lguest: update commentry

Every so often, after code shuffles, I need to go through and unbitrot
the Lguest Journey (see drivers/lguest/README). Since we now use RCU in
a simple form in one place I took the opportunity to expand that explanation.

Signed-off-by: Rusty Russell <[e-mail]>
Cc: Ingo Molnar <[e-mail]>
Cc: Paul McKenney <[e-mail]>

Documentation/lguest/lguest.c

···
 #include "linux/virtio_ring.h"
 #include "asm/bootparam.h"
 /*L:110
- * We can ignore the 39 include files we need for this program, but I do want
+ * We can ignore the 42 include files we need for this program, but I do want
  * to draw attention to the use of kernel-style types.
  *
  * As Linus said, "C is a Spartan language, and so should your naming be."  I
···
 		    PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE|PROT_EXEC, MAP_PRIVATE, fd, 0);
 	if (addr == MAP_FAILED)
 		err(1, "Mmaping %u pages of /dev/zero", num);
+
+	/*
+	 * One neat mmap feature is that you can close the fd, and it
+	 * stays mapped.
+	 */
 	close(fd);
 
 	return addr;
···
 }
 /*:*/
 
-/*
+/*L:200
  * Device Handling.
  *
  * When the Guest gives us a buffer, it sends an array of addresses and sizes.
···
 	return next;
 }
 
-/* This actually sends the interrupt for this virtqueue */
+/*
+ * This actually sends the interrupt for this virtqueue, if we've used a
+ * buffer.
+ */
 static void trigger_irq(struct virtqueue *vq)
 {
 	unsigned long buf[] = { LHREQ_IRQ, vq->config.irq };
···
 }
 
 /*
- * This looks in the virtqueue and for the first available buffer, and converts
+ * This looks in the virtqueue for the first available buffer, and converts
  * it to an iovec for convenient access.  Since descriptors consist of some
  * number of output then some number of input descriptors, it's actually two
  * iovecs, but we pack them into one and note how many of each there were.
  *
- * This function returns the descriptor number found.
+ * This function waits if necessary, and returns the descriptor number found.
  */
 static unsigned wait_for_vq_desc(struct virtqueue *vq,
 				 struct iovec iov[],
···
 	struct vring_desc *desc;
 	u16 last_avail = lg_last_avail(vq);
 
+	/* There's nothing available? */
 	while (last_avail == vq->vring.avail->idx) {
 		u64 event;
 
-		/* OK, tell Guest about progress up to now. */
+		/*
+		 * Since we're about to sleep, now is a good time to tell the
+		 * Guest about what we've used up to now.
+		 */
 		trigger_irq(vq);
 
 		/* OK, now we need to know about added descriptors. */
···
 }
 
 /*
- * After we've used one of their buffers, we tell them about it.  We'll then
- * want to send them an interrupt, using trigger_irq().
+ * After we've used one of their buffers, we tell the Guest about it.  Sometime
+ * later we'll want to send them an interrupt using trigger_irq(); note that
+ * wait_for_vq_desc() does that for us if it has to wait.
  */
 static void add_used(struct virtqueue *vq, unsigned int head, int len)
 {
···
 	struct console_abort *abort = vq->dev->priv;
 	struct iovec iov[vq->vring.num];
 
-	/* Make sure there's a descriptor waiting. */
+	/* Make sure there's a descriptor available. */
 	head = wait_for_vq_desc(vq, iov, &out_num, &in_num);
 	if (out_num)
 		errx(1, "Output buffers in console in queue?");
 
-	/* Read it in. */
+	/* Read into it.  This is where we usually wait. */
 	len = readv(STDIN_FILENO, iov, in_num);
 	if (len <= 0) {
 		/* Ran out of input? */
···
 			pause();
 	}
 
+	/* Tell the Guest we used a buffer. */
 	add_used_and_trigger(vq, head, len);
 
 	/*
···
 	unsigned int head, out, in;
 	struct iovec iov[vq->vring.num];
 
+	/* We usually wait in here, for the Guest to give us something. */
 	head = wait_for_vq_desc(vq, iov, &out, &in);
 	if (in)
 		errx(1, "Input buffers in console output queue?");
+
+	/* writev can return a partial write, so we loop here. */
 	while (!iov_empty(iov, out)) {
 		int len = writev(STDOUT_FILENO, iov, out);
 		if (len <= 0)
 			err(1, "Write to stdout gave %i", len);
 		iov_consume(iov, out, len);
 	}
+
+	/*
+	 * We're finished with that buffer: if we're going to sleep,
+	 * wait_for_vq_desc() will prod the Guest with an interrupt.
+	 */
 	add_used(vq, head, 0);
 }
 
···
 	unsigned int head, out, in;
 	struct iovec iov[vq->vring.num];
 
+	/* We usually wait in here for the Guest to give us a packet. */
 	head = wait_for_vq_desc(vq, iov, &out, &in);
 	if (in)
 		errx(1, "Input buffers in net output queue?");
+	/*
+	 * Send the whole thing through to /dev/net/tun.  It expects the exact
+	 * same format: what a coincidence!
+	 */
 	if (writev(net_info->tunfd, iov, out) < 0)
 		errx(1, "Write to tun failed?");
+
+	/*
+	 * Done with that one; wait_for_vq_desc() will send the interrupt if
+	 * all packets are processed.
+	 */
 	add_used(vq, head, 0);
 }
 
-/* Will reading from this file descriptor block? */
+/*
+ * Handling network input is a bit trickier, because I've tried to optimize it.
+ *
+ * First we have a helper routine which tells is if from this file descriptor
+ * (ie. the /dev/net/tun device) will block:
+ */
 static bool will_block(int fd)
 {
 	fd_set fdset;
···
 	return select(fd+1, &fdset, NULL, NULL, &zero) != 1;
 }
 
-/* This handles packets coming in from the tun device to our Guest. */
+/*
+ * This handles packets coming in from the tun device to our Guest.  Like all
+ * service routines, it gets called again as soon as it returns, so you don't
+ * see a while(1) loop here.
+ */
 static void net_input(struct virtqueue *vq)
 {
 	int len;
···
 	struct iovec iov[vq->vring.num];
 	struct net_info *net_info = vq->dev->priv;
 
+	/*
+	 * Get a descriptor to write an incoming packet into.  This will also
+	 * send an interrupt if they're out of descriptors.
+	 */
 	head = wait_for_vq_desc(vq, iov, &out, &in);
 	if (out)
 		errx(1, "Output buffers in net input queue?");
 
-	/* Deliver interrupt now, since we're about to sleep. */
+	/*
+	 * If it looks like we'll block reading from the tun device, send them
+	 * an interrupt.
+	 */
 	if (vq->pending_used && will_block(net_info->tunfd))
 		trigger_irq(vq);
 
+	/*
+	 * Read in the packet.  This is where we normally wait (when there's no
+	 * incoming network traffic).
+	 */
 	len = readv(net_info->tunfd, iov, in);
 	if (len <= 0)
 		err(1, "Failed to read from tun.");
+
+	/*
+	 * Mark that packet buffer as used, but don't interrupt here.  We want
+	 * to wait until we've done as much work as we can.
+	 */
 	add_used(vq, head, len);
 }
+/*:*/
 
-/* This is the helper to create threads. */
+/* This is the helper to create threads: run the service routine in a loop. */
 static int do_thread(void *_vq)
 {
 	struct virtqueue *vq = _vq;
···
 	signal(SIGCHLD, (void *)kill_launcher);
 }
 
+/*L:216
+ * This actually creates the thread which services the virtqueue for a device.
+ */
 static void create_thread(struct virtqueue *vq)
 {
 	/*
-	 * Create stack for thread and run it.  Since the stack grows upwards,
-	 * we point the stack pointer to the end of this region.
+	 * Create stack for thread.  Since the stack grows upwards, we point
+	 * the stack pointer to the end of this region.
 	 */
 	char *stack = malloc(32768);
 	unsigned long args[] = { LHREQ_EVENTFD,
···
 		err(1, "Creating eventfd");
 	args[2] = vq->eventfd;
 
-	/* Attach an eventfd to this virtqueue: it will go off
-	 * when the Guest does an LHCALL_NOTIFY for this vq. */
+	/*
+	 * Attach an eventfd to this virtqueue: it will go off when the Guest
+	 * does an LHCALL_NOTIFY for this vq.
+	 */
 	if (write(lguest_fd, &args, sizeof(args)) != 0)
 		err(1, "Attaching eventfd");
 
-	/* CLONE_VM: because it has to access the Guest memory, and
-	 * SIGCHLD so we get a signal if it dies. */
+	/*
+	 * CLONE_VM: because it has to access the Guest memory, and SIGCHLD so
+	 * we get a signal if it dies.
+	 */
 	vq->thread = clone(do_thread, stack + 32768, CLONE_VM | SIGCHLD, vq);
 	if (vq->thread == (pid_t)-1)
 		err(1, "Creating clone");
-	/* We close our local copy, now the child has it. */
+
+	/* We close our local copy now the child has it. */
 	close(vq->eventfd);
 }
 
···
 	}
 }
 
-/* This is the generic routine we call when the Guest uses LHCALL_NOTIFY. */
+/*L:215
+ * This is the generic routine we call when the Guest uses LHCALL_NOTIFY.  In
+ * particular, it's used to notify us of device status changes during boot.
+ */
 static void handle_output(unsigned long addr)
 {
 	struct device *i;
···
 	for (i = devices.dev; i; i = i->next) {
 		struct virtqueue *vq;
 
-		/* Notifications to device descriptors update device status. */
+		/*
+		 * Notifications to device descriptors mean they updated the
+		 * device status.
+		 */
 		if (from_guest_phys(addr) == i->desc) {
 			update_device_status(i);
 			return;
 		}
 
-		/* Devices *can* be used before status is set to DRIVER_OK. */
+		/*
+		 * Devices *can* be used before status is set to DRIVER_OK.
+		 * The original plan was that they would never do this: they
+		 * would always finish setting up their status bits before
+		 * actually touching the virtqueues.  In practice, we allowed
+		 * them to, and they do (eg. the disk probes for partition
+		 * tables as part of initialization).
+		 *
+		 * If we see this, we start the device: once it's running, we
+		 * expect the device to catch all the notifications.
+		 */
 		for (vq = i->vq; vq; vq = vq->next) {
 			if (addr != vq->config.pfn*getpagesize())
 				continue;
 			if (i->running)
 				errx(1, "Notification on running %s", i->name);
+			/* This just calls create_thread() for each virtqueue */
 			start_device(i);
 			return;
 		}
···
 	vq->next = NULL;
 	vq->last_avail_idx = 0;
 	vq->dev = dev;
+
+	/*
+	 * This is the routine the service thread will run, and its Process ID
+	 * once it's running.
+	 */
 	vq->service = service;
 	vq->thread = (pid_t)-1;
 
···
 
 /*
  * This routine does all the creation and setup of a new device, including
- * calling new_dev_desc() to allocate the descriptor and device memory.
+ * calling new_dev_desc() to allocate the descriptor and device memory.  We
+ * don't actually start the service threads until later.
  *
  * See what I mean about userspace being boring?
  */
···
 		verbose("device %u: tun %s: %s\n",
 			devices.device_num, tapif, arg);
 }
-
-/*
- * Our block (disk) device should be really simple: the Guest asks for a block
- * number and we read or write that position in the file.  Unfortunately, that
- * was amazingly slow: the Guest waits until the read is finished before
- * running anything else, even if it could have been doing useful work.
- *
- * We could use async I/O, except it's reputed to suck so hard that characters
- * actually go missing from your code when you try to use it.
- *
- * So this was one reason why lguest now does all virtqueue servicing in
- * separate threads: it's more efficient and more like a real device.
- */
+/*:*/
 
 /* This hangs off device->priv. */
 struct vblk_info
···
 /*L:210
  * The Disk
  *
- * Remember that the block device is handled by a separate I/O thread.  We head
- * straight into the core of that thread here:
+ * The disk only has one virtqueue, so it only has one thread.  It is really
+ * simple: the Guest asks for a block number and we read or write that position
+ * in the file.
+ *
+ * Before we serviced each virtqueue in a separate thread, that was unacceptably
+ * slow: the Guest waits until the read is finished before running anything
+ * else, even if it could have been doing useful work.
+ *
+ * We could have used async I/O, except it's reputed to suck so hard that
+ * characters actually go missing from your code when you try to use it.
  */
 static void blk_request(struct virtqueue *vq)
 {
···
 	struct iovec iov[vq->vring.num];
 	off64_t off;
 
-	/* Get the next request. */
+	/*
+	 * Get the next request, where we normally wait.  It triggers the
+	 * interrupt to acknowledge previously serviced requests (if any).
+	 */
 	head = wait_for_vq_desc(vq, iov, &out_num, &in_num);
 
 	/*
···
 
 	out = convert(&iov[0], struct virtio_blk_outhdr);
 	in = convert(&iov[out_num+in_num-1], u8);
+	/*
+	 * For historical reasons, block operations are expressed in 512 byte
+	 * "sectors".
+	 */
 	off = out->sector * 512;
 
 	/*
···
 	if (out->type & VIRTIO_BLK_T_BARRIER)
 		fdatasync(vblk->fd);
 
+	/* Finished that request. */
 	add_used(vq, head, wlen);
 }
 
···
 		errx(1, "Output buffers in rng?");
 
 	/*
-	 * This is why we convert to iovecs: the readv() call uses them, and so
-	 * it reads straight into the Guest's buffer.  We loop to make sure we
-	 * fill it.
+	 * Just like the console write, we loop to cover the whole iovec.
+	 * In this case, short reads actually happen quite a bit.
 	 */
 	while (!iov_empty(iov, in_num)) {
 		len = readv(rng_info->rfd, iov, in_num);
···
 	devices.lastdev = NULL;
 	devices.next_irq = 1;
 
+	/* We're CPU 0.  In fact, that's the only CPU possible right now. */
 	cpu_id = 0;
+
 	/*
 	 * We need to know how much memory so we can set up the device
 	 * descriptor and memory pages for the devices as we parse the command
···
 	 */
 	tell_kernel(start);
 
-	/* Ensure that we terminate if a child dies. */
+	/* Ensure that we terminate if a device-servicing child dies. */
 	signal(SIGCHLD, kill_launcher);
 
 	/* If we exit via err(), this kills all the threads, restores tty. */

arch/x86/include/asm/lguest_hcall.h

···
  * operations?  There are two ways: the direct way is to make a "hypercall",
  * to make requests of the Host Itself.
  *
- * We use the KVM hypercall mechanism. Seventeen hypercalls are
- * available: the hypercall number is put in the %eax register, and the
- * arguments (when required) are placed in %ebx, %ecx, %edx and %esi.
- * If a return value makes sense, it's returned in %eax.
+ * We use the KVM hypercall mechanism, though completely different hypercall
+ * numbers. Seventeen hypercalls are available: the hypercall number is put in
+ * the %eax register, and the arguments (when required) are placed in %ebx,
+ * %ecx, %edx and %esi.  If a return value makes sense, it's returned in %eax.
  *
  * Grossly invalid calls result in Sudden Death at the hands of the vengeful
  * Host, rather than returning failure.  This reflects Winston Churchill's

arch/x86/lguest/boot.c

···
 		async_hcall(call, arg1, 0, 0, 0);
 }
 
+/* You can imagine what lazy_hcall2, 3 and 4 look like. :*/
 static void lazy_hcall2(unsigned long call,
 		       unsigned long arg1,
 		       unsigned long arg2)
···
 }
 #endif
 
-/* When lazy mode is turned off reset the per-cpu lazy mode variable and then
- * issue the do-nothing hypercall to flush any stored calls. */
+/*G:036
+ * When lazy mode is turned off reset the per-cpu lazy mode variable and then
+ * issue the do-nothing hypercall to flush any stored calls.
+:*/
 static void lguest_leave_lazy_mmu_mode(void)
 {
 	kvm_hypercall0(LHCALL_FLUSH_ASYNC);
···
 extern void lg_restore_fl(unsigned long flags);
 
 /*M:003
- * Note that we don't check for outstanding interrupts when we re-enable them
- * (or when we unmask an interrupt).  This seems to work for the moment, since
- * interrupts are rare and we'll just get the interrupt on the next timer tick,
- * but now we can run with CONFIG_NO_HZ, we should revisit this.  One way would
- * be to put the "irq_enabled" field in a page by itself, and have the Host
- * write-protect it when an interrupt comes in when irqs are disabled.  There
- * will then be a page fault as soon as interrupts are re-enabled.
+ * We could be more efficient in our checking of outstanding interrupts, rather
+ * than using a branch.  One way would be to put the "irq_enabled" field in a
+ * page by itself, and have the Host write-protect it when an interrupt comes
+ * in when irqs are disabled.  There will then be a page fault as soon as
+ * interrupts are re-enabled.
  *
  * A better method is to implement soft interrupt disable generally for x86:
  * instead of disabling interrupts, we set a flag.  If an interrupt does come
···
  * cr3 ---> +---------+
  *	    |  	   --------->+---------+
  *	    |	      |	     | PADDR1  |
- *	  Top-level   |	     | PADDR2  |
+ *	  Mid-level   |	     | PADDR2  |
  *	  (PMD) page  |	     | 	       |
  *	    |	      |	   Lower-level |
  *	    |	      |	   (PTE) page  |
···
  *    Index into top     Index into second      Offset within page
  *  page directory page    pagetable page
  *
- * The kernel spends a lot of time changing both the top-level page directory
- * and lower-level pagetable pages.  The Guest doesn't know physical addresses,
- * so while it maintains these page tables exactly like normal, it also needs
- * to keep the Host informed whenever it makes a change: the Host will create
- * the real page tables based on the Guests'.
+ * Now, unfortunately, this isn't the whole story: Intel added Physical Address
+ * Extension (PAE) to allow 32 bit systems to use 64GB of memory (ie. 36 bits).
+ * These are held in 64-bit page table entries, so we can now only fit 512
+ * entries in a page, and the neat three-level tree breaks down.
+ *
+ * The result is a four level page table:
+ *
+ * cr3 --> [ 4 Upper  ]
+ *	   [   Level  ]
+ *	   [  Entries ]
+ *	   [(PUD Page)]---> +---------+
+ *	 		    |  	   --------->+---------+
+ *	 		    |	      |	     | PADDR1  |
+ *	 		  Mid-level   |	     | PADDR2  |
+ *	 		  (PMD) page  |	     | 	       |
+ *	 		    |	      |	   Lower-level |
+ *	 		    |	      |	   (PTE) page  |
+ *	 		    |	      |	     |	       |
+ *	 		      ....    	     	 ....
+ *
+ *
+ * And the virtual address is decoded as:
+ *
+ *         1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
+ *      |<-2->|<--- 9 bits ---->|<---- 9 bits --->|<------ 12 bits ------>|
+ * Index into    Index into mid    Index into lower    Offset within page
+ * top entries   directory page     pagetable page
+ *
+ * It's too hard to switch between these two formats at runtime, so Linux only
+ * supports one or the other depending on whether CONFIG_X86_PAE is set.  Many
+ * distributions turn it on, and not just for people with silly amounts of
+ * memory: the larger PTE entries allow room for the NX bit, which lets the
+ * kernel disable execution of pages and increase security.
+ *
+ * This was a problem for lguest, which couldn't run on these distributions;
+ * then Matias Zabaljauregui figured it all out and implemented it, and only a
+ * handful of puppies were crushed in the process!
+ *
+ * Back to our point: the kernel spends a lot of time changing both the
+ * top-level page directory and lower-level pagetable pages.  The Guest doesn't
+ * know physical addresses, so while it maintains these page tables exactly
+ * like normal, it also needs to keep the Host informed whenever it makes a
+ * change: the Host will create the real page tables based on the Guests'.
  */
 
 /*
- * The Guest calls this to set a second-level entry (pte), ie. to map a page
- * into a process' address space.  We set the entry then tell the Host the
- * toplevel and address this corresponds to.  The Guest uses one pagetable per
- * process, so we need to tell the Host which one we're changing (mm->pgd).
+ * The Guest calls this after it has set a second-level entry (pte), ie. to map
+ * a page into a process' address space.  Wetell the Host the toplevel and
+ * address this corresponds to.  The Guest uses one pagetable per process, so
+ * we need to tell the Host which one we're changing (mm->pgd).
  */
 static void lguest_pte_update(struct mm_struct *mm, unsigned long addr,
 			       pte_t *ptep)
 {
 #ifdef CONFIG_X86_PAE
+	/* PAE needs to hand a 64 bit page table entry, so it uses two args. */
 	lazy_hcall4(LHCALL_SET_PTE, __pa(mm->pgd), addr,
 		    ptep->pte_low, ptep->pte_high);
 #else
···
 #endif
 }
 
+/* This is the "set and update" combo-meal-deal version. */
 static void lguest_set_pte_at(struct mm_struct *mm, unsigned long addr,
 			      pte_t *ptep, pte_t pteval)
 {
···
 }
 
 #ifdef CONFIG_X86_PAE
+/*
+ * With 64-bit PTE values, we need to be careful setting them: if we set 32
+ * bits at a time, the hardware could see a weird half-set entry.  These
+ * versions ensure we update all 64 bits at once.
+ */
 static void lguest_set_pte_atomic(pte_t *ptep, pte_t pte)
 {
 	native_set_pte_atomic(ptep, pte);
···
 		lazy_hcall1(LHCALL_FLUSH_TLB, 1);
 }
 
-void lguest_pte_clear(struct mm_struct *mm, unsigned long addr, pte_t *ptep)
+static void lguest_pte_clear(struct mm_struct *mm, unsigned long addr,
+			     pte_t *ptep)
 {
 	native_pte_clear(mm, addr, ptep);
 	lguest_pte_update(mm, addr, ptep);
 }
 
-void lguest_pmd_clear(pmd_t *pmdp)
+static void lguest_pmd_clear(pmd_t *pmdp)
 {
 	lguest_set_pmd(pmdp, __pmd(0));
 }
···
 	irq_ctx_init(smp_processor_id());
 }
 
+/*
+ * With CONFIG_SPARSE_IRQ, interrupt descriptors are allocated as-needed, so
+ * rather than set them in lguest_init_IRQ we are called here every time an
+ * lguest device needs an interrupt.
+ *
+ * FIXME: irq_to_desc_alloc_node() can fail due to lack of memory, we should
+ * pass that up!
+ */
 void lguest_setup_irq(unsigned int irq)
 {
 	irq_to_desc_alloc_node(irq, 0);
···
 	 */
 	switch_to_new_gdt(0);
 
-	/* As described in head_32.S, we map the first 128M of memory. */
+	/* We actually boot with all memory mapped, but let's say 128MB. */
 	max_pfn_mapped = (128*1024*1024) >> PAGE_SHIFT;
 
 	/*

arch/x86/lguest/i386_head.S

···
 	 * create one manually here.
 	 */
 	.byte 0x0f,0x01,0xc1 /* KVM_HYPERCALL */
+	/* Put eax back the way we found it. */
 	popl %eax
 	ret
 
···
 	jnz send_interrupts
 	/* Again, the normal path has used no extra registers.  Clever, huh? */
 	ret
+/*:*/
 
 /* These demark the EIP range where host should never deliver interrupts. */
 .global lguest_noirq_start

drivers/lguest/core.c

···
 
 		/*
 		 * It's possible the Guest did a NOTIFY hypercall to the
-		 * Launcher, in which case we return from the read() now.
+		 * Launcher.
 		 */
 		if (cpu->pending_notify) {
+			/*
+			 * Does it just needs to write to a registered
+			 * eventfd (ie. the appropriate virtqueue thread)?
+			 */
 			if (!send_notify_to_eventfd(cpu)) {
+				/* OK, we tell the main Laucher. */
 				if (put_user(cpu->pending_notify, user))
 					return -EFAULT;
 				return sizeof(cpu->pending_notify);

drivers/lguest/hypercalls.c

···
 	case LHCALL_SHUTDOWN: {
 		char msg[128];
 		/*
-		 * Shutdown is such a trivial hypercall that we do it in four
+		 * Shutdown is such a trivial hypercall that we do it in five
 		 * lines right here.
 		 *
 		 * If the lgread fails, it will call kill_guest() itself; the
···
  * device), the Guest will still see the old page.  In practice, this never
  * happens: why would the Guest read a page which it has never written to?  But
  * a similar scenario might one day bite us, so it's worth mentioning.
+ *
+ * Note that if we used a shared anonymous mapping in the Launcher instead of
+ * mapping /dev/zero private, we wouldn't worry about cop-on-write.  And we
+ * need that to switch the Launcher to processes (away from threads) anyway.
 :*/
 
 /*H:100

drivers/lguest/lguest_device.c

···
 extern void lguest_setup_irq(unsigned int irq);
 
 /*
- * This routine finds the first virtqueue described in the configuration of
+ * This routine finds the Nth virtqueue described in the configuration of
  * this device and sets it up.
  *
  * This is kind of an ugly duckling.  It'd be nicer to have a standard
···
  * everyone wants to do it differently.  The KVM coders want the Guest to
  * allocate its own pages and tell the Host where they are, but for lguest it's
  * simpler for the Host to simply tell us where the pages are.
- *
- * So we provide drivers with a "find the Nth virtqueue and set it up"
- * function.
  */
 static struct virtqueue *lg_find_vq(struct virtio_device *vdev,
 				    unsigned index,
···
 
 	/* This devices' parent is the lguest/ dir. */
 	ldev->vdev.dev.parent = lguest_root;
-	/* We have a unique device index thanks to the dev_index counter. */
+	/*
+	 * The device type comes straight from the descriptor.  There's also a
+	 * device vendor field in the virtio_device struct, which we leave as
+	 * 0.
+	 */
 	ldev->vdev.id.device = d->type;
 	/*
 	 * We have a simple set of routines for querying the device's

drivers/lguest/lguest_user.c

···
-/*P:200
- * This contains all the /dev/lguest code, whereby the userspace launcher
+/*P:200 This contains all the /dev/lguest code, whereby the userspace launcher
  * controls and communicates with the Guest.  For example, the first write will
- * tell us the Guest's memory layout, pagetable, entry point and kernel address
- * offset.  A read will run the Guest until something happens, such as a signal
- * or the Guest doing a NOTIFY out to the Launcher.
+ * tell us the Guest's memory layout and entry point.  A read will run the
+ * Guest until something happens, such as a signal or the Guest doing a NOTIFY
+ * out to the Launcher.
 :*/
 #include <linux/uaccess.h>
 #include <linux/miscdevice.h>
···
 #include <linux/file.h>
 #include "lg.h"
 
+/*L:056
+ * Before we move on, let's jump ahead and look at what the kernel does when
+ * it needs to look up the eventfds.  That will complete our picture of how we
+ * use RCU.
+ *
+ * The notification value is in cpu->pending_notify: we return true if it went
+ * to an eventfd.
+ */
 bool send_notify_to_eventfd(struct lg_cpu *cpu)
 {
 	unsigned int i;
 	struct lg_eventfd_map *map;
 
-	/* lg->eventfds is RCU-protected */
+	/*
+	 * This "rcu_read_lock()" helps track when someone is still looking at
+	 * the (RCU-using) eventfds array.  It's not actually a lock at all;
+	 * indeed it's a noop in many configurations.  (You didn't expect me to
+	 * explain all the RCU secrets here, did you?)
+	 */
 	rcu_read_lock();
+	/*
+	 * rcu_dereference is the counter-side of rcu_assign_pointer(); it
+	 * makes sure we don't access the memory pointed to by
+	 * cpu->lg->eventfds before cpu->lg->eventfds is set.  Sounds crazy,
+	 * but Alpha allows this!  Paul McKenney points out that a really
+	 * aggressive compiler could have the same effect:
+	 *   http://lists.ozlabs.org/pipermail/lguest/2009-July/001560.html
+	 *
+	 * So play safe, use rcu_dereference to get the rcu-protected pointer:
+	 */
 	map = rcu_dereference(cpu->lg->eventfds);
+	/*
+	 * Simple array search: even if they add an eventfd while we do this,
+	 * we'll continue to use the old array and just won't see the new one.
+	 */
 	for (i = 0; i < map->num; i++) {
 		if (map->map[i].addr == cpu->pending_notify) {
 			eventfd_signal(map->map[i].event, 1);
···
 			break;
 		}
 	}
+	/* We're done with the rcu-protected variable cpu->lg->eventfds. */
 	rcu_read_unlock();
+
+	/* If we cleared the notification, it's because we found a match. */
 	return cpu->pending_notify == 0;
 }
 
+/*L:055
+ * One of the more tricksy tricks in the Linux Kernel is a technique called
+ * Read Copy Update.  Since one point of lguest is to teach lguest journeyers
+ * about kernel coding, I use it here.  (In case you're curious, other purposes
+ * include learning about virtualization and instilling a deep appreciation for
+ * simplicity and puppies).
+ *
+ * We keep a simple array which maps LHCALL_NOTIFY values to eventfds, but we
+ * add new eventfds without ever blocking readers from accessing the array.
+ * The current Launcher only does this during boot, so that never happens.  But
+ * Read Copy Update is cool, and adding a lock risks damaging even more puppies
+ * than this code does.
+ *
+ * We allocate a brand new one-larger array, copy the old one and add our new
+ * element.  Then we make the lg eventfd pointer point to the new array.
+ * That's the easy part: now we need to free the old one, but we need to make
+ * sure no slow CPU somewhere is still looking at it.  That's what
+ * synchronize_rcu does for us: waits until every CPU has indicated that it has
+ * moved on to know it's no longer using the old one.
+ *
+ * If that's unclear, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Read-copy-update.
+ */
 static int add_eventfd(struct lguest *lg, unsigned long addr, int fd)
 {
 	struct lg_eventfd_map *new, *old = lg->eventfds;
 
+	/*
+	 * We don't allow notifications on value 0 anyway (pending_notify of
+	 * 0 means "nothing pending").
+	 */
 	if (!addr)
 		return -EINVAL;
 
···
 	}
 	new->num++;
 
-	/* Now put new one in place. */
+	/*
+	 * Now put new one in place: rcu_assign_pointer() is a fancy way of
+	 * doing "lg->eventfds = new", but it uses memory barriers to make
+	 * absolutely sure that the contents of "new" written above is nailed
+	 * down before we actually do the assignment.
+	 *
+	 * We have to think about these kinds of things when we're operating on
+	 * live data without locks.
+	 */
 	rcu_assign_pointer(lg->eventfds, new);
 
 	/*
 	 * We're not in a big hurry.  Wait until noone's looking at old
-	 * version, then delete it.
+	 * version, then free it.
 	 */
 	synchronize_rcu();
 	kfree(old);
···
 	return 0;
 }
 
+/*L:052
+ * Receiving notifications from the Guest is usually done by attaching a
+ * particular LHCALL_NOTIFY value to an event filedescriptor.  The eventfd will
+ * become readable when the Guest does an LHCALL_NOTIFY with that value.
+ *
+ * This is really convenient for processing each virtqueue in a separate
+ * thread.
+ */
 static int attach_eventfd(struct lguest *lg, const unsigned long __user *input)
 {
 	unsigned long addr, fd;
···
 	if (get_user(fd, input) != 0)
 		return -EFAULT;
 
+	/*
+	 * Just make sure two callers don't add eventfds at once.  We really
+	 * only need to lock against callers adding to the same Guest, so using
+	 * the Big Lguest Lock is overkill.  But this is setup, not a fast path.
+	 */
 	mutex_lock(&lguest_lock);
 	err = add_eventfd(lg, addr, fd);
 	mutex_unlock(&lguest_lock);
···
 	if (irq >= LGUEST_IRQS)
 		return -EINVAL;
 
+	/*
+	 * Next time the Guest runs, the core code will see if it can deliver
+	 * this interrupt.
+	 */
 	set_interrupt(cpu, irq);
 	return 0;
 }
···
  * The first operation the Launcher does must be a write.  All writes
  * start with an unsigned long number: for the first write this must be
  * LHREQ_INITIALIZE to set up the Guest.  After that the Launcher can use
- * writes of other values to send interrupts.
+ * writes of other values to send interrupts or set up receipt of notifications.
  *
  * Note that we overload the "offset" in the /dev/lguest file to indicate what
- * CPU number we're dealing with.  Currently this is always 0, since we only
+ * CPU number we're dealing with.  Currently this is always 0 since we only
  * support uniprocessor Guests, but you can see the beginnings of SMP support
  * here.
  */

drivers/lguest/page_tables.c

···
 /*H:300
  * The Page Table Code
  *
- * We use two-level page tables for the Guest.  If you're not entirely
- * comfortable with virtual addresses, physical addresses and page tables then
- * I recommend you review arch/x86/lguest/boot.c's "Page Table Handling" (with
- * diagrams!).
+ * We use two-level page tables for the Guest, or three-level with PAE.  If
+ * you're not entirely comfortable with virtual addresses, physical addresses
+ * and page tables then I recommend you review arch/x86/lguest/boot.c's "Page
+ * Table Handling" (with diagrams!).
  *
  * The Guest keeps page tables, but we maintain the actual ones here: these are
  * called "shadow" page tables.  Which is a very Guest-centric name: these are
···
 :*/
 
 /*
- * 1024 entries in a page table page maps 1024 pages: 4MB.  The Switcher is
- * conveniently placed at the top 4MB, so it uses a separate, complete PTE
- * page.
+ * The Switcher uses the complete top PTE page.  That's 1024 PTE entries (4MB)
+ * or 512 PTE entries with PAE (2MB).
  */
 #define SWITCHER_PGD_INDEX (PTRS_PER_PGD - 1)
 
···
 
 /*H:320
  * The page table code is curly enough to need helper functions to keep it
- * clear and clean.
+ * clear and clean.  The kernel itself provides many of them; one advantage
+ * of insisting that the Guest and Host use the same CONFIG_PAE setting.
  *
  * There are two functions which return pointers to the shadow (aka "real")
  * page tables.
···
 }
 
 /*
- * These two functions just like the above two, except they access the Guest
+ * These functions are just like the above two, except they access the Guest
  * page tables.  Hence they return a Guest address.
  */
 static unsigned long gpgd_addr(struct lg_cpu *cpu, unsigned long vaddr)
···
 }
 
 #ifdef CONFIG_X86_PAE
+/* Follow the PGD to the PMD. */
 static unsigned long gpmd_addr(pgd_t gpgd, unsigned long vaddr)
 {
 	unsigned long gpage = pgd_pfn(gpgd) << PAGE_SHIFT;
···
 	return gpage + pmd_index(vaddr) * sizeof(pmd_t);
 }
 
+/* Follow the PMD to the PTE. */
 static unsigned long gpte_addr(struct lg_cpu *cpu,
 			       pmd_t gpmd, unsigned long vaddr)
 {
···
 	return gpage + pte_index(vaddr) * sizeof(pte_t);
 }
 #else
+/* Follow the PGD to the PTE (no mid-level for !PAE). */
 static unsigned long gpte_addr(struct lg_cpu *cpu,
 				pgd_t gpgd, unsigned long vaddr)
 {
···
 	pte_t gpte;
 	pte_t *spte;
 
+	/* Mid level for PAE. */
 #ifdef CONFIG_X86_PAE
 	pmd_t *spmd;
 	pmd_t gpmd;
···
 	 */
 	gpte_ptr = gpte_addr(cpu, gpgd, vaddr);
 #endif
+
+	/* Read the actual PTE value. */
 	gpte = lgread(cpu, gpte_ptr, pte_t);
 
 	/* If this page isn't in the Guest page tables, we can't page it in. */
···
 	if (!page_writable(cpu, vaddr) && !demand_page(cpu, vaddr, 2))
 		kill_guest(cpu, "bad stack page %#lx", vaddr);
 }
+/*:*/
 
 #ifdef CONFIG_X86_PAE
 static void release_pmd(pmd_t *spmd)
···
 }
 
 #else /* !CONFIG_X86_PAE */
-/*H:450 If we chase down the release_pgd() code, it looks like this: */
+/*H:450
+ * If we chase down the release_pgd() code, the non-PAE version looks like
+ * this.  The PAE version is almost identical, but instead of calling
+ * release_pte it calls release_pmd(), which looks much like this.
+ */
 static void release_pgd(pgd_t *spgd)
 {
 	/* If the entry's not present, there's nothing to release. */
···
 		/* ... throw it away. */
 		release_pgd(lg->pgdirs[pgdir].pgdir + idx);
 }
+
 #ifdef CONFIG_X86_PAE
+/* For setting a mid-level, we just throw everything away.  It's easy. */
 void guest_set_pmd(struct lguest *lg, unsigned long pmdp, u32 idx)
 {
 	guest_pagetable_clear_all(&lg->cpus[0]);
 }
 #endif
 
-/*
- * Once we know how much memory we have we can construct simple identity (which
+/*H:505
+ * To get through boot, we construct simple identity page mappings (which
  * set virtual == physical) and linear mappings which will get the Guest far
- * enough into the boot to create its own.
+ * enough into the boot to create its own.  The linear mapping means we
+ * simplify the Guest boot, but it makes assumptions about their PAGE_OFFSET,
+ * as you'll see.
  *
  * We lay them out of the way, just below the initrd (which is why we need to
  * know its size here).
···
 	linear = (void *)pgdir - linear_pages * PAGE_SIZE;
 
 #ifdef CONFIG_X86_PAE
+	/*
+	 * And the single mid page goes below that.  We only use one, but
+	 * that's enough to map 1G, which definitely gets us through boot.
+	 */
 	pmds = (void *)linear - PAGE_SIZE;
 #endif
 	/*
···
 			return -EFAULT;
 	}
 
-	/*
-	 * The top level points to the linear page table pages above.
-	 * We setup the identity and linear mappings here.
-	 */
 #ifdef CONFIG_X86_PAE
+	/*
+	 * Make the Guest PMD entries point to the corresponding place in the
+	 * linear mapping (up to one page worth of PMD).
+	 */
 	for (i = j = 0; i < mapped_pages && j < PTRS_PER_PMD;
 	     i += PTRS_PER_PTE, j++) {
+		/* FIXME: native_set_pmd is overkill here. */
 		native_set_pmd(&pmd, __pmd(((unsigned long)(linear + i)
 		- mem_base) | _PAGE_PRESENT | _PAGE_RW | _PAGE_USER));
 
···
 			return -EFAULT;
 	}
 
+	/* One PGD entry, pointing to that PMD page. */
 	set_pgd(&pgd, __pgd(((u32)pmds - mem_base) | _PAGE_PRESENT));
+	/* Copy it in as the first PGD entry (ie. addresses 0-1G). */
 	if (copy_to_user(&pgdir[0], &pgd, sizeof(pgd)) != 0)
 		return -EFAULT;
+	/*
+	 * And the third PGD entry (ie. addresses 3G-4G).
+	 *
+	 * FIXME: This assumes that PAGE_OFFSET for the Guest is 0xC0000000.
+	 */
 	if (copy_to_user(&pgdir[3], &pgd, sizeof(pgd)) != 0)
 		return -EFAULT;
 #else
+	/*
+	 * The top level points to the linear page table pages above.
+	 * We setup the identity and linear mappings here.
+	 */
 	phys_linear = (unsigned long)linear - mem_base;
 	for (i = 0; i < mapped_pages; i += PTRS_PER_PTE) {
 		pgd_t pgd;
+		/*
+		 * Create a PGD entry which points to the right part of the
+		 * linear PTE pages.
+		 */
 		pgd = __pgd((phys_linear + i * sizeof(pte_t)) |
 			    (_PAGE_PRESENT | _PAGE_RW | _PAGE_USER));
 
+		/*
+		 * Copy it into the PGD page at 0 and PAGE_OFFSET.
+		 */
 		if (copy_to_user(&pgdir[i / PTRS_PER_PTE], &pgd, sizeof(pgd))
 		    || copy_to_user(&pgdir[pgd_index(PAGE_OFFSET)
 					   + i / PTRS_PER_PTE],
···
 #endif
 
 	/*
-	 * We return the top level (guest-physical) address: remember where
-	 * this is.
+	 * We return the top level (guest-physical) address: we remember where
+	 * this is to write it into lguest_data when the Guest initializes.
 	 */
 	return (unsigned long)pgdir - mem_base;
 }
···
 	lg->pgdirs[0].pgdir = (pgd_t *)get_zeroed_page(GFP_KERNEL);
 	if (!lg->pgdirs[0].pgdir)
 		return -ENOMEM;
+
 #ifdef CONFIG_X86_PAE
+	/* For PAE, we also create the initial mid-level. */
 	pgd = lg->pgdirs[0].pgdir;
 	pmd_table = (pmd_t *) get_zeroed_page(GFP_KERNEL);
 	if (!pmd_table)
···
 	set_pgd(pgd + SWITCHER_PGD_INDEX,
 		__pgd(__pa(pmd_table) | _PAGE_PRESENT));
 #endif
+
+	/* This is the current page table. */
 	lg->cpus[0].cpu_pgd = 0;
 	return 0;
 }
 
-/* When the Guest calls LHCALL_LGUEST_INIT we do more setup. */
+/*H:508 When the Guest calls LHCALL_LGUEST_INIT we do more setup. */
 void page_table_guest_data_init(struct lg_cpu *cpu)
 {
 	/* We get the kernel address: above this is all kernel memory. */
···
 	pmd_t switcher_pmd;
 	pmd_t *pmd_table;
 
+	/* FIXME: native_set_pmd is overkill here. */
 	native_set_pmd(&switcher_pmd, pfn_pmd(__pa(switcher_pte_page) >>
 		       PAGE_SHIFT, PAGE_KERNEL_EXEC));
 
+	/* Figure out where the pmd page is, by reading the PGD, and converting
+	 * it to a virtual address. */
 	pmd_table = __va(pgd_pfn(cpu->lg->
 			pgdirs[cpu->cpu_pgd].pgdir[SWITCHER_PGD_INDEX])
 								<< PAGE_SHIFT);
+	/* Now write it into the shadow page table. */
 	native_set_pmd(&pmd_table[SWITCHER_PMD_INDEX], switcher_pmd);
 #else
 	pgd_t switcher_pgd;

drivers/lguest/x86/core.c

···
  * also simplify copy_in_guest_info().  Note that we'd still need to restore
  * things when we exit to Launcher userspace, but that's fairly easy.
  *
- * We could also try using this hooks for PGE, but that might be too expensive.
+ * We could also try using these hooks for PGE, but that might be too expensive.
  *
  * The hooks were designed for KVM, but we can also put them to good use.
 :*/

drivers/lguest/x86/switcher_32.S

···
 /*P:900
- * This is the Switcher: code which sits at 0xFFC00000 astride both the
- * Host and Guest to do the low-level Guest<->Host switch.  It is as simple as
- * it can be made, but it's naturally very specific to x86.
+ * This is the Switcher: code which sits at 0xFFC00000 (or 0xFFE00000) astride
+ * both the Host and Guest to do the low-level Guest<->Host switch.  It is as
+ * simple as it can be made, but it's naturally very specific to x86.
  *
  * You have now completed Preparation.  If this has whet your appetite; if you
  * are feeling invigorated and refreshed then the next, more challenging stage