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Understanding the Linux Kernel, 3rd Edition

From I/O Ports to Process Management

By Daniel Bovet, Marco Cesati

Publisher: O'Reilly Media

Release Date: December 2008

Pages: 944

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In order to thoroughly understand what makes Linux tick and why it works so well on a wide variety of systems, you need to delve deep into the heart of the kernel. The kernel handles all interactions between the CPU and the external world, and determines which programs will share processor time, in what order. It manages limited memory so well that hundreds of processes can share the system efficiently, and expertly organizes data transfers so that the CPU isn't kept waiting any longer than necessary for the relatively slow disks.

The third edition of Understanding the Linux Kernel takes you on a guided tour of the most significant data structures, algorithms, and programming tricks used in the kernel. Probing beyond superficial features, the authors offer valuable insights to people who want to know how things really work inside their machine. Important Intel-specific features are discussed. Relevant segments of code are dissected line by line. But the book covers more than just the functioning of the code; it explains the theoretical underpinnings of why Linux does things the way it does.

This edition of the book covers Version 2.6, which has seen significant changes to nearly every kernel subsystem, particularly in the areas of memory management and block devices. The book focuses on the following topics:

Memory management, including file buffering, process swapping, and Direct memory Access (DMA)
The Virtual Filesystem layer and the Second and Third Extended Filesystems
Process creation and scheduling
Signals, interrupts, and the essential interfaces to device drivers
Timing
Synchronization within the kernel
Interprocess Communication (IPC)
Program execution

Understanding the Linux Kernel will acquaint you with all the inner workings of Linux, but it's more than just an academic exercise. You'll learn what conditions bring out Linux's best performance, and you'll see how it meets the challenge of providing good system response during process scheduling, file access, and memory management in a wide variety of environments. This book will help you make the most of your Linux system.

Chapter 1 Introduction
1. Linux Versus Other Unix-Like Kernels
2. Hardware Dependency
3. Linux Versions
4. Basic Operating System Concepts
5. An Overview of the Unix Filesystem
6. An Overview of Unix Kernels
Chapter 2 Memory Addressing
1. Memory Addresses
2. Segmentation in Hardware
3. Segmentation in Linux
4. Paging in Hardware
5. Paging in Linux
Chapter 3 Processes
1. Processes, Lightweight Processes, and Threads
2. Process Descriptor
3. Process Switch
4. Creating Processes
5. Destroying Processes
Chapter 4 Interrupts and Exceptions
1. The Role of Interrupt Signals
2. Interrupts and Exceptions
3. Nested Execution of Exception and Interrupt Handlers
4. Initializing the Interrupt Descriptor Table
5. Exception Handling
6. Interrupt Handling
7. Softirqs and Tasklets
8. Work Queues
9. Returning from Interrupts and Exceptions
Chapter 5 Kernel Synchronization
1. How the Kernel Services Requests
2. Synchronization Primitives
3. Synchronizing Accesses to Kernel Data Structures
4. Examples of Race Condition Prevention
Chapter 6 Timing Measurements
1. Clock and Timer Circuits
2. The Linux Timekeeping Architecture
3. Updating the Time and Date
4. Updating System Statistics
5. Software Timers and Delay Functions
6. System Calls Related to Timing Measurements
Chapter 7 Process Scheduling
1. Scheduling Policy
2. The Scheduling Algorithm
3. Data Structures Used by the Scheduler
4. Functions Used by the Scheduler
5. Runqueue Balancing in Multiprocessor Systems
6. System Calls Related to Scheduling
Chapter 8 Memory Management
1. Page Frame Management
2. Memory Area Management
3. Noncontiguous Memory Area Management
Chapter 9 Process Address Space
1. The Process's Address Space
2. The Memory Descriptor
3. Memory Regions
4. Page Fault Exception Handler
5. Creating and Deleting a Process Address Space
6. Managing the Heap
Chapter 10 System Calls
1. POSIX APIs and System Calls
2. System Call Handler and Service Routines
3. Entering and Exiting a System Call
4. Parameter Passing
5. Kernel Wrapper Routines
Chapter 11 Signals
1. The Role of Signals
2. Generating a Signal
3. Delivering a Signal
4. System Calls Related to Signal Handling
Chapter 12 The Virtual Filesystem
1. The Role of the Virtual Filesystem (VFS)
2. VFS Data Structures
3. Filesystem Types
4. Filesystem Handling
5. Pathname Lookup
6. Implementations of VFS System Calls
7. File Locking
Chapter 13 I/O Architecture and Device Drivers
1. I/O Architecture
2. The Device Driver Model
3. Device Files
4. Device Drivers
5. Character Device Drivers
Chapter 14 Block Device Drivers
1. Block Devices Handling
2. The Generic Block Layer
3. The I/O Scheduler
4. Block Device Drivers
5. Opening a Block Device File
Chapter 15 The Page Cache
1. The Page Cache
2. Storing Blocks in the Page Cache
3. Writing Dirty Pages to Disk
4. The sync( ), fsync( ), and fdatasync( ) System Calls
Chapter 16 Accessing Files
1. Reading and Writing a File
2. Memory Mapping
3. Direct I/O Transfers
4. Asynchronous I/O
Chapter 17 Page Frame Reclaiming
1. The Page Frame Reclaiming Algorithm
2. Reverse Mapping
3. Implementing the PFRA
4. Swapping
Chapter 18 The Ext2 and Ext3 Filesystems
1. General Characteristics of Ext2
2. Ext2 Disk Data Structures
3. Ext2 Memory Data Structures
4. Creating the Ext2 Filesystem
5. Ext2 Methods
6. Managing Ext2 Disk Space
7. The Ext3 Filesystem
Chapter 19 Process Communication
1. Pipes
2. FIFOs
3. System V IPC
4. POSIX Message Queues
Chapter 20 Program ExZecution
1. Executable Files
2. Executable Formats
3. Execution Domains
4. The exec Functions

Appendix A System Startup
1. Prehistoric Age: the BIOS
2. Ancient Age: the Boot Loader
3. Middle Ages: the setup( ) Function
4. Renaissance: the startup_32( ) Functions
5. Modern Age: the start_kernel( ) Function
Appendix B Modules
1. To Be (a Module) or Not to Be?
2. Module Implementation
3. Linking and Unlinking Modules
4. Linking Modules on Demand
Appendix Bibliography
1. Books on Unix Kernels
2. Books on the Linux Kernel
3. Books on PC Architecture and Technical Manuals on Intel Microprocessors
4. Other Online Documentation Sources
5. Research Papers Related to Linux Development
Colophon

Books & Videos

Understanding the Linux Kernel, 3rd Edition

From I/O Ports to Process Management

Read on Safari with a 10-day trial

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction

Linux Versus Other Unix-Like Kernels

Hardware Dependency

Linux Versions

Basic Operating System Concepts

An Overview of the Unix Filesystem

An Overview of Unix Kernels

Chapter 2 Memory Addressing

Memory Addresses

Segmentation in Hardware

Segmentation in Linux

Paging in Hardware

Paging in Linux

Chapter 3 Processes

Processes, Lightweight Processes, and Threads

Process Descriptor

Process Switch

Creating Processes

Destroying Processes

Chapter 4 Interrupts and Exceptions

The Role of Interrupt Signals

Interrupts and Exceptions

Nested Execution of Exception and Interrupt Handlers

Initializing the Interrupt Descriptor Table

Exception Handling

Interrupt Handling

Softirqs and Tasklets

Work Queues

Returning from Interrupts and Exceptions

Chapter 5 Kernel Synchronization

How the Kernel Services Requests

Synchronization Primitives

Synchronizing Accesses to Kernel Data Structures

Examples of Race Condition Prevention

Chapter 6 Timing Measurements

Clock and Timer Circuits

The Linux Timekeeping Architecture

Updating the Time and Date

Updating System Statistics

Software Timers and Delay Functions

System Calls Related to Timing Measurements

Chapter 7 Process Scheduling

Scheduling Policy

The Scheduling Algorithm

Data Structures Used by the Scheduler

Functions Used by the Scheduler

Runqueue Balancing in Multiprocessor Systems

System Calls Related to Scheduling

Chapter 8 Memory Management

Page Frame Management

Memory Area Management

Noncontiguous Memory Area Management

Chapter 9 Process Address Space

The Process's Address Space

The Memory Descriptor

Memory Regions

Page Fault Exception Handler

Creating and Deleting a Process Address Space

Managing the Heap

Chapter 10 System Calls

POSIX APIs and System Calls

System Call Handler and Service Routines

Entering and Exiting a System Call

Parameter Passing

Kernel Wrapper Routines

Chapter 11 Signals

The Role of Signals

Generating a Signal

Delivering a Signal

System Calls Related to Signal Handling

Chapter 12 The Virtual Filesystem

The Role of the Virtual Filesystem (VFS)

VFS Data Structures

Filesystem Types

Filesystem Handling