Re: [Qemu-devel] [PATCH] cpus: run work items for all vCPUs if single-threaded

[Emilio G. Cota]

On Wed, Nov 14, 2018 at 12:44:00 +0100, Paolo Bonzini wrote:
> This avoids the following deadlock:
> 
> 1) a thread calls run_on_cpu for CPU 2 from a timer, and single_tcg_halt_cond
> is signaled
> 
> 2) CPU 1 is running and exits.  It finds no work item and enters CPU 2
> 
> 3) because the I/O thread is stuck in run_on_cpu, the round-robin kick
> timer never triggers, and CPU 2 never runs the work item
> 
> 4) run_on_cpu never completes

I'm having trouble understanding (2)->(3).

When the vCPU thread enters CPU 2, shouldn't it detect that work is
pending? As in:

        /* assume cpu == cpu2 in the example above */
        while (cpu && !cpu->queued_work_first && !cpu->exit_request) {

Both cpu->queued_work_first and cpu->exit_request will be set for cpu2.

I can see though how with an additional CPU the deadlock
could happen. For example, the I/O thread does run_on_cpu(cpu3),
which kicks cpu1 (i.e. the tcg_current_rr_cpu) and cpu3, but not cpu2.
Then cpu1 exits, and cpu2 starts executing; unless cpu2 exits on its
own volition, it will run forever.

Thanks,

                Emilio