--- /dev/null
+Most of the text from Keith Owens, hacked by AK
+
+x86_64 page size (PAGE_SIZE) is 4K.
+
+Like all other architectures, x86_64 has a kernel stack for every
+active thread. These thread stacks are THREAD_SIZE (2*PAGE_SIZE) big.
+These stacks contain useful data as long as a thread is alive or a
+zombie. While the thread is in user space the kernel stack is empty
+except for the thread_info structure at the bottom.
+
+In addition to the per thread stacks, there are specialized stacks
+associated with each CPU. These stacks are only used while the kernel
+is in control on that CPU; when a CPU returns to user space the
+specialized stacks contain no useful data. The main CPU stacks are:
+
+* Interrupt stack. IRQSTACKSIZE
+
+ Used for external hardware interrupts. If this is the first external
+ hardware interrupt (i.e. not a nested hardware interrupt) then the
+ kernel switches from the current task to the interrupt stack. Like
+ the split thread and interrupt stacks on i386, this gives more room
+ for kernel interrupt processing without having to increase the size
+ of every per thread stack.
+
+ The interrupt stack is also used when processing a softirq.
+
+Switching to the kernel interrupt stack is done by software based on a
+per CPU interrupt nest counter. This is needed because x86-64 "IST"
+hardware stacks cannot nest without races.
+
+x86_64 also has a feature which is not available on i386, the ability
+to automatically switch to a new stack for designated events such as
+double fault or NMI, which makes it easier to handle these unusual
+events on x86_64. This feature is called the Interrupt Stack Table
+(IST). There can be up to 7 IST entries per CPU. The IST code is an
+index into the Task State Segment (TSS). The IST entries in the TSS
+point to dedicated stacks; each stack can be a different size.
+
+An IST is selected by a non-zero value in the IST field of an
+interrupt-gate descriptor. When an interrupt occurs and the hardware
+loads such a descriptor, the hardware automatically sets the new stack
+pointer based on the IST value, then invokes the interrupt handler. If
+the interrupt came from user mode, then the interrupt handler prologue
+will switch back to the per-thread stack. If software wants to allow
+nested IST interrupts then the handler must adjust the IST values on
+entry to and exit from the interrupt handler. (This is occasionally
+done, e.g. for debug exceptions.)
+
+Events with different IST codes (i.e. with different stacks) can be
+nested. For example, a debug interrupt can safely be interrupted by an
+NMI. arch/x86_64/kernel/entry.S::paranoidentry adjusts the stack
+pointers on entry to and exit from all IST events, in theory allowing
+IST events with the same code to be nested. However in most cases, the
+stack size allocated to an IST assumes no nesting for the same code.
+If that assumption is ever broken then the stacks will become corrupt.
+
+The currently assigned IST stacks are :-
+
+* STACKFAULT_STACK. EXCEPTION_STKSZ (PAGE_SIZE).
+
+ Used for interrupt 12 - Stack Fault Exception (#SS).
+
+ This allows the CPU to recover from invalid stack segments. Rarely
+ happens.
+
+* DOUBLEFAULT_STACK. EXCEPTION_STKSZ (PAGE_SIZE).
+
+ Used for interrupt 8 - Double Fault Exception (#DF).
+
+ Invoked when handling one exception causes another exception. Happens
+ when the kernel is very confused (e.g. kernel stack pointer corrupt).
+ Using a separate stack allows the kernel to recover from it well enough
+ in many cases to still output an oops.
+
+* NMI_STACK. EXCEPTION_STKSZ (PAGE_SIZE).
+
+ Used for non-maskable interrupts (NMI).
+
+ NMI can be delivered at any time, including when the kernel is in the
+ middle of switching stacks. Using IST for NMI events avoids making
+ assumptions about the previous state of the kernel stack.
+
+* DEBUG_STACK. DEBUG_STKSZ
+
+ Used for hardware debug interrupts (interrupt 1) and for software
+ debug interrupts (INT3).
+
+ When debugging a kernel, debug interrupts (both hardware and
+ software) can occur at any time. Using IST for these interrupts
+ avoids making assumptions about the previous state of the kernel
+ stack.
+
+* MCE_STACK. EXCEPTION_STKSZ (PAGE_SIZE).
+
+ Used for interrupt 18 - Machine Check Exception (#MC).
+
+ MCE can be delivered at any time, including when the kernel is in the
+ middle of switching stacks. Using IST for MCE events avoids making
+ assumptions about the previous state of the kernel stack.
+
+For more details see the Intel IA32 or AMD AMD64 architecture manuals.
Code Review / kvmfornfv.git / blobdiff