Re: [PATCH v3 3/5] dax: use common 4k zero page for dax mmap reads

[Jan Kara]

On Wed 19-07-17 10:26:45, Ross Zwisler wrote:
> On Wed, Jul 19, 2017 at 05:33:14PM +0200, Jan Kara wrote:
> > On Wed 28-06-17 16:01:50, Ross Zwisler wrote:
> > > Another major change is that we remove dax_pfn_mkwrite() from our fault
> > > flow, and instead rely on the page fault itself to make the PTE dirty and
> > > writeable.  The following description from the patch adding the
> > > vm_insert_mixed_mkwrite() call explains this a little more:
> > > 
> > > ***
> > >   To be able to use the common 4k zero page in DAX we need to have our PTE
> > >   fault path look more like our PMD fault path where a PTE entry can be
> > >   marked as dirty and writeable as it is first inserted, rather than
> > >   waiting for a follow-up dax_pfn_mkwrite() => finish_mkwrite_fault() call.
> > > 
> > >   Right now we can rely on having a dax_pfn_mkwrite() call because we can
> > >   distinguish between these two cases in do_wp_page():
> > > 
> > >   	case 1: 4k zero page => writable DAX storage
> > >   	case 2: read-only DAX storage => writeable DAX storage
> > > 
> > >   This distinction is made by via vm_normal_page().  vm_normal_page()
> > >   returns false for the common 4k zero page, though, just as it does for
> > >   DAX ptes.  Instead of special casing the DAX + 4k zero page case, we will
> > >   simplify our DAX PTE page fault sequence so that it matches our DAX PMD
> > >   sequence, and get rid of dax_pfn_mkwrite() completely.
> > > 
> > >   This means that insert_pfn() needs to follow the lead of insert_pfn_pmd()
> > >   and allow us to pass in a 'mkwrite' flag.  If 'mkwrite' is set
> > >   insert_pfn() will do the work that was previously done by wp_page_reuse()
> > >   as part of the dax_pfn_mkwrite() call path.
> > > ***
> > 
> > Hum, thinking about this in context of this patch... So what if we have
> > allocated storage, a process faults it read-only, we map it to page tables
> > writeprotected. Then the process writes through mmap to the area - the code
> > in handle_pte_fault() ends up in do_wp_page() if I'm reading it right.
> 
> Yep.
> 
> > Then, since we are missing ->pfn_mkwrite() handlers, the PTE will be marked
> > writeable but radix tree entry stays clean - bug. Am I missing something?
> 
> I don't think we ever end up with a writeable PTE but with a clean radix tree
> entry.  When we get the write fault we do a full fault through
> dax_iomap_pte_fault() and dax_insert_mapping().
>
> dax_insert_mapping() sets up the dirty radix tree entry via
> dax_insert_mapping_entry() before it does anything with the page tables via
> vm_insert_mixed_mkwrite().
> 
> So, this mkwrite fault path is exactly the path we would have taken if the
> initial read to real storage hadn't happened, and we end up in the same end
> state - with a dirty DAX radix tree entry and a writeable PTE.

Ah sorry, I have missed that it is not that you would not have
->pfn_mkwrite() handler - you still have it but it is the same as standard
fault handler now. So maybe can you rephrase the changelog a bit saying
that: "We get rid of dax_pfn_mkwrite() helper and use dax_iomap_fault() to
handle write-protection faults instead." Thanks!

								Honza
-- 
Jan Kara <jack@xxxxxxxx>
SUSE Labs, CR