> On Tue, 6 Mar 2007 11:03:48 -0500 "linux-os \(Dick Johnson\)" <[EMAIL > PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Hello, > > In linux-2.6.16.24, there is a problem with kernel threads > and the aic79xx.c driver. > > When nash is executing /initrd/linuxrc in the initial RAM disk > during boot, it will be installing drivers. One driver, aic79xx.c > creates some kernel threads that will exit after the initialization > procedure. Actually the number of tasks depends upon the number > of disks found as the driver spawns these tasks so initialization > can occur in the background. The kernel tasks have been 'parented' > to init. This may be fine for the real init, but nash and other > shells receive the SIGCHLD signal and think that the fork()/exec() > they have executed is complete. This makes nash insert drivers > when the needed previous ones have not yet initialized. Also, when > booting a shell, the signals from the exiting kernel tasks confuse > it. > > I think the top-level thread, kthread, should be reaping children > instead of init, which in some cases isn't even running yet. > > Any comments? > > The current work-around of putting `sleep 10` in linuxrc after > installing each driver is a hack of the worse kind. Especially, > considering an Adaptec controller with many drives attached may > require 'sleep 60'! >
ug. I've always disliked the kernel's dependence upon init to reap exitted kernel threads. It Just Seems Wrong. But I'd have thought that this is really wart in nash - Linux simply expects init to reap dead kernel threads, and as a Linux implementation of init, nash ought to not misbehave in the presence of this logstanding kernel behaviour. - To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in the body of a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/
