kernel/hung_task.c: introduce sysctl to print all traces when a hung task is detected

Commit 401c636a0eeb ("kernel/hung_task.c: show all hung tasks before
panic") introduced a change in that we started to show all CPUs
backtraces when a hung task is detected _and_ the sysctl/kernel
parameter "hung_task_panic" is set.  The idea is good, because usually
when observing deadlocks (that may lead to hung tasks), the culprit is
another task holding a lock and not necessarily the task detected as
hung.

The problem with this approach is that dumping backtraces is a slightly
expensive task, specially printing that on console (and specially in
many CPU machines, as servers commonly found nowadays).  So, users that
plan to collect a kdump to investigate the hung tasks and narrow down
the deadlock definitely don't need the CPUs backtrace on dmesg/console,
which will delay the panic and pollute the log (crash tool would easily
grab all CPUs traces with 'bt -a' command).

Also, there's the reciprocal scenario: some users may be interested in
seeing the CPUs backtraces but not have the system panic when a hung
task is detected.  The current approach hence is almost as embedding a
policy in the kernel, by forcing the CPUs backtraces' dump (only) on
hung_task_panic.

This patch decouples the panic event on hung task from the CPUs
backtraces dump, by creating (and documenting) a new sysctl called
"hung_task_all_cpu_backtrace", analog to the approach taken on soft/hard
lockups, that have both a panic and an "all_cpu_backtrace" sysctl to
allow individual control.  The new mechanism for dumping the CPUs
backtraces on hung task detection respects "hung_task_warnings" by not
dumping the traces in case there's no warnings left.

Signed-off-by: Guilherme G. Piccoli <gpiccoli@canonical.com>
Signed-off-by: Andrew Morton <akpm@linux-foundation.org>
Reviewed-by: Kees Cook <keescook@chromium.org>
Cc: Tetsuo Handa <penguin-kernel@I-love.SAKURA.ne.jp>
Link: http://lkml.kernel.org/r/20200327223646.20779-1-gpiccoli@canonical.com
Signed-off-by: Linus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org>

1 files changed, 7 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/include/linux/sched/sysctl.h b/include/linux/sched/sysctl.h
index 7b4d3a49b6c5..660ac49f2b53 100644
--- a/include/linux/sched/sysctl.h
+++ b/include/linux/sched/sysctl.h
@@ -7,6 +7,13 @@
 struct ctl_table;
 
 #ifdef CONFIG_DETECT_HUNG_TASK
+
+#ifdef CONFIG_SMP
+extern unsigned int sysctl_hung_task_all_cpu_backtrace;
+#else
+#define sysctl_hung_task_all_cpu_backtrace 0
+#endif /* CONFIG_SMP */
+
 extern int	     sysctl_hung_task_check_count;
 extern unsigned int  sysctl_hung_task_panic;
 extern unsigned long sysctl_hung_task_timeout_secs;