rcu: 1Q2010 update for RCU documentation

Add expedited functions.  Review documentation and update
obsolete verbiage.  Also fix the advice for the RCU CPU-stall
kernel configuration parameter, and document RCU CPU-stall
warnings.

Signed-off-by: Paul E. McKenney <paulmck@linux.vnet.ibm.com>
Cc: laijs@cn.fujitsu.com
Cc: dipankar@in.ibm.com
Cc: mathieu.desnoyers@polymtl.ca
Cc: josh@joshtriplett.org
Cc: dvhltc@us.ibm.com
Cc: niv@us.ibm.com
Cc: peterz@infradead.org
Cc: rostedt@goodmis.org
Cc: Valdis.Kletnieks@vt.edu
Cc: dhowells@redhat.com
LKML-Reference: <12635142581866-git-send-email->
Signed-off-by: Ingo Molnar <mingo@elte.hu>
This commit is contained in:
Paul E. McKenney 2010-01-14 16:10:57 -08:00 committed by Ingo Molnar
parent b6407e8639
commit 4c54005ca4
9 changed files with 256 additions and 134 deletions

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@ -8,14 +8,18 @@ listRCU.txt
- Using RCU to Protect Read-Mostly Linked Lists
NMI-RCU.txt
- Using RCU to Protect Dynamic NMI Handlers
rcubarrier.txt
- RCU and Unloadable Modules
rculist_nulls.txt
- RCU list primitives for use with SLAB_DESTROY_BY_RCU
rcuref.txt
- Reference-count design for elements of lists/arrays protected by RCU
rcu.txt
- RCU Concepts
rcubarrier.txt
- Unloading modules that use RCU callbacks
RTFP.txt
- List of RCU papers (bibliography) going back to 1980.
stallwarn.txt
- RCU CPU stall warnings (CONFIG_RCU_CPU_STALL_DETECTOR)
torture.txt
- RCU Torture Test Operation (CONFIG_RCU_TORTURE_TEST)
trace.txt

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@ -25,10 +25,10 @@ to be referencing the data structure. However, this mechanism was not
optimized for modern computer systems, which is not surprising given
that these overheads were not so expensive in the mid-80s. Nonetheless,
passive serialization appears to be the first deferred-destruction
mechanism to be used in production. Furthermore, the relevant patent has
lapsed, so this approach may be used in non-GPL software, if desired.
(In contrast, use of RCU is permitted only in software licensed under
GPL. Sorry!!!)
mechanism to be used in production. Furthermore, the relevant patent
has lapsed, so this approach may be used in non-GPL software, if desired.
(In contrast, implementation of RCU is permitted only in software licensed
under either GPL or LGPL. Sorry!!!)
In 1990, Pugh [Pugh90] noted that explicitly tracking which threads
were reading a given data structure permitted deferred free to operate
@ -150,6 +150,18 @@ preemptible RCU [PaulEMcKenney2007PreemptibleRCU], and the three-part
LWN "What is RCU?" series [PaulEMcKenney2007WhatIsRCUFundamentally,
PaulEMcKenney2008WhatIsRCUUsage, and PaulEMcKenney2008WhatIsRCUAPI].
2008 saw a journal paper on real-time RCU [DinakarGuniguntala2008IBMSysJ],
a history of how Linux changed RCU more than RCU changed Linux
[PaulEMcKenney2008RCUOSR], and a design overview of hierarchical RCU
[PaulEMcKenney2008HierarchicalRCU].
2009 introduced user-level RCU algorithms [PaulEMcKenney2009MaliciousURCU],
which Mathieu Desnoyers is now maintaining [MathieuDesnoyers2009URCU]
[MathieuDesnoyersPhD]. TINY_RCU [PaulEMcKenney2009BloatWatchRCU] made
its appearance, as did expedited RCU [PaulEMcKenney2009expeditedRCU].
The problem of resizeable RCU-protected hash tables may now be on a path
to a solution [JoshTriplett2009RPHash].
Bibtex Entries
@article{Kung80
@ -730,6 +742,11 @@ Revised:
"
}
#
# "What is RCU?" LWN series.
#
########################################################################
@article{DinakarGuniguntala2008IBMSysJ
,author="D. Guniguntala and P. E. McKenney and J. Triplett and J. Walpole"
,title="The read-copy-update mechanism for supporting real-time applications on shared-memory multiprocessor systems with {Linux}"
@ -820,3 +837,36 @@ Revised:
Uniprocessor assumptions allow simplified RCU implementation.
"
}
@unpublished{PaulEMcKenney2009expeditedRCU
,Author="Paul E. McKenney"
,Title="[{PATCH} -tip 0/3] expedited 'big hammer' {RCU} grace periods"
,month="June"
,day="25"
,year="2009"
,note="Available:
\url{http://lkml.org/lkml/2009/6/25/306}
[Viewed August 16, 2009]"
,annotation="
First posting of expedited RCU to be accepted into -tip.
"
}
@unpublished{JoshTriplett2009RPHash
,Author="Josh Triplett"
,Title="Scalable concurrent hash tables via relativistic programming"
,month="September"
,year="2009"
,note="Linux Plumbers Conference presentation"
,annotation="
RP fun with hash tables.
"
}
@phdthesis{MathieuDesnoyersPhD
, title = "Low-impact Operating System Tracing"
, author = "Mathieu Desnoyers"
, school = "Ecole Polytechnique de Montr\'{e}al"
, month = "December"
, year = 2009
}

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@ -8,13 +8,12 @@ would cause. This list is based on experiences reviewing such patches
over a rather long period of time, but improvements are always welcome!
0. Is RCU being applied to a read-mostly situation? If the data
structure is updated more than about 10% of the time, then
you should strongly consider some other approach, unless
detailed performance measurements show that RCU is nonetheless
the right tool for the job. Yes, you might think of RCU
as simply cutting overhead off of the readers and imposing it
on the writers. That is exactly why normal uses of RCU will
do much more reading than updating.
structure is updated more than about 10% of the time, then you
should strongly consider some other approach, unless detailed
performance measurements show that RCU is nonetheless the right
tool for the job. Yes, RCU does reduce read-side overhead by
increasing write-side overhead, which is exactly why normal uses
of RCU will do much more reading than updating.
Another exception is where performance is not an issue, and RCU
provides a simpler implementation. An example of this situation
@ -35,13 +34,13 @@ over a rather long period of time, but improvements are always welcome!
If you choose #b, be prepared to describe how you have handled
memory barriers on weakly ordered machines (pretty much all of
them -- even x86 allows reads to be reordered), and be prepared
to explain why this added complexity is worthwhile. If you
choose #c, be prepared to explain how this single task does not
become a major bottleneck on big multiprocessor machines (for
example, if the task is updating information relating to itself
that other tasks can read, there by definition can be no
bottleneck).
them -- even x86 allows later loads to be reordered to precede
earlier stores), and be prepared to explain why this added
complexity is worthwhile. If you choose #c, be prepared to
explain how this single task does not become a major bottleneck on
big multiprocessor machines (for example, if the task is updating
information relating to itself that other tasks can read, there
by definition can be no bottleneck).
2. Do the RCU read-side critical sections make proper use of
rcu_read_lock() and friends? These primitives are needed
@ -51,8 +50,10 @@ over a rather long period of time, but improvements are always welcome!
actuarial risk of your kernel.
As a rough rule of thumb, any dereference of an RCU-protected
pointer must be covered by rcu_read_lock() or rcu_read_lock_bh()
or by the appropriate update-side lock.
pointer must be covered by rcu_read_lock(), rcu_read_lock_bh(),
rcu_read_lock_sched(), or by the appropriate update-side lock.
Disabling of preemption can serve as rcu_read_lock_sched(), but
is less readable.
3. Does the update code tolerate concurrent accesses?
@ -62,25 +63,27 @@ over a rather long period of time, but improvements are always welcome!
of ways to handle this concurrency, depending on the situation:
a. Use the RCU variants of the list and hlist update
primitives to add, remove, and replace elements on an
RCU-protected list. Alternatively, use the RCU-protected
trees that have been added to the Linux kernel.
primitives to add, remove, and replace elements on
an RCU-protected list. Alternatively, use the other
RCU-protected data structures that have been added to
the Linux kernel.
This is almost always the best approach.
b. Proceed as in (a) above, but also maintain per-element
locks (that are acquired by both readers and writers)
that guard per-element state. Of course, fields that
the readers refrain from accessing can be guarded by the
update-side lock.
the readers refrain from accessing can be guarded by
some other lock acquired only by updaters, if desired.
This works quite well, also.
c. Make updates appear atomic to readers. For example,
pointer updates to properly aligned fields will appear
atomic, as will individual atomic primitives. Operations
performed under a lock and sequences of multiple atomic
primitives will -not- appear to be atomic.
pointer updates to properly aligned fields will
appear atomic, as will individual atomic primitives.
Sequences of perations performed under a lock will -not-
appear to be atomic to RCU readers, nor will sequences
of multiple atomic primitives.
This can work, but is starting to get a bit tricky.
@ -98,9 +101,9 @@ over a rather long period of time, but improvements are always welcome!
a new structure containing updated values.
4. Weakly ordered CPUs pose special challenges. Almost all CPUs
are weakly ordered -- even i386 CPUs allow reads to be reordered.
RCU code must take all of the following measures to prevent
memory-corruption problems:
are weakly ordered -- even x86 CPUs allow later loads to be
reordered to precede earlier stores. RCU code must take all of
the following measures to prevent memory-corruption problems:
a. Readers must maintain proper ordering of their memory
accesses. The rcu_dereference() primitive ensures that
@ -113,14 +116,21 @@ over a rather long period of time, but improvements are always welcome!
The rcu_dereference() primitive is also an excellent
documentation aid, letting the person reading the code
know exactly which pointers are protected by RCU.
Please note that compilers can also reorder code, and
they are becoming increasingly aggressive about doing
just that. The rcu_dereference() primitive therefore
also prevents destructive compiler optimizations.
The rcu_dereference() primitive is used by the various
"_rcu()" list-traversal primitives, such as the
list_for_each_entry_rcu(). Note that it is perfectly
legal (if redundant) for update-side code to use
rcu_dereference() and the "_rcu()" list-traversal
primitives. This is particularly useful in code
that is common to readers and updaters.
The rcu_dereference() primitive is used by the
various "_rcu()" list-traversal primitives, such
as the list_for_each_entry_rcu(). Note that it is
perfectly legal (if redundant) for update-side code to
use rcu_dereference() and the "_rcu()" list-traversal
primitives. This is particularly useful in code that
is common to readers and updaters. However, neither
rcu_dereference() nor the "_rcu()" list-traversal
primitives can substitute for a good concurrency design
coordinating among multiple updaters.
b. If the list macros are being used, the list_add_tail_rcu()
and list_add_rcu() primitives must be used in order
@ -135,11 +145,14 @@ over a rather long period of time, but improvements are always welcome!
readers. Similarly, if the hlist macros are being used,
the hlist_del_rcu() primitive is required.
The list_replace_rcu() primitive may be used to
replace an old structure with a new one in an
RCU-protected list.
The list_replace_rcu() and hlist_replace_rcu() primitives
may be used to replace an old structure with a new one
in their respective types of RCU-protected lists.
d. Updates must ensure that initialization of a given
d. Rules similar to (4b) and (4c) apply to the "hlist_nulls"
type of RCU-protected linked lists.
e. Updates must ensure that initialization of a given
structure happens before pointers to that structure are
publicized. Use the rcu_assign_pointer() primitive
when publicizing a pointer to a structure that can
@ -151,16 +164,31 @@ over a rather long period of time, but improvements are always welcome!
it cannot block.
6. Since synchronize_rcu() can block, it cannot be called from
any sort of irq context. Ditto for synchronize_sched() and
synchronize_srcu().
any sort of irq context. The same rule applies for
synchronize_rcu_bh(), synchronize_sched(), synchronize_srcu(),
synchronize_rcu_expedited(), synchronize_rcu_bh_expedited(),
synchronize_sched_expedite(), and synchronize_srcu_expedited().
7. If the updater uses call_rcu(), then the corresponding readers
must use rcu_read_lock() and rcu_read_unlock(). If the updater
uses call_rcu_bh(), then the corresponding readers must use
rcu_read_lock_bh() and rcu_read_unlock_bh(). If the updater
uses call_rcu_sched(), then the corresponding readers must
disable preemption. Mixing things up will result in confusion
and broken kernels.
The expedited forms of these primitives have the same semantics
as the non-expedited forms, but expediting is both expensive
and unfriendly to real-time workloads. Use of the expedited
primitives should be restricted to rare configuration-change
operations that would not normally be undertaken while a real-time
workload is running.
7. If the updater uses call_rcu() or synchronize_rcu(), then the
corresponding readers must use rcu_read_lock() and
rcu_read_unlock(). If the updater uses call_rcu_bh() or
synchronize_rcu_bh(), then the corresponding readers must
use rcu_read_lock_bh() and rcu_read_unlock_bh(). If the
updater uses call_rcu_sched() or synchronize_sched(), then
the corresponding readers must disable preemption, possibly
by calling rcu_read_lock_sched() and rcu_read_unlock_sched().
If the updater uses synchronize_srcu(), the the corresponding
readers must use srcu_read_lock() and srcu_read_unlock(),
and with the same srcu_struct. The rules for the expedited
primitives are the same as for their non-expedited counterparts.
Mixing things up will result in confusion and broken kernels.
One exception to this rule: rcu_read_lock() and rcu_read_unlock()
may be substituted for rcu_read_lock_bh() and rcu_read_unlock_bh()
@ -212,6 +240,8 @@ over a rather long period of time, but improvements are always welcome!
e. Periodically invoke synchronize_rcu(), permitting a limited
number of updates per grace period.
The same cautions apply to call_rcu_bh() and call_rcu_sched().
9. All RCU list-traversal primitives, which include
rcu_dereference(), list_for_each_entry_rcu(),
list_for_each_continue_rcu(), and list_for_each_safe_rcu(),
@ -229,7 +259,8 @@ over a rather long period of time, but improvements are always welcome!
10. Conversely, if you are in an RCU read-side critical section,
and you don't hold the appropriate update-side lock, you -must-
use the "_rcu()" variants of the list macros. Failing to do so
will break Alpha and confuse people reading your code.
will break Alpha, cause aggressive compilers to generate bad code,
and confuse people trying to read your code.
11. Note that synchronize_rcu() -only- guarantees to wait until
all currently executing rcu_read_lock()-protected RCU read-side
@ -239,15 +270,21 @@ over a rather long period of time, but improvements are always welcome!
rcu_read_lock()-protected read-side critical sections, do -not-
use synchronize_rcu().
If you want to wait for some of these other things, you might
instead need to use synchronize_irq() or synchronize_sched().
Similarly, disabling preemption is not an acceptable substitute
for rcu_read_lock(). Code that attempts to use preemption
disabling where it should be using rcu_read_lock() will break
in real-time kernel builds.
If you want to wait for interrupt handlers, NMI handlers, and
code under the influence of preempt_disable(), you instead
need to use synchronize_irq() or synchronize_sched().
12. Any lock acquired by an RCU callback must be acquired elsewhere
with softirq disabled, e.g., via spin_lock_irqsave(),
spin_lock_bh(), etc. Failing to disable irq on a given
acquisition of that lock will result in deadlock as soon as the
RCU callback happens to interrupt that acquisition's critical
section.
acquisition of that lock will result in deadlock as soon as
the RCU softirq handler happens to run your RCU callback while
interrupting that acquisition's critical section.
13. RCU callbacks can be and are executed in parallel. In many cases,
the callback code simply wrappers around kfree(), so that this
@ -265,29 +302,30 @@ over a rather long period of time, but improvements are always welcome!
not the case, a self-spawning RCU callback would prevent the
victim CPU from ever going offline.)
14. SRCU (srcu_read_lock(), srcu_read_unlock(), and synchronize_srcu())
may only be invoked from process context. Unlike other forms of
RCU, it -is- permissible to block in an SRCU read-side critical
section (demarked by srcu_read_lock() and srcu_read_unlock()),
hence the "SRCU": "sleepable RCU". Please note that if you
don't need to sleep in read-side critical sections, you should
be using RCU rather than SRCU, because RCU is almost always
faster and easier to use than is SRCU.
14. SRCU (srcu_read_lock(), srcu_read_unlock(), synchronize_srcu(),
and synchronize_srcu_expedited()) may only be invoked from
process context. Unlike other forms of RCU, it -is- permissible
to block in an SRCU read-side critical section (demarked by
srcu_read_lock() and srcu_read_unlock()), hence the "SRCU":
"sleepable RCU". Please note that if you don't need to sleep
in read-side critical sections, you should be using RCU rather
than SRCU, because RCU is almost always faster and easier to
use than is SRCU.
Also unlike other forms of RCU, explicit initialization
and cleanup is required via init_srcu_struct() and
cleanup_srcu_struct(). These are passed a "struct srcu_struct"
that defines the scope of a given SRCU domain. Once initialized,
the srcu_struct is passed to srcu_read_lock(), srcu_read_unlock()
and synchronize_srcu(). A given synchronize_srcu() waits only
for SRCU read-side critical sections governed by srcu_read_lock()
and srcu_read_unlock() calls that have been passd the same
srcu_struct. This property is what makes sleeping read-side
critical sections tolerable -- a given subsystem delays only
its own updates, not those of other subsystems using SRCU.
Therefore, SRCU is less prone to OOM the system than RCU would
be if RCU's read-side critical sections were permitted to
sleep.
synchronize_srcu(), and synchronize_srcu_expedited(). A given
synchronize_srcu() waits only for SRCU read-side critical
sections governed by srcu_read_lock() and srcu_read_unlock()
calls that have been passed the same srcu_struct. This property
is what makes sleeping read-side critical sections tolerable --
a given subsystem delays only its own updates, not those of other
subsystems using SRCU. Therefore, SRCU is less prone to OOM the
system than RCU would be if RCU's read-side critical sections
were permitted to sleep.
The ability to sleep in read-side critical sections does not
come for free. First, corresponding srcu_read_lock() and
@ -311,12 +349,12 @@ over a rather long period of time, but improvements are always welcome!
destructive operation, and -only- -then- invoke call_rcu(),
synchronize_rcu(), or friends.
Because these primitives only wait for pre-existing readers,
it is the caller's responsibility to guarantee safety to
any subsequent readers.
Because these primitives only wait for pre-existing readers, it
is the caller's responsibility to guarantee that any subsequent
readers will execute safely.
16. The various RCU read-side primitives do -not- contain memory
barriers. The CPU (and in some cases, the compiler) is free
to reorder code into and out of RCU read-side critical sections.
It is the responsibility of the RCU update-side primitives to
deal with this.
16. The various RCU read-side primitives do -not- necessarily contain
memory barriers. You should therefore plan for the CPU
and the compiler to freely reorder code into and out of RCU
read-side critical sections. It is the responsibility of the
RCU update-side primitives to deal with this.

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@ -75,6 +75,8 @@ o I hear that RCU is patented? What is with that?
search for the string "Patent" in RTFP.txt to find them.
Of these, one was allowed to lapse by the assignee, and the
others have been contributed to the Linux kernel under GPL.
There are now also LGPL implementations of user-level RCU
available (http://lttng.org/?q=node/18).
o I hear that RCU needs work in order to support realtime kernels?
@ -91,48 +93,4 @@ o Where can I find more information on RCU?
o What are all these files in this directory?
NMI-RCU.txt
Describes how to use RCU to implement dynamic
NMI handlers, which can be revectored on the fly,
without rebooting.
RTFP.txt
List of RCU-related publications and web sites.
UP.txt
Discussion of RCU usage in UP kernels.
arrayRCU.txt
Describes how to use RCU to protect arrays, with
resizeable arrays whose elements reference other
data structures being of the most interest.
checklist.txt
Lists things to check for when inspecting code that
uses RCU.
listRCU.txt
Describes how to use RCU to protect linked lists.
This is the simplest and most common use of RCU
in the Linux kernel.
rcu.txt
You are reading it!
rcuref.txt
Describes how to combine use of reference counts
with RCU.
whatisRCU.txt
Overview of how the RCU implementation works. Along
the way, presents a conceptual view of RCU.
See 00-INDEX for the list.

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@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
Using RCU's CPU Stall Detector
The CONFIG_RCU_CPU_STALL_DETECTOR kernel config parameter enables
RCU's CPU stall detector, which detects conditions that unduly delay
RCU grace periods. The stall detector's idea of what constitutes
"unduly delayed" is controlled by a pair of C preprocessor macros:
RCU_SECONDS_TILL_STALL_CHECK
This macro defines the period of time that RCU will wait from
the beginning of a grace period until it issues an RCU CPU
stall warning. It is normally ten seconds.
RCU_SECONDS_TILL_STALL_RECHECK
This macro defines the period of time that RCU will wait after
issuing a stall warning until it issues another stall warning.
It is normally set to thirty seconds.
RCU_STALL_RAT_DELAY
The CPU stall detector tries to make the offending CPU rat on itself,
as this often gives better-quality stack traces. However, if
the offending CPU does not detect its own stall in the number
of jiffies specified by RCU_STALL_RAT_DELAY, then other CPUs will
complain. This is normally set to two jiffies.
The following problems can result in an RCU CPU stall warning:
o A CPU looping in an RCU read-side critical section.
o A CPU looping with interrupts disabled.
o A CPU looping with preemption disabled.
o For !CONFIG_PREEMPT kernels, a CPU looping anywhere in the kernel
without invoking schedule().
o A bug in the RCU implementation.
o A hardware failure. This is quite unlikely, but has occurred
at least once in a former life. A CPU failed in a running system,
becoming unresponsive, but not causing an immediate crash.
This resulted in a series of RCU CPU stall warnings, eventually
leading the realization that the CPU had failed.
The RCU, RCU-sched, and RCU-bh implementations have CPU stall warning.
SRCU does not do so directly, but its calls to synchronize_sched() will
result in RCU-sched detecting any CPU stalls that might be occurring.
To diagnose the cause of the stall, inspect the stack traces. The offending
function will usually be near the top of the stack. If you have a series
of stall warnings from a single extended stall, comparing the stack traces
can often help determine where the stall is occurring, which will usually
be in the function nearest the top of the stack that stays the same from
trace to trace.
RCU bugs can often be debugged with the help of CONFIG_RCU_TRACE.

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@ -30,6 +30,18 @@ MODULE PARAMETERS
This module has the following parameters:
fqs_duration Duration (in microseconds) of artificially induced bursts
of force_quiescent_state() invocations. In RCU
implementations having force_quiescent_state(), these
bursts help force races between forcing a given grace
period and that grace period ending on its own.
fqs_holdoff Holdoff time (in microseconds) between consecutive calls
to force_quiescent_state() within a burst.
fqs_stutter Wait time (in seconds) between consecutive bursts
of calls to force_quiescent_state().
irqreaders Says to invoke RCU readers from irq level. This is currently
done via timers. Defaults to "1" for variants of RCU that
permit this. (Or, more accurately, variants of RCU that do

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@ -327,7 +327,8 @@ a. synchronize_rcu() rcu_read_lock() / rcu_read_unlock()
b. call_rcu_bh() rcu_read_lock_bh() / rcu_read_unlock_bh()
c. synchronize_sched() preempt_disable() / preempt_enable()
c. synchronize_sched() rcu_read_lock_sched() / rcu_read_unlock_sched()
preempt_disable() / preempt_enable()
local_irq_save() / local_irq_restore()
hardirq enter / hardirq exit
NMI enter / NMI exit

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@ -62,7 +62,8 @@ changes are :
2. Insertion of a dentry into the hash table is done using
hlist_add_head_rcu() which take care of ordering the writes - the
writes to the dentry must be visible before the dentry is
inserted. This works in conjunction with hlist_for_each_rcu() while
inserted. This works in conjunction with hlist_for_each_rcu(),
which has since been replaced by hlist_for_each_entry_rcu(), while
walking the hash chain. The only requirement is that all
initialization to the dentry must be done before
hlist_add_head_rcu() since we don't have dcache_lock protection

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@ -765,9 +765,9 @@ config RCU_CPU_STALL_DETECTOR
CPUs are delaying the current grace period, but only when
the grace period extends for excessive time periods.
Say Y if you want RCU to perform such checks.
Say N if you want to disable such checks.
Say N if you are unsure.
Say Y if you are unsure.
config KPROBES_SANITY_TEST
bool "Kprobes sanity tests"