[PATCH 0/6] writeback: tracing and fixes V3.

[PATCH 0/6] writeback: tracing and fixes V3.

[Dave Chinner]

This series contains the initial writeback tracing patches from
Jens, as well as the extensions I added to provide visibility into
writeback control structures as the are used by the writeback code.
The visibility given is sufficient to understand what is happening
in the writeback path - what path is writing data, what path is
blocking on congestion, etc, and to determine the differences in
behaviour for different sync modes and calling contexts. This
tracing really needs to be integrated into mainline so that anyone
can improve the tracing as they use it to track down problems in our
convoluted writeback paths.

The remaining patches are fixes to problems that the new tracing
highlighted.

Version 3:
- added comment to tracepoint creation to explain the unusual
  placement of the tracepoint header file include.
- separated out ->writepage tracepoint addition into it's own patch.
- dropped ext4 write_cache_pages separation as it is now in mainline.
- removed ext4 tracing references to wbc->no_nrwrite_index_update as they
  weren't removed in the write_cache_pages patch in mainline.
- fixed commit message for write_cache_pages patch
- added more information to commit message for sync hold-off fixup.

Version 2:
- included ext4 write_cache_pages separation patch from Ted Ts'o.
- moved CREATE_TRACE_POINTS into fs-writeback.c as suggested by
  Christoph Hellwig.
- moved include of trace/events/writeback.h until after structure
  definitions in fs-writeback.c
- manually revert changes made to write_cache_pages() in
  17bc6c30cf6bfffd816bdc53682dd46fc34a2cf4 that caused the
  regression.  This restores the convention that if the fs writes
  back more than a single page, it subtracts (nr_written - 1) from
  wbc->nr_to_write, as suggested by Andrew Morton.
- added patch to prevent sync from looping in write_cache_pages
  chasing a moving tail when an appending write workload is running
  concurrently with sync.

[PATCH 1/6] writeback: initial tracing support

[Dave Chinner]

From: From: Jens Axboe <jens.axboe@oracle.com>

Trace queue/sched/exec parts of the writeback loop. This provides
insight into when and why flusher threads are scheduled to run. e.g
a sync invocation leaves a trace like:

sync-2798  [006] 611323.335713: writeback_queue: 253:16: pages=87879, sb=0, kupdate=0, range_cyclic=0 for_background=0
sync-2798  [006] 611323.335718: writeback_sched: work=37c0, task=task
sync-2798  [006] 611323.335817: writeback_queue: 8:0: pages=92680, sb=1, kupdate=0, range_cyclic=-1 for_background=0
sync-2798  [006] 611323.335819: writeback_sched: work=35c0, task=task
sync-2798  [006] 611323.335855: writeback_queue: 253:16: pages=92680, sb=1, kupdate=0, range_cyclic=-1 for_background=0
sync-2798  [006] 611323.335857: writeback_sched: work=36c0, task=task
sync-2798  [006] 611323.335890: writeback_queue: 8:0: pages=9223372036854775807, sb=1, kupdate=0, range_cyclic=0 for_background=0
sync-2798  [006] 611323.335891: writeback_sched: work=fe58, task=task
sync-2798  [006] 611323.377341: writeback_queue: 253:16: pages=9223372036854775807, sb=1, kupdate=0, range_cyclic=0 for_background=0
sync-2798  [006] 611323.377346: writeback_sched: work=fe58, task=task

This also lays the foundation for adding more writeback tracing to
provide deeper insight into the whole writeback path.

Signed-off-by: Jens Axboe <jens.axboe@oracle.com>
Signed-off-by: Dave Chinner <dchinner@redhat.com>
Reviewed-by: Christoph Hellwig <hch@lst.de>
---
 fs/fs-writeback.c                |   45 ++++++++--
 include/trace/events/writeback.h |  171 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 mm/backing-dev.c                 |    3 +
 3 files changed, 209 insertions(+), 10 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 include/trace/events/writeback.h

diff --git a/fs/fs-writeback.c b/fs/fs-writeback.c
index ea8592b..ebfaed8 100644
--- a/fs/fs-writeback.c
+++ b/fs/fs-writeback.c
@@ -26,15 +26,9 @@
 #include <linux/blkdev.h>
 #include <linux/backing-dev.h>
 #include <linux/buffer_head.h>
+#include <linux/ftrace.h>
 #include "internal.h"
 
-#define inode_to_bdi(inode)	((inode)->i_mapping->backing_dev_info)
-
-/*
- * We don't actually have pdflush, but this one is exported though /proc...
- */
-int nr_pdflush_threads;
-
 /*
  * Passed into wb_writeback(), essentially a subset of writeback_control
  */
@@ -63,6 +57,21 @@ struct bdi_work {
 	unsigned long state;		/* flag bits, see WS_* */
 };
 
+/*
+ * Include the creation of the trace points after defining the bdi_work and
+ * wb_writeback_args structures so that the definitions remain local to this
+ * file.
+ */
+#define CREATE_TRACE_POINTS
+#include <trace/events/writeback.h>
+
+#define inode_to_bdi(inode)	((inode)->i_mapping->backing_dev_info)
+
+/*
+ * We don't actually have pdflush, but this one is exported though /proc...
+ */
+int nr_pdflush_threads;
+
 enum {
 	WS_USED_B = 0,
 	WS_ONSTACK_B,
@@ -137,6 +146,8 @@ static void wb_work_complete(struct bdi_work *work)
 
 static void wb_clear_pending(struct bdi_writeback *wb, struct bdi_work *work)
 {
+	trace_writeback_clear(work);
+
 	/*
 	 * The caller has retrieved the work arguments from this work,
 	 * drop our reference. If this is the last ref, delete and free it
@@ -172,12 +183,16 @@ static void bdi_queue_work(struct backing_dev_info *bdi, struct bdi_work *work)
 	 * If the default thread isn't there, make sure we add it. When
 	 * it gets created and wakes up, we'll run this work.
 	 */
-	if (unlikely(list_empty_careful(&bdi->wb_list)))
+	if (unlikely(list_empty_careful(&bdi->wb_list))) {
+		trace_writeback_sched(bdi, work, "default");
 		wake_up_process(default_backing_dev_info.wb.task);
-	else {
+	} else {
 		struct bdi_writeback *wb = &bdi->wb;
+		struct task_struct *task = wb->task;
 
-		if (wb->task)
+		trace_writeback_sched(bdi, work, task ? "task" : "notask");
+
+		if (task)
 			wake_up_process(wb->task);
 	}
 }
@@ -205,6 +220,7 @@ static void bdi_alloc_queue_work(struct backing_dev_info *bdi,
 	work = kmalloc(sizeof(*work), GFP_ATOMIC);
 	if (work) {
 		bdi_work_init(work, args);
+		trace_writeback_queue(bdi, args);
 		bdi_queue_work(bdi, work);
 		if (wait)
 			bdi_wait_on_work_clear(work);
@@ -245,6 +261,7 @@ static void bdi_sync_writeback(struct backing_dev_info *bdi,
 	bdi_work_init(&work, &args);
 	work.state |= WS_ONSTACK;
 
+	trace_writeback_queue(bdi, &args);
 	bdi_queue_work(bdi, &work);
 	bdi_wait_on_work_clear(&work);
 }
@@ -914,6 +931,8 @@ long wb_do_writeback(struct bdi_writeback *wb, int force_wait)
 		struct wb_writeback_args args = work->args;
 		int post_clear;
 
+		trace_writeback_exec(work);
+
 		/*
 		 * Override sync mode, in case we must wait for completion
 		 */
@@ -957,9 +976,13 @@ int bdi_writeback_task(struct bdi_writeback *wb)
 	unsigned long wait_jiffies = -1UL;
 	long pages_written;
 
+	trace_writeback_thread_start(1);
+
 	while (!kthread_should_stop()) {
 		pages_written = wb_do_writeback(wb, 0);
 
+		trace_writeback_pages_written(pages_written);
+
 		if (pages_written)
 			last_active = jiffies;
 		else if (wait_jiffies != -1UL) {
@@ -989,6 +1012,8 @@ int bdi_writeback_task(struct bdi_writeback *wb)
 		try_to_freeze();
 	}
 
+	trace_writeback_thread_start(0);
+
 	return 0;
 }
 
diff --git a/include/trace/events/writeback.h b/include/trace/events/writeback.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..df76457
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/trace/events/writeback.h
@@ -0,0 +1,171 @@
+#undef TRACE_SYSTEM
+#define TRACE_SYSTEM writeback
+
+#if !defined(_TRACE_WRITEBACK_H) || defined(TRACE_HEADER_MULTI_READ)
+#define _TRACE_WRITEBACK_H
+
+#include <linux/backing-dev.h>
+#include <linux/writeback.h>
+
+TRACE_EVENT(writeback_queue,
+
+	TP_PROTO(struct backing_dev_info *bdi, struct wb_writeback_args *args),
+
+	TP_ARGS(bdi, args),
+
+	TP_STRUCT__entry(
+		__array(char,		name,		16)
+		__field(long,		nr_pages)
+		__field(int,		sb)
+		__field(int,		sync_mode)
+		__field(int,		for_kupdate)
+		__field(int,		range_cyclic)
+		__field(int,		for_background)
+	),
+
+	TP_fast_assign(
+		strncpy(__entry->name, dev_name(bdi->dev), 16);
+		__entry->nr_pages	= args->nr_pages;
+		__entry->sb		= !!args->sb;
+		__entry->for_kupdate	= args->for_kupdate;
+		__entry->range_cyclic	= args->range_cyclic;
+		__entry->for_background	= args->for_background;
+	),
+
+	TP_printk("%s: pages=%ld, sb=%d, kupdate=%d, range_cyclic=%d "
+		  "for_background=%d", __entry->name, __entry->nr_pages,
+			__entry->sb, __entry->for_kupdate,
+			__entry->range_cyclic, __entry->for_background)
+);
+
+TRACE_EVENT(writeback_sched,
+
+	TP_PROTO(struct backing_dev_info *bdi, struct bdi_work *work,
+		 const char *msg),
+
+	TP_ARGS(bdi, work, msg),
+
+	TP_STRUCT__entry(
+		__array(char,			name,		16)
+		__field(unsigned int,		work)
+		__array(char,			task,		8)
+	),
+
+	TP_fast_assign(
+		strncpy(__entry->name, dev_name(bdi->dev), 16);
+		__entry->work = (unsigned long) work & 0xffff;
+		snprintf(__entry->task, 8, "%s", msg);
+	),
+
+	TP_printk("work=%x, task=%s", __entry->work, __entry->task)
+);
+
+TRACE_EVENT(writeback_exec,
+
+	TP_PROTO(struct bdi_work *work),
+
+	TP_ARGS(work),
+
+	TP_STRUCT__entry(
+		__field(unsigned int,	work)
+		__field(long,		nr_pages)
+		__field(int,		sb)
+		__field(int,		sync_mode)
+		__field(int,		for_kupdate)
+		__field(int,		range_cyclic)
+		__field(int,		for_background)
+	),
+
+	TP_fast_assign(
+		__entry->work		= (unsigned long) work & 0xffff;
+		__entry->nr_pages	= work->args.nr_pages;
+		__entry->sb		= !!work->args.sb;
+		__entry->for_kupdate	= work->args.for_kupdate;
+		__entry->range_cyclic	= work->args.range_cyclic;
+		__entry->for_background	= work->args.for_background;
+
+	),
+
+	TP_printk("work=%x pages=%ld, sb=%d, kupdate=%d, range_cyclic=%d"
+		  " for_background=%d", __entry->work,
+			__entry->nr_pages, __entry->sb, __entry->for_kupdate,
+			__entry->range_cyclic, __entry->for_background)
+);
+
+TRACE_EVENT(writeback_clear,
+
+	TP_PROTO(struct bdi_work *work),
+
+	TP_ARGS(work),
+
+	TP_STRUCT__entry(
+		__field(struct bdi_work *,	work)
+		__field(int,			refs)
+	),
+
+	TP_fast_assign(
+		__entry->work		= work;
+		__entry->refs		= atomic_read(&work->pending);
+	),
+
+	TP_printk("work=%p, refs=%d", __entry->work, __entry->refs)
+);
+
+TRACE_EVENT(writeback_pages_written,
+
+	TP_PROTO(long pages_written),
+
+	TP_ARGS(pages_written),
+
+	TP_STRUCT__entry(
+		__field(long,		pages)
+	),
+
+	TP_fast_assign(
+		__entry->pages		= pages_written;
+	),
+
+	TP_printk("%ld", __entry->pages)
+);
+
+
+TRACE_EVENT(writeback_thread_start,
+
+	TP_PROTO(int start),
+
+	TP_ARGS(start),
+
+	TP_STRUCT__entry(
+		__field(int,	start)
+	),
+
+	TP_fast_assign(
+		__entry->start = start;
+	),
+
+	TP_printk("%s", __entry->start ? "started" : "exited")
+);
+
+TRACE_EVENT(writeback_bdi_register,
+
+	TP_PROTO(const char *name, int start),
+
+	TP_ARGS(name, start),
+
+	TP_STRUCT__entry(
+		__array(char,	name,		16)
+		__field(int,	start)
+	),
+
+	TP_fast_assign(
+		strncpy(__entry->name, name, 16);
+		__entry->start = start;
+	),
+
+	TP_printk("%s: %s", __entry->name,
+			__entry->start ? "registered" : "unregistered")
+);
+#endif /* _TRACE_WRITEBACK_H */
+
+/* This part must be outside protection */
+#include <trace/define_trace.h>
diff --git a/mm/backing-dev.c b/mm/backing-dev.c
index 660a87a..1f7723b 100644
--- a/mm/backing-dev.c
+++ b/mm/backing-dev.c
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 #include <linux/module.h>
 #include <linux/writeback.h>
 #include <linux/device.h>
+#include <trace/events/writeback.h>
 
 static atomic_long_t bdi_seq = ATOMIC_LONG_INIT(0);
 
@@ -585,6 +586,7 @@ int bdi_register(struct backing_dev_info *bdi, struct device *parent,
 
 	bdi_debug_register(bdi, dev_name(dev));
 	set_bit(BDI_registered, &bdi->state);
+	trace_writeback_bdi_register(dev_name(dev), 1);
 exit:
 	return ret;
 }
@@ -647,6 +649,7 @@ static void bdi_prune_sb(struct backing_dev_info *bdi)
 void bdi_unregister(struct backing_dev_info *bdi)
 {
 	if (bdi->dev) {
+		trace_writeback_bdi_register(dev_name(bdi->dev), 0);
 		bdi_prune_sb(bdi);
 
 		if (!bdi_cap_flush_forker(bdi))
-- 
1.7.1

Re: [PATCH 1/6] writeback: initial tracing support

[Li Zefan]

> +TRACE_EVENT(writeback_queue,
> +
> +	TP_PROTO(struct backing_dev_info *bdi, struct wb_writeback_args *args),
> +
> +	TP_ARGS(bdi, args),
> +
> +	TP_STRUCT__entry(
> +		__array(char,		name,		16)
> +		__field(long,		nr_pages)
> +		__field(int,		sb)
> +		__field(int,		sync_mode)
> +		__field(int,		for_kupdate)
> +		__field(int,		range_cyclic)
> +		__field(int,		for_background)
> +	),
> +
> +	TP_fast_assign(
> +		strncpy(__entry->name, dev_name(bdi->dev), 16);

Should use strlcpy() ?

> +		__entry->nr_pages	= args->nr_pages;
> +		__entry->sb		= !!args->sb;
> +		__entry->for_kupdate	= args->for_kupdate;
> +		__entry->range_cyclic	= args->range_cyclic;
> +		__entry->for_background	= args->for_background;
> +	),
> +
> +	TP_printk("%s: pages=%ld, sb=%d, kupdate=%d, range_cyclic=%d "
> +		  "for_background=%d", __entry->name, __entry->nr_pages,
> +			__entry->sb, __entry->for_kupdate,
> +			__entry->range_cyclic, __entry->for_background)
> +);
> +
> +TRACE_EVENT(writeback_sched,
> +
> +	TP_PROTO(struct backing_dev_info *bdi, struct bdi_work *work,
> +		 const char *msg),
> +
> +	TP_ARGS(bdi, work, msg),
> +
> +	TP_STRUCT__entry(
> +		__array(char,			name,		16)
> +		__field(unsigned int,		work)
> +		__array(char,			task,		8)
> +	),
> +
> +	TP_fast_assign(
> +		strncpy(__entry->name, dev_name(bdi->dev), 16);

ditto

> +		__entry->work = (unsigned long) work & 0xffff;
> +		snprintf(__entry->task, 8, "%s", msg);
> +	),
> +
> +	TP_printk("work=%x, task=%s", __entry->work, __entry->task)
> +);

...

> +TRACE_EVENT(writeback_bdi_register,
> +
> +	TP_PROTO(const char *name, int start),
> +
> +	TP_ARGS(name, start),
> +
> +	TP_STRUCT__entry(
> +		__array(char,	name,		16)
> +		__field(int,	start)
> +	),
> +
> +	TP_fast_assign(
> +		strncpy(__entry->name, name, 16);

ditto

> +		__entry->start = start;
> +	),
> +
> +	TP_printk("%s: %s", __entry->name,
> +			__entry->start ? "registered" : "unregistered")
> +);

Re: [PATCH 1/6] writeback: initial tracing support

[Dave Chinner]

On Fri, Jun 04, 2010 at 09:10:33AM +0800, Li Zefan wrote:
> > +TRACE_EVENT(writeback_queue,
> > +
> > +	TP_PROTO(struct backing_dev_info *bdi, struct wb_writeback_args *args),
> > +
> > +	TP_ARGS(bdi, args),
> > +
> > +	TP_STRUCT__entry(
> > +		__array(char,		name,		16)
> > +		__field(long,		nr_pages)
> > +		__field(int,		sb)
> > +		__field(int,		sync_mode)
> > +		__field(int,		for_kupdate)
> > +		__field(int,		range_cyclic)
> > +		__field(int,		for_background)
> > +	),
> > +
> > +	TP_fast_assign(
> > +		strncpy(__entry->name, dev_name(bdi->dev), 16);
> 
> Should use strlcpy() ?

Don't care. Updated patch below.

Cheers,

Dave.
-- 
Dave Chinner
david@fromorbit.com

writeback: initial tracing support

From:	Jens Axboe <jens.axboe@oracle.com>

Trace queue/sched/exec parts of the writeback loop. This provides
insight into when and why flusher threads are scheduled to run. e.g
a sync invocation leaves a trace like:

sync-2798  [006] 611323.335713: writeback_queue: 253:16: pages=87879, sb=0, kupdate=0, range_cyclic=0 for_background=0
sync-2798  [006] 611323.335718: writeback_sched: work=37c0, task=task
sync-2798  [006] 611323.335817: writeback_queue: 8:0: pages=92680, sb=1, kupdate=0, range_cyclic=-1 for_background=0
sync-2798  [006] 611323.335819: writeback_sched: work=35c0, task=task
sync-2798  [006] 611323.335855: writeback_queue: 253:16: pages=92680, sb=1, kupdate=0, range_cyclic=-1 for_background=0
sync-2798  [006] 611323.335857: writeback_sched: work=36c0, task=task
sync-2798  [006] 611323.335890: writeback_queue: 8:0: pages=9223372036854775807, sb=1, kupdate=0, range_cyclic=0 for_background=0
sync-2798  [006] 611323.335891: writeback_sched: work=fe58, task=task
sync-2798  [006] 611323.377341: writeback_queue: 253:16: pages=9223372036854775807, sb=1, kupdate=0, range_cyclic=0 for_background=0
sync-2798  [006] 611323.377346: writeback_sched: work=fe58, task=task

This also lays the foundation for adding more writeback tracing to
provide deeper insight into the whole writeback path.

Signed-off-by: Jens Axboe <jens.axboe@oracle.com>
Signed-off-by: Dave Chinner <dchinner@redhat.com>
Reviewed-by: Christoph Hellwig <hch@lst.de>
---
 fs/fs-writeback.c                |   45 ++++++++--
 include/trace/events/writeback.h |  171 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 mm/backing-dev.c                 |    3 +
 3 files changed, 209 insertions(+), 10 deletions(-)

diff --git a/fs/fs-writeback.c b/fs/fs-writeback.c
index ea8592b..ebfaed8 100644
--- a/fs/fs-writeback.c
+++ b/fs/fs-writeback.c
@@ -26,15 +26,9 @@
 #include <linux/blkdev.h>
 #include <linux/backing-dev.h>
 #include <linux/buffer_head.h>
+#include <linux/ftrace.h>
 #include "internal.h"
 
-#define inode_to_bdi(inode)	((inode)->i_mapping->backing_dev_info)
-
-/*
- * We don't actually have pdflush, but this one is exported though /proc...
- */
-int nr_pdflush_threads;
-
 /*
  * Passed into wb_writeback(), essentially a subset of writeback_control
  */
@@ -63,6 +57,21 @@ struct bdi_work {
 	unsigned long state;		/* flag bits, see WS_* */
 };
 
+/*
+ * Include the creation of the trace points after defining the bdi_work and
+ * wb_writeback_args structures so that the definitions remain local to this
+ * file.
+ */
+#define CREATE_TRACE_POINTS
+#include <trace/events/writeback.h>
+
+#define inode_to_bdi(inode)	((inode)->i_mapping->backing_dev_info)
+
+/*
+ * We don't actually have pdflush, but this one is exported though /proc...
+ */
+int nr_pdflush_threads;
+
 enum {
 	WS_USED_B = 0,
 	WS_ONSTACK_B,
@@ -137,6 +146,8 @@ static void wb_work_complete(struct bdi_work *work)
 
 static void wb_clear_pending(struct bdi_writeback *wb, struct bdi_work *work)
 {
+	trace_writeback_clear(work);
+
 	/*
 	 * The caller has retrieved the work arguments from this work,
 	 * drop our reference. If this is the last ref, delete and free it
@@ -172,12 +183,16 @@ static void bdi_queue_work(struct backing_dev_info *bdi, struct bdi_work *work)
 	 * If the default thread isn't there, make sure we add it. When
 	 * it gets created and wakes up, we'll run this work.
 	 */
-	if (unlikely(list_empty_careful(&bdi->wb_list)))
+	if (unlikely(list_empty_careful(&bdi->wb_list))) {
+		trace_writeback_sched(bdi, work, "default");
 		wake_up_process(default_backing_dev_info.wb.task);
-	else {
+	} else {
 		struct bdi_writeback *wb = &bdi->wb;
+		struct task_struct *task = wb->task;
 
-		if (wb->task)
+		trace_writeback_sched(bdi, work, task ? "task" : "notask");
+
+		if (task)
 			wake_up_process(wb->task);
 	}
 }
@@ -205,6 +220,7 @@ static void bdi_alloc_queue_work(struct backing_dev_info *bdi,
 	work = kmalloc(sizeof(*work), GFP_ATOMIC);
 	if (work) {
 		bdi_work_init(work, args);
+		trace_writeback_queue(bdi, args);
 		bdi_queue_work(bdi, work);
 		if (wait)
 			bdi_wait_on_work_clear(work);
@@ -245,6 +261,7 @@ static void bdi_sync_writeback(struct backing_dev_info *bdi,
 	bdi_work_init(&work, &args);
 	work.state |= WS_ONSTACK;
 
+	trace_writeback_queue(bdi, &args);
 	bdi_queue_work(bdi, &work);
 	bdi_wait_on_work_clear(&work);
 }
@@ -914,6 +931,8 @@ long wb_do_writeback(struct bdi_writeback *wb, int force_wait)
 		struct wb_writeback_args args = work->args;
 		int post_clear;
 
+		trace_writeback_exec(work);
+
 		/*
 		 * Override sync mode, in case we must wait for completion
 		 */
@@ -957,9 +976,13 @@ int bdi_writeback_task(struct bdi_writeback *wb)
 	unsigned long wait_jiffies = -1UL;
 	long pages_written;
 
+	trace_writeback_thread_start(1);
+
 	while (!kthread_should_stop()) {
 		pages_written = wb_do_writeback(wb, 0);
 
+		trace_writeback_pages_written(pages_written);
+
 		if (pages_written)
 			last_active = jiffies;
 		else if (wait_jiffies != -1UL) {
@@ -989,6 +1012,8 @@ int bdi_writeback_task(struct bdi_writeback *wb)
 		try_to_freeze();
 	}
 
+	trace_writeback_thread_start(0);
+
 	return 0;
 }
 
diff --git a/include/trace/events/writeback.h b/include/trace/events/writeback.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6f510fa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/trace/events/writeback.h
@@ -0,0 +1,171 @@
+#undef TRACE_SYSTEM
+#define TRACE_SYSTEM writeback
+
+#if !defined(_TRACE_WRITEBACK_H) || defined(TRACE_HEADER_MULTI_READ)
+#define _TRACE_WRITEBACK_H
+
+#include <linux/backing-dev.h>
+#include <linux/writeback.h>
+
+TRACE_EVENT(writeback_queue,
+
+	TP_PROTO(struct backing_dev_info *bdi, struct wb_writeback_args *args),
+
+	TP_ARGS(bdi, args),
+
+	TP_STRUCT__entry(
+		__array(char,		name,		16)
+		__field(long,		nr_pages)
+		__field(int,		sb)
+		__field(int,		sync_mode)
+		__field(int,		for_kupdate)
+		__field(int,		range_cyclic)
+		__field(int,		for_background)
+	),
+
+	TP_fast_assign(
+		strlcpy(__entry->name, dev_name(bdi->dev), 16);
+		__entry->nr_pages	= args->nr_pages;
+		__entry->sb		= !!args->sb;
+		__entry->for_kupdate	= args->for_kupdate;
+		__entry->range_cyclic	= args->range_cyclic;
+		__entry->for_background	= args->for_background;
+	),
+
+	TP_printk("%s: pages=%ld, sb=%d, kupdate=%d, range_cyclic=%d "
+		  "for_background=%d", __entry->name, __entry->nr_pages,
+			__entry->sb, __entry->for_kupdate,
+			__entry->range_cyclic, __entry->for_background)
+);
+
+TRACE_EVENT(writeback_sched,
+
+	TP_PROTO(struct backing_dev_info *bdi, struct bdi_work *work,
+		 const char *msg),
+
+	TP_ARGS(bdi, work, msg),
+
+	TP_STRUCT__entry(
+		__array(char,			name,		16)
+		__field(unsigned int,		work)
+		__array(char,			task,		8)
+	),
+
+	TP_fast_assign(
+		strlcpy(__entry->name, dev_name(bdi->dev), 16);
+		__entry->work = (unsigned long) work & 0xffff;
+		snprintf(__entry->task, 8, "%s", msg);
+	),
+
+	TP_printk("work=%x, task=%s", __entry->work, __entry->task)
+);
+
+TRACE_EVENT(writeback_exec,
+
+	TP_PROTO(struct bdi_work *work),
+
+	TP_ARGS(work),
+
+	TP_STRUCT__entry(
+		__field(unsigned int,	work)
+		__field(long,		nr_pages)
+		__field(int,		sb)
+		__field(int,		sync_mode)
+		__field(int,		for_kupdate)
+		__field(int,		range_cyclic)
+		__field(int,		for_background)
+	),
+
+	TP_fast_assign(
+		__entry->work		= (unsigned long) work & 0xffff;
+		__entry->nr_pages	= work->args.nr_pages;
+		__entry->sb		= !!work->args.sb;
+		__entry->for_kupdate	= work->args.for_kupdate;
+		__entry->range_cyclic	= work->args.range_cyclic;
+		__entry->for_background	= work->args.for_background;
+
+	),
+
+	TP_printk("work=%x pages=%ld, sb=%d, kupdate=%d, range_cyclic=%d"
+		  " for_background=%d", __entry->work,
+			__entry->nr_pages, __entry->sb, __entry->for_kupdate,
+			__entry->range_cyclic, __entry->for_background)
+);
+
+TRACE_EVENT(writeback_clear,
+
+	TP_PROTO(struct bdi_work *work),
+
+	TP_ARGS(work),
+
+	TP_STRUCT__entry(
+		__field(struct bdi_work *,	work)
+		__field(int,			refs)
+	),
+
+	TP_fast_assign(
+		__entry->work		= work;
+		__entry->refs		= atomic_read(&work->pending);
+	),
+
+	TP_printk("work=%p, refs=%d", __entry->work, __entry->refs)
+);
+
+TRACE_EVENT(writeback_pages_written,
+
+	TP_PROTO(long pages_written),
+
+	TP_ARGS(pages_written),
+
+	TP_STRUCT__entry(
+		__field(long,		pages)
+	),
+
+	TP_fast_assign(
+		__entry->pages		= pages_written;
+	),
+
+	TP_printk("%ld", __entry->pages)
+);
+
+
+TRACE_EVENT(writeback_thread_start,
+
+	TP_PROTO(int start),
+
+	TP_ARGS(start),
+
+	TP_STRUCT__entry(
+		__field(int,	start)
+	),
+
+	TP_fast_assign(
+		__entry->start = start;
+	),
+
+	TP_printk("%s", __entry->start ? "started" : "exited")
+);
+
+TRACE_EVENT(writeback_bdi_register,
+
+	TP_PROTO(const char *name, int start),
+
+	TP_ARGS(name, start),
+
+	TP_STRUCT__entry(
+		__array(char,	name,		16)
+		__field(int,	start)
+	),
+
+	TP_fast_assign(
+		strlcpy(__entry->name, name, 16);
+		__entry->start = start;
+	),
+
+	TP_printk("%s: %s", __entry->name,
+			__entry->start ? "registered" : "unregistered")
+);
+#endif /* _TRACE_WRITEBACK_H */
+
+/* This part must be outside protection */
+#include <trace/define_trace.h>
diff --git a/mm/backing-dev.c b/mm/backing-dev.c
index 660a87a..1f7723b 100644
--- a/mm/backing-dev.c
+++ b/mm/backing-dev.c
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 #include <linux/module.h>
 #include <linux/writeback.h>
 #include <linux/device.h>
+#include <trace/events/writeback.h>
 
 static atomic_long_t bdi_seq = ATOMIC_LONG_INIT(0);
 
@@ -585,6 +586,7 @@ int bdi_register(struct backing_dev_info *bdi, struct device *parent,
 
 	bdi_debug_register(bdi, dev_name(dev));
 	set_bit(BDI_registered, &bdi->state);
+	trace_writeback_bdi_register(dev_name(dev), 1);
 exit:
 	return ret;
 }
@@ -647,6 +649,7 @@ static void bdi_prune_sb(struct backing_dev_info *bdi)
 void bdi_unregister(struct backing_dev_info *bdi)
 {
 	if (bdi->dev) {
+		trace_writeback_bdi_register(dev_name(bdi->dev), 0);
 		bdi_prune_sb(bdi);
 
 		if (!bdi_cap_flush_forker(bdi))

[PATCH 2/6] writeback: Add tracing to balance_dirty_pages

[Dave Chinner]

From: Dave Chinner <dchinner@redhat.com>

Tracing high level background writeback events is good, but it doesn't
give the entire picture. Add IO dispatched by foreground throttling to the
writeback events.

Signed-off-by: Dave Chinner <dchinner@redhat.com>
Reviewed-by: Christoph Hellwig <hch@lst.de>
---
 fs/fs-writeback.c                |    5 ++
 include/trace/events/writeback.h |   80 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 mm/page-writeback.c              |    4 ++
 3 files changed, 89 insertions(+), 0 deletions(-)

diff --git a/fs/fs-writeback.c b/fs/fs-writeback.c
index ebfaed8..7cd4585 100644
--- a/fs/fs-writeback.c
+++ b/fs/fs-writeback.c
@@ -819,7 +819,11 @@ static long wb_writeback(struct bdi_writeback *wb,
 		wbc.more_io = 0;
 		wbc.nr_to_write = MAX_WRITEBACK_PAGES;
 		wbc.pages_skipped = 0;
+
+		trace_wbc_writeback_start(&wbc);
 		writeback_inodes_wb(wb, &wbc);
+		trace_wbc_writeback_written(&wbc);
+
 		args->nr_pages -= MAX_WRITEBACK_PAGES - wbc.nr_to_write;
 		wrote += MAX_WRITEBACK_PAGES - wbc.nr_to_write;
 
@@ -847,6 +851,7 @@ static long wb_writeback(struct bdi_writeback *wb,
 		if (!list_empty(&wb->b_more_io))  {
 			inode = list_entry(wb->b_more_io.prev,
 						struct inode, i_list);
+			trace_wbc_writeback_wait(&wbc);
 			inode_wait_for_writeback(inode);
 		}
 		spin_unlock(&inode_lock);
diff --git a/include/trace/events/writeback.h b/include/trace/events/writeback.h
index df76457..72c1a12 100644
--- a/include/trace/events/writeback.h
+++ b/include/trace/events/writeback.h
@@ -7,6 +7,9 @@
 #include <linux/backing-dev.h>
 #include <linux/writeback.h>
 
+struct wb_writeback_args;
+struct bdi_work;
+
 TRACE_EVENT(writeback_queue,
 
 	TP_PROTO(struct backing_dev_info *bdi, struct wb_writeback_args *args),
@@ -165,6 +168,83 @@ TRACE_EVENT(writeback_bdi_register,
 	TP_printk("%s: %s", __entry->name,
 			__entry->start ? "registered" : "unregistered")
 );
+
+/* pass flags explicitly */
+DECLARE_EVENT_CLASS(wbc_class,
+	TP_PROTO(struct writeback_control *wbc),
+	TP_ARGS(wbc),
+	TP_STRUCT__entry(
+		__field(unsigned int, wbc)
+		__array(char, name, 16)
+		__field(long, nr_to_write)
+		__field(long, pages_skipped)
+		__field(int, sb)
+		__field(int, sync_mode)
+		__field(int, nonblocking)
+		__field(int, encountered_congestion)
+		__field(int, for_kupdate)
+		__field(int, for_background)
+		__field(int, for_reclaim)
+		__field(int, range_cyclic)
+		__field(int, more_io)
+		__field(unsigned long, older_than_this)
+		__field(long, range_start)
+		__field(long, range_end)
+	),
+
+	TP_fast_assign(
+		char *__name = "(none)";
+
+		__entry->wbc		= (unsigned long)wbc & 0xffff;
+		if (wbc->bdi)
+			strncpy(__entry->name, dev_name(wbc->bdi->dev), 16);
+		else
+			strncpy(__entry->name, __name, 16);
+		__entry->nr_to_write	= wbc->nr_to_write;
+		__entry->pages_skipped	= wbc->pages_skipped;
+		__entry->sb		= !!wbc->sb;
+		__entry->sync_mode	= wbc->sync_mode;
+		__entry->for_kupdate	= wbc->for_kupdate;
+		__entry->for_background	= wbc->for_background;
+		__entry->for_reclaim	= wbc->for_reclaim;
+		__entry->range_cyclic	= wbc->range_cyclic;
+		__entry->more_io	= wbc->more_io;
+		__entry->older_than_this = wbc->older_than_this ?
+						*wbc->older_than_this : 0;
+		__entry->range_start	= (long)wbc->range_start;
+		__entry->range_end	= (long)wbc->range_end;
+	),
+
+	TP_printk("dev %s wbc=%x towrt=%ld skip=%ld sb=%d mode=%d kupd=%d "
+		"bgrd=%d reclm=%d cyclic=%d more=%d older=0x%lx "
+		"start=0x%lx end=0x%lx",
+		__entry->name,
+		__entry->wbc,
+		__entry->nr_to_write,
+		__entry->pages_skipped,
+		__entry->sb,
+		__entry->sync_mode,
+		__entry->for_kupdate,
+		__entry->for_background,
+		__entry->for_reclaim,
+		__entry->range_cyclic,
+		__entry->more_io,
+		__entry->older_than_this,
+		__entry->range_start,
+		__entry->range_end)
+)
+
+#define DEFINE_WBC_EVENT(name) \
+DEFINE_EVENT(wbc_class, name, \
+	TP_PROTO(struct writeback_control *wbc), \
+	TP_ARGS(wbc))
+DEFINE_WBC_EVENT(wbc_writeback_start);
+DEFINE_WBC_EVENT(wbc_writeback_written);
+DEFINE_WBC_EVENT(wbc_writeback_wait);
+DEFINE_WBC_EVENT(wbc_balance_dirty_start);
+DEFINE_WBC_EVENT(wbc_balance_dirty_written);
+DEFINE_WBC_EVENT(wbc_balance_dirty_wait);
+
 #endif /* _TRACE_WRITEBACK_H */
 
 /* This part must be outside protection */
diff --git a/mm/page-writeback.c b/mm/page-writeback.c
index b289310..68eb727 100644
--- a/mm/page-writeback.c
+++ b/mm/page-writeback.c
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@
 #include <linux/syscalls.h>
 #include <linux/buffer_head.h>
 #include <linux/pagevec.h>
+#include <trace/events/writeback.h>
 
 /*
  * After a CPU has dirtied this many pages, balance_dirty_pages_ratelimited
@@ -536,11 +537,13 @@ static void balance_dirty_pages(struct address_space *mapping,
 		 * threshold otherwise wait until the disk writes catch
 		 * up.
 		 */
+		trace_wbc_balance_dirty_start(&wbc);
 		if (bdi_nr_reclaimable > bdi_thresh) {
 			writeback_inodes_wbc(&wbc);
 			pages_written += write_chunk - wbc.nr_to_write;
 			get_dirty_limits(&background_thresh, &dirty_thresh,
 				       &bdi_thresh, bdi);
+			trace_wbc_balance_dirty_written(&wbc);
 		}
 
 		/*
@@ -566,6 +569,7 @@ static void balance_dirty_pages(struct address_space *mapping,
 		if (pages_written >= write_chunk)
 			break;		/* We've done our duty */
 
+		trace_wbc_balance_dirty_wait(&wbc);
 		__set_current_state(TASK_INTERRUPTIBLE);
 		io_schedule_timeout(pause);
 
-- 
1.7.1

[PATCH 3/6] writeback: Add tracing to write_cache_pages

[Dave Chinner]

Add a trace event to the ->writepage loop in write_cache_pages to give
visibility into how the ->writepage call is changing variables within the
writeback control structure. Of most interest is how wbc->nr_to_write changes
from call to call, especially with filesystems that write multiple pages
in ->writepage.

Signed-off-by: Dave Chinner <dchinner@redhat.com>
---
 include/trace/events/writeback.h |    1 +
 mm/page-writeback.c              |    1 +
 2 files changed, 2 insertions(+), 0 deletions(-)

diff --git a/include/trace/events/writeback.h b/include/trace/events/writeback.h
index 72c1a12..5dda40e 100644
--- a/include/trace/events/writeback.h
+++ b/include/trace/events/writeback.h
@@ -244,6 +244,7 @@ DEFINE_WBC_EVENT(wbc_writeback_wait);
 DEFINE_WBC_EVENT(wbc_balance_dirty_start);
 DEFINE_WBC_EVENT(wbc_balance_dirty_written);
 DEFINE_WBC_EVENT(wbc_balance_dirty_wait);
+DEFINE_WBC_EVENT(wbc_writepage);
 
 #endif /* _TRACE_WRITEBACK_H */
 
diff --git a/mm/page-writeback.c b/mm/page-writeback.c
index 68eb727..caaf954 100644
--- a/mm/page-writeback.c
+++ b/mm/page-writeback.c
@@ -921,6 +921,7 @@ continue_unlock:
 			if (!clear_page_dirty_for_io(page))
 				goto continue_unlock;
 
+			trace_wbc_writepage(wbc);
 			ret = (*writepage)(page, wbc, data);
 			if (unlikely(ret)) {
 				if (ret == AOP_WRITEPAGE_ACTIVATE) {
-- 
1.7.1

Re: [PATCH 3/6] writeback: Add tracing to write_cache_pages

[Christoph Hellwig]

On Fri, Jun 04, 2010 at 09:55:25AM +1000, Dave Chinner wrote:
> Add a trace event to the ->writepage loop in write_cache_pages to give
> visibility into how the ->writepage call is changing variables within the
> writeback control structure. Of most interest is how wbc->nr_to_write changes
> from call to call, especially with filesystems that write multiple pages
> in ->writepage.

Looks good, it might be worth to add another tracepoint for ->writepage
from reclaim context so that we can start investigating the cases where
that happens far too often.

Reviewed-by: Christoph Hellwig <hch@lst.de>

[PATCH 4/6] writeback: pay attention to wbc->nr_to_write in write_cache_pages

[Dave Chinner]

From: Dave Chinner <dchinner@redhat.com>

If a filesystem writes more than one page in ->writepage, write_cache_pages
fails to notice this and continues to attempt writeback when wbc->nr_to_write
has gone negative - this trace was captured from XFS:


    wbc_writeback_start: towrt=1024
    wbc_writepage: towrt=1024
    wbc_writepage: towrt=0
    wbc_writepage: towrt=-1
    wbc_writepage: towrt=-5
    wbc_writepage: towrt=-21
    wbc_writepage: towrt=-85

This has adverse effects on filesystem writeback behaviour. write_cache_pages()
needs to terminate after a certain number of pages are written, not after a
certain number of calls to ->writepage are made.  This is a regression
introduced by 17bc6c30cf6bfffd816bdc53682dd46fc34a2cf4 ("vfs: Add
no_nrwrite_index_update writeback control flag"), but cannot be reverted
directly due to subsequent bug fixes that have gone in on top of it.

This commit adds a ->writepage tracepoint inside write_cache_pages() (how the
above trace was generated) and does the revert manually leaving the subsequent
bug fixes intact. ext4 is not affected by this as a previous commit in the
series stops ext4 from using the generic function.

Signed-off-by: Dave Chinner <dchinner@redhat.com>
---
 include/linux/writeback.h   |    9 ---------
 include/trace/events/ext4.h |    5 +----
 mm/page-writeback.c         |   15 +++++----------
 3 files changed, 6 insertions(+), 23 deletions(-)

diff --git a/include/linux/writeback.h b/include/linux/writeback.h
index cc97d6c..52e82f3 100644
--- a/include/linux/writeback.h
+++ b/include/linux/writeback.h
@@ -56,15 +56,6 @@ struct writeback_control {
 	unsigned for_reclaim:1;		/* Invoked from the page allocator */
 	unsigned range_cyclic:1;	/* range_start is cyclic */
 	unsigned more_io:1;		/* more io to be dispatched */
-	/*
-	 * write_cache_pages() won't update wbc->nr_to_write and
-	 * mapping->writeback_index if no_nrwrite_index_update
-	 * is set.  write_cache_pages() may write more than we
-	 * requested and we want to make sure nr_to_write and
-	 * writeback_index are updated in a consistent manner
-	 * so we use a single control to update them
-	 */
-	unsigned no_nrwrite_index_update:1;
 
 	/*
 	 * For WB_SYNC_ALL, the sb must always be pinned. For WB_SYNC_NONE,
diff --git a/include/trace/events/ext4.h b/include/trace/events/ext4.h
index f5b1ba9..f3865c7 100644
--- a/include/trace/events/ext4.h
+++ b/include/trace/events/ext4.h
@@ -306,7 +306,6 @@ TRACE_EVENT(ext4_da_writepages_result,
 		__field(	int,	pages_written		)
 		__field(	long,	pages_skipped		)
 		__field(	char,	more_io			)	
-		__field(	char,	no_nrwrite_index_update )
 		__field(       pgoff_t,	writeback_index		)
 	),
 
@@ -317,16 +316,14 @@ TRACE_EVENT(ext4_da_writepages_result,
 		__entry->pages_written	= pages_written;
 		__entry->pages_skipped	= wbc->pages_skipped;
 		__entry->more_io	= wbc->more_io;
-		__entry->no_nrwrite_index_update = wbc->no_nrwrite_index_update;
 		__entry->writeback_index = inode->i_mapping->writeback_index;
 	),
 
-	TP_printk("dev %s ino %lu ret %d pages_written %d pages_skipped %ld more_io %d no_nrwrite_index_update %d writeback_index %lu",
+	TP_printk("dev %s ino %lu ret %d pages_written %d pages_skipped %ld more_io %d writeback_index %lu",
 		  jbd2_dev_to_name(__entry->dev),
 		  (unsigned long) __entry->ino, __entry->ret,
 		  __entry->pages_written, __entry->pages_skipped,
 		  __entry->more_io,
-		  __entry->no_nrwrite_index_update,
 		  (unsigned long) __entry->writeback_index)
 );
 
diff --git a/mm/page-writeback.c b/mm/page-writeback.c
index caaf954..0fe713d 100644
--- a/mm/page-writeback.c
+++ b/mm/page-writeback.c
@@ -839,7 +839,6 @@ int write_cache_pages(struct address_space *mapping,
 	pgoff_t done_index;
 	int cycled;
 	int range_whole = 0;
-	long nr_to_write = wbc->nr_to_write;
 
 	pagevec_init(&pvec, 0);
 	if (wbc->range_cyclic) {
@@ -940,11 +939,10 @@ continue_unlock:
 					done = 1;
 					break;
 				}
- 			}
+			}
 
-			if (nr_to_write > 0) {
-				nr_to_write--;
-				if (nr_to_write == 0 &&
+			if (wbc->nr_to_write > 0) {
+				if (--wbc->nr_to_write == 0 &&
 				    wbc->sync_mode == WB_SYNC_NONE) {
 					/*
 					 * We stop writing back only if we are
@@ -975,11 +973,8 @@ continue_unlock:
 		end = writeback_index - 1;
 		goto retry;
 	}
-	if (!wbc->no_nrwrite_index_update) {
-		if (wbc->range_cyclic || (range_whole && nr_to_write > 0))
-			mapping->writeback_index = done_index;
-		wbc->nr_to_write = nr_to_write;
-	}
+	if (wbc->range_cyclic || (range_whole && wbc->nr_to_write > 0))
+		mapping->writeback_index = done_index;
 
 	return ret;
 }
-- 
1.7.1

Re: [PATCH 4/6] writeback: pay attention to wbc->nr_to_write in write_cache_pages

[Christoph Hellwig]

Looks good.  Can please get this in ASAP, including -stable?

> This commit adds a ->writepage tracepoint inside write_cache_pages() (how the
> above trace was generated) and does the revert manually leaving the subsequent
> bug fixes intact. ext4 is not affected by this as a previous commit in the
> series stops ext4 from using the generic function.

It doesn't anymore now that you've split it out..

[PATCH 5/6] xfs: remove nr_to_write writeback windup.

[Dave Chinner]

From: Dave Chinner <dchinner@redhat.com>

Now that the background flush code has been fixed, we shouldn't need to
silently multiply the wbc->nr_to_write to get good writeback. Remove
that code.

Signed-off-by: Dave Chinner <dchinner@redhat.com>
Reviewed-by: Christoph Hellwig <hch@lst.de>
---
 fs/xfs/linux-2.6/xfs_aops.c |    8 --------
 1 files changed, 0 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-)

diff --git a/fs/xfs/linux-2.6/xfs_aops.c b/fs/xfs/linux-2.6/xfs_aops.c
index 089eaca..4c89db3 100644
--- a/fs/xfs/linux-2.6/xfs_aops.c
+++ b/fs/xfs/linux-2.6/xfs_aops.c
@@ -1366,14 +1366,6 @@ xfs_vm_writepage(
 	if (!page_has_buffers(page))
 		create_empty_buffers(page, 1 << inode->i_blkbits, 0);
 
-
-	/*
-	 *  VM calculation for nr_to_write seems off.  Bump it way
-	 *  up, this gets simple streaming writes zippy again.
-	 *  To be reviewed again after Jens' writeback changes.
-	 */
-	wbc->nr_to_write *= 4;
-
 	/*
 	 * Convert delayed allocate, unwritten or unmapped space
 	 * to real space and flush out to disk.
-- 
1.7.1

[PATCH 6/6] writeback: limit write_cache_pages integrity scanning to current EOF

[Dave Chinner]

From: Dave Chinner <dchinner@redhat.com>

sync can currently take a really long time if a concurrent writer is
extending a file. The problem is that the dirty pages on the address
space grow in the same direction as write_cache_pages scans, so if
the writer keeps ahead of writeback, the writeback will not
terminate until the writer stops adding dirty pages.

For a data integrity sync, we only need to write the pages dirty at
the time we start the writeback, so we can stop scanning once we get
to the page that was at the end of the file at the time the scan
started.

This will prevent operations like copying a large file preventing
sync from completing as it will not write back pages that were
dirtied after the sync was started. This does not impact the
existing integrity guarantees, as any dirty page (old or new)
within the EOF range at the start of the scan will still be
captured.

This patch will not prevent sync from blocking on large writes into
holes. That requires more complex intervention while this patch only
addresses the common append-case of this sync holdoff.

Signed-off-by: Dave Chinner <dchinner@redhat.com>
---
 mm/page-writeback.c |   15 +++++++++++++++
 1 files changed, 15 insertions(+), 0 deletions(-)

diff --git a/mm/page-writeback.c b/mm/page-writeback.c
index 0fe713d..c97e973 100644
--- a/mm/page-writeback.c
+++ b/mm/page-writeback.c
@@ -855,7 +855,22 @@ int write_cache_pages(struct address_space *mapping,
 		if (wbc->range_start == 0 && wbc->range_end == LLONG_MAX)
 			range_whole = 1;
 		cycled = 1; /* ignore range_cyclic tests */
+
+		/*
+		 * If this is a data integrity sync, cap the writeback to the
+		 * current end of file. Any extension to the file that occurs
+		 * after this is a new write and we don't need to write those
+		 * pages out to fulfil our data integrity requirements. If we
+		 * try to write them out, we can get stuck in this scan until
+		 * the concurrent writer stops adding dirty pages and extending
+		 * EOF.
+		 */
+		if (wbc->sync_mode == WB_SYNC_ALL &&
+		    wbc->range_end == LLONG_MAX) {
+			end = i_size_read(mapping->host) >> PAGE_CACHE_SHIFT;
+		}
 	}
+
 retry:
 	done_index = index;
 	while (!done && (index <= end)) {
-- 
1.7.1

Re: [PATCH 6/6] writeback: limit write_cache_pages integrity scanning to current EOF

[Christoph Hellwig]

Even if there still are potential livelocks after this it's a big
step in the right direction, so


Reviewed-by: Christoph Hellwig <hch@lst.de>

Re: [PATCH 6/6] writeback: limit write_cache_pages integrity scanning to current EOF

[Nick Piggin]

On Fri, Jun 04, 2010 at 03:52:23AM -0400, Christoph Hellwig wrote:
> Even if there still are potential livelocks after this it's a big
> step in the right direction, so
> 
> 
> Reviewed-by: Christoph Hellwig <hch@lst.de>

Agreed.

Re: [PATCH 0/6] writeback: tracing and fixes V3.

[Christoph Hellwig]

Not sure what the rules for new tracepoints are, but in addition to the
fixes I'd really love to see the tracepoints in 2.6.35.

Re: [PATCH 0/6] writeback: tracing and fixes V3.

[Dave Chinner]

On Fri, Jun 04, 2010 at 03:49:38AM -0400, Christoph Hellwig wrote:
> 
> Not sure what the rules for new tracepoints are, but in addition to the
> fixes I'd really love to see the tracepoints in 2.6.35.

Personally I think they are just as important (or even more
important) than the bug fixes because we seem to break this code
regularly because nobody can clearly see what the internals are
doing to verify their change is working correctly.

Cheers,

Dave.
-- 
Dave Chinner
david@fromorbit.com

Re: [PATCH 0/6] writeback: tracing and fixes V3.

[Christoph Hellwig]

On Tue, Jun 08, 2010 at 10:11:15AM +1000, Dave Chinner wrote:
> On Fri, Jun 04, 2010 at 03:49:38AM -0400, Christoph Hellwig wrote:
> > 
> > Not sure what the rules for new tracepoints are, but in addition to the
> > fixes I'd really love to see the tracepoints in 2.6.35.
> 
> Personally I think they are just as important (or even more
> important) than the bug fixes because we seem to break this code
> regularly because nobody can clearly see what the internals are
> doing to verify their change is working correctly.

Given that Linus is pretty strict about only taking regression fixes
I'd rather get the regression fix in and miss out on the tracing until
the next merge window then missing out on everything.