Re: [PATCH v2] hardlockup: detect hard lockups using secondary (buddy) CPUs

[Randy Dunlap]

Hi--

On 4/28/23 16:37, Douglas Anderson wrote:
> From: Colin Cross <ccross@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> 
> Implement a hardlockup detector that doesn't doesn't need any extra
> arch-specific support code to detect lockups. Instead of using
> something arch-specific we will use the buddy system, where each CPU
> watches out for another one. Specifically, each CPU will use its
> softlockup hrtimer to check that the next CPU is processing hrtimer
> interrupts by verifying that a counter is increasing.
> 
> NOTE: unlike the other hard lockup detectors, the buddy one can't
> easily show what's happening on the CPU that locked up just by doing a
> simple backtrace. It relies on some other mechanism in the system to
> get information about the locked up CPUs. This could be support for
> NMI backtraces like [1], it could be a mechanism for printing the PC
> of locked CPUs at panic time like [2] / [3], or it could be something
> else. Even though that means we still rely on arch-specific code, this
> arch-specific code seems to often be implemented even on architectures
> that don't have a hardlockup detector.
> 
> This style of hardlockup detector originated in some downstream
> Android trees and has been rebased on / carried in ChromeOS trees for
> quite a long time for use on arm and arm64 boards. Historically on
> these boards we've leveraged mechanism [2] / [3] to get information
> about hung CPUs, but we could move to [1].
> 
> Although the original motivation for the buddy system was for use on
> systems without an arch-specific hardlockup detector, it can still be
> useful to use even on systems that _do_ have an arch-specific
> hardlockup detector. On x86, for instance, there is a 24-part patch
> series [4] in progress switching the arch-specific hard lockup
> detector from a scarce perf counter to a less-scarce hardware
> resource. Potentially the buddy system could be a simpler alternative
> to free up the perf counter but still get hard lockup detection.
> 
> Overall, pros (+) and cons (-) of the buddy system compared to an
> arch-specific hardlockup detector:
> + Usable on systems that don't have an arch-specific hardlockup
>   detector, like arm32 and arm64 (though it's being worked on for
>   arm64 [5]).
> + May free up scarce hardware resources.
> + If a CPU totally goes out to lunch (can't process NMIs) the buddy
>   system could still detect the problem (though it would be unlikely
>   to be able to get a stack trace).
> - If all CPUs are hard locked up at the same time the buddy system
>   can't detect it.
> - If we don't have SMP we can't use the buddy system.
> - The buddy system needs an arch-specific mechanism (possibly NMI
>   backtrace) to get info about the locked up CPU.
> 
> [1] https://lore.kernel.org/r/20230419225604.21204-1-dianders@xxxxxxxxxxxx
> [2] https://issuetracker.google.com/172213129
> [3] https://docs.kernel.org/trace/coresight/coresight-cpu-debug.html
> [4] https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/20230301234753.28582-1-ricardo.neri-calderon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx/
> [5] https://lore.kernel.org/linux-arm-kernel/20220903093415.15850-1-lecopzer.chen@xxxxxxxxxxxx/
> 
> Signed-off-by: Colin Cross <ccross@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> Signed-off-by: Matthias Kaehlcke <mka@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Signed-off-by: Guenter Roeck <groeck@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Signed-off-by: Tzung-Bi Shih <tzungbi@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Signed-off-by: Douglas Anderson <dianders@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> ---
> This patch has been rebased in ChromeOS kernel trees many times, and
> each time someone had to do work on it they added their
> Signed-off-by. I've included those here. I've also left the author as
> Colin Cross since the core code is still his.
> 
> I'll also note that the CC list is pretty giant, but that's what
> get_maintainers came up with (plus a few other folks I thought would
> be interested). As far as I can tell, there's no true MAINTAINER
> listed for the existing watchdog code. Assuming people don't hate
> this, maybe it would go through Andrew Morton's tree?
> 
> Changes in v2:
> - cpu => CPU.
> - Reworked description and Kconfig based on v1 discussion.

or at least some of the comments from v1. :(

> - No code changes
> 
>  include/linux/nmi.h         |  18 ++++-
>  kernel/Makefile             |   1 +
>  kernel/watchdog.c           |  24 ++++--
>  kernel/watchdog_buddy_cpu.c | 141 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>  lib/Kconfig.debug           |  23 +++++-
>  5 files changed, 196 insertions(+), 11 deletions(-)
>  create mode 100644 kernel/watchdog_buddy_cpu.c
> 

> diff --git a/lib/Kconfig.debug b/lib/Kconfig.debug
> index 39d1d93164bd..511eb14660b1 100644
> --- a/lib/Kconfig.debug
> +++ b/lib/Kconfig.debug

> @@ -1055,9 +1059,26 @@ config HARDLOCKUP_DETECTOR
>  	  chance to run.  The current stack trace is displayed upon detection
>  	  and the system will stay locked up.
>  
> +config HARDLOCKUP_DETECTOR_BUDDY_CPU
> +	bool "Buddy CPU hardlockup detector"
> +	depends on DEBUG_KERNEL && SMP
> +	depends on !HARDLOCKUP_DETECTOR && !HAVE_NMI_WATCHDOG
> +	depends on !S390
> +	select HARDLOCKUP_DETECTOR_CORE
> +	select SOFTLOCKUP_DETECTOR
> +	help
> +	  Say Y here to enable a hardlockup detector where CPUs check

Be consistent in the use of "CPU". Change 2 occurrences of "cpu"
below to "CPU".

> +	  each other for lockup. Each cpu uses its softlockup hrtimer
> +	  to check that the next cpu is processing hrtimer interrupts by
> +	  verifying that a counter is increasing.
> +
> +	  This hardlockup detector is useful on systems that don't have
> +	  an arch-specific hardlockup detector or if resources needed
> +	  for the hardlockup detector are better used for other things.


-- 
~Randy