A study of persistent memory bugs in the Linux kernel
Duo Zhang, Om Rameshwar Gatla, Wei Xu, Mai Zheng · 2021
Persistent memory (PM) technologies have inspired a wide range of PM-based system optimizations. However, building correct PM-based systems is difficult due to the unique characteristics of PM hardware. To better understand the challenges as well as the opportunities to address them, this paper presents a comprehensive study of PM-related bugs in the Linux kernel. By analyzing 1,350 PM-related kernel patches in depth, we derive multiple insights in terms of PM patch categories, PM bug patterns, consequences, and fix strategies. We hope our results could contribute to the development of effective PM bug detectors and robust PM-based systems.