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diff --git a/Documentation/filesystems/relayfs.txt b/Documentation/filesystems/relayfs.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 5832377b7340..000000000000 --- a/Documentation/filesystems/relayfs.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,442 +0,0 @@ - -relayfs - a high-speed data relay filesystem -============================================ - -relayfs is a filesystem designed to provide an efficient mechanism for -tools and facilities to relay large and potentially sustained streams -of data from kernel space to user space. - -The main abstraction of relayfs is the 'channel'. A channel consists -of a set of per-cpu kernel buffers each represented by a file in the -relayfs filesystem. Kernel clients write into a channel using -efficient write functions which automatically log to the current cpu's -channel buffer. User space applications mmap() the per-cpu files and -retrieve the data as it becomes available. - -The format of the data logged into the channel buffers is completely -up to the relayfs client; relayfs does however provide hooks which -allow clients to impose some structure on the buffer data. Nor does -relayfs implement any form of data filtering - this also is left to -the client. The purpose is to keep relayfs as simple as possible. - -This document provides an overview of the relayfs API. The details of -the function parameters are documented along with the functions in the -filesystem code - please see that for details. - -Semantics -========= - -Each relayfs channel has one buffer per CPU, each buffer has one or -more sub-buffers. Messages are written to the first sub-buffer until -it is too full to contain a new message, in which case it it is -written to the next (if available). Messages are never split across -sub-buffers. At this point, userspace can be notified so it empties -the first sub-buffer, while the kernel continues writing to the next. - -When notified that a sub-buffer is full, the kernel knows how many -bytes of it are padding i.e. unused. Userspace can use this knowledge -to copy only valid data. - -After copying it, userspace can notify the kernel that a sub-buffer -has been consumed. - -relayfs can operate in a mode where it will overwrite data not yet -collected by userspace, and not wait for it to consume it. - -relayfs itself does not provide for communication of such data between -userspace and kernel, allowing the kernel side to remain simple and -not impose a single interface on userspace. It does provide a set of -examples and a separate helper though, described below. - -klog and relay-apps example code -================================ - -relayfs itself is ready to use, but to make things easier, a couple -simple utility functions and a set of examples are provided. - -The relay-apps example tarball, available on the relayfs sourceforge -site, contains a set of self-contained examples, each consisting of a -pair of .c files containing boilerplate code for each of the user and -kernel sides of a relayfs application; combined these two sets of -boilerplate code provide glue to easily stream data to disk, without -having to bother with mundane housekeeping chores. - -The 'klog debugging functions' patch (klog.patch in the relay-apps -tarball) provides a couple of high-level logging functions to the -kernel which allow writing formatted text or raw data to a channel, -regardless of whether a channel to write into exists or not, or -whether relayfs is compiled into the kernel or is configured as a -module. These functions allow you to put unconditional 'trace' -statements anywhere in the kernel or kernel modules; only when there -is a 'klog handler' registered will data actually be logged (see the -klog and kleak examples for details). - -It is of course possible to use relayfs from scratch i.e. without -using any of the relay-apps example code or klog, but you'll have to -implement communication between userspace and kernel, allowing both to -convey the state of buffers (full, empty, amount of padding). - -klog and the relay-apps examples can be found in the relay-apps -tarball on http://relayfs.sourceforge.net - - -The relayfs user space API -========================== - -relayfs implements basic file operations for user space access to -relayfs channel buffer data. Here are the file operations that are -available and some comments regarding their behavior: - -open() enables user to open an _existing_ buffer. - -mmap() results in channel buffer being mapped into the caller's - memory space. Note that you can't do a partial mmap - you must - map the entire file, which is NRBUF * SUBBUFSIZE. - -read() read the contents of a channel buffer. The bytes read are - 'consumed' by the reader i.e. they won't be available again - to subsequent reads. If the channel is being used in - no-overwrite mode (the default), it can be read at any time - even if there's an active kernel writer. If the channel is - being used in overwrite mode and there are active channel - writers, results may be unpredictable - users should make - sure that all logging to the channel has ended before using - read() with overwrite mode. - -poll() POLLIN/POLLRDNORM/POLLERR supported. User applications are - notified when sub-buffer boundaries are crossed. - -close() decrements the channel buffer's refcount. When the refcount - reaches 0 i.e. when no process or kernel client has the buffer - open, the channel buffer is freed. - - -In order for a user application to make use of relayfs files, the -relayfs filesystem must be mounted. For example, - - mount -t relayfs relayfs /mnt/relay - -NOTE: relayfs doesn't need to be mounted for kernel clients to create - or use channels - it only needs to be mounted when user space - applications need access to the buffer data. - - -The relayfs kernel API -====================== - -Here's a summary of the API relayfs provides to in-kernel clients: - - - channel management functions: - - relay_open(base_filename, parent, subbuf_size, n_subbufs, - callbacks) - relay_close(chan) - relay_flush(chan) - relay_reset(chan) - relayfs_create_dir(name, parent) - relayfs_remove_dir(dentry) - relayfs_create_file(name, parent, mode, fops, data) - relayfs_remove_file(dentry) - - channel management typically called on instigation of userspace: - - relay_subbufs_consumed(chan, cpu, subbufs_consumed) - - write functions: - - relay_write(chan, data, length) - __relay_write(chan, data, length) - relay_reserve(chan, length) - - callbacks: - - subbuf_start(buf, subbuf, prev_subbuf, prev_padding) - buf_mapped(buf, filp) - buf_unmapped(buf, filp) - create_buf_file(filename, parent, mode, buf, is_global) - remove_buf_file(dentry) - - helper functions: - - relay_buf_full(buf) - subbuf_start_reserve(buf, length) - - -Creating a channel ------------------- - -relay_open() is used to create a channel, along with its per-cpu -channel buffers. Each channel buffer will have an associated file -created for it in the relayfs filesystem, which can be opened and -mmapped from user space if desired. The files are named -basename0...basenameN-1 where N is the number of online cpus, and by -default will be created in the root of the filesystem. If you want a -directory structure to contain your relayfs files, you can create it -with relayfs_create_dir() and pass the parent directory to -relay_open(). Clients are responsible for cleaning up any directory -structure they create when the channel is closed - use -relayfs_remove_dir() for that. - -The total size of each per-cpu buffer is calculated by multiplying the -number of sub-buffers by the sub-buffer size passed into relay_open(). -The idea behind sub-buffers is that they're basically an extension of -double-buffering to N buffers, and they also allow applications to -easily implement random-access-on-buffer-boundary schemes, which can -be important for some high-volume applications. The number and size -of sub-buffers is completely dependent on the application and even for -the same application, different conditions will warrant different -values for these parameters at different times. Typically, the right -values to use are best decided after some experimentation; in general, -though, it's safe to assume that having only 1 sub-buffer is a bad -idea - you're guaranteed to either overwrite data or lose events -depending on the channel mode being used. - -Channel 'modes' ---------------- - -relayfs channels can be used in either of two modes - 'overwrite' or -'no-overwrite'. The mode is entirely determined by the implementation -of the subbuf_start() callback, as described below. In 'overwrite' -mode, also known as 'flight recorder' mode, writes continuously cycle -around the buffer and will never fail, but will unconditionally -overwrite old data regardless of whether it's actually been consumed. -In no-overwrite mode, writes will fail i.e. data will be lost, if the -number of unconsumed sub-buffers equals the total number of -sub-buffers in the channel. It should be clear that if there is no -consumer or if the consumer can't consume sub-buffers fast enought, -data will be lost in either case; the only difference is whether data -is lost from the beginning or the end of a buffer. - -As explained above, a relayfs channel is made of up one or more -per-cpu channel buffers, each implemented as a circular buffer -subdivided into one or more sub-buffers. Messages are written into -the current sub-buffer of the channel's current per-cpu buffer via the -write functions described below. Whenever a message can't fit into -the current sub-buffer, because there's no room left for it, the -client is notified via the subbuf_start() callback that a switch to a -new sub-buffer is about to occur. The client uses this callback to 1) -initialize the next sub-buffer if appropriate 2) finalize the previous -sub-buffer if appropriate and 3) return a boolean value indicating -whether or not to actually go ahead with the sub-buffer switch. - -To implement 'no-overwrite' mode, the userspace client would provide -an implementation of the subbuf_start() callback something like the -following: - -static int subbuf_start(struct rchan_buf *buf, - void *subbuf, - void *prev_subbuf, - unsigned int prev_padding) -{ - if (prev_subbuf) - *((unsigned *)prev_subbuf) = prev_padding; - - if (relay_buf_full(buf)) - return 0; - - subbuf_start_reserve(buf, sizeof(unsigned int)); - - return 1; -} - -If the current buffer is full i.e. all sub-buffers remain unconsumed, -the callback returns 0 to indicate that the buffer switch should not -occur yet i.e. until the consumer has had a chance to read the current -set of ready sub-buffers. For the relay_buf_full() function to make -sense, the consumer is reponsible for notifying relayfs when -sub-buffers have been consumed via relay_subbufs_consumed(). Any -subsequent attempts to write into the buffer will again invoke the -subbuf_start() callback with the same parameters; only when the -consumer has consumed one or more of the ready sub-buffers will -relay_buf_full() return 0, in which case the buffer switch can -continue. - -The implementation of the subbuf_start() callback for 'overwrite' mode -would be very similar: - -static int subbuf_start(struct rchan_buf *buf, - void *subbuf, - void *prev_subbuf, - unsigned int prev_padding) -{ - if (prev_subbuf) - *((unsigned *)prev_subbuf) = prev_padding; - - subbuf_start_reserve(buf, sizeof(unsigned int)); - - return 1; -} - -In this case, the relay_buf_full() check is meaningless and the -callback always returns 1, causing the buffer switch to occur -unconditionally. It's also meaningless for the client to use the -relay_subbufs_consumed() function in this mode, as it's never -consulted. - -The default subbuf_start() implementation, used if the client doesn't -define any callbacks, or doesn't define the subbuf_start() callback, -implements the simplest possible 'no-overwrite' mode i.e. it does -nothing but return 0. - -Header information can be reserved at the beginning of each sub-buffer -by calling the subbuf_start_reserve() helper function from within the -subbuf_start() callback. This reserved area can be used to store -whatever information the client wants. In the example above, room is -reserved in each sub-buffer to store the padding count for that -sub-buffer. This is filled in for the previous sub-buffer in the -subbuf_start() implementation; the padding value for the previous -sub-buffer is passed into the subbuf_start() callback along with a -pointer to the previous sub-buffer, since the padding value isn't -known until a sub-buffer is filled. The subbuf_start() callback is -also called for the first sub-buffer when the channel is opened, to -give the client a chance to reserve space in it. In this case the -previous sub-buffer pointer passed into the callback will be NULL, so -the client should check the value of the prev_subbuf pointer before -writing into the previous sub-buffer. - -Writing to a channel --------------------- - -kernel clients write data into the current cpu's channel buffer using -relay_write() or __relay_write(). relay_write() is the main logging -function - it uses local_irqsave() to protect the buffer and should be -used if you might be logging from interrupt context. If you know -you'll never be logging from interrupt context, you can use -__relay_write(), which only disables preemption. These functions -don't return a value, so you can't determine whether or not they -failed - the assumption is that you wouldn't want to check a return -value in the fast logging path anyway, and that they'll always succeed -unless the buffer is full and no-overwrite mode is being used, in -which case you can detect a failed write in the subbuf_start() -callback by calling the relay_buf_full() helper function. - -relay_reserve() is used to reserve a slot in a channel buffer which -can be written to later. This would typically be used in applications -that need to write directly into a channel buffer without having to -stage data in a temporary buffer beforehand. Because the actual write -may not happen immediately after the slot is reserved, applications -using relay_reserve() can keep a count of the number of bytes actually -written, either in space reserved in the sub-buffers themselves or as -a separate array. See the 'reserve' example in the relay-apps tarball -at http://relayfs.sourceforge.net for an example of how this can be -done. Because the write is under control of the client and is -separated from the reserve, relay_reserve() doesn't protect the buffer -at all - it's up to the client to provide the appropriate -synchronization when using relay_reserve(). - -Closing a channel ------------------ - -The client calls relay_close() when it's finished using the channel. -The channel and its associated buffers are destroyed when there are no -longer any references to any of the channel buffers. relay_flush() -forces a sub-buffer switch on all the channel buffers, and can be used -to finalize and process the last sub-buffers before the channel is -closed. - -Creating non-relay files ------------------------- - -relay_open() automatically creates files in the relayfs filesystem to -represent the per-cpu kernel buffers; it's often useful for -applications to be able to create their own files alongside the relay -files in the relayfs filesystem as well e.g. 'control' files much like -those created in /proc or debugfs for similar purposes, used to -communicate control information between the kernel and user sides of a -relayfs application. For this purpose the relayfs_create_file() and -relayfs_remove_file() API functions exist. For relayfs_create_file(), -the caller passes in a set of user-defined file operations to be used -for the file and an optional void * to a user-specified data item, -which will be accessible via inode->u.generic_ip (see the relay-apps -tarball for examples). The file_operations are a required parameter -to relayfs_create_file() and thus the semantics of these files are -completely defined by the caller. - -See the relay-apps tarball at http://relayfs.sourceforge.net for -examples of how these non-relay files are meant to be used. - -Creating relay files in other filesystems ------------------------------------------ - -By default of course, relay_open() creates relay files in the relayfs -filesystem. Because relay_file_operations is exported, however, it's -also possible to create and use relay files in other pseudo-filesytems -such as debugfs. - -For this purpose, two callback functions are provided, -create_buf_file() and remove_buf_file(). create_buf_file() is called -once for each per-cpu buffer from relay_open() to allow the client to -create a file to be used to represent the corresponding buffer; if -this callback is not defined, the default implementation will create -and return a file in the relayfs filesystem to represent the buffer. -The callback should return the dentry of the file created to represent -the relay buffer. Note that the parent directory passed to -relay_open() (and passed along to the callback), if specified, must -exist in the same filesystem the new relay file is created in. If -create_buf_file() is defined, remove_buf_file() must also be defined; -it's responsible for deleting the file(s) created in create_buf_file() -and is called during relay_close(). - -The create_buf_file() implementation can also be defined in such a way -as to allow the creation of a single 'global' buffer instead of the -default per-cpu set. This can be useful for applications interested -mainly in seeing the relative ordering of system-wide events without -the need to bother with saving explicit timestamps for the purpose of -merging/sorting per-cpu files in a postprocessing step. - -To have relay_open() create a global buffer, the create_buf_file() -implementation should set the value of the is_global outparam to a -non-zero value in addition to creating the file that will be used to -represent the single buffer. In the case of a global buffer, -create_buf_file() and remove_buf_file() will be called only once. The -normal channel-writing functions e.g. relay_write() can still be used -- writes from any cpu will transparently end up in the global buffer - -but since it is a global buffer, callers should make sure they use the -proper locking for such a buffer, either by wrapping writes in a -spinlock, or by copying a write function from relayfs_fs.h and -creating a local version that internally does the proper locking. - -See the 'exported-relayfile' examples in the relay-apps tarball for -examples of creating and using relay files in debugfs. - -Misc ----- - -Some applications may want to keep a channel around and re-use it -rather than open and close a new channel for each use. relay_reset() -can be used for this purpose - it resets a channel to its initial -state without reallocating channel buffer memory or destroying -existing mappings. It should however only be called when it's safe to -do so i.e. when the channel isn't currently being written to. - -Finally, there are a couple of utility callbacks that can be used for -different purposes. buf_mapped() is called whenever a channel buffer -is mmapped from user space and buf_unmapped() is called when it's -unmapped. The client can use this notification to trigger actions -within the kernel application, such as enabling/disabling logging to -the channel. - - -Resources -========= - -For news, example code, mailing list, etc. see the relayfs homepage: - - http://relayfs.sourceforge.net - - -Credits -======= - -The ideas and specs for relayfs came about as a result of discussions -on tracing involving the following: - -Michel Dagenais <michel.dagenais@polymtl.ca> -Richard Moore <richardj_moore@uk.ibm.com> -Bob Wisniewski <bob@watson.ibm.com> -Karim Yaghmour <karim@opersys.com> -Tom Zanussi <zanussi@us.ibm.com> - -Also thanks to Hubertus Franke for a lot of useful suggestions and bug -reports. |
