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diff --git a/Documentation/errseq.rst b/Documentation/errseq.rst new file mode 100644 index 000000000000..4c29bd5afbc5 --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/errseq.rst @@ -0,0 +1,149 @@ +The errseq_t datatype +===================== +An errseq_t is a way of recording errors in one place, and allowing any +number of "subscribers" to tell whether it has changed since a previous +point where it was sampled. + +The initial use case for this is tracking errors for file +synchronization syscalls (fsync, fdatasync, msync and sync_file_range), +but it may be usable in other situations. + +It's implemented as an unsigned 32-bit value. The low order bits are +designated to hold an error code (between 1 and MAX_ERRNO). The upper bits +are used as a counter. This is done with atomics instead of locking so that +these functions can be called from any context. + +Note that there is a risk of collisions if new errors are being recorded +frequently, since we have so few bits to use as a counter. + +To mitigate this, the bit between the error value and counter is used as +a flag to tell whether the value has been sampled since a new value was +recorded. That allows us to avoid bumping the counter if no one has +sampled it since the last time an error was recorded. + +Thus we end up with a value that looks something like this:: + + bit: 31..13 12 11..0 + +-----------------+----+----------------+ + | counter | SF | errno | + +-----------------+----+----------------+ + +The general idea is for "watchers" to sample an errseq_t value and keep +it as a running cursor. That value can later be used to tell whether +any new errors have occurred since that sampling was done, and atomically +record the state at the time that it was checked. This allows us to +record errors in one place, and then have a number of "watchers" that +can tell whether the value has changed since they last checked it. + +A new errseq_t should always be zeroed out. An errseq_t value of all zeroes +is the special (but common) case where there has never been an error. An all +zero value thus serves as the "epoch" if one wishes to know whether there +has ever been an error set since it was first initialized. + +API usage +========= +Let me tell you a story about a worker drone. Now, he's a good worker +overall, but the company is a little...management heavy. He has to +report to 77 supervisors today, and tomorrow the "big boss" is coming in +from out of town and he's sure to test the poor fellow too. + +They're all handing him work to do -- so much he can't keep track of who +handed him what, but that's not really a big problem. The supervisors +just want to know when he's finished all of the work they've handed him so +far and whether he made any mistakes since they last asked. + +He might have made the mistake on work they didn't actually hand him, +but he can't keep track of things at that level of detail, all he can +remember is the most recent mistake that he made. + +Here's our worker_drone representation:: + + struct worker_drone { + errseq_t wd_err; /* for recording errors */ + }; + +Every day, the worker_drone starts out with a blank slate:: + + struct worker_drone wd; + + wd.wd_err = (errseq_t)0; + +The supervisors come in and get an initial read for the day. They +don't care about anything that happened before their watch begins:: + + struct supervisor { + errseq_t s_wd_err; /* private "cursor" for wd_err */ + spinlock_t s_wd_err_lock; /* protects s_wd_err */ + } + + struct supervisor su; + + su.s_wd_err = errseq_sample(&wd.wd_err); + spin_lock_init(&su.s_wd_err_lock); + +Now they start handing him tasks to do. Every few minutes they ask him to +finish up all of the work they've handed him so far. Then they ask him +whether he made any mistakes on any of it:: + + spin_lock(&su.su_wd_err_lock); + err = errseq_check_and_advance(&wd.wd_err, &su.s_wd_err); + spin_unlock(&su.su_wd_err_lock); + +Up to this point, that just keeps returning 0. + +Now, the owners of this company are quite miserly and have given him +substandard equipment with which to do his job. Occasionally it +glitches and he makes a mistake. He sighs a heavy sigh, and marks it +down:: + + errseq_set(&wd.wd_err, -EIO); + +...and then gets back to work. The supervisors eventually poll again +and they each get the error when they next check. Subsequent calls will +return 0, until another error is recorded, at which point it's reported +to each of them once. + +Note that the supervisors can't tell how many mistakes he made, only +whether one was made since they last checked, and the latest value +recorded. + +Occasionally the big boss comes in for a spot check and asks the worker +to do a one-off job for him. He's not really watching the worker +full-time like the supervisors, but he does need to know whether a +mistake occurred while his job was processing. + +He can just sample the current errseq_t in the worker, and then use that +to tell whether an error has occurred later:: + + errseq_t since = errseq_sample(&wd.wd_err); + /* submit some work and wait for it to complete */ + err = errseq_check(&wd.wd_err, since); + +Since he's just going to discard "since" after that point, he doesn't +need to advance it here. He also doesn't need any locking since it's +not usable by anyone else. + +Serializing errseq_t cursor updates +=================================== +Note that the errseq_t API does not protect the errseq_t cursor during a +check_and_advance_operation. Only the canonical error code is handled +atomically. In a situation where more than one task might be using the +same errseq_t cursor at the same time, it's important to serialize +updates to that cursor. + +If that's not done, then it's possible for the cursor to go backward +in which case the same error could be reported more than once. + +Because of this, it's often advantageous to first do an errseq_check to +see if anything has changed, and only later do an +errseq_check_and_advance after taking the lock. e.g.:: + + if (errseq_check(&wd.wd_err, READ_ONCE(su.s_wd_err)) { + /* su.s_wd_err is protected by s_wd_err_lock */ + spin_lock(&su.s_wd_err_lock); + err = errseq_check_and_advance(&wd.wd_err, &su.s_wd_err); + spin_unlock(&su.s_wd_err_lock); + } + +That avoids the spinlock in the common case where nothing has changed +since the last time it was checked. |