Very Computer

With SMP set I notice that the lock_kernel function in
include/asm/smplock.h actually performs a lock acquisition.  I also
notice that every system call that I have looked at has a lock_kernel at
the beginning.

This is the so-called "bit kernel lock".

I thought that in the 2.2 kernels there was a finer grain of locking.
This locking implies that there is only one CPU allowed to execute in
the kernel at any one time.

I am I misreading this?  If so, how so?  If not, what is the story?

-- Dave

Does this mean that the same interrupt could be serviced by two
different CPUs at the same time (when the first CPU is not yet
finished with its interrupt handler while the same interrupt happens
again)?

Quote:> Bottom halves only still run
> one at a time though, because that is a fundamental property of them ("
> bhs are atomic to themselves")

One at a time in the sense "one bottomhalf will never be executed by
more than one CPU at the same moment" or in the sense of "there is
always only one bottomhalf active, not even two different bottom
halves on two different CPUs"?

To summarize the critical situation I think I know about (scenario:
driver which registered one interrupt and uses several bottom halves):

(- interrupt could be running on more than one CPU at once?)
- bottom half could be interrupted by an interrupt
(- bottom half could be running on more than one CPU at once?)
- syscalls could be interrupted by interrupts
- syscalls could be interrupted by bottom halves
- syscalls could be running on more than one CPU at once

Anything I forgot?

   Martin.