Re: [PATCH v3 2/7] documentation for stats_fs

2020-06-04 Thread Emanuele Giuseppe Esposito

Hi,


+
+The STATS_FS_HIDDEN attribute won't affect the aggregation, it will only
+block the creation of the files.


Why does HIDDEN block the creation of files?  instead of their visibility?


The file itself is used to allow the user to view the content of a 
value. In order to make it hidden, the framework just doesn't create the 
file.

The structure is still present and considered in statsfs, however.

Hidden in this case means not visible at all thus not created, not the 
hidden file concept of dotted files (".filename")





+
+Add values to parent and child (also here order doesn't matter)::
+
+struct kvm *base_ptr = kmalloc(..., sizeof(struct kvm));
+...
+stats_fs_source_add_values(child_source, kvm_stats, base_ptr, 0);
+stats_fs_source_add_values(parent_source, kvm_stats, NULL, 
STATS_FS_HIDDEN);
+
+``child_source`` will be a simple value, since it has a non-NULL base
+pointer, while ``parent_source`` will be an aggregate. During the adding
+phase, also values can optionally be marked as hidden, so that the folder
+and other values can be still shown.
+
+Of course the same ``struct stats_fs_value`` array can be also passed with a
+different base pointer, to represent the same value but in another instance
+of the kvm struct.
+
+Search:
+
+Fetch a value from the child source, returning the value
+pointed by ``(uint64_t *) base_ptr + kvm_stats[0].offset``::
+
+uint64_t ret_child, ret_parent;
+
+stats_fs_source_get_value(child_source, _stats[0], _child);
+
+Fetch an aggregate value, searching all subsources of ``parent_source`` for
+the specified ``struct stats_fs_value``::
+
+stats_fs_source_get_value(parent_source, _stats[0], _parent);
+
+assert(ret_child == ret_parent); // check expected result
+
+To make it more interesting, add another child::
+
+struct stats_fs_source child_source2 = stats_fs_source_create(0, 
"child2");
+
+stats_fs_source_add_subordinate(parent_source, child_source2);
+// now  the structure is parent -> child1
+//  -> child2


Is that the same as parent -> child1 -> child2
?  It could almost be read as
 parent -> child1
 parent -> child2


No the example in the documentation shows the relationship
parent -> child1 and
parent -> child2.
It's not the same as
parent -> child1 -> child2.
In order to do the latter, one would need to do:

stats_fs_source_add_subordinate(parent_source, child_source1);
stats_fs_source_add_subordinate(child_source1, child_source2);

Hope that this clarifies it.



Whichever it is, can you make it more explicit, please?



+
+struct kvm *other_base_ptr = kmalloc(..., sizeof(struct kvm));
+...
+stats_fs_source_add_values(child_source2, kvm_stats, other_base_ptr, 
0);
+
+Note that other_base_ptr points to another instance of kvm, so the struct
+stats_fs_value is the same but the address at which they point is not.
+
+Now get the aggregate value::
+
+uint64_t ret_child, ret_child2, ret_parent;
+
+stats_fs_source_get_value(child_source, _stats[0], _child);
+stats_fs_source_get_value(parent_source, _stats[0], _parent);
+stats_fs_source_get_value(child_source2, _stats[0], _child2);
+
+assert((ret_child + ret_child2) == ret_parent);
+
+Cleanup::
+
+stats_fs_source_remove_subordinate(parent_source, child_source);
+stats_fs_source_revoke(child_source);
+stats_fs_source_put(child_source);
+
+stats_fs_source_remove_subordinate(parent_source, child_source2);
+stats_fs_source_revoke(child_source2);
+stats_fs_source_put(child_source2);
+
+stats_fs_source_put(parent_source);
+kfree(other_base_ptr);
+kfree(base_ptr);
+
+Calling stats_fs_source_revoke is very important, because it will ensure


stats_fs_source_revoke()


+that stats_fs will not access the data that were passed to
+stats_fs_source_add_value for this source.
+
+Because open files increase the reference count for a stats_fs_source, the
+source can end up living longer than the data that provides the values for
+the source.  Calling stats_fs_source_revoke just before the backing data


 stats_fs_source_revoke()


+is freed avoids accesses to freed data structures. The sources will return
+0.
+
+This is not needed for the parent_source, since it just contains
+aggregates that would be 0 anyways if no matching child value exist.
+
+API Documentation
+=
+
+.. kernel-doc:: include/linux/stats_fs.h
+   :export: fs/stats_fs/*.c
\ No newline at end of file


Please fix that. ^


Thanks for the documentation.



Thank you for the feedback,
Emanuele


Re: [PATCH v3 2/7] documentation for stats_fs

2020-06-03 Thread Randy Dunlap
Hi--

Here are a few comments for you.


On 5/26/20 4:03 AM, Emanuele Giuseppe Esposito wrote:
> Html docs for a complete documentation of the stats_fs API,
> filesystem and usage.
> 
> Signed-off-by: Emanuele Giuseppe Esposito 
> ---
>  Documentation/filesystems/index.rst|   1 +
>  Documentation/filesystems/stats_fs.rst | 222 +
>  2 files changed, 223 insertions(+)
>  create mode 100644 Documentation/filesystems/stats_fs.rst

> diff --git a/Documentation/filesystems/stats_fs.rst 
> b/Documentation/filesystems/stats_fs.rst
> new file mode 100644
> index ..292c689ffb98
> --- /dev/null
> +++ b/Documentation/filesystems/stats_fs.rst
> @@ -0,0 +1,222 @@
> +
> +Stats_FS
> +
> +
> +Stats_fs is a synthetic ram-based virtual filesystem that takes care of

   RAM-based

> +gathering and displaying statistics for the Linux kernel subsystems.
> +
> +The motivation for stats_fs comes from the fact that there is no common
> +way for Linux kernel subsystems to expose statistics to userspace shared
> +throughout the Linux kernel; subsystems have to take care of gathering and
> +displaying statistics by themselves, for example in the form of files in
> +debugfs.
> +
> +Allowing each subsystem of the kernel to do so has two disadvantages.
> +First, it will introduce redundant code. Second, debugfs is anyway not the
> +right place for statistics (for example it is affected by lockdown).
> +
> +Stats_fs offers a generic and stable API, allowing any kind of
> +directory/file organization and supporting multiple kind of aggregations

   kinds

> +(not only sum, but also average, max, min and count_zero) and data types
> +(boolean, all unsigned/signed and custom types). The implementation takes
> +care of gathering and displaying information at run time; users only need
> +to specify the values to be included in each source. Optionally, users can
> +also provide a display function for each value, that will take care of
> +displaying the provided value in a custom format.
> +
> +Its main function is to display each statistics as a file in the desired

statistic

> +folder hierarchy defined through the API. Stats_fs files can be read, and
> +possibly cleared if their file mode allows it.
> +
> +Stats_fs is typically mounted with a command like::
> +
> +mount -t stats_fs stats_fs /sys/kernel/stats_fs
> +
> +(Or an equivalent /etc/fstab line).
> +
> +Stats_fs has two main components: the public API defined by
> +include/linux/stats_fs.h, and the virtual file system in
> +/sys/kernel/stats.
> +
> +The API has two main elements, values and sources. Kernel
> +subsystems will create a source, add child
> +sources/values/aggregates and register it to the root source (that on the
> +virtual fs would be /sys/kernel/stats).
> +
> +The stats_fs API is defined in .
> +
> +Sources
> +Sources are created via ``stats_fs_source_create()``, and each
> +source becomes a directory in the file system. Sources form a
> +parent-child relationship; root sources are added to the file
> +system via ``stats_fs_source_register()``. Therefore each Linux
> +subsystem will add its own entry to the root, filesystem similar

   root filesystem

> +to what it is done in debugfs. Every other source is added to or
> +removed from a parent through the
> +``stats_fs_source_add_subordinate()`` and
> +``stats_fs_source_remove_subordinate()`` APIs. Once a source is
> +created and added to the tree (via add_subordinate), it will be
> +used to compute aggregate values in the parent source. A source
> +can optionally be hidden from the filesystem but still considered
> +in the aggregation operations if the corresponding flag is set
> +during initialization.
> +
> +Values
> +Values represent quantites that are gathered by the stats_fs user.

quantities

> +Examples of values include the number of vm exits of a given kind,

VM

> +the amount of memory used by some data structure, the length of
> +the longest hash table chain, or anything like that. Values are
> +defined with the stats_fs_source_add_values function. Each value
> +is defined by a ``struct stats_fs_value``; the same
> +``stats_fs_value`` can be added to many different sources. A value
> +can be considered "simple" if it fetches data from a user-provided
> +location, or "aggregate" if it groups all values in the
> +subordinate sources that include the same ``stats_fs_value``.
> +Values by default are considered to be cumulative, meaning the
> +value they represent never decreases, but can also be 

[PATCH v3 2/7] documentation for stats_fs

2020-05-26 Thread Emanuele Giuseppe Esposito
Html docs for a complete documentation of the stats_fs API,
filesystem and usage.

Signed-off-by: Emanuele Giuseppe Esposito 
---
 Documentation/filesystems/index.rst|   1 +
 Documentation/filesystems/stats_fs.rst | 222 +
 2 files changed, 223 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 Documentation/filesystems/stats_fs.rst

diff --git a/Documentation/filesystems/index.rst 
b/Documentation/filesystems/index.rst
index e7b46dac7079..9a46fd851c6e 100644
--- a/Documentation/filesystems/index.rst
+++ b/Documentation/filesystems/index.rst
@@ -89,6 +89,7 @@ Documentation for filesystem implementations.
relay
romfs
squashfs
+   stats_fs
sysfs
sysv-fs
tmpfs
diff --git a/Documentation/filesystems/stats_fs.rst 
b/Documentation/filesystems/stats_fs.rst
new file mode 100644
index ..292c689ffb98
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Documentation/filesystems/stats_fs.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,222 @@
+
+Stats_FS
+
+
+Stats_fs is a synthetic ram-based virtual filesystem that takes care of
+gathering and displaying statistics for the Linux kernel subsystems.
+
+The motivation for stats_fs comes from the fact that there is no common
+way for Linux kernel subsystems to expose statistics to userspace shared
+throughout the Linux kernel; subsystems have to take care of gathering and
+displaying statistics by themselves, for example in the form of files in
+debugfs.
+
+Allowing each subsystem of the kernel to do so has two disadvantages.
+First, it will introduce redundant code. Second, debugfs is anyway not the
+right place for statistics (for example it is affected by lockdown).
+
+Stats_fs offers a generic and stable API, allowing any kind of
+directory/file organization and supporting multiple kind of aggregations
+(not only sum, but also average, max, min and count_zero) and data types
+(boolean, all unsigned/signed and custom types). The implementation takes
+care of gathering and displaying information at run time; users only need
+to specify the values to be included in each source. Optionally, users can
+also provide a display function for each value, that will take care of
+displaying the provided value in a custom format.
+
+Its main function is to display each statistics as a file in the desired
+folder hierarchy defined through the API. Stats_fs files can be read, and
+possibly cleared if their file mode allows it.
+
+Stats_fs is typically mounted with a command like::
+
+mount -t stats_fs stats_fs /sys/kernel/stats_fs
+
+(Or an equivalent /etc/fstab line).
+
+Stats_fs has two main components: the public API defined by
+include/linux/stats_fs.h, and the virtual file system in
+/sys/kernel/stats.
+
+The API has two main elements, values and sources. Kernel
+subsystems will create a source, add child
+sources/values/aggregates and register it to the root source (that on the
+virtual fs would be /sys/kernel/stats).
+
+The stats_fs API is defined in .
+
+Sources
+Sources are created via ``stats_fs_source_create()``, and each
+source becomes a directory in the file system. Sources form a
+parent-child relationship; root sources are added to the file
+system via ``stats_fs_source_register()``. Therefore each Linux
+subsystem will add its own entry to the root, filesystem similar
+to what it is done in debugfs. Every other source is added to or
+removed from a parent through the
+``stats_fs_source_add_subordinate()`` and
+``stats_fs_source_remove_subordinate()`` APIs. Once a source is
+created and added to the tree (via add_subordinate), it will be
+used to compute aggregate values in the parent source. A source
+can optionally be hidden from the filesystem but still considered
+in the aggregation operations if the corresponding flag is set
+during initialization.
+
+Values
+Values represent quantites that are gathered by the stats_fs user.
+Examples of values include the number of vm exits of a given kind,
+the amount of memory used by some data structure, the length of
+the longest hash table chain, or anything like that. Values are
+defined with the stats_fs_source_add_values function. Each value
+is defined by a ``struct stats_fs_value``; the same
+``stats_fs_value`` can be added to many different sources. A value
+can be considered "simple" if it fetches data from a user-provided
+location, or "aggregate" if it groups all values in the
+subordinate sources that include the same ``stats_fs_value``.
+Values by default are considered to be cumulative, meaning the
+value they represent never decreases, but can also be defined as
+floating if they exibith a different behavior. The main difference
+between these two is reflected into the file permission, since a
+floating value file does not allow the user to clear it. Each
+