- * Publish the known good head. Rely on the full barrier implied
- * by atomic_dec_and_test() order the rb->head read and this
- * write.
+ * Since the mmap() consumer (userspace) can run on a different CPU:
+ *
+ * kernel user
+ *
+ * READ ->data_tail READ ->data_head
+ * smp_mb() (A) smp_rmb() (C)
+ * WRITE $data READ $data
+ * smp_wmb() (B) smp_mb() (D)
+ * STORE ->data_head WRITE ->data_tail
+ *
+ * Where A pairs with D, and B pairs with C.
+ *
+ * I don't think A needs to be a full barrier because we won't in fact
+ * write data until we see the store from userspace. So we simply don't
+ * issue the data WRITE until we observe it. Be conservative for now.
+ *
+ * OTOH, D needs to be a full barrier since it separates the data READ
+ * from the tail WRITE.
+ *
+ * For B a WMB is sufficient since it separates two WRITEs, and for C
+ * an RMB is sufficient since it separates two READs.
+ *
+ * See perf_output_begin().