Hi Steve,

Attached is the modified test program.  Here is the sample output:

localhost ~ # ./ftrace-test-epoll-kafai
           <...>-1857  [000] ...1   720.174295: tracing_mark_write: some data
1857: waitting for more data......
1858: written more data
<block here>

Thanks,
--Martin

On Tue, Jun 10, 2014 at 11:49:15AM -0400, Steven Rostedt wrote:
> On Mon, 9 Jun 2014 23:06:42 -0700
> Martin Lau <kafai@fb.com> wrote:
> 
> > ring_buffer_poll_wait() should always put the poll_table to its wait_queue
> > even there is immediate data available.  Otherwise, the following epoll and
> > read sequence will eventually hang forever:
> > 
> > 1. Put some data to make the trace_pipe ring_buffer read ready first
> > 2. epoll_ctl(efd, EPOLL_CTL_ADD, trace_pipe_fd, ee)
> > 3. epoll_wait()
> > 4. read(trace_pipe_fd) till EAGAIN
> > 5. Add some more data to the trace_pipe ring_buffer
> > 6. epoll_wait() -> this epoll_wait() will block forever
> > 
> > ~ During the epoll_ctl(efd, EPOLL_CTL_ADD,...) call in step 2,
> >   ring_buffer_poll_wait() returns immediately without adding poll_table,
> >   which has poll_table->_qproc pointing to ep_poll_callback(), to its
> >   wait_queue.
> > ~ During the epoll_wait() call in step 3 and step 6,
> >   ring_buffer_poll_wait() cannot add ep_poll_callback() to its wait_queue
> >   because the poll_table->_qproc is NULL and it is how epoll works.
> > ~ When there is new data available in step 6, ring_buffer does not know
> >   it has to call ep_poll_callback() because it is not in its wait queue.
> >   Hence, block forever.
> > 
> > Other poll implementation seems to call poll_wait() unconditionally as the very
> > first thing to do.  For example, tcp_poll() in tcp.c.
> 
> I'm trying to see the effect of this bug, but can't seem to reproduce
> it. Maybe I did something wrong. Attached is a test program I wrote
> trying to follow your instructions. I don't use epoll, so perhaps I
> didn't use it correctly.
> 
> Can you modify it to show me the problem this is trying to fix. That
> is, without this patch it hangs, but with the patch it does not.
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> -- Steve
> 
> > 
> > Signed-off-by: Martin Lau <kafai@fb.com>
> > ---
> >  kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c | 4 ----
> >  1 file changed, 4 deletions(-)
> > 
> > diff --git a/kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c b/kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c
> > index fd12cc5..a6e64e8 100644
> > --- a/kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c
> > +++ b/kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c
> > @@ -613,10 +613,6 @@ int ring_buffer_poll_wait(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu,
> >  	struct ring_buffer_per_cpu *cpu_buffer;
> >  	struct rb_irq_work *work;
> >  
> > -	if ((cpu == RING_BUFFER_ALL_CPUS && !ring_buffer_empty(buffer)) ||
> > -	    (cpu != RING_BUFFER_ALL_CPUS && !ring_buffer_empty_cpu(buffer, cpu)))
> > -		return POLLIN | POLLRDNORM;
> > -
> >  	if (cpu == RING_BUFFER_ALL_CPUS)
> >  		work = &buffer->irq_work;
> >  	else {
>