Experiencing hangs on SMP box with no console messages given for clues. Details inside.

[Robert Watson]

On Sun, 18 Mar 2007, Julian Elischer wrote:

>> If using uid/gid firewall rules, make sure to read the pertinent man pages 
>> regarding setting debug.mpsafenet=0 in loader.conf to avoid deadlocks. This 
>> is only a workaround for the issue, and when debug.mpsafenet is removed, 
>> this workaround will no longer be available.  The authors/maintainers of 
>> the various firewall packages need to correct these problems or the lock 
>> order reversals (and associated deadlocks) will persist.
>
> I actually have some work on this in an experimental branch.. it removes the 
> requirement for users of ipfw to hold a lock on it by making the firewall 
> table an array rather than a lined list and then using a read-copy-replace 
> write semantic with reference conts on the array.. a bit like the cred 
> structures that processes and threads have.. i.e. you never change it, just 
> replace it with a new one.. previosu users ofthe structure just keep using 
> the one they have and release the reference when they are done.. (freeing if 
> it goes to 0). the result is that since the firewall lock goes away, so does 
> the lock order reversal.

Great -- this is precisely the sort of fix we require.

Robert N M Watson
Computer Laboratory
University of Cambridge