Re: [RFC PATCH 0/5] Removal of AioContext lock, bs->parents and ->children: proof of concept

[Emanuele Giuseppe Esposito]

Am 13/04/2022 um 16:51 schrieb Kevin Wolf:
> Am 13.04.2022 um 15:43 hat Emanuele Giuseppe Esposito geschrieben:
>> So this is a more concrete and up-to-date header.
>>
>> Few things to notice:
>> - we have a list of AioContext. They are registered once an aiocontext
>> is created, and deleted when it is destroyed.
>> This list is helpful because each aiocontext can only modify its own
>> number of readers, avoiding unnecessary cacheline bouncing
>>
>> - if a coroutine changes aiocontext, it's ok with regards to the
>> per-aiocontext reader counter. As long as the sum is correct, there's no
>> issue. The problem comes only once the original aiocontext is deleted,
>> and at that point we need to move the count it held to a shared global
>> variable, otherwise we risk to lose track of readers.
> 
> So the idea is that we can do bdrv_graph_co_rdlock() in one thread and
> the corresponding bdrv_graph_co_rdunlock() in a different thread?
> 
> Would the unlock somehow remember the original thread, or do you use the
> "sum is correct" argument and allow negative counter values, so you can
> end up having count +1 in A and -1 in B to represent "no active
> readers"? If this happens, it's likely to happen many times, so do we
> have to take integer overflows into account then?
> 
>> - All synchronization between the flags explained in this header is of
>> course handled in the implementation. But for now it would be nice to
>> have a feedback on the idea/API.
>>
>> So in short we need:
>> - per-aiocontext counter
>> - global list of aiocontext
>> - global additional reader counter (in case an aiocontext is deleted)
>> - global CoQueue
>> - global has_writer flag
>> - global QemuMutex to protect the list access
>>
>> Emanuele
>>
>> #ifndef BLOCK_LOCK_H
>> #define BLOCK_LOCK_H
>>
>> #include "qemu/osdep.h"
>>
>> /*
>>  * register_aiocontext:
>>  * Add AioContext @ctx to the list of AioContext.
>>  * This list is used to obtain the total number of readers
>>  * currently running the graph.
>>  */
>> void register_aiocontext(AioContext *ctx);
>>
>> /*
>>  * unregister_aiocontext:
>>  * Removes AioContext @ctx to the list of AioContext.
>>  */
>> void unregister_aiocontext(AioContext *ctx);
>>
>> /*
>>  * bdrv_graph_wrlock:
>>  * Modify the graph. Nobody else is allowed to access the graph.
>>  * Set global has_writer to 1, so that the next readers will wait
>>  * that writer is done in a coroutine queue.
>>  * Then keep track of the running readers by counting what is the total
>>  * amount of readers (sum of all aiocontext readers), and wait until
>>  * they all finish with AIO_WAIT_WHILE.
>>  */
>> void bdrv_graph_wrlock(void);
> 
> Do we need a coroutine version that yields instead of using
> AIO_WAIT_WHILE() or are we sure this will only ever be called from
> non-coroutine contexts?

writes (graph modifications) are always done under BQL in the main loop.
Except an unit test, I don't think a coroutine ever does that.

> 
>> /*
>>  * bdrv_graph_wrunlock:
>>  * Write finished, reset global has_writer to 0 and restart
>>  * all readers that are waiting.
>>  */
>> void bdrv_graph_wrunlock(void);
>>
>> /*
>>  * bdrv_graph_co_rdlock:
>>  * Read the bs graph. Increases the reader counter of the current
>> aiocontext,
>>  * and if has_writer is set, it means that the writer is modifying
>>  * the graph, therefore wait in a coroutine queue.
>>  * The writer will then wake this coroutine once it is done.
>>  *
>>  * This lock cannot be taken recursively.
>>  */
>> void coroutine_fn bdrv_graph_co_rdlock(void);
> 
> What prevents it from being taken recursively when it's just a counter?
> (I do see however, that you can't take a reader lock while you have the
> writer lock or vice versa because it would deadlock.)
> 
I actually didn't add the assertion to prevent it from being recoursive
yet, but I think it simplifies everything if it's not recoursive

> Does this being a coroutine_fn mean that we would have to convert QMP
> command handlers to coroutines so that they can take the rdlock while
> they don't expect the graph to change? Or should we have a non-coroutine
> version, too, that works with AIO_WAIT_WHILE()?

Why convert the QMP command handlers? coroutine_fn was just to signal
that it can also be called from coroutines, like the ones created by the
blk_* API.
A reader does not have to be a coroutine. AIO_WAIT_WHILE is not
mandatory to allow it to finish, it helps to ensure progress in case
some reader is waiting for something, but other than that is not
necessary IMO.

> Or should this only be taken for very small pieces of code directly
> accessing the BdrvChild objects, and high-level users like QMP commands
> shouldn't even consider themselves readers?
> 

No I think if we focus on small pieces of code we end up having a
million lock/unlock pairs.

>> /*
>>  * bdrv_graph_rdunlock:
>>  * Read terminated, decrease the count of readers in the current aiocontext.
>>  * If the writer is waiting for reads to finish (has_writer == 1), signal
>>  * the writer that we are done via aio_wait_kick() to let it continue.
>>  */
>> void coroutine_fn bdrv_graph_co_rdunlock(void);
>>
>> #endif /* BLOCK_LOCK_H */
> 
> I expect that in the final version, we might want to have some sugar
> like a WITH_BDRV_GRAPH_RDLOCK_GUARD() macro, but obviously that doesn't
> affect the fundamental design.

Yeah I will ping you once I get to that point ;)

Emanuele
> 
> Kevin
>