kernel/cpu.c: document clear_tasks_mm_cpumask()

Add more comments on clear_tasks_mm_cpumask, plus adds a runtime check:
the function is only suitable for offlined CPUs, and if called
inappropriately, the kernel should scream aloud.

[akpm@linux-foundation.org: tweak comment: s/walks up/walks/, use 80 cols]
Suggested-by: Andrew Morton <akpm@linux-foundation.org>
Suggested-by: Peter Zijlstra <a.p.zijlstra@chello.nl>
Signed-off-by: Anton Vorontsov <anton.vorontsov@linaro.org>
Signed-off-by: Andrew Morton <akpm@linux-foundation.org>
Signed-off-by: Linus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org>

1 files changed, 18 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/kernel/cpu.c b/kernel/cpu.c
index 0575197deb4a..a4eb5227a19e 100644
--- a/kernel/cpu.c
+++ b/kernel/cpu.c
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 #include <linux/oom.h>
 #include <linux/rcupdate.h>
 #include <linux/export.h>
+#include <linux/bug.h>
 #include <linux/kthread.h>
 #include <linux/stop_machine.h>
 #include <linux/mutex.h>
@@ -175,6 +176,18 @@ void __ref unregister_cpu_notifier(struct notifier_block *nb)
 }
 EXPORT_SYMBOL(unregister_cpu_notifier);
 
+/**
+ * clear_tasks_mm_cpumask - Safely clear tasks' mm_cpumask for a CPU
+ * @cpu: a CPU id
+ *
+ * This function walks all processes, finds a valid mm struct for each one and
+ * then clears a corresponding bit in mm's cpumask.  While this all sounds
+ * trivial, there are various non-obvious corner cases, which this function
+ * tries to solve in a safe manner.
+ *
+ * Also note that the function uses a somewhat relaxed locking scheme, so it may
+ * be called only for an already offlined CPU.
+ */
 void clear_tasks_mm_cpumask(int cpu)
 {
         struct task_struct *p;
@@ -186,10 +199,15 @@ void clear_tasks_mm_cpumask(int cpu)
          * Thus, we may use rcu_read_lock() here, instead of grabbing
          * full-fledged tasklist_lock.
          */
+        WARN_ON(cpu_online(cpu));
         rcu_read_lock();
         for_each_process(p) {
                 struct task_struct *t;
 
+                /*
+                 * Main thread might exit, but other threads may still have
+                 * a valid mm. Find one.
+                 */
                 t = find_lock_task_mm(p);
                 if (!t)
                         continue;