418 lines
15 KiB
Plaintext
418 lines
15 KiB
Plaintext
# Hello emacs, this is -*- indented-text -*-
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Kernel debugging FAQ for FreeBSD
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$Id: kernel-debug.FAQ,v 1.3 1995/07/30 12:53:39 joerg Exp $
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*** Debugging a kernel crash dump with kgdb ***
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[In the following, the term ``kgdb'' refers to gdb run in `kernel
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debug mode'. This can be accomplished by either starting the gdb
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with the option ``-k'', or by linking and starting it under the
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name ``kgdb''. This is not being done by default, however.]
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Here are some instructions for getting kernel debugging working on a
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crash dump, it assumes that you have enough swap space for a crash
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dump. If you happen to have multiple swap partitions with the first
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one being too small to keep the dump, you can configure your kernel
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to use an alternate dump device (in the ``config kernel'' line), or
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you can tell this using the dumpon(8) command. Dumps to non-swap
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devices (e.g. tapes) are currently not supported.
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Config your kernel using config -g
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Either, use the dumpon(8) command to tell the kernel where to dump
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to (note that this will have to be done after configuring the
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partition in question as swap space via swapon(8)). This is
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normally arranged via sysconfig and /etc/rc. Alternatively, you can
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hard-code the dump device via the `dump' clause in the `config' line
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of your kernel config file.
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When the kernel's been built make a copy of it, say kernel.debug,
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and then run strip -x on the original. Install the original as
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normal. You may also install the unstripped kernel, but symtab
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lookup time for some programs might drastically increase, and since
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the whole kernel is loaded entirely at boot time and cannot be
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swapped out later, you're going to waste several megabytes of
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physical RAM.
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If you are testing a new kernel (e.g. by typing the new kernel's
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name at the boot prompt), but need to boot a different one in order
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to get your system up & running again, do boot it only into single
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user state (the -s flag at the boot prompt), and then perform the
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following steps:
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fsck -p
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mount -a -t ufs # so your file system for /var/crash is writable
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savecore -N /kernel.panicked /var/crash
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exit # ...to multi-user
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This instructs savecore to use another kernel for symbol name
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extraction; it would default to the currently running kernel
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otherwise.
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Now, after a crash dump, go to /sys/compile/WHATEVER and run
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kgdb. From kgdb do:
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symbol-file kernel.debug
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exec-file /var/crash/system.0
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core-file /var/crash/ram.0
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and voila, you can debug the crash dump using the kernel sources
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just like you can for any other program.
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If your kernel panicked due to a trap (perhaps the most common case
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for getting a core dump), the following trick might help you. Examine
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the stack (`where') and look for the stack frame in the function
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trap(). Go `up' to that frame, and then type:
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frame frame->tf_ebp frame->tf_eip
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This will tell kgdb to go to the stack frame explicitly named by a
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frame pointer and instruction pointer, which is the location where
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the trap occured. There are still some bugs in kgdb (you can go
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`up' from there, but not `down'; the stack trace will still remain
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as it was before going to here), but generally this method will lead
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you much closer to the failing piece of code.
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Here's a script log of a kgdb session illustrating the above. Long
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lines have been folded to improve readability, and the lines are
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numbered for reference. Despite of this, it's a real-world error
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trace taken during the development of the pcvt console driver.
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1:Script started on Fri Dec 30 23:15:22 1994
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2:uriah # cd /sys/compile/URIAH
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3:uriah # kgdb kernel /var/crash/vmcore.1
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4:Reading symbol data from /usr/src/sys/compile/URIAH/kernel...done.
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5:IdlePTD 1f3000
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6:panic: because you said to!
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7:current pcb at 1e3f70
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8:Reading in symbols for ../../i386/i386/machdep.c...done.
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9:(kgdb) where
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10:#0 boot (arghowto=256) (../../i386/i386/machdep.c line 767)
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11:#1 0xf0115159 in panic ()
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12:#2 0xf01955bd in diediedie () (../../i386/i386/machdep.c line 698)
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13:#3 0xf010185e in db_fncall ()
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14:#4 0xf0101586 in db_command (-266509132, -266509516, -267381073)
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15:#5 0xf0101711 in db_command_loop ()
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16:#6 0xf01040a0 in db_trap ()
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17:#7 0xf0192976 in kdb_trap (12, 0, -272630436, -266743723)
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18:#8 0xf019d2eb in trap_fatal (...)
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19:#9 0xf019ce60 in trap_pfault (...)
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20:#10 0xf019cb2f in trap (...)
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21:#11 0xf01932a1 in exception:calltrap ()
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22:#12 0xf0191503 in cnopen (...)
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23:#13 0xf0132c34 in spec_open ()
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24:#14 0xf012d014 in vn_open ()
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25:#15 0xf012a183 in open ()
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26:#16 0xf019d4eb in syscall (...)
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27:(kgdb) up 10
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28:Reading in symbols for ../../i386/i386/trap.c...done.
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29:#10 0xf019cb2f in trap (frame={tf_es = -260440048, tf_ds = 16, tf_\
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30:edi = 3072, tf_esi = -266445372, tf_ebp = -272630356, tf_isp = -27\
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31:2630396, tf_ebx = -266427884, tf_edx = 12, tf_ecx = -266427884, tf\
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32:_eax = 64772224, tf_trapno = 12, tf_err = -272695296, tf_eip = -26\
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33:6672343, tf_cs = -266469368, tf_eflags = 66066, tf_esp = 3072, tf_\
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34:ss = -266427884}) (../../i386/i386/trap.c line 283)
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35:283 (void) trap_pfault(&frame, FALSE);
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36:(kgdb) frame frame->tf_ebp frame->tf_eip
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37:Reading in symbols for ../../i386/isa/pcvt/pcvt_drv.c...done.
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38:#0 0xf01ae729 in pcopen (dev=3072, flag=3, mode=8192, p=(struct p\
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39:roc *) 0xf07c0c00) (../../i386/isa/pcvt/pcvt_drv.c line 403)
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40:403 return ((*linesw[tp->t_line].l_open)(dev, tp));
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41:(kgdb) list
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42:398
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43:399 tp->t_state |= TS_CARR_ON;
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44:400 tp->t_cflag |= CLOCAL; /* cannot be a modem (:-) */
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45:401
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46:402 #if PCVT_NETBSD || (PCVT_FREEBSD >= 200)
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47:403 return ((*linesw[tp->t_line].l_open)(dev, tp));
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48:404 #else
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49:405 return ((*linesw[tp->t_line].l_open)(dev, tp, flag));
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50:406 #endif /* PCVT_NETBSD || (PCVT_FREEBSD >= 200) */
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51:407 }
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52:(kgdb) print tp
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53:Reading in symbols for ../../i386/i386/cons.c...done.
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54:$1 = (struct tty *) 0x1bae
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55:(kgdb) print tp->t_line
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56:$2 = 1767990816
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57:(kgdb) up
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58:#1 0xf0191503 in cnopen (dev=0x00000000, flag=3, mode=8192, p=(st\
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59:ruct proc *) 0xf07c0c00) (../../i386/i386/cons.c line 126)
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60: return ((*cdevsw[major(dev)].d_open)(dev, flag, mode, p));
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61:(kgdb) up
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62:#2 0xf0132c34 in spec_open ()
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63:(kgdb) up
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64:#3 0xf012d014 in vn_open ()
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65:(kgdb) up
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66:#4 0xf012a183 in open ()
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67:(kgdb) up
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68:#5 0xf019d4eb in syscall (frame={tf_es = 39, tf_ds = 39, tf_edi =\
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69: 2158592, tf_esi = 0, tf_ebp = -272638436, tf_isp = -272629788, tf\
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70:_ebx = 7086, tf_edx = 1, tf_ecx = 0, tf_eax = 5, tf_trapno = 582, \
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71:tf_err = 582, tf_eip = 75749, tf_cs = 31, tf_eflags = 582, tf_esp \
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72:= -272638456, tf_ss = 39}) (../../i386/i386/trap.c line 673)
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73:673 error = (*callp->sy_call)(p, args, rval);
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74:(kgdb) up
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75:Initial frame selected; you cannot go up.
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76:(kgdb) quit
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77:uriah # exit
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78:exit
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79:
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80:Script done on Fri Dec 30 23:18:04 1994
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Comments to the above script:
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line 6: this is a dump taken from within DDB (see below), hence the
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panic comment ``because you said to!'', and a rather long
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stack trace; the initial reason for going into DDB has been
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a page fault trap though
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line 20: the location of function ``trap()'' in the stack trace
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line 36: force usage of a new stack frame, kgdb responds and displays
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the source line where the trap happened; from looking at the
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code, there's a high probability that either the pointer
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access for ``tp'' was messed up, or the array access was
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out of bounds
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line 52: the pointer looks suspicious, but happens to be a valid
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address...
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line 56: ... but obviously points to garbage, so we have found our
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error, sigh! [For those uncommon with that particular piece
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of code: tp->t_line refers to the line discipline of the
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console device here, which must be a rather small integer
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number.]
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*** Post-mortem analysis of a dump ***
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What to do if a kernel dumped core but you didn't expect it, and it's
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therefore not compiled using config -g?
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Not everything is lost here. Don't panic. :-)
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Of course, you still need to enable crash dumps at all. See above
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on the options you've got to do this. (This is for safety reasons
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in the default kernels, to avoid them trying to dump e.g. during
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system installation where there's no FreeBSD partition at all and
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valuable data on the disk could be destroyed.)
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Go to your kernel compile directory, and edit the line containing
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COPTFLAGS?=-O. Add the `-g' option there (but DON'T change anything
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on the level of optimization). If you do already know roughly the
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probable location of the failing piece of code (e.g., the `pcvt'
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driver in the example above), remove all the object files for this
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code. Rebuild the kernel. Due to the time stamp change on the
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Makefile, there will be some other object files rebuild, e.g.
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trap.o. With a bit of luck, the added -g option won't change
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anything for the generated code, so you'll finally get a new kernel
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with similiar code to the faulting one but some debugging symbols.
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You should at least verify the old and new sizes with the `size'
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command; if they mismatch, you probably need to give up here.
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Go and examine the dump as described above. The debugging symbols
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might be incomplete for some places (as can be seen in the stack trace
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in the example above: some functions are displayed without line
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numbers and argument lists). If you need more debugging symbols,
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remove the appropriate object files and repeat the kgdb session until
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you know enough.
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All this is not guaranteed to work, but most likely will do it fine.
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*** On-line kernel debugging using DDB ***
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While kgdb as an offline debugger provides a very high level of user
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interface (e.g. it can lookup source files, display C structures
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etc.), there are some things it cannot do. The most important ones
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being breakpointing and single-stepping kernel code.
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If you need to do low-level debugging on your kernel, there's an on-
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line debugger available called DDB. It allows to set breakpoints,
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single-step kernel functions, examine and change kernel variables
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etc. It can however not access kernel source files, and it does
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only have access to the global and static symbols, but not to the
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full debug information (including type and line number information)
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like kgdb.
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To configure your kernel to include DDB, add the option line
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options DDB
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to your config file, and rebuild.
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(Note that if you have an older version of the boot blocks, your
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debugger symbols might not be loaded at all. Update the boot
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blocks, the recent ones do load the DDB symbols automagically.)
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Once your DDB kernel is running, there are several ways to enter
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DDB. The first (and most early) way is to set the boot flag `-d'
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(right at the boot prompt). The kernel will start up in debug mode
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and enter DDB prior to any device probing. Hence you are able to
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even debug the device probe/attach functions.
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The second scenario is a hot-key on the keyboard, usually Ctrl-Alt-
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ESC. (For syscons, this can be remapped, and some of the
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distributed maps do this, so watch out.) There's an option
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available for a COMCONSOLE kernel (``options BREAK_TO_DEBUGGER'')
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that allows the use of a serial line BREAK on the console line to
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enter DDB.
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The third way is that any panic condition will branch to DDB if the
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kernel is configured to use it. (Thus it is not wise to configure a
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kernel with DDB for a machine running unattended.)
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The DDB commands roughly resemble some gdb commands. The first you
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probably need is to set a breakpoint:
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b function-name
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b address
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Numbers are taken hexadecimal by default, but to make them distinct
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from symbol names, hex numbers starting with the letters `a' - `f'
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need to be preceded with `0x' (for other numbers, this is optional).
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Simple expressions are allowed, e.g. ``function-name + 0x103''.
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To continue the operation of an interrupted kernel, simply type
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c
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To get a stack trace, use
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trace
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Note that when entering DDB via a hot-key, the kernel is currently
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servicing an interrupt, so the stack trace might be not of much use
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for you.
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If you want to remove a breakpoint, use
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del
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del address-expression
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The first form will be accepted immediately after a breakpoint hit,
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and deletes the current breakpoint. The second form can remove any
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breakpoint, but you need to specify the exact address, as it can be
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obtained from
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show b
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To single-step the kernel, try
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s
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This will step into functions, but you can make DDB trace them until
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the matching return statement is reached by
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n
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NOTE: this is different from gdb's ``next'' statement, it's like
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gdb's ``finish''.
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To examine data from memory, use e.g.
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x/wx 0xf0133fe0,40
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x/hd db_symtab_space
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x/bc termbuf,10
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x/s stringbuf
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for word/halfword/byte access, and hexadecimal/decimal/character/
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string display. The number after the comma is the object count.
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To display the next 0x10 items, simply use
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x ,10
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Similiarly, use
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x/ia foofunc,10
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to disassemble the first 0x10 instructions of foofunc, and display
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them along with their offset from the beginning of foofunc.
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To modify the memory, use the write command:
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w/b termbuf 0xa 0xb 0
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w/w 0xf0010030 0 0
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The command modifier (b/h/w) specifies the size of the data to be
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writtten, the first following expression is the address to write to,
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the remainder is interpreted as data to write to successive memory
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locations.
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If you need to know the current registers, use
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show reg
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Alternatively, you can display a single register value by e.g.
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print $eax
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and modify it by
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set $eax new-value
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Should you need to call some kernel functions from DDB, simply
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say
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call func(arg1, arg2, ...)
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The return value will be printed.
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For a ps-style summary of all running processes, use
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ps
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Well, you've now examined why your kernel failed, and you wish to
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reboot. Remember that, depending on the severity of previous
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malfunctioning, not all parts of the kernel might still be working
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as expected. Perform one of the following actions to shut down and
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reboot your system:
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call diediedie()
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(must usually be followed by another ``c[ontinue]'' statement),
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will cause your kernel to dump core and reboot, so you can later
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analyze the core on a higher level with kgdb.
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There's now an alias for this: ``panic''.
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call boot(0)
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might be a good way to cleanly shut down the running system, sync()
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all disks, and finally reboot. As long as the disk and file system
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interfaces of the kernel are not damaged, this might be a good way
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for an almost clean shutdown.
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call cpu_reset()
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...is the final way out of the desaster, almost similiar to hitting
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the Big Red Button.
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*** What to do if i want to debug a console driver? ***
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Since you need a console driver to run DDB on, things are more
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complicated if the console driver itself is flakey. You might
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remember the ``options COMCONSOLE'' line, and hook up a standard
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terminal onto your first serial port. DDB works on any configured
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console driver, of course it also works on a COMCONSOLE.
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Paul Richards, FreeBSD core team member. (paul@FreeBSD.org)
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J"org Wunsch (joerg@FreeBSD.org)
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