Removing NET_NEEDS_GIANT: first patch

[Kris Kennaway]

On Thu, Jul 26, 2007 at 12:23:28PM +0200, Anders Nordby wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> On Tue, Jul 24, 2007 at 11:17:45AM +0100, Robert Watson wrote:
> > Attached is the first of a series of patches to start removing the 
> > NET_NEEDS_GIANT and debug.mpsafenet scaffolding.  This source code 
> > declaration was used by optionally compiled components to declare a strict 
> > requirement for Giant, and forced Giant over the entire network stack.  
> > debug.mpsafenet could also be set by users in loader.conf in order to 
> > similar force Giant over the network stack, and existed for two reasons: to 
> > allow Giant to be put back over the network stack for debugging purposes, 
> > and to support these recently removed or fixed unsafe components.  As such, 
> > this patch removes the following:
> > 
> > - NET_NEEDS_GIANT() macro
> > - debug.mpsafenet tunable/sysctl and associated debug_mpsafenet variable, as
> >   well as functions supporting these.
> > - Use of this variable to control acqusition of Giant in network-related
> >   interrupt handlers and various other paths.
> 
> I've used and still use debug_mpsafenet to get rid of watchdog timeout
> problems on a lot of HP Proliant servers, particularly with the bge
> driver:
> 
> Dec 21 06:42:51 videovm1 kernel: bge0: watchdog timeout -- resetting
> Dec 21 06:42:51 videovm1 kernel: bge0: link state changed to DOWN
> Dec 21 06:42:54 videovm1 kernel: bge0: link state changed to UP
> 
> This problem goes away with debug.mpsafenet="0", for me.
> 
> I can try to turn off this setting, and see how it goes. I remember
> there was something one could do, to get more information about the
> watchdog error, but can't remember what.

Please do.  There is no sense in crippling your network for the sake
of an unre{solved,ported} driver bug.

> Another thing, bde did some watchdog fixes for bge in december 2006. I
> wonder why those didn't make it into 6.2, which was released in january
> 2007.

Too late, probably.

Kris
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