Re: [PATCH RFC 03/15] KVM: Add build-time error check on kvm_run size

Peter Xu
2019-12-02T22:40:46Z

On Mon, Dec 02, 2019 at 02:19:49PM -0800, Sean Christopherson wrote:
> On Mon, Dec 02, 2019 at 03:53:15PM -0500, Peter Xu wrote:
> > On Mon, Dec 02, 2019 at 11:30:27AM -0800, Sean Christopherson wrote:
> > > On Fri, Nov 29, 2019 at 04:34:53PM -0500, Peter Xu wrote:
> > > > It's already going to reach 2400 Bytes (which is over half of page
> > > > size on 4K page archs), so maybe it's good to have this build-time
> > > > check in case it overflows when adding new fields.
> > >
> > > Please explain why exceeding PAGE_SIZE is a bad thing. I realize it's
> > > almost absurdly obvious when looking at the code, but a) the patch itself
> > > does not provide that context and b) the changelog should hold up on its
> > > own,
> >
> > Right, I'll enhance the commit message.
> >
> > > e.g. in a mostly hypothetical case where the allocation of vcpu->run
> > > were changed to something else.
> >
> > And that's why I added BUILD_BUG_ON right beneath that allocation. :)
>
> My point is that if the allocation were changed to no longer be a
> straightforward alloc_page() then someone reading the combined code would
> have no idea why the BUILD_BUG_ON() exists. It's a bit ridiculous for
> this case because the specific constraints of vcpu->run make it highly
> unlikely to use anything else, but that's beside the point.
>
> > It's just a helper for developers when adding new kvm_run fields, not
> > a risk for anyone who wants to start allocating more pages for it.
>
> But by adding a BUILD_BUG_ON without explaining *why*, you're placing an
> extra burden on someone that wants to increase the size of kvm->run, e.g.
> it's not at all obvious from the changelog whether this patch is adding
> the BUILD_BUG_ON purely because the code allocates memory for vcpu->run
> via alloc_page(), or if there is some fundamental aspect of vcpu->run that
> requires it to never span multiple pages.

How about I add a comment above it?

/*
* Currently kvm_run only uses one physical page. Warn the develper
* if kvm_run accidentaly grows more than that.
*/
BUILD_BUG_ON(...);

Thanks,

--
Peter Xu