Kernel Locking Engineering - Principles and Patterns

Explore kernel locking engineering principles and patterns in this 40-minute Linux Foundation conference talk by Daniel Vetter from Intel. Learn about priorities in locking engineering, the importance of correct code, and the principle of protecting data rather than code. Dive into a hierarchy of locking and data protection schemes, starting from the simplest to the most complex. Discover common pitfalls and antipatterns, such as object lifetime vs. data consistency issues. Examine lockless tricks and a case study on atomic modeset. Gain valuable insights from over a decade of driver subsystem maintainer experience to make informed design decisions for concurrent code in the Linux kernel.

Intro
Priorities in Locking Engineering
Use Correct Code
Pinciple: Protect Data, not Code
Locking Engineering Hierarchy
Level 0: No Locking
Level 2: Fine-grained Locking
Locking Antipattern: Object Lifetime vs Data Consistency
Lockless Tricks
Case Study: Atomic Modeset