Return-Path: Received: from mx1.redhat.com ([209.132.183.28]:47546 "EHLO mx1.redhat.com" rhost-flags-OK-OK-OK-OK) by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S1757409AbcHWWiD (ORCPT ); Tue, 23 Aug 2016 18:38:03 -0400 From: "Benjamin Coddington" To: "Trond Myklebust" Cc: "List Linux NFS Mailing" Subject: Re: I can't get no readdir satisfaction Date: Tue, 23 Aug 2016 17:21:17 -0400 Message-ID: <98E39192-4203-4EB8-BDE0-2A4ABFCAA92B@redhat.com> In-Reply-To: References: <778246F3-8F24-48FD-AEA9-0BCC0DCD93B3@redhat.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed Sender: linux-nfs-owner@vger.kernel.org List-ID: On 23 Aug 2016, at 11:36, Trond Myklebust wrote: >> On Aug 23, 2016, at 11:09, Benjamin Coddington >> wrote: >> >> Hi linux-nfs, >> >> 311324ad1713 ("NFS: Be more aggressive in using readdirplus for 'ls >> -l' >> situations") changed when nfs_readdir() decides to revalidate the >> directory's mapping, which contains all the entries. In addition to >> just >> checking if the attribute cache has expired, it includes a check to >> see if >> NFS_INO_INVALID_DATA is set on the directory. >> >> Well, customers that have directories with very many dentries and >> that same >> directory's attributes are frequently updated are now grouchy that >> `ls -l` >> takes so long since any update of the directory causes the mapping to >> be >> invalidated and we have to start over filling the directory's >> mapping. >> >> I actually haven't put real hard thought into it yet (because often >> for me >> that just wastes a lot of time), so I am doing the lazy thing by >> asking this >> question: >> >> Can we go back to just the using the attribute cache timeout, or >> should we >> get all heuristical about readdir? >> > > We are all heuristical at this point. How are the heuristics failing? > > The original problem those heuristics were designed to solve was that > all > the stat() calls took forever to complete, since they are all > synchronous; > Tigran showed some very convincing numbers for a large directory where > the > difference in performance was an order of magnitude improved by using > readdirplus instead of readdir… I'll try to present a better explanation. While `ls -l` is walking through a directory repeatedly entering nfs_readdir(), a CREATE response send us through nfs_post_op_update_inode_locked(): 1531 if (S_ISDIR(inode->i_mode)) 1532 invalid |= NFS_INO_INVALID_DATA; 1533 nfs_set_cache_invalid(inode, invalid); Now, the next entry into nfs_readdir() has us do nfs_revalidate_mapping(), which will do nfs_invalidate_mapping() for the directory, and so we have to start over with cookie 0 sending READDIRPLUS to re-fill the directory's mapping to get back to where we are for the current nfs_readdir(). This process repeats for every entry into nfs_readdir() if the directory keeps getting updated, and it becomes more likely that it will be updated as each pass takes longer and longer to re-fill the mapping as the current nfs_readdir() invocation is further along. READDIRPLUS isn't the problem, the problem is invalidating the directory mapping in the middle of a series of getdents() if we do a CREATE. Also, I think a similar thing happens if the directory's mtime or ctime is updated - but in that case we set NFS_INO_INVALID_DATA because the change_attr updates. So, for directories with a large number of entries that updates often, it can be very slow to list the directory. Why did 311324ad1713 change nfs_readdir from if (nfs_attribute_cache_expired(inode)) nfs_revalidate_mapping(inode, file->f_mapping); to if (nfs_attribute_cache_expired(inode) || nfsi->cache_validity & NFS_INO_INVALID_DATA) nfs_revalidate_mapping(inode, file->f_mapping); .. and can we go back to the way it was before? OK.. I understand why -- it is more correct since if we know the directory has changed, we might as well fetch the change. Otherwise, we might be creating files and then wondering why they aren't listed. It might be nicer to not invalidate the mapping we're currently using for readdir, though. Maybe there's a way to keep the mapping for the currently opened directory and invalidate it once it's closed. I'm using v3 for all this, but I think the problem is the same for v4. Ben