watchdog: enable the new user interface of the watchdog mechanism

[uclinux-h8/linux.git] / Documentation / sysctl / kernel.txt

diff --git a/Documentation/sysctl/kernel.txt b/Documentation/sysctl/kernel.txt
index 83ab256..99d7eb3 100644 (file)
--- a/Documentation/sysctl/kernel.txt
+++ b/Documentation/sysctl/kernel.txt
@@ -77,12 +77,14 @@ show up in /proc/sys/kernel:
 - shmmax                      [ sysv ipc ]
 - shmmni
 - softlockup_all_cpu_backtrace
+- soft_watchdog
 - stop-a                      [ SPARC only ]
 - sysrq                       ==> Documentation/sysrq.txt
 - sysctl_writes_strict
 - tainted
 - threads-max
 - unknown_nmi_panic
+- watchdog
 - watchdog_thresh
 - version
 
@@ -417,16 +419,23 @@ successful IPC object allocation.
 
 nmi_watchdog:
 
-Enables/Disables the NMI watchdog on x86 systems. When the value is
-non-zero the NMI watchdog is enabled and will continuously test all
-online cpus to determine whether or not they are still functioning
-properly. Currently, passing "nmi_watchdog=" parameter at boot time is
-required for this function to work.
+This parameter can be used to control the NMI watchdog
+(i.e. the hard lockup detector) on x86 systems.
 
-If LAPIC NMI watchdog method is in use (nmi_watchdog=2 kernel
-parameter), the NMI watchdog shares registers with oprofile. By
-disabling the NMI watchdog, oprofile may have more registers to
-utilize.
+   0 - disable the hard lockup detector
+   1 - enable the hard lockup detector
+
+The hard lockup detector monitors each CPU for its ability to respond to
+timer interrupts. The mechanism utilizes CPU performance counter registers
+that are programmed to generate Non-Maskable Interrupts (NMIs) periodically
+while a CPU is busy. Hence, the alternative name 'NMI watchdog'.
+
+The NMI watchdog is disabled by default if the kernel is running as a guest
+in a KVM virtual machine. This default can be overridden by adding
+
+   nmi_watchdog=1
+
+to the guest kernel command line (see Documentation/kernel-parameters.txt).
 
 ==============================================================
 
@@ -816,6 +825,22 @@ NMI.
 
 ==============================================================
 
+soft_watchdog
+
+This parameter can be used to control the soft lockup detector.
+
+   0 - disable the soft lockup detector
+   1 - enable the soft lockup detector
+
+The soft lockup detector monitors CPUs for threads that are hogging the CPUs
+without rescheduling voluntarily, and thus prevent the 'watchdog/N' threads
+from running. The mechanism depends on the CPUs ability to respond to timer
+interrupts which are needed for the 'watchdog/N' threads to be woken up by
+the watchdog timer function, otherwise the NMI watchdog - if enabled - can
+detect a hard lockup condition.
+
+==============================================================
+
 tainted:
 
 Non-zero if the kernel has been tainted.  Numeric values, which
@@ -858,6 +883,25 @@ example.  If a system hangs up, try pressing the NMI switch.
 
 ==============================================================
 
+watchdog:
+
+This parameter can be used to disable or enable the soft lockup detector
+_and_ the NMI watchdog (i.e. the hard lockup detector) at the same time.
+
+   0 - disable both lockup detectors
+   1 - enable both lockup detectors
+
+The soft lockup detector and the NMI watchdog can also be disabled or
+enabled individually, using the soft_watchdog and nmi_watchdog parameters.
+If the watchdog parameter is read, for example by executing
+
+   cat /proc/sys/kernel/watchdog
+
+the output of this command (0 or 1) shows the logical OR of soft_watchdog
+and nmi_watchdog.
+
+==============================================================
+
 watchdog_thresh:
 
 This value can be used to control the frequency of hrtimer and NMI