[PATCH tip/core/rcu 1/6] doc: Add design documentation on interruption of NMI handlers

From: Paul E. McKenney
Date: Wed Aug 29 2018 - 17:17:35 EST


Make Requirements.html talk about how NMI handlers can take what appear
to RCU to be normal interrupts.

Signed-off-by: Paul E. McKenney <paulmck@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
---
.../RCU/Design/Requirements/Requirements.html | 11 +++++++++++
1 file changed, 11 insertions(+)

diff --git a/Documentation/RCU/Design/Requirements/Requirements.html b/Documentation/RCU/Design/Requirements/Requirements.html
index 49690228b1c6..089a8e8faac1 100644
--- a/Documentation/RCU/Design/Requirements/Requirements.html
+++ b/Documentation/RCU/Design/Requirements/Requirements.html
@@ -2275,6 +2275,17 @@ he also kindly surprised me with
<a href="https://lkml.kernel.org/g/CALCETrXSY9JpW3uE6H8WYk81sg56qasA2aqmjMPsq5dOtzso=g@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx";>an algorithm</a>
that meets this requirement.

+<p>
+Furthermore, NMI handlers can be interrupted by what appear to RCU
+to be normal interrupts.
+One way that this can happen is for code that directly invokes
+<tt>rcu_irq_enter()</tt> and </tt>rcu_irq_exit()</tt> to be called
+from an NMI handler.
+This astonishing fact of life prompted the current code structure,
+which has <tt>rcu_irq_enter()</tt> invoking <tt>rcu_nmi_enter()</tt>
+and <tt>rcu_irq_exit()</tt> invoking <tt>rcu_nmi_exit()</tt>.
+And yes, I also learned of this requirement the hard way.
+
<h3><a name="Loadable Modules">Loadable Modules</a></h3>

<p>
--
2.17.1