertions(+), 12 deletions(-)

diff --git a/kernel/watchdog.c b/kernel/watchdog.c
index 1d7bca7..7633df9 100644
--- a/kernel/watchdog.c
+++ b/kernel/watchdog.c
@@ -3,12 +3,9 @@
*
* started by Don Zickus, Copyright (C) 2010 Red Hat, Inc.
*
- * this code detects hard lockups: incidents in where on a CPU
- * the kernel does not respond to anything except NMI.
- *
- * Note: Most of this code is borrowed heavily from softlockup.c,
- * so thanks to Ingo for the initial implementation.
- * Some chunks also taken from arch/x86/kernel/apic/nmi.c, thanks
+ * Note: Most of this code is borrowed heavily from the original softlockup
+ * detector, so thanks to Ingo for the initial implementation.
+ * Some chunks also taken from the old x86-specific nmi watchdog code, thanks
* to those contributors as well.
*/

@@ -117,9 +114,10 @@ static unsigned long get_sample_period(void)
{
/*
* convert watchdog_thresh from seconds to ns
- * the divide by 5 is to give hrtimer 5 chances to
- * increment before the hardlockup detector generates
- * a warning
+ * the divide by 5 is to give hrtimer several chances (two
+ * or three with the current relation between the soft
+ * and hard thresholds) to increment before the
+ * hardlockup detector generates a warning
*/
return get_softlockup_thresh() * (NSEC_PER_SEC / 5);
}
@@ -336,9 +334,11 @@ static int watchdog(void *unused)

set_current_state(TASK_INTERRUPTIBLE);
/*
- * Run briefly once per second to reset the softlockup timestamp.
- * If this gets delayed for more than 60 seconds then the
- * debug-printout triggers in watchdog_timer_fn().
+ * Run briefly (kicked by the hrtimer callback function) once every
+ * get_sample_period() seconds (4 seconds by default) to reset the
+ * softlockup timestamp. If this gets delayed for more than
+ * 2*watchdog_thresh seconds then the debug-printout triggers in
+ * watchdog_timer_fn().
*/
while (!kthread_should_stop()) {
__touch_watchdog();
--
1.7.7.6

Subject: [tip:perf/core] watchdog: Update documentation

Commit-ID: 9919cba7ff71147803c988521cc1ceb80e7f0f6d
Gitweb: http://git.kernel.org/tip/9919cba7ff71147803c988521cc1ceb80e7f0f6d
Author: Fernando Luis Vázquez Cao <[email protected]>
AuthorDate: Thu, 9 Feb 2012 17:42:20 -0500
Committer: Ingo Molnar <[email protected]>
CommitDate: Sat, 11 Feb 2012 15:11:28 +0100

watchdog: Update documentation

The soft and hard lockup detectors are now built on top of the
hrtimer and perf subsystems. Update the documentation
accordingly.

Signed-off-by: Fernando Luis Vazquez Cao<[email protected]>
Acked-by: Randy Dunlap <[email protected]>
Signed-off-by: Don Zickus <[email protected]>
Link: http://lkml.kernel.org/r/[email protected]
Signed-off-by: Ingo Molnar <[email protected]>
---
Documentation/lockup-watchdogs.txt | 63 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Documentation/nmi_watchdog.txt | 83 ------------------------------------
2 files changed, 63 insertions(+), 83 deletions(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/lockup-watchdogs.txt b/Documentation/lockup-watchdogs.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d2a3660
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Documentation/lockup-watchdogs.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+===============================================================
+Softlockup detector and hardlockup detector (aka nmi_watchdog)
+===============================================================
+
+The Linux kernel can act as a watchdog to detect both soft and hard
+lockups.
+
+A 'softlockup' is defined as a bug that causes the kernel to loop in
+kernel mode for more than 20 seconds (see "Implementation" below for
+details), without giving other tasks a chance to run. The current
+stack trace is displayed upon detection and, by default, the system
+will stay locked up. Alternatively, the kernel can be configured to
+panic; a sysctl, "kernel.softlockup_panic", a kernel parameter,
+"softlockup_panic" (see "Documentation/kernel-parameters.txt" for
+details), and a compile option, "BOOTPARAM_HARDLOCKUP_PANIC", are
+provided for this.
+
+A 'hardlockup' is defined as a bug that causes the CPU to loop in
+kernel mode for more than 10 seconds (see "Implementation" below for
+details), without letting other interrupts have a chance to run.
+Similarly to the softlockup case, the current stack trace is displayed
+upon detection and the system will stay locked up unless the default
+behavior is changed, which can be done through a compile time knob,
+"BOOTPARAM_HARDLOCKUP_PANIC", and a kernel parameter, "nmi_watchdog"
+(see "Documentation/kernel-parameters.txt" for details).
+
+The panic option can be used in combination with panic_timeout (this
+timeout is set through the confusingly named "kernel.panic" sysctl),
+to cause the system to reboot automatically after a specified amount
+of time.
+
+=== Implementation ===
+
+The soft and hard lockup detectors are built on top of the hrtimer and
+perf subsystems, respectively. A direct consequence of this is that,
+in principle, they should work in any architecture where these
+subsystems are present.
+
+A periodic hrtimer runs to generate interrupts and kick the watchdog
+task. An NMI perf event is generated every "watchdog_thresh"
+(compile-time initialized to 10 and configurable through sysctl of the
+same name) seconds to check for hardlockups. If any CPU in the system
+does not receive any hrtimer interrupt during that time the
+'hardlockup detector' (the handler for the NMI perf event) will
+generate a kernel warning or call panic, depending on the
+configuration.
+
+The watchdog task is a high priority kernel thread that updates a
+timestamp every time it is scheduled. If that timestamp is not updated
+for 2*watchdog_thresh seconds (the softlockup threshold) the
+'softlockup detector' (coded inside the hrtimer callback function)
+will dump useful debug information to the system log, after which it
+will call panic if it was instructed to do so or resume execution of
+other kernel code.
+
+The period of the hrtimer is 2*watchdog_thresh/5, which means it has
+two or three chances to generate an interrupt before the hardlockup
+detector kicks in.
+
+As explained above, a kernel knob is provided that allows
+administrators to configure the period of the hrtimer and the perf
+event. The right value for a particular environment is a trade-off
+between fast response to lockups and detection overhead.
diff --git a/Documentation/nmi_watchdog.txt b/Documentation/nmi_watchdog.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index bf9f80a..0000000
--- a/Documentation/nmi_watchdog.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,83 +0,0 @@
-
-[NMI watchdog is available for x86 and x86-64 architectures]
-
-Is your system locking up unpredictably? No keyboard activity, just
-a frustrating complete hard lockup? Do you want to help us debugging
-such lockups? If all yes then this document is definitely for you.
-
-On many x86/x86-64 type hardware there is a feature that enables
-us to generate 'watchdog NMI interrupts'. (NMI: Non Maskable Interrupt
-which get executed even if the system is otherwise locked up hard).
-This can be used to debug hard kernel lockups. By executing periodic
-NMI interrupts, the kernel can monitor whether any CPU has locked up,
-and print out debugging messages if so.
-
-In order to use the NMI watchdog, you need to have APIC support in your
-kernel. For SMP kernels, APIC support gets compiled in automatically. For
-UP, enable either CONFIG_X86_UP_APIC (Processor type and features -> Local
-APIC support on uniprocessors) or CONFIG_X86_UP_IOAPIC (Processor type and
-features -> IO-APIC support on uniprocessors) in your kernel config.
-CONFIG_X86_UP_APIC is for uniprocessor machines without an IO-APIC.
-CONFIG_X86_UP_IOAPIC is for uniprocessor with an IO-APIC. [Note: certain
-kernel debugging options, such as Kernel Stack Meter or Kernel Tracer,
-may implicitly disable the NMI watchdog.]
-
-For x86-64, the needed APIC is always compiled in.
-
-Using local APIC (nmi_watchdog=2) needs the first performance register, so
-you can't use it for other purposes (such as high precision performance
-profiling.) However, at least oprofile and the perfctr driver disable the
-local APIC NMI watchdog automatically.
-
-To actually enable the NMI watchdog, use the 'nmi_watchdog=N' boot
-parameter. Eg. the relevant lilo.conf entry:
-
- append="nmi_watchdog=1"
-
-For SMP machines and UP machines with an IO-APIC use nmi_watchdog=1.
-For UP machines without an IO-APIC use nmi_watchdog=2, this only works
-for some processor types. If in doubt, boot with nmi_watchdog=1 and
-check the NMI count in /proc/interrupts; if the count is zero then
-reboot with nmi_watchdog=2 and check the NMI count. If it is still
-zero then log a problem, you probably have a processor that needs to be
-added to the nmi code.
-
-A 'lockup' is the following scenario: if any CPU in the system does not
-execute the period local timer interrupt for more than 5 seconds, then
-the NMI handler generates an oops and kills the process. This
-'controlled crash' (and the resulting kernel messages) can be used to
-debug the lockup. Thus whenever the lockup happens, wait 5 seconds and
-the oops will show up automatically. If the kernel produces no messages
-then the system has crashed so hard (eg. hardware-wise) that either it
-cannot even accept NMI interrupts, or the crash has made the kernel
-unable to print messages.
-
-Be aware that when using local APIC, the frequency of NMI interrupts
-it generates, depends on the system load. The local APIC NMI watchdog,
-lacking a better source, uses the "cycles unhalted" event. As you may
-guess it doesn't tick when the CPU is in the halted state (which happens
-when the system is idle), but if your system locks up on anything but the
-"hlt" processor instruction, the watchdog will trigger very soon as the
-"cycles unhalted" event will happen every clock tick. If it locks up on
-"hlt", then you are out of luck -- the event will not happen at all and the
-watchdog won't trigger. This is a shortcoming of the local APIC watchdog
--- unfortunately there is no "clock ticks" event that would work all the
-time. The I/O APIC watchdog is driven externally and has no such shortcoming.
-But its NMI frequency is much higher, resulting in a more significant hit
-to the overall system performance.
-
-On x86 nmi_watchdog is disabled by default so you have to enable it with
-a boot time parameter.
-
-It's possible to disable the NMI watchdog in run-time by writing "0" to
-/proc/sys/kernel/nmi_watchdog. Writing "1" to the same file will re-enable
-the NMI watchdog. Notice that you still need to use "nmi_watchdog=" parameter
-at boot time.
-
-NOTE: In kernels prior to 2.4.2-ac18 the NMI-oopser is enabled unconditionally
-on x86 SMP boxes.
-
-[ feel free to send bug reports, suggestions and patches to
- Ingo Molnar <[email protected]> or the Linux SMP mailing
- list at <[email protected]> ]
-

Subject: [tip:perf/core] watchdog: Update Kconfig entries

Commit-ID: 5f329089431aac08bf759fa2bcb34077a6aa1f4e
Gitweb: http://git.kernel.org/tip/5f329089431aac08bf759fa2bcb34077a6aa1f4e
Author: Fernando Luis Vázquez Cao <[email protected]>
AuthorDate: Thu, 9 Feb 2012 17:42:21 -0500
Committer: Ingo Molnar <[email protected]>
CommitDate: Sat, 11 Feb 2012 15:11:30 +0100

watchdog: Update Kconfig entries

The soft and hard lockup thresholds have changed so the
corresponding Kconfig entries need to be updated accordingly.
Add a reference to watchdog_thresh while at it.

Signed-off-by: Fernando Luis Vazquez Cao <[email protected]>
Signed-off-by: Don Zickus <[email protected]>
Link: http://lkml.kernel.org/r/[email protected]
Signed-off-by: Ingo Molnar <[email protected]>
---
lib/Kconfig.debug | 18 +++++++++++-------
1 files changed, 11 insertions(+), 7 deletions(-)

diff --git a/lib/Kconfig.debug b/lib/Kconfig.debug
index 8745ac7..9739c0b 100644
--- a/lib/Kconfig.debug
+++ b/lib/Kconfig.debug
@@ -166,18 +166,21 @@ config LOCKUP_DETECTOR
hard and soft lockups.

Softlockups are bugs that cause the kernel to loop in kernel
- mode for more than 60 seconds, without giving other tasks a
+ mode for more than 20 seconds, without giving other tasks a
chance to run. The current stack trace is displayed upon
detection and the system will stay locked up.

Hardlockups are bugs that cause the CPU to loop in kernel mode
- for more than 60 seconds, without letting other interrupts have a
+ for more than 10 seconds, without letting other interrupts have a
chance to run. The current stack trace is displayed upon detection
and the system will stay locked up.

The overhead should be minimal. A periodic hrtimer runs to
- generate interrupts and kick the watchdog task every 10-12 seconds.
- An NMI is generated every 60 seconds or so to check for hardlockups.
+ generate interrupts and kick the watchdog task every 4 seconds.
+ An NMI is generated every 10 seconds or so to check for hardlockups.
+
+ The frequency of hrtimer and NMI events and the soft and hard lockup
+ thresholds can be controlled through the sysctl watchdog_thresh.

config HARDLOCKUP_DETECTOR
def_bool LOCKUP_DETECTOR && PERF_EVENTS && HAVE_PERF_EVENTS_NMI && \
@@ -189,7 +192,8 @@ config BOOTPARAM_HARDLOCKUP_PANIC
help
Say Y here to enable the kernel to panic on "hard lockups",
which are bugs that cause the kernel to loop in kernel
- mode with interrupts disabled for more than 60 seconds.
+ mode with interrupts disabled for more than 10 seconds (configurable
+ using the watchdog_thresh sysctl).

Say N if unsure.

@@ -206,8 +210,8 @@ config BOOTPARAM_SOFTLOCKUP_PANIC
help
Say Y here to enable the kernel to panic on "soft lockups",
which are bugs that cause the kernel to loop in kernel
- mode for more than 60 seconds, without giving other tasks a
- chance to run.
+ mode for more than 20 seconds (configurable using the watchdog_thresh
+ sysctl), without giving other tasks a chance to run.

The panic can be used in combination with panic_timeout,
to cause the system to reboot automatically after a

Subject: [tip:perf/core] watchdog: Fix code/comments mismatches

Commit-ID: 86f5e6a7b192721995ece919985ac75222402351
Gitweb: http://git.kernel.org/tip/86f5e6a7b192721995ece919985ac75222402351
Author: Fernando Luis Vázquez Cao <[email protected]>
AuthorDate: Thu, 9 Feb 2012 17:42:22 -0500
Committer: Ingo Molnar <[email protected]>
CommitDate: Sat, 11 Feb 2012 15:11:33 +0100

watchdog: Fix code/comments mismatches

Reflect the change in the soft and hard lockup thresholds and
their relation to the frequency of the hrtimer and NMI events in
the code comments. While at it, remove references to files that
do not exist anymore.

Signed-off-by: Fernando Luis Vazquez Cao <[email protected]>
Signed-off-by: Don Zickus <[email protected]>
Link: http://lkml.kernel.org/r/[email protected]
Signed-off-by: Ingo Molnar <[email protected]>
---
kernel/watchdog.c | 24 ++++++++++++------------
1 files changed, 12 insertions(+), 12 deletions(-)

diff --git a/kernel/watchdog.c b/kernel/watchdog.c
index d117262..14bc092 100644
--- a/kernel/watchdog.c
+++ b/kernel/watchdog.c
@@ -3,12 +3,9 @@
*
* started by Don Zickus, Copyright (C) 2010 Red Hat, Inc.
*
- * this code detects hard lockups: incidents in where on a CPU
- * the kernel does not respond to anything except NMI.
- *
- * Note: Most of this code is borrowed heavily from softlockup.c,
- * so thanks to Ingo for the initial implementation.
- * Some chunks also taken from arch/x86/kernel/apic/nmi.c, thanks
+ * Note: Most of this code is borrowed heavily from the original softlockup
+ * detector, so thanks to Ingo for the initial implementation.
+ * Some chunks also taken from the old x86-specific nmi watchdog code, thanks
* to those contributors as well.
*/

@@ -117,9 +114,10 @@ static unsigned long get_sample_period(void)
{
/*
* convert watchdog_thresh from seconds to ns
- * the divide by 5 is to give hrtimer 5 chances to
- * increment before the hardlockup detector generates
- * a warning
+ * the divide by 5 is to give hrtimer several chances (two
+ * or three with the current relation between the soft
+ * and hard thresholds) to increment before the
+ * hardlockup detector generates a warning
*/
return get_softlockup_thresh() * (NSEC_PER_SEC / 5);
}
@@ -336,9 +334,11 @@ static int watchdog(void *unused)

set_current_state(TASK_INTERRUPTIBLE);
/*
- * Run briefly once per second to reset the softlockup timestamp.
- * If this gets delayed for more than 60 seconds then the
- * debug-printout triggers in watchdog_timer_fn().
+ * Run briefly (kicked by the hrtimer callback function) once every
+ * get_sample_period() seconds (4 seconds by default) to reset the
+ * softlockup timestamp. If this gets delayed for more than
+ * 2*watchdog_thresh seconds then the debug-printout triggers in
+ * watchdog_timer_fn().
*/
while (!kthread_should_stop()) {
__touch_watchdog();