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diff --git a/Documentation/RCU/rcu.txt b/Documentation/RCU/rcu.txt deleted file mode 100644 index c818cf65c5a9..000000000000 --- a/Documentation/RCU/rcu.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,89 +0,0 @@ -RCU Concepts - - -The basic idea behind RCU (read-copy update) is to split destructive -operations into two parts, one that prevents anyone from seeing the data -item being destroyed, and one that actually carries out the destruction. -A "grace period" must elapse between the two parts, and this grace period -must be long enough that any readers accessing the item being deleted have -since dropped their references. For example, an RCU-protected deletion -from a linked list would first remove the item from the list, wait for -a grace period to elapse, then free the element. See the listRCU.txt -file for more information on using RCU with linked lists. - - -Frequently Asked Questions - -o Why would anyone want to use RCU? - - The advantage of RCU's two-part approach is that RCU readers need - not acquire any locks, perform any atomic instructions, write to - shared memory, or (on CPUs other than Alpha) execute any memory - barriers. The fact that these operations are quite expensive - on modern CPUs is what gives RCU its performance advantages - in read-mostly situations. The fact that RCU readers need not - acquire locks can also greatly simplify deadlock-avoidance code. - -o How can the updater tell when a grace period has completed - if the RCU readers give no indication when they are done? - - Just as with spinlocks, RCU readers are not permitted to - block, switch to user-mode execution, or enter the idle loop. - Therefore, as soon as a CPU is seen passing through any of these - three states, we know that that CPU has exited any previous RCU - read-side critical sections. So, if we remove an item from a - linked list, and then wait until all CPUs have switched context, - executed in user mode, or executed in the idle loop, we can - safely free up that item. - - Preemptible variants of RCU (CONFIG_PREEMPT_RCU) get the - same effect, but require that the readers manipulate CPU-local - counters. These counters allow limited types of blocking within - RCU read-side critical sections. SRCU also uses CPU-local - counters, and permits general blocking within RCU read-side - critical sections. These variants of RCU detect grace periods - by sampling these counters. - -o If I am running on a uniprocessor kernel, which can only do one - thing at a time, why should I wait for a grace period? - - See the UP.txt file in this directory. - -o How can I see where RCU is currently used in the Linux kernel? - - Search for "rcu_read_lock", "rcu_read_unlock", "call_rcu", - "rcu_read_lock_bh", "rcu_read_unlock_bh", "srcu_read_lock", - "srcu_read_unlock", "synchronize_rcu", "synchronize_net", - "synchronize_srcu", and the other RCU primitives. Or grab one - of the cscope databases from: - - http://www.rdrop.com/users/paulmck/RCU/linuxusage/rculocktab.html - -o What guidelines should I follow when writing code that uses RCU? - - See the checklist.txt file in this directory. - -o Why the name "RCU"? - - "RCU" stands for "read-copy update". The file listRCU.txt has - more information on where this name came from, search for - "read-copy update" to find it. - -o I hear that RCU is patented? What is with that? - - Yes, it is. There are several known patents related to RCU, - search for the string "Patent" in RTFP.txt to find them. - Of these, one was allowed to lapse by the assignee, and the - others have been contributed to the Linux kernel under GPL. - There are now also LGPL implementations of user-level RCU - available (http://liburcu.org/). - -o I hear that RCU needs work in order to support realtime kernels? - - Realtime-friendly RCU can be enabled via the CONFIG_PREEMPT_RCU - kernel configuration parameter. - -o Where can I find more information on RCU? - - See the RTFP.txt file in this directory. - Or point your browser at http://www.rdrop.com/users/paulmck/RCU/. |