Re: [PATCH] pidmap: Use GFP_ATOMIC to allocate page (was: Re: [00/54] 3.0.32-stable review)

[Linus Torvalds]

On Sat, May 19, 2012 at 7:32 PM, David Rientjes <rientjes@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> Why wasn't this caught by gfp_allowed_mask in slab_pre_alloc_hook()?
> GFP_KERNEL should be allowed in this context.

We set gfp_allowed_mask to allow all allocations before this point: it
happens when we enable interrupts fairly early during start_kernel().

So by the time pidmap_init() is called, GFP_KERNEL does imply that
scheduling can happen.

Which does imply that we set gfp_allowed_mask *much* too early. We
still cannot schedule at that point (well, at least there's a comment
saying so):

        /*
         * Disable preemption - early bootup scheduling is extremely
         * fragile until we cpu_idle() for the first time.
         */
        preempt_disable();

so logically we should move the gfp_allowed_mask setting down to where
we really are properly alive.

How about moving it down to after we've done the full smp_init() and
after we've actually done the first schedule and have proper idle
CPU's?

Something like the attached (UNTESTED!) patch?

                       Linus

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