diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'Documentation/RCU/whatisRCU.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | Documentation/RCU/whatisRCU.txt | 26 |
1 files changed, 19 insertions, 7 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/RCU/whatisRCU.txt b/Documentation/RCU/whatisRCU.txt index 69ee188515e7..0cc7820967f4 100644 --- a/Documentation/RCU/whatisRCU.txt +++ b/Documentation/RCU/whatisRCU.txt @@ -499,6 +499,8 @@ The foo_reclaim() function might appear as follows: { struct foo *fp = container_of(rp, struct foo, rcu); + foo_cleanup(fp->a); + kfree(fp); } @@ -521,6 +523,12 @@ o Use call_rcu() -after- removing a data element from an read-side critical sections that might be referencing that data item. +If the callback for call_rcu() is not doing anything more than calling +kfree() on the structure, you can use kfree_rcu() instead of call_rcu() +to avoid having to write your own callback: + + kfree_rcu(old_fp, rcu); + Again, see checklist.txt for additional rules governing the use of RCU. @@ -773,8 +781,8 @@ a single atomic update, converting to RCU will require special care. Also, the presence of synchronize_rcu() means that the RCU version of delete() can now block. If this is a problem, there is a callback-based -mechanism that never blocks, namely call_rcu(), that can be used in -place of synchronize_rcu(). +mechanism that never blocks, namely call_rcu() or kfree_rcu(), that can +be used in place of synchronize_rcu(). 7. FULL LIST OF RCU APIs @@ -789,9 +797,7 @@ RCU list traversal: list_for_each_entry_rcu hlist_for_each_entry_rcu hlist_nulls_for_each_entry_rcu - - list_for_each_continue_rcu (to be deprecated in favor of new - list_for_each_entry_continue_rcu) + list_for_each_entry_continue_rcu RCU pointer/list update: @@ -813,6 +819,7 @@ RCU: Critical sections Grace period Barrier rcu_read_unlock synchronize_rcu rcu_dereference synchronize_rcu_expedited call_rcu + kfree_rcu bh: Critical sections Grace period Barrier @@ -873,7 +880,7 @@ d. Do you need to treat NMI handlers, hardirq handlers, and code segments with preemption disabled (whether via preempt_disable(), local_irq_save(), local_bh_disable(), or some other mechanism) as if they were explicit RCU readers? - If so, you need RCU-sched. + If so, RCU-sched is the only choice that will work for you. e. Do you need RCU grace periods to complete even in the face of softirq monopolization of one or more of the CPUs? For @@ -884,7 +891,12 @@ f. Is your workload too update-intensive for normal use of RCU, but inappropriate for other synchronization mechanisms? If so, consider SLAB_DESTROY_BY_RCU. But please be careful! -g. Otherwise, use RCU. +g. Do you need read-side critical sections that are respected + even though they are in the middle of the idle loop, during + user-mode execution, or on an offlined CPU? If so, SRCU is the + only choice that will work for you. + +h. Otherwise, use RCU. Of course, this all assumes that you have determined that RCU is in fact the right tool for your job. |
