Re: [PATCH net v5 3/4] iavf: send MAC change request synchronously

[Przemek Kitszel <przemyslaw.kitszel@intel.com>]

On 4/29/26 12:24, Jose Ignacio Tornos Martinez wrote:
> After commit ad7c7b2172c3 ("net: hold netdev instance lock during sysfs
> operations"), iavf_set_mac() is called with the netdev instance lock
> already held.
> 
> The function queues a MAC address change request via
> iavf_replace_primary_mac() and then waits for completion. However, in
> the current flow, the actual virtchnl message is sent by the watchdog
> task, which also needs to acquire the netdev lock to run. Additionally,
> the adminq_task which processes virtchnl responses also needs the netdev
> lock.
> 
> This creates a deadlock scenario:
> 1. iavf_set_mac() holds netdev lock and waits for MAC change
> 2. Watchdog needs netdev lock to send the request -> blocked
> 3. Even if request is sent, adminq_task needs netdev lock to process
>     PF response -> blocked
> 4. MAC change times out after 2.5 seconds
> 5. iavf_set_mac() returns -EAGAIN
> 
> This particularly affects VFs during bonding setup when multiple VFs are
> enslaved in quick succession.
> 
> Fix by implementing a synchronous MAC change operation similar to the
> approach used in commit fdadbf6e84c4 ("iavf: fix incorrect reset handling
> in callbacks").
> 
> The solution:
> 1. Send the virtchnl ADD_ETH_ADDR message directly (not via watchdog)
> 2. Poll the admin queue hardware directly for responses
> 3. Process all received messages (including non-MAC messages)
> 4. Return when MAC change completes or times out
> 
> A new generic function iavf_poll_virtchnl_response() is introduced that
> can be reused for any future synchronous virtchnl operations. It takes a
> callback to check completion, allowing flexible condition checking.
> 
> This allows the operation to complete synchronously while holding
> netdev_lock, without relying on watchdog or adminq_task. The function
> can sleep for up to 2.5 seconds polling hardware, but this is acceptable
> since netdev_lock is per-device and only serializes operations on the
> same interface.
> 
> To support this, change iavf_add_ether_addrs() to return an error code
> instead of void, allowing callers to detect failures. Additionally,
> export iavf_mac_add_reject() to enable proper rollback on local failures
> (timeouts, send errors) - PF rejections are already handled automatically
> by iavf_virtchnl_completion().
> 
> Remove vc_waitqueue entirely because iavf_set_mac was the only waiter on
> this waitqueue and after the changes it is not needed.
> 
> Fixes: ad7c7b2172c3 ("net: hold netdev instance lock during sysfs operations")
> cc: stable@vger.kernel.org
> Signed-off-by: Jose Ignacio Tornos Martinez <jtornosm@redhat.com>


thank you very much!
Reviewed-by: Przemek Kitszel <przemyslaw.kitszel@intel.com>