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| 1 | +================ |
| 2 | +Shadow Variables |
| 3 | +================ |
| 4 | + |
| 5 | +Shadow variables are a simple way for livepatch modules to associate |
| 6 | +additional "shadow" data with existing data structures. Shadow data is |
| 7 | +allocated separately from parent data structures, which are left |
| 8 | +unmodified. The shadow variable API described in this document is used |
| 9 | +to allocate/attach and detach/release shadow variables to their parents. |
| 10 | + |
| 11 | +The implementation introduces a global, in-kernel hashtable that |
| 12 | +associates pointers to parent objects and a numeric identifier of the |
| 13 | +shadow data. The numeric identifier is a simple enumeration that may be |
| 14 | +used to describe shadow variable version, class or type, etc. More |
| 15 | +specifically, the parent pointer serves as the hashtable key while the |
| 16 | +numeric id subsequently filters hashtable queries. Multiple shadow |
| 17 | +variables may attach to the same parent object, but their numeric |
| 18 | +identifier distinguishes between them. |
| 19 | + |
| 20 | + |
| 21 | +1. Brief API summary |
| 22 | +==================== |
| 23 | + |
| 24 | +(See the full API usage docbook notes in livepatch/shadow.c.) |
| 25 | + |
| 26 | +A hashtable references all shadow variables. These references are |
| 27 | +stored and retrieved through a <obj, id> pair. |
| 28 | + |
| 29 | +* The klp_shadow variable data structure encapsulates both tracking |
| 30 | +meta-data and shadow-data: |
| 31 | + - meta-data |
| 32 | + - obj - pointer to parent object |
| 33 | + - id - data identifier |
| 34 | + - data[] - storage for shadow data |
| 35 | + |
| 36 | +It is important to note that the klp_shadow_alloc() and |
| 37 | +klp_shadow_get_or_alloc() calls, described below, store a *copy* of the |
| 38 | +data that the functions are provided. Callers should provide whatever |
| 39 | +mutual exclusion is required of the shadow data. |
| 40 | + |
| 41 | +* klp_shadow_get() - retrieve a shadow variable data pointer |
| 42 | + - search hashtable for <obj, id> pair |
| 43 | + |
| 44 | +* klp_shadow_alloc() - allocate and add a new shadow variable |
| 45 | + - search hashtable for <obj, id> pair |
| 46 | + - if exists |
| 47 | + - WARN and return NULL |
| 48 | + - if <obj, id> doesn't already exist |
| 49 | + - allocate a new shadow variable |
| 50 | + - copy data into the new shadow variable |
| 51 | + - add <obj, id> to the global hashtable |
| 52 | + |
| 53 | +* klp_shadow_get_or_alloc() - get existing or alloc a new shadow variable |
| 54 | + - search hashtable for <obj, id> pair |
| 55 | + - if exists |
| 56 | + - return existing shadow variable |
| 57 | + - if <obj, id> doesn't already exist |
| 58 | + - allocate a new shadow variable |
| 59 | + - copy data into the new shadow variable |
| 60 | + - add <obj, id> pair to the global hashtable |
| 61 | + |
| 62 | +* klp_shadow_free() - detach and free a <obj, id> shadow variable |
| 63 | + - find and remove a <obj, id> reference from global hashtable |
| 64 | + - if found, free shadow variable |
| 65 | + |
| 66 | +* klp_shadow_free_all() - detach and free all <*, id> shadow variables |
| 67 | + - find and remove any <*, id> references from global hashtable |
| 68 | + - if found, free shadow variable |
| 69 | + |
| 70 | + |
| 71 | +2. Use cases |
| 72 | +============ |
| 73 | + |
| 74 | +(See the example shadow variable livepatch modules in samples/livepatch/ |
| 75 | +for full working demonstrations.) |
| 76 | + |
| 77 | +For the following use-case examples, consider commit 1d147bfa6429 |
| 78 | +("mac80211: fix AP powersave TX vs. wakeup race"), which added a |
| 79 | +spinlock to net/mac80211/sta_info.h :: struct sta_info. Each use-case |
| 80 | +example can be considered a stand-alone livepatch implementation of this |
| 81 | +fix. |
| 82 | + |
| 83 | + |
| 84 | +Matching parent's lifecycle |
| 85 | +--------------------------- |
| 86 | + |
| 87 | +If parent data structures are frequently created and destroyed, it may |
| 88 | +be easiest to align their shadow variables lifetimes to the same |
| 89 | +allocation and release functions. In this case, the parent data |
| 90 | +structure is typically allocated, initialized, then registered in some |
| 91 | +manner. Shadow variable allocation and setup can then be considered |
| 92 | +part of the parent's initialization and should be completed before the |
| 93 | +parent "goes live" (ie, any shadow variable get-API requests are made |
| 94 | +for this <obj, id> pair.) |
| 95 | + |
| 96 | +For commit 1d147bfa6429, when a parent sta_info structure is allocated, |
| 97 | +allocate a shadow copy of the ps_lock pointer, then initialize it: |
| 98 | + |
| 99 | +#define PS_LOCK 1 |
| 100 | +struct sta_info *sta_info_alloc(struct ieee80211_sub_if_data *sdata, |
| 101 | + const u8 *addr, gfp_t gfp) |
| 102 | +{ |
| 103 | + struct sta_info *sta; |
| 104 | + spinlock_t *ps_lock; |
| 105 | + |
| 106 | + /* Parent structure is created */ |
| 107 | + sta = kzalloc(sizeof(*sta) + hw->sta_data_size, gfp); |
| 108 | + |
| 109 | + /* Attach a corresponding shadow variable, then initialize it */ |
| 110 | + ps_lock = klp_shadow_alloc(sta, PS_LOCK, NULL, sizeof(ps_lock), gfp); |
| 111 | + if (!ps_lock) |
| 112 | + goto shadow_fail; |
| 113 | + spin_lock_init(ps_lock); |
| 114 | + ... |
| 115 | + |
| 116 | +When requiring a ps_lock, query the shadow variable API to retrieve one |
| 117 | +for a specific struct sta_info: |
| 118 | + |
| 119 | +void ieee80211_sta_ps_deliver_wakeup(struct sta_info *sta) |
| 120 | +{ |
| 121 | + spinlock_t *ps_lock; |
| 122 | + |
| 123 | + /* sync with ieee80211_tx_h_unicast_ps_buf */ |
| 124 | + ps_lock = klp_shadow_get(sta, PS_LOCK); |
| 125 | + if (ps_lock) |
| 126 | + spin_lock(ps_lock); |
| 127 | + ... |
| 128 | + |
| 129 | +When the parent sta_info structure is freed, first free the shadow |
| 130 | +variable: |
| 131 | + |
| 132 | +void sta_info_free(struct ieee80211_local *local, struct sta_info *sta) |
| 133 | +{ |
| 134 | + klp_shadow_free(sta, PS_LOCK); |
| 135 | + kfree(sta); |
| 136 | + ... |
| 137 | + |
| 138 | + |
| 139 | +In-flight parent objects |
| 140 | +------------------------ |
| 141 | + |
| 142 | +Sometimes it may not be convenient or possible to allocate shadow |
| 143 | +variables alongside their parent objects. Or a livepatch fix may |
| 144 | +require shadow varibles to only a subset of parent object instances. In |
| 145 | +these cases, the klp_shadow_get_or_alloc() call can be used to attach |
| 146 | +shadow variables to parents already in-flight. |
| 147 | + |
| 148 | +For commit 1d147bfa6429, a good spot to allocate a shadow spinlock is |
| 149 | +inside ieee80211_sta_ps_deliver_wakeup(): |
| 150 | + |
| 151 | +#define PS_LOCK 1 |
| 152 | +void ieee80211_sta_ps_deliver_wakeup(struct sta_info *sta) |
| 153 | +{ |
| 154 | + DEFINE_SPINLOCK(ps_lock_fallback); |
| 155 | + spinlock_t *ps_lock; |
| 156 | + |
| 157 | + /* sync with ieee80211_tx_h_unicast_ps_buf */ |
| 158 | + ps_lock = klp_shadow_get_or_alloc(sta, PS_LOCK, |
| 159 | + &ps_lock_fallback, sizeof(ps_lock_fallback), |
| 160 | + GFP_ATOMIC); |
| 161 | + if (ps_lock) |
| 162 | + spin_lock(ps_lock); |
| 163 | + ... |
| 164 | + |
| 165 | +This usage will create a shadow variable, only if needed, otherwise it |
| 166 | +will use one that was already created for this <obj, id> pair. |
| 167 | + |
| 168 | +Like the previous use-case, the shadow spinlock needs to be cleaned up. |
| 169 | +A shadow variable can be freed just before its parent object is freed, |
| 170 | +or even when the shadow variable itself is no longer required. |
| 171 | + |
| 172 | + |
| 173 | +Other use-cases |
| 174 | +--------------- |
| 175 | + |
| 176 | +Shadow variables can also be used as a flag indicating that a data |
| 177 | +structure was allocated by new, livepatched code. In this case, it |
| 178 | +doesn't matter what data value the shadow variable holds, its existence |
| 179 | +suggests how to handle the parent object. |
| 180 | + |
| 181 | + |
| 182 | +3. References |
| 183 | +============= |
| 184 | + |
| 185 | +* https://github.com/dynup/kpatch |
| 186 | +The livepatch implementation is based on the kpatch version of shadow |
| 187 | +variables. |
| 188 | + |
| 189 | +* http://files.mkgnu.net/files/dynamos/doc/papers/dynamos_eurosys_07.pdf |
| 190 | +Dynamic and Adaptive Updates of Non-Quiescent Subsystems in Commodity |
| 191 | +Operating System Kernels (Kritis Makris, Kyung Dong Ryu 2007) presented |
| 192 | +a datatype update technique called "shadow data structures". |
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