[PATCH] cpuset: top_cpuset tracks hotplug changes to node_online_map

Change the list of memory nodes allowed to tasks in the top (root) nodeset
to dynamically track what cpus are online, using a call to a cpuset hook
from the memory hotplug code.  Make this top cpus file read-only.

On systems that have cpusets configured in their kernel, but that aren't
actively using cpusets (for some distros, this covers the majority of
systems) all tasks end up in the top cpuset.

If that system does support memory hotplug, then these tasks cannot make
use of memory nodes that are added after system boot, because the memory
nodes are not allowed in the top cpuset.  This is a surprising regression
over earlier kernels that didn't have cpusets enabled.

One key motivation for this change is to remain consistent with the
behaviour for the top_cpuset's 'cpus', which is also read-only, and which
automatically tracks the cpu_online_map.

This change also has the minor benefit that it fixes a long standing,
little noticed, minor bug in cpusets.  The cpuset performance tweak to
short circuit the cpuset_zone_allowed() check on systems with just a single
cpuset (see 'number_of_cpusets', in linux/cpuset.h) meant that simply
changing the 'mems' of the top_cpuset had no affect, even though the change
(the write system call) appeared to succeed.  With the following change,
that write to the 'mems' file fails -EACCES, and the 'mems' file stubbornly
refuses to be changed via user space writes.  Thus no one should be mislead
into thinking they've changed the top_cpusets's 'mems' when in affect they
haven't.

In order to keep the behaviour of cpusets consistent between systems
actively making use of them and systems not using them, this patch changes
the behaviour of the 'mems' file in the top (root) cpuset, making it read
only, and making it automatically track the value of node_online_map.  Thus
tasks in the top cpuset will have automatic use of hot plugged memory nodes
allowed by their cpuset.

[akpm@osdl.org: build fix]
[bunk@stusta.de: build fix]
Signed-off-by: Paul Jackson <pj@sgi.com>
Signed-off-by: Adrian Bunk <bunk@stusta.de>
Signed-off-by: Andrew Morton <akpm@osdl.org>
Signed-off-by: Linus Torvalds <torvalds@osdl.org>

1 files changed, 5 insertions, 5 deletions

diff --git a/Documentation/cpusets.txt b/Documentation/cpusets.txt
index 76b44290c15..842f0d1ab21 100644
--- a/Documentation/cpusets.txt
+++ b/Documentation/cpusets.txt
@@ -217,11 +217,11 @@ exclusive cpuset.  Also, the use of a Linux virtual file system (vfs)
 to represent the cpuset hierarchy provides for a familiar permission
 and name space for cpusets, with a minimum of additional kernel code.
 
-The cpus file in the root (top_cpuset) cpuset is read-only.
-It automatically tracks the value of cpu_online_map, using a CPU
-hotplug notifier.  If and when memory nodes can be hotplugged,
-we expect to make the mems file in the root cpuset read-only
-as well, and have it track the value of node_online_map.
+The cpus and mems files in the root (top_cpuset) cpuset are
+read-only.  The cpus file automatically tracks the value of
+cpu_online_map using a CPU hotplug notifier, and the mems file
+automatically tracks the value of node_online_map using the
+cpuset_track_online_nodes() hook.
 
 
 1.4 What are exclusive cpusets ?