Interrupts and Exceptions

1
Interrupts and Exceptions

• Hardware support for getting CPUs attention
• Often transfers from user to kernel mode
• Nested interrupts are possible interrupt can
  occur while an interrupt handler is already
  executing (in kernel mode)
• Asynchronous device or timer generated
• Unrelated to currently executing process
• Synchronous immediate result of last instruction
• Often represents a hardware error condition
• Intel terminology and hardware
• Irqs, vectors, IDT, gates, PIC, APIC
• Interrupt handling data structures, flow of
  control
• Handlers softirqs, tasklets, bottom halves

2
Basic Ideas

• Similar to context switch (but lighter weight)
• Hardware saves a small amount of context on stack
• Includes interrupted instruction if restart
  needed
• Execution resumes with special iret instruction
• Structure top and bottom halves
• Top-half do minimum work and return
• Bottom-half deferred processing
• Handler code executed in response
• Possible to temporarily mask interrupts
• Handlers need not be reentrant
• But other interrupts can occur, causing nesting

3
Interrupts vs Exceptions

• Varying terminology but for Intel
• Interrupt (synchronous, device generated)
• Maskable device-generated, associated with IRQs
  (interrupt request lines) may be temporarily
  disabled (still pending)
• Nonmaskable some critical hardware failures
• Exceptions (asynchronous)
• Processor-detected
• Faults correctable (restartable) e.g. page
  fault
• Traps no reexecution needed e.g. breakpoint
• Aborts severe error process usually terminated
  (by signal)
• Programmed exceptions (software interrupts)
• int (system call), int3 (breakpoint)
• into (overflow), bounds (address check)

4
Vectors, IDT

• Vector index (0-255) into descriptor table (IDT)
• Special register idtr points to table (use lidt
  to load)
• IDT table of gate descriptors
• Segment selector offset for handler
• Descriptor Privilege Level (DPL)
• Gates (slightly different ways of entering
  kernel)
• Task gate includes TSS to transfer to (not used
  by Linux)
• Interrupt gate disables further interrupts
• Trap gate further interrupts still allowed
• Vector assignments
• Exceptions, NMI are fixed
• Maskable interrupts can be assigned as needed

5
PIC

• Programmable Interrupt Controller (PIC)
• chip between devices and cpu
• Fixed number of wires in from devices
• IRQs Interrupt ReQuest lines
• Single wire to CPU some registers
• PIC translates IRQ to vector
• Raises interrupt to CPU
• Vector available in register
• Waits for ack from CPU
• Other interrupts may be pending
• Possible to mask interrupts at PIC or CPU
• Early systems cascaded two 8 input chips (8259A)

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Interrupt Handling Components
vector
IRQs
Memory Bus
0
PIC
CPU
IDT
0
INTR
idtr
15
Mask points
255
handler
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IO-APIC, LAPIC

• Advanced PIC for SMP systems
• Used in all modern systems
• Interrupts routed to CPU over system bus
• IPI inter-processor interrupt
• Local APIC versus frontend IO-APIC
• Devices connect to front-end IO-APIC
• IO-APIC communicates (over bus) with Local APIC
• Interrupt routing
• Allows broadcast or selective routing of
  interrupts
• Need to distribute interrupt handling load
• Routes to lowest priority process
• Special register Task Priority Register (TPR)
• Arbitrates (round-robin) if equal priority

8
Intel Exceptions

• Architecture (processor) dependent
• Intel has about 20 (out of 32 possible)
• Most exceptions send signal to current process
• Default action often just kills process
• Page fault is the one exception very complex
  handler
• Some examples
• 0 SIGFPE Divide by zero error
• 3 SIGTRAP Breakpoint
• 6 SIGILL Invalid op-code
• 11 SIGBUS Segment not present
• 12 SIGBUS Stack overflow
• 13 SIGSEGV General protection fault (DPL
  violation)
• 14 SIGSEGV Page fault

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Hardware Handling

• On entry
• Which vector?
• Get corresponding descriptor in IDT
• Find specified descriptor in GDT (for handler)
• Check privilege levels (CPL, DPL)
• If entering kernel mode, set kernel stack
• Save eflags, cs, (original) eip on stack
• -gt Jump to appropriate handler
• Assembly code prepares C stack, calls handler
• On return (i.e. iret)
• Restore registers from stack
• If returning to user mode, restore user stack
• Clear segment registers (if privileged selectors)

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Nested Execution

• Interrupts can be interrupted
• By different interrupts handlers need not be
  reentrant
• No notion of priority in Linux
• Small portions execute with interrupts disabled
• Interrupts remain pending until acked by CPU
• Exceptions can be interrupted
• By interrupts (devices needing service)
• Exceptions can nest two levels deep
• Exceptions indicate coding error
• Exception code (kernel code) shouldnt have bugs
• Page fault is possible (trying to touch user
  data)

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IDT Initialization

• Initialized once by BIOS in real mode
• Linux re-initializes during kernel init
• Must not expose kernel to user mode access
• start by zeroing all descriptors
• Linux lingo
• Interrupt gate (same as Intel no user access)
• Not accessible from user mode
• System gate (Intel trap gate user access)
• Used for int, int3, into, bounds
• Trap gate (same as Intel no user access)
• Used for exceptions

12
Exception Handling

• Some exceptions push error code on stack
• IDT points to small individual handlers
  (assembly)
• handler_name pushl 0 // placeholder if no
  error code pushl do_handler_name jmp
  error_code
• Common code sets up for C call
• Pops handler address from stack, calls
• All handlers check if kernel mode
• Exceptions caused by touching bad syscall params
• Return to userland with error code
• Other exceptions-gt die() // kernel Oops
• Most handlers just generate signal for current
• current-gttss.error_code error_code
• current-gttss.trap_no vector
• force_sig(sig_number, current)

13
Interrupt Handling

• More complex than exceptions
• Requires registry, deferred processing, etc.
• Some issues
• IRQs are often shared all handlers (ISRs) are
  executed so they must query device
• IRQs are dynamically allocated to reduce
  contention
• Example floppy allocates when accessed
• Three types of actions
• Critical Top-half (interrupts disabled
  briefly!)
• Example acknowledge interrupt
• Non-critical Top-half (interrupts enabled)
• Example read key scan code, add to buffer
• Non-critical deferrable Do it later
  (interrupts enabled)
• Example copy keyboard buffer to terminal handler
  process
• Softirqs, tasklets, bottom halves (deprecated)

14
IRQ, Vector Assignment

• PCI bus usually assigns IRQs at boot
• Vectors usually IRQ 32
• Below 32 reserved for non-maskable, execeptions
• Vector 128 used for syscall
• Vectors 251-255 used for IPI
• Some IRQs are fixed by architecture
• IRQ0 interval timer
• IRQ2 cascade pin for 8259A
• See /proc/interrupts for assignments

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IRQ Data Structures

• irq_desc array of IRQ descriptors
• status (flags), lock, depth (for nested disables)
• handler PIC device driver!
• action linked list of irqaction structs
  (containing ISRs)
• irqaction ISR info
• handler actual ISR!
• flags
• SA_INTERRUPT interrupts disabled if set
• SA_SHIRQ sharing allowed
• SA_SAMPLE_RANDOM input for /dev/random entropy
  pool
• name for /proc/interrupts
• dev_id, next
• irq_stat per-cpu counters (for /proc/interrupts)

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Interrupt Processing

• BUILD_IRQ macro generates
• IRQn_interrupt
• pushl n-256 // negative to distinguish syscalls
• jmp common_interrupt
• Common code
• common_interrupt
• SAVE_ALL // save a few more registers than
  hardware
• call do_IRQ
• jmp ret_from_intr
• do_IRQ() is C code that handles all interrupts

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Low-level IRQ Processing

• do_IRQ()
• get vector, index into irq_desc for appropriate
  struct
• grab per-vector spinlock, ack (to PIC) and mask
  line
• set flags (IRQ_PENDING)
• really process IRQ? (may be disabled, etc.)
• call handle_IRQ_event()
• some logic for handling lost IRQs on SMP systems
• handle_IRQ_event()
• enable interrupts if needed (SA_INTERRUPT clear)
• execute all ISRs for this vector
• action-gthandler(irq, action-gtdev_id, regs)

18
Deferrable Functions

• Bottom-halves (deprecated)
• Old static array of function pointers that are
  marked for execution (can be masked temporarily)
• Executed on kernel to user transition
• Executed serially (globally) on SMP system
• Mostly for networking code
• Tasklets Different tasklets can execute
  concurrently
• Softirqs The same softirq can execute
  concurrently
• Layered implementation
• Bottom-halves implemented using tasklets
• Tasklets implemented using softirqs
• When executed? (pretty frequently)
• When last (nested) interrupt handler terminates
  
• When network packet receiver
• When idle per-cpu ksoftirqd kernel thread
• Lots of detail in book a bit complex

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Return Code Path

• Interleaved assembly entry points
• ret_from_exception()
• ret_from_inr()
• ret_from_sys_call()
• ret_from_fork()
• See flowchart in text (Fig 4-5 page 158)
• Things that happen
• Run scheduler if necessary
• Return to user mode if no nested handlers
• Restore context, user-stack, switch mode
• Re-enable interrupts if necessary
• Deliver pending signals
• (Some DOS emulation stuff VM86 Mode)