Re: [PATCH] Fixed a mismatch between the users of radix_tree and the implementation.

[Nick Piggin <npiggin@kernel.dk>]

On Mon, Aug 16, 2010 at 11:30:07AM -0700, Salman Qazi wrote:
> Done.
> 
> ---
> 
> This matters for the lockless page cache, in particular find_get_pages implementation.
> 
> In the following case, we get can get a deadlock:
> 
>     0.  The radix tree contains two items, one has the index 0.
>     1.  The reader (in this case find_get_pages) takes the rcu_read_lock.
>     2.  The reader acquires slot(s) for item(s) including the index 0 item.
>     3.  The non-zero index item is deleted, and as a consequence the other item
>         is moved to the root of the tree.  The place where it used to be is
>         queued for deletion after the readers finish.
      3b. The zero item is deleted, removing it from the direct slot,
          it remains in the rcu-delayed indirect node.
>     4.  The reader looks at the index 0 slot, and finds that the page has 0 ref count
>     5.  The reader looks at it again, hoping that the item will either be freed
>         or the ref count will increase.  This never happens, as the slot it
>         is looking at will never be updated.  Also, this slot can never be reclaimed
>         because the reader is holding rcu_read_lock and is in an infinite loop.

Good catch. Increasing memory footprint really sucks actually. 5MB is a
lot of memory, and it also means another pointer dereference on small
files.

I actually do go to a lot of trouble already to have direct pointers.
Unfortunately this is another little complexity, but I really think it's
worthwhile.

How about something like this?
--
Index: linux-2.6/include/linux/radix-tree.h
===================================================================
--- linux-2.6.orig/include/linux/radix-tree.h	2010-08-18 00:01:19.000000000 +1000
+++ linux-2.6/include/linux/radix-tree.h	2010-08-18 00:56:32.000000000 +1000
@@ -34,19 +34,12 @@
  * needed for RCU lookups (because root->height is unreliable). The only
  * time callers need worry about this is when doing a lookup_slot under
  * RCU.
+ *
+ * Indirect pointer in fact is also used to tag the last pointer of a node
+ * when it is shrunk, before we rcu free the node. See shrink code for
+ * details.
  */
 #define RADIX_TREE_INDIRECT_PTR	1
-#define RADIX_TREE_RETRY ((void *)-1UL)
-
-static inline void *radix_tree_ptr_to_indirect(void *ptr)
-{
-	return (void *)((unsigned long)ptr | RADIX_TREE_INDIRECT_PTR);
-}
-
-static inline void *radix_tree_indirect_to_ptr(void *ptr)
-{
-	return (void *)((unsigned long)ptr & ~RADIX_TREE_INDIRECT_PTR);
-}
 
 static inline int radix_tree_is_indirect_ptr(void *ptr)
 {
@@ -138,16 +131,29 @@ do {									\
  *		removed.
  *
  * For use with radix_tree_lookup_slot().  Caller must hold tree at least read
- * locked across slot lookup and dereference.  More likely, will be used with
- * radix_tree_replace_slot(), as well, so caller will hold tree write locked.
+ * locked across slot lookup and dereference. Not required if write lock is
+ * held (ie. items cannot be concurrently inserted).
+ *
+ * radix_tree_deref_retry must be used to confirm validity of the pointer if
+ * only the read lock is held.
  */
 static inline void *radix_tree_deref_slot(void **pslot)
 {
-	void *ret = rcu_dereference(*pslot);
-	if (unlikely(radix_tree_is_indirect_ptr(ret)))
-		ret = RADIX_TREE_RETRY;
-	return ret;
+	return rcu_dereference(*pslot);
 }
+
+/**
+ * radix_tree_deref_retry	- check radix_tree_deref_slot
+ * @arg:	pointer returned by radix_tree_deref_slot
+ * Returns:	0 if retry is not required, otherwise retry is required
+ *
+ * radix_tree_deref_retry must be used with radix_tree_deref_slot.
+ */
+static inline int radix_tree_deref_retry(void *arg)
+{
+	return unlikely((unsigned long)arg & RADIX_TREE_INDIRECT_PTR);
+}
+
 /**
  * radix_tree_replace_slot	- replace item in a slot
  * @pslot:	pointer to slot, returned by radix_tree_lookup_slot
Index: linux-2.6/lib/radix-tree.c
===================================================================
--- linux-2.6.orig/lib/radix-tree.c	2010-08-18 00:01:19.000000000 +1000
+++ linux-2.6/lib/radix-tree.c	2010-08-18 00:47:55.000000000 +1000
@@ -82,6 +82,16 @@ struct radix_tree_preload {
 };
 static DEFINE_PER_CPU(struct radix_tree_preload, radix_tree_preloads) = { 0, };
 
+static inline void *ptr_to_indirect(void *ptr)
+{
+	return (void *)((unsigned long)ptr | RADIX_TREE_INDIRECT_PTR);
+}
+
+static inline void *indirect_to_ptr(void *ptr)
+{
+	return (void *)((unsigned long)ptr & ~RADIX_TREE_INDIRECT_PTR);
+}
+
 static inline gfp_t root_gfp_mask(struct radix_tree_root *root)
 {
 	return root->gfp_mask & __GFP_BITS_MASK;
@@ -263,7 +273,7 @@ static int radix_tree_extend(struct radi
 			return -ENOMEM;
 
 		/* Increase the height.  */
-		node->slots[0] = radix_tree_indirect_to_ptr(root->rnode);
+		node->slots[0] = indirect_to_ptr(root->rnode);
 
 		/* Propagate the aggregated tag info into the new root */
 		for (tag = 0; tag < RADIX_TREE_MAX_TAGS; tag++) {
@@ -274,7 +284,7 @@ static int radix_tree_extend(struct radi
 		newheight = root->height+1;
 		node->height = newheight;
 		node->count = 1;
-		node = radix_tree_ptr_to_indirect(node);
+		node = ptr_to_indirect(node);
 		rcu_assign_pointer(root->rnode, node);
 		root->height = newheight;
 	} while (height > root->height);
@@ -307,7 +317,7 @@ int radix_tree_insert(struct radix_tree_
 			return error;
 	}
 
-	slot = radix_tree_indirect_to_ptr(root->rnode);
+	slot = indirect_to_ptr(root->rnode);
 
 	height = root->height;
 	shift = (height-1) * RADIX_TREE_MAP_SHIFT;
@@ -323,8 +333,7 @@ int radix_tree_insert(struct radix_tree_
 				rcu_assign_pointer(node->slots[offset], slot);
 				node->count++;
 			} else
-				rcu_assign_pointer(root->rnode,
-					radix_tree_ptr_to_indirect(slot));
+				rcu_assign_pointer(root->rnode, ptr_to_indirect(slot));
 		}
 
 		/* Go a level down */
@@ -372,7 +381,7 @@ static void *radix_tree_lookup_element(s
 			return NULL;
 		return is_slot ? (void *)&root->rnode : node;
 	}
-	node = radix_tree_indirect_to_ptr(node);
+	node = indirect_to_ptr(node);
 
 	height = node->height;
 	if (index > radix_tree_maxindex(height))
@@ -391,7 +400,7 @@ static void *radix_tree_lookup_element(s
 		height--;
 	} while (height > 0);
 
-	return is_slot ? (void *)slot:node;
+	return is_slot ? (void *)slot : indirect_to_ptr(node);
 }
 
 /**
@@ -453,7 +462,7 @@ void *radix_tree_tag_set(struct radix_tr
 	height = root->height;
 	BUG_ON(index > radix_tree_maxindex(height));
 
-	slot = radix_tree_indirect_to_ptr(root->rnode);
+	slot = indirect_to_ptr(root->rnode);
 	shift = (height - 1) * RADIX_TREE_MAP_SHIFT;
 
 	while (height > 0) {
@@ -507,7 +516,7 @@ void *radix_tree_tag_clear(struct radix_
 
 	shift = (height - 1) * RADIX_TREE_MAP_SHIFT;
 	pathp->node = NULL;
-	slot = radix_tree_indirect_to_ptr(root->rnode);
+	slot = indirect_to_ptr(root->rnode);
 
 	while (height > 0) {
 		int offset;
@@ -577,7 +586,7 @@ int radix_tree_tag_get(struct radix_tree
 
 	if (!radix_tree_is_indirect_ptr(node))
 		return (index == 0);
-	node = radix_tree_indirect_to_ptr(node);
+	node = indirect_to_ptr(node);
 
 	height = node->height;
 	if (index > radix_tree_maxindex(height))
@@ -651,7 +660,7 @@ unsigned long radix_tree_range_tag_if_ta
 	}
 
 	shift = (height - 1) * RADIX_TREE_MAP_SHIFT;
-	slot = radix_tree_indirect_to_ptr(root->rnode);
+	slot = indirect_to_ptr(root->rnode);
 
 	for (;;) {
 		int offset;
@@ -861,7 +870,7 @@ radix_tree_gang_lookup(struct radix_tree
 		results[0] = node;
 		return 1;
 	}
-	node = radix_tree_indirect_to_ptr(node);
+	node = indirect_to_ptr(node);
 
 	max_index = radix_tree_maxindex(node->height);
 
@@ -880,7 +889,8 @@ radix_tree_gang_lookup(struct radix_tree
 			slot = *(((void ***)results)[ret + i]);
 			if (!slot)
 				continue;
-			results[ret + nr_found] = rcu_dereference_raw(slot);
+			results[ret + nr_found] =
+				indirect_to_ptr(rcu_dereference_raw(slot));
 			nr_found++;
 		}
 		ret += nr_found;
@@ -929,7 +939,7 @@ radix_tree_gang_lookup_slot(struct radix
 		results[0] = (void **)&root->rnode;
 		return 1;
 	}
-	node = radix_tree_indirect_to_ptr(node);
+	node = indirect_to_ptr(node);
 
 	max_index = radix_tree_maxindex(node->height);
 
@@ -1054,7 +1064,7 @@ radix_tree_gang_lookup_tag(struct radix_
 		results[0] = node;
 		return 1;
 	}
-	node = radix_tree_indirect_to_ptr(node);
+	node = indirect_to_ptr(node);
 
 	max_index = radix_tree_maxindex(node->height);
 
@@ -1073,7 +1083,8 @@ radix_tree_gang_lookup_tag(struct radix_
 			slot = *(((void ***)results)[ret + i]);
 			if (!slot)
 				continue;
-			results[ret + nr_found] = rcu_dereference_raw(slot);
+			results[ret + nr_found] =
+				indirect_to_ptr(rcu_dereference_raw(slot));
 			nr_found++;
 		}
 		ret += nr_found;
@@ -1123,7 +1134,7 @@ radix_tree_gang_lookup_tag_slot(struct r
 		results[0] = (void **)&root->rnode;
 		return 1;
 	}
-	node = radix_tree_indirect_to_ptr(node);
+	node = indirect_to_ptr(node);
 
 	max_index = radix_tree_maxindex(node->height);
 
@@ -1159,7 +1170,7 @@ static inline void radix_tree_shrink(str
 		void *newptr;
 
 		BUG_ON(!radix_tree_is_indirect_ptr(to_free));
-		to_free = radix_tree_indirect_to_ptr(to_free);
+		to_free = indirect_to_ptr(to_free);
 
 		/*
 		 * The candidate node has more than one child, or its child
@@ -1172,16 +1183,39 @@ static inline void radix_tree_shrink(str
 
 		/*
 		 * We don't need rcu_assign_pointer(), since we are simply
-		 * moving the node from one part of the tree to another. If
-		 * it was safe to dereference the old pointer to it
+		 * moving the node from one part of the tree to another: if it
+		 * was safe to dereference the old pointer to it
 		 * (to_free->slots[0]), it will be safe to dereference the new
-		 * one (root->rnode).
+		 * one (root->rnode) as far as dependent read barriers go.
 		 */
 		newptr = to_free->slots[0];
 		if (root->height > 1)
-			newptr = radix_tree_ptr_to_indirect(newptr);
+			newptr = ptr_to_indirect(newptr);
 		root->rnode = newptr;
 		root->height--;
+
+		/*
+		 * We have a dilemma here. The node's slot[0] must not be
+		 * NULLed in case there are concurrent lookups expecting to
+		 * find the item. However if this was a bottom-level node,
+		 * then it may be subject to the slot pointer being visible
+		 * to callers dereferencing it. If item corresponding to
+		 * slot[0] is subsequently deleted, these callers would expect
+		 * their slot to become empty sooner or later.
+		 *
+		 * For example, lockless pagecache will look up a slot, deref
+		 * the page pointer, and if the page is 0 refcount it means it
+		 * was concurrently deleted from pagecache so try the deref
+		 * again. Fortunately there is already a requirement for logic
+		 * to retry the entire slot lookup -- the indirect pointer
+		 * problem (replacing direct root node with an indirect pointer
+		 * also results in a stale slot). So tag the slot as indirect
+		 * to force callers to retry.
+		 */
+		if (root->height == 0)
+			*((unsigned long *)&to_free->slots[0]) |=
+						RADIX_TREE_INDIRECT_PTR;
+
 		radix_tree_node_free(to_free);
 	}
 }
@@ -1218,7 +1252,7 @@ void *radix_tree_delete(struct radix_tre
 		root->rnode = NULL;
 		goto out;
 	}
-	slot = radix_tree_indirect_to_ptr(slot);
+	slot = indirect_to_ptr(slot);
 
 	shift = (height - 1) * RADIX_TREE_MAP_SHIFT;
 	pathp->node = NULL;
@@ -1260,8 +1294,7 @@ void *radix_tree_delete(struct radix_tre
 			radix_tree_node_free(to_free);
 
 		if (pathp->node->count) {
-			if (pathp->node ==
-					radix_tree_indirect_to_ptr(root->rnode))
+			if (pathp->node == indirect_to_ptr(root->rnode))
 				radix_tree_shrink(root);
 			goto out;
 		}
Index: linux-2.6/mm/filemap.c
===================================================================
--- linux-2.6.orig/mm/filemap.c	2010-08-18 00:14:14.000000000 +1000
+++ linux-2.6/mm/filemap.c	2010-08-18 01:07:20.000000000 +1000
@@ -631,7 +631,9 @@ repeat:
 	pagep = radix_tree_lookup_slot(&mapping->page_tree, offset);
 	if (pagep) {
 		page = radix_tree_deref_slot(pagep);
-		if (unlikely(!page || page == RADIX_TREE_RETRY))
+		if (unlikely(!page))
+			goto out;
+		if (radix_tree_deref_retry(page))
 			goto repeat;
 
 		if (!page_cache_get_speculative(page))
@@ -647,6 +649,7 @@ repeat:
 			goto repeat;
 		}
 	}
+out:
 	rcu_read_unlock();
 
 	return page;
@@ -764,12 +767,11 @@ repeat:
 		page = radix_tree_deref_slot((void **)pages[i]);
 		if (unlikely(!page))
 			continue;
-		/*
-		 * this can only trigger if nr_found == 1, making livelock
-		 * a non issue.
-		 */
-		if (unlikely(page == RADIX_TREE_RETRY))
+		if (radix_tree_deref_retry(page)) {
+			if (ret)
+				start = pages[ret-1]->index;
 			goto restart;
+		}
 
 		if (!page_cache_get_speculative(page))
 			goto repeat;
@@ -817,11 +819,7 @@ repeat:
 		page = radix_tree_deref_slot((void **)pages[i]);
 		if (unlikely(!page))
 			continue;
-		/*
-		 * this can only trigger if nr_found == 1, making livelock
-		 * a non issue.
-		 */
-		if (unlikely(page == RADIX_TREE_RETRY))
+		if (radix_tree_deref_retry(page))
 			goto restart;
 
 		if (page->mapping == NULL || page->index != index)
@@ -874,11 +872,7 @@ repeat:
 		page = radix_tree_deref_slot((void **)pages[i]);
 		if (unlikely(!page))
 			continue;
-		/*
-		 * this can only trigger if nr_found == 1, making livelock
-		 * a non issue.
-		 */
-		if (unlikely(page == RADIX_TREE_RETRY))
+		if (radix_tree_deref_retry(page))
 			goto restart;
 
 		if (!page_cache_get_speculative(page))