4.x mbuf binary compatibility; can it be broken?

[Matthew Dillon]

:> How does it get 255+ references?
:
:I don't know exactly at this point.  I can reproduce the situation at will
:with (in kernel) test code, but I don't know what exactly causes it in the
:wild.
:
:Given that increasing the ref count limit is so easy, I was hoping to
:avoid spending time tracking down one degenerate case. :)
:
:Mike "Silby" Silbersack

    It would be a good idea to make sure it isn't a runaway ref count.

    I may be missing something, but I don't see how the ref count could
    possibly reach 255 under any circumstances.  mbufs using an mbuf
    cluster (M_EXT with ext_ref == NULL) bump the ref count, and
    duplicating an mbuf bumps the underlying cluster's ref count,
    and splitting an mbuf bumps the ref count, and that is pretty much it.

    Only m_copym() or m_copypacket() have any chance of legitimately 
    increasing the ref count beyond 255.  Only a KASSERT() will tell us
    who the likely candidate is.  It could very well be that a ref count
    is being lost somewhere.

						-Matt