QubesVmCollection.save() overrides qubes.xml by creating new file, then
renaming it over the old one. If any process has that (old) file open
at the same time - especially while waiting on lock_db_for_writing() -
it will end up in accessing old, already unlinked file.
The exact calls would look like:
P1 P2
lock_db_for_writing
fd = open('qubes.xml')
fcntl(fd, F_SETLK, ...)
lock_db_for_writing
fd = open('qubes.xml')
fcntl(fd, F_SETLK, ...)
...
save():
open(temp-file)
write(temp-file, ...)
...
flush(temp-file)
rename(temp-file, 'qubes.xml')
close(fd) // close old file
lock_db_for_writing succeed
*** fd points at already unlinked
file
unlock_db
close(qubes.xml)
To fix that problem, added a check if (already locked) file is still the
same as qubes.xml.
Apparently kernel patch "x86/cpa: Use pte_attrs instead of pte_flags on
CPA/set_p.._wb/wc operations" (in out repo) doesn't fully solve the
problem and sometimes qubes-gui agent crashes with message like
"qubes-gui:664 map pfn expected mapping type write-back for [mem
0x00093000-0x00093fff], got uncached-minus".
Because PAT we really need only in dom0 (lack of it dramatically
decrease performance of some graphics drivers), we can simply disable it
in VM - as it is currently done in upstream kernel.
Save the next one in temporary file, then move over to destination file.
This way when writing the file to disk fails (e.g. out of disk space),
user still have old file version intact.
This is somehow related to #757, but only first (easier) step. Actual
change of QubesAdminVm base class requires somehow more changes, for
example qvm-ls needs to know how to display this type of VM (none of
template, appvm, netvm).
Make this first step change now, because starting with R2Beta3 dom0 will
be stored in qubes.xml (for new backups purposes) so this rename would
be complicated later.
Any HVM (which isn't already template-based) can be a template for
another HVM. For now do not allow simultaneous run of template and its
VM (this assumption simplify the implementation, as no root-cow.img is
needed).
Gui daemon isn't aware of multihead parameters, also gui protocol
doesn't support such information - currently by design it is configured
via Qubes RPC service.
At GUI startup send monitor layout to the VM.
