Using Bpftrace to Detect Deadlock in Hugetlb Subsystem
In this blog post, we’ll explore how to use Bpftrace to investigate and analyze a deadlock issue in the Linux kernel’s hugetlb subsystem. We’ll walk through the process of identifying the root cause using Bpftrace’s tracing capabilities, examining kernel function calls and variables in real-time, and finally developing a solution. Let’s get started! Bpftrace Bpftrace is a high-level tracing language with scriptable syntax support for Linux that leverages eBPF (Extended Berkeley Packet Filter) technology for powerful kernel observability. Created by Alastair Robertson and significantly advanced by Brendan Gregg, it’s inspired by awk, C, and predecessors like DTrace and SystemTap. ...