6858051: Create GC worker threads dynamically
authorjmasa
Thu, 06 Aug 2015 22:07:30 -0700
changeset 38216 250794c6f95f
parent 38215 fe1677e95252
child 38246 518c89421883
child 38247 6ff550a6307e
6858051: Create GC worker threads dynamically Reviewed-by: tschatzl, drwhite
hotspot/src/share/vm/gc/parallel/gcTaskManager.cpp
hotspot/src/share/vm/gc/parallel/gcTaskManager.hpp
hotspot/src/share/vm/gc/parallel/gcTaskThread.cpp
hotspot/src/share/vm/gc/parallel/gcTaskThread.hpp
hotspot/src/share/vm/gc/shared/adaptiveSizePolicy.cpp
hotspot/src/share/vm/gc/shared/adaptiveSizePolicy.hpp
hotspot/src/share/vm/gc/shared/workerManager.hpp
hotspot/src/share/vm/gc/shared/workgroup.cpp
hotspot/src/share/vm/gc/shared/workgroup.hpp
--- a/hotspot/src/share/vm/gc/parallel/gcTaskManager.cpp	Thu Apr 28 15:40:45 2016 +0200
+++ b/hotspot/src/share/vm/gc/parallel/gcTaskManager.cpp	Thu Aug 06 22:07:30 2015 -0700
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright (c) 2002, 2015, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
+ * Copyright (c) 2002, 2016, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
  * DO NOT ALTER OR REMOVE COPYRIGHT NOTICES OR THIS FILE HEADER.
  *
  * This code is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
@@ -25,8 +25,8 @@
 #include "precompiled.hpp"
 #include "gc/parallel/gcTaskManager.hpp"
 #include "gc/parallel/gcTaskThread.hpp"
-#include "gc/shared/adaptiveSizePolicy.hpp"
 #include "gc/shared/gcId.hpp"
+#include "gc/shared/workerManager.hpp"
 #include "logging/log.hpp"
 #include "memory/allocation.hpp"
 #include "memory/allocation.inline.hpp"
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@
 #include "runtime/mutex.hpp"
 #include "runtime/mutexLocker.hpp"
 #include "runtime/orderAccess.inline.hpp"
+#include "runtime/os.hpp"
 
 //
 // GCTask
@@ -372,10 +373,28 @@
 GCTaskManager::GCTaskManager(uint workers) :
   _workers(workers),
   _active_workers(0),
-  _idle_workers(0) {
+  _idle_workers(0),
+  _created_workers(0) {
   initialize();
 }
 
+GCTaskThread* GCTaskManager::install_worker(uint t) {
+  GCTaskThread* new_worker = GCTaskThread::create(this, t, _processor_assignment[t]);
+  set_thread(t, new_worker);
+  return new_worker;
+}
+
+void GCTaskManager::add_workers(bool initializing) {
+  os::ThreadType worker_type = os::pgc_thread;
+  _created_workers = WorkerManager::add_workers(this,
+                                                _active_workers,
+                                                (uint) _workers,
+                                                _created_workers,
+                                                worker_type,
+                                                initializing);
+  _active_workers = MIN2(_created_workers, _active_workers);
+}
+
 void GCTaskManager::initialize() {
   if (TraceGCTaskManager) {
     tty->print_cr("GCTaskManager::initialize: workers: %u", workers());
@@ -394,28 +413,30 @@
     // Set up worker threads.
     //     Distribute the workers among the available processors,
     //     unless we were told not to, or if the os doesn't want to.
-    uint* processor_assignment = NEW_C_HEAP_ARRAY(uint, workers(), mtGC);
+    _processor_assignment = NEW_C_HEAP_ARRAY(uint, workers(), mtGC);
     if (!BindGCTaskThreadsToCPUs ||
-        !os::distribute_processes(workers(), processor_assignment)) {
+        !os::distribute_processes(workers(), _processor_assignment)) {
       for (uint a = 0; a < workers(); a += 1) {
-        processor_assignment[a] = sentinel_worker();
+        _processor_assignment[a] = sentinel_worker();
       }
     }
+
     _thread = NEW_C_HEAP_ARRAY(GCTaskThread*, workers(), mtGC);
-    for (uint t = 0; t < workers(); t += 1) {
-      set_thread(t, GCTaskThread::create(this, t, processor_assignment[t]));
+    _active_workers = ParallelGCThreads;
+    if (UseDynamicNumberOfGCThreads && !FLAG_IS_CMDLINE(ParallelGCThreads)) {
+      _active_workers = 1U;
     }
+
     Log(gc, task, thread) log;
     if (log.is_trace()) {
       ResourceMark rm;
       outputStream* out = log.trace_stream();
       out->print("GCTaskManager::initialize: distribution:");
       for (uint t = 0; t < workers(); t += 1) {
-        out->print("  %u", processor_assignment[t]);
+        out->print("  %u", _processor_assignment[t]);
       }
       out->cr();
     }
-    FREE_C_HEAP_ARRAY(uint, processor_assignment);
   }
   reset_busy_workers();
   set_unblocked();
@@ -426,9 +447,8 @@
   reset_completed_tasks();
   reset_barriers();
   reset_emptied_queue();
-  for (uint s = 0; s < workers(); s += 1) {
-    thread(s)->start();
-  }
+
+  add_workers(true);
 }
 
 GCTaskManager::~GCTaskManager() {
@@ -437,13 +457,17 @@
   NoopGCTask::destroy(_noop_task);
   _noop_task = NULL;
   if (_thread != NULL) {
-    for (uint i = 0; i < workers(); i += 1) {
+    for (uint i = 0; i < created_workers(); i += 1) {
       GCTaskThread::destroy(thread(i));
       set_thread(i, NULL);
     }
     FREE_C_HEAP_ARRAY(GCTaskThread*, _thread);
     _thread = NULL;
   }
+  if (_processor_assignment != NULL) {
+    FREE_C_HEAP_ARRAY(uint, _processor_assignment);
+    _processor_assignment = NULL;
+  }
   if (_resource_flag != NULL) {
     FREE_C_HEAP_ARRAY(bool, _resource_flag);
     _resource_flag = NULL;
@@ -470,6 +494,9 @@
          "all_workers_active() is  incorrect: "
          "active %d  ParallelGCThreads %u", active_workers(),
          ParallelGCThreads);
+  _active_workers = MIN2(_active_workers, _workers);
+  // "add_workers" does not guarantee any additional workers
+  add_workers(false);
   log_trace(gc, task)("GCTaskManager::set_active_gang(): "
                       "all_workers_active()  %d  workers %d  "
                       "active  %d  ParallelGCThreads %u",
@@ -499,7 +526,7 @@
       // is starting).  Try later to release enough idle_workers
       // to allow the desired number of active_workers.
       more_inactive_workers =
-        workers() - active_workers() - idle_workers();
+        created_workers() - active_workers() - idle_workers();
       if (more_inactive_workers < 0) {
         int reduced_active_workers = active_workers() + more_inactive_workers;
         set_active_workers(reduced_active_workers);
@@ -507,7 +534,7 @@
       }
       log_trace(gc, task)("JT: %d  workers %d  active  %d  idle %d  more %d",
                           Threads::number_of_non_daemon_threads(),
-                          workers(),
+                          created_workers(),
                           active_workers(),
                           idle_workers(),
                           more_inactive_workers);
@@ -517,7 +544,7 @@
       q->enqueue(IdleGCTask::create_on_c_heap());
       increment_idle_workers();
     }
-    assert(workers() == active_workers() + idle_workers(),
+    assert(created_workers() == active_workers() + idle_workers(),
       "total workers should equal active + inactive");
     add_list(q);
     // GCTaskQueue* q was created in a ResourceArea so a
@@ -539,14 +566,15 @@
   if (!log_is_enabled(Debug, gc, task, time)) {
     return;
   }
-  for(uint i=0; i<ParallelGCThreads; i++) {
+  uint num_thr = created_workers();
+  for(uint i=0; i < num_thr; i++) {
     GCTaskThread* t = thread(i);
     t->print_task_time_stamps();
   }
 }
 
 void GCTaskManager::print_threads_on(outputStream* st) {
-  uint num_thr = workers();
+  uint num_thr = created_workers();
   for (uint i = 0; i < num_thr; i++) {
     thread(i)->print_on(st);
     st->cr();
@@ -555,19 +583,20 @@
 
 void GCTaskManager::threads_do(ThreadClosure* tc) {
   assert(tc != NULL, "Null ThreadClosure");
-  uint num_thr = workers();
+  uint num_thr = created_workers();
   for (uint i = 0; i < num_thr; i++) {
     tc->do_thread(thread(i));
   }
 }
 
 GCTaskThread* GCTaskManager::thread(uint which) {
-  assert(which < workers(), "index out of bounds");
+  assert(which < created_workers(), "index out of bounds");
   assert(_thread[which] != NULL, "shouldn't have null thread");
   return _thread[which];
 }
 
 void GCTaskManager::set_thread(uint which, GCTaskThread* value) {
+  // "_created_workers" may not have been updated yet so use workers()
   assert(which < workers(), "index out of bounds");
   assert(value != NULL, "shouldn't have null thread");
   _thread[which] = value;
@@ -728,7 +757,7 @@
 
 void GCTaskManager::release_all_resources() {
   // If you want this to be done atomically, do it in a WaitForBarrierGCTask.
-  for (uint i = 0; i < workers(); i += 1) {
+  for (uint i = 0; i < created_workers(); i += 1) {
     set_resource_flag(i, true);
   }
 }
--- a/hotspot/src/share/vm/gc/parallel/gcTaskManager.hpp	Thu Apr 28 15:40:45 2016 +0200
+++ b/hotspot/src/share/vm/gc/parallel/gcTaskManager.hpp	Thu Aug 06 22:07:30 2015 -0700
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright (c) 2002, 2015, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
+ * Copyright (c) 2002, 2016, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
  * DO NOT ALTER OR REMOVE COPYRIGHT NOTICES OR THIS FILE HEADER.
  *
  * This code is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
@@ -370,6 +370,7 @@
   Monitor*                  _monitor;           // Notification of changes.
   SynchronizedGCTaskQueue*  _queue;             // Queue of tasks.
   GCTaskThread**            _thread;            // Array of worker threads.
+  uint                      _created_workers;   // Number of workers created.
   uint                      _active_workers;    // Number of active workers.
   uint                      _busy_workers;      // Number of busy workers.
   uint                      _blocking_worker;   // The worker that's blocking.
@@ -381,6 +382,8 @@
   NoopGCTask*               _noop_task;         // The NoopGCTask instance.
   WaitHelper                _wait_helper;       // Used by inactive worker
   volatile uint             _idle_workers;      // Number of idled workers
+  uint*                     _processor_assignment; // Worker to cpu mappings. May
+                                                   // be used lazily
 public:
   // Factory create and destroy methods.
   static GCTaskManager* create(uint workers) {
@@ -546,6 +549,13 @@
   uint active_workers() const {
     return _active_workers;
   }
+  uint created_workers() const {
+    return _created_workers;
+  }
+  // Create a GC worker and install into GCTaskManager
+  GCTaskThread* install_worker(uint worker_id);
+  // Add GC workers as needed.
+  void add_workers(bool initializing);
 };
 
 //
--- a/hotspot/src/share/vm/gc/parallel/gcTaskThread.cpp	Thu Apr 28 15:40:45 2016 +0200
+++ b/hotspot/src/share/vm/gc/parallel/gcTaskThread.cpp	Thu Aug 06 22:07:30 2015 -0700
@@ -44,9 +44,6 @@
   _time_stamps(NULL),
   _time_stamp_index(0)
 {
-  if (!os::create_thread(this, os::pgc_thread))
-    vm_exit_out_of_memory(0, OOM_MALLOC_ERROR, "Cannot create GC thread. Out of system resources.");
-
   set_id(which);
   set_name("ParGC Thread#%d", which);
 }
@@ -57,10 +54,6 @@
   }
 }
 
-void GCTaskThread::start() {
-  os::start_thread(this);
-}
-
 GCTaskTimeStamp* GCTaskThread::time_stamp_at(uint index) {
   guarantee(index < GCTaskTimeStampEntries, "increase GCTaskTimeStampEntries");
   if (_time_stamps == NULL) {
--- a/hotspot/src/share/vm/gc/parallel/gcTaskThread.hpp	Thu Apr 28 15:40:45 2016 +0200
+++ b/hotspot/src/share/vm/gc/parallel/gcTaskThread.hpp	Thu Aug 06 22:07:30 2015 -0700
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright (c) 2002, 2015, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
+ * Copyright (c) 2002, 2016, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
  * DO NOT ALTER OR REMOVE COPYRIGHT NOTICES OR THIS FILE HEADER.
  *
  * This code is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
@@ -48,13 +48,13 @@
 
   bool _is_working;                     // True if participating in GC tasks
 
- public:
   // Factory create and destroy methods.
   static GCTaskThread* create(GCTaskManager* manager,
                               uint           which,
                               uint           processor_id) {
     return new GCTaskThread(manager, which, processor_id);
   }
+ public:
   static void destroy(GCTaskThread* manager) {
     if (manager != NULL) {
       delete manager;
@@ -65,8 +65,6 @@
     return true;
   }
   virtual void run();
-  // Methods.
-  void start();
 
   void print_task_time_stamps();
 
--- a/hotspot/src/share/vm/gc/shared/adaptiveSizePolicy.cpp	Thu Apr 28 15:40:45 2016 +0200
+++ b/hotspot/src/share/vm/gc/shared/adaptiveSizePolicy.cpp	Thu Aug 06 22:07:30 2015 -0700
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright (c) 2004, 2015, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
+ * Copyright (c) 2004, 2016, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
  * DO NOT ALTER OR REMOVE COPYRIGHT NOTICES OR THIS FILE HEADER.
  *
  * This code is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
@@ -130,10 +130,7 @@
   uintx max_active_workers =
     MAX2(active_workers_by_JT, active_workers_by_heap_size);
 
-  // Limit the number of workers to the the number created,
-  // (workers()).
-  new_active_workers = MIN2(max_active_workers,
-                                (uintx) total_workers);
+  new_active_workers = MIN2(max_active_workers, (uintx) total_workers);
 
   // Increase GC workers instantly but decrease them more
   // slowly.
@@ -167,7 +164,7 @@
       "Jiggled active workers too much");
   }
 
-   log_trace(gc, task)("GCTaskManager::calc_default_active_workers() : "
+  log_trace(gc, task)("GCTaskManager::calc_default_active_workers() : "
      "active_workers(): " UINTX_FORMAT "  new_active_workers: " UINTX_FORMAT "  "
      "prev_active_workers: " UINTX_FORMAT "\n"
      " active_workers_by_JT: " UINTX_FORMAT "  active_workers_by_heap_size: " UINTX_FORMAT,
--- a/hotspot/src/share/vm/gc/shared/adaptiveSizePolicy.hpp	Thu Apr 28 15:40:45 2016 +0200
+++ b/hotspot/src/share/vm/gc/shared/adaptiveSizePolicy.hpp	Thu Aug 06 22:07:30 2015 -0700
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright (c) 2004, 2015, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
+ * Copyright (c) 2004, 2016, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
  * DO NOT ALTER OR REMOVE COPYRIGHT NOTICES OR THIS FILE HEADER.
  *
  * This code is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
--- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
+++ b/hotspot/src/share/vm/gc/shared/workerManager.hpp	Thu Aug 06 22:07:30 2015 -0700
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2016 Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
+ * DO NOT ALTER OR REMOVE COPYRIGHT NOTICES OR THIS FILE HEADER.
+ *
+ * This code is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
+ * under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2 only, as
+ * published by the Free Software Foundation.
+ *
+ * This code is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
+ * ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
+ * FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License
+ * version 2 for more details (a copy is included in the LICENSE file that
+ * accompanied this code).
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License version
+ * 2 along with this work; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation,
+ * Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.
+ *
+ * Please contact Oracle, 500 Oracle Parkway, Redwood Shores, CA 94065 USA
+ * or visit www.oracle.com if you need additional information or have any
+ * questions.
+ *
+ */
+
+#ifndef SHARE_VM_GC_SHARED_WORKERMANAGER_HPP
+#define SHARE_VM_GC_SHARED_WORKERMANAGER_HPP
+
+#include "gc/shared/adaptiveSizePolicy.hpp"
+
+class WorkerManager : public AllStatic {
+ public:
+  // Create additional workers as needed.
+  //   active_workers - number of workers being requested for an upcoming
+  // parallel task.
+  //   total_workers - total number of workers.  This is the maximum
+  // number possible.
+  //   created_workers - number of workers already created.  This maybe
+  // less than, equal to, or greater than active workers.  If greater than
+  // or equal to active_workers, nothing is done.
+  //   worker_type - type of thread.
+  //   initializing - true if this is called to get the initial number of
+  // GC workers.
+  // If initializing is true, do a vm exit if the workers cannot be created.
+  // The initializing = true case is for JVM start up and failing to
+  // create all the worker at start should considered a problem so exit.
+  // If initializing = false, there are already some number of worker
+  // threads and a failure would not be optimal but should not be fatal.
+  template <class WorkerType>
+  static uint add_workers (WorkerType* holder,
+                   uint active_workers,
+                   uint total_workers,
+                   uint created_workers,
+                   os::ThreadType worker_type,
+                   bool initializing) {
+    uint start = created_workers;
+    uint end = MIN2(active_workers, total_workers);
+    for (uint worker_id = start; worker_id < end; worker_id += 1) {
+      WorkerThread* new_worker = holder->install_worker(worker_id);
+      assert(new_worker != NULL, "Failed to allocate GangWorker");
+      if (new_worker == NULL || !os::create_thread(new_worker, worker_type)) {
+        if(initializing) {
+          vm_exit_out_of_memory(0, OOM_MALLOC_ERROR,
+                  "Cannot create worker GC thread. Out of system resources.");
+        }
+      }
+      created_workers++;
+      os::start_thread(new_worker);
+    }
+
+    log_trace(gc, task)("AdaptiveSizePolicy::add_workers() : "
+       "active_workers: %u created_workers: %u",
+       active_workers, created_workers);
+
+    return created_workers;
+  }
+};
+#endif // SHARE_VM_GC_SHARED_WORKERMANAGER_HPP
--- a/hotspot/src/share/vm/gc/shared/workgroup.cpp	Thu Apr 28 15:40:45 2016 +0200
+++ b/hotspot/src/share/vm/gc/shared/workgroup.cpp	Thu Aug 06 22:07:30 2015 -0700
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 #include "precompiled.hpp"
 #include "gc/shared/gcId.hpp"
 #include "gc/shared/workgroup.hpp"
+#include "gc/shared/workerManager.hpp"
 #include "memory/allocation.hpp"
 #include "memory/allocation.inline.hpp"
 #include "runtime/atomic.inline.hpp"
@@ -35,37 +36,45 @@
 // Definitions of WorkGang methods.
 
 // The current implementation will exit if the allocation
-// of any worker fails.  Still, return a boolean so that
-// a future implementation can possibly do a partial
-// initialization of the workers and report such to the
-// caller.
-bool AbstractWorkGang::initialize_workers() {
+// of any worker fails.
+void  AbstractWorkGang::initialize_workers() {
   log_develop_trace(gc, workgang)("Constructing work gang %s with %u threads", name(), total_workers());
   _workers = NEW_C_HEAP_ARRAY(AbstractGangWorker*, total_workers(), mtInternal);
   if (_workers == NULL) {
     vm_exit_out_of_memory(0, OOM_MALLOC_ERROR, "Cannot create GangWorker array.");
-    return false;
+  }
+
+  _active_workers = ParallelGCThreads;
+  if (UseDynamicNumberOfGCThreads && !FLAG_IS_CMDLINE(ParallelGCThreads)) {
+    _active_workers = 1U;
   }
+
+  add_workers(true);
+}
+
+
+AbstractGangWorker* AbstractWorkGang::install_worker(uint worker_id) {
+  AbstractGangWorker* new_worker = allocate_worker(worker_id);
+  set_thread(worker_id, new_worker);
+  return new_worker;
+}
+
+void AbstractWorkGang::add_workers(bool initializing) {
+
   os::ThreadType worker_type;
   if (are_ConcurrentGC_threads()) {
     worker_type = os::cgc_thread;
   } else {
     worker_type = os::pgc_thread;
   }
-  for (uint worker = 0; worker < total_workers(); worker += 1) {
-    AbstractGangWorker* new_worker = allocate_worker(worker);
-    assert(new_worker != NULL, "Failed to allocate GangWorker");
-    _workers[worker] = new_worker;
-    if (new_worker == NULL || !os::create_thread(new_worker, worker_type)) {
-      vm_exit_out_of_memory(0, OOM_MALLOC_ERROR,
-              "Cannot create worker GC thread. Out of system resources.");
-      return false;
-    }
-    if (!DisableStartThread) {
-      os::start_thread(new_worker);
-    }
-  }
-  return true;
+
+  _created_workers = WorkerManager::add_workers(this,
+                                                _active_workers,
+                                                _total_workers,
+                                                _created_workers,
+                                                worker_type,
+                                                initializing);
+  _active_workers = MIN2(_created_workers, _active_workers);
 }
 
 AbstractGangWorker* AbstractWorkGang::worker(uint i) const {
@@ -79,7 +88,7 @@
 }
 
 void AbstractWorkGang::print_worker_threads_on(outputStream* st) const {
-  uint workers = total_workers();
+  uint workers = created_workers();
   for (uint i = 0; i < workers; i++) {
     worker(i)->print_on(st);
     st->cr();
@@ -88,7 +97,7 @@
 
 void AbstractWorkGang::threads_do(ThreadClosure* tc) const {
   assert(tc != NULL, "Null ThreadClosure");
-  uint workers = total_workers();
+  uint workers = created_workers();
   for (uint i = 0; i < workers; i++) {
     tc->do_thread(worker(i));
   }
--- a/hotspot/src/share/vm/gc/shared/workgroup.hpp	Thu Apr 28 15:40:45 2016 +0200
+++ b/hotspot/src/share/vm/gc/shared/workgroup.hpp	Thu Aug 06 22:07:30 2015 -0700
@@ -112,6 +112,8 @@
   uint _total_workers;
   // The currently active workers in this gang.
   uint _active_workers;
+  // The count of created workers in the gang.
+  uint _created_workers;
   // Printing support.
   const char* _name;
 
@@ -120,23 +122,32 @@
   const bool _are_GC_task_threads;
   const bool _are_ConcurrentGC_threads;
 
+  void set_thread(uint worker_id, AbstractGangWorker* worker) {
+    _workers[worker_id] = worker;
+  }
+
  public:
   AbstractWorkGang(const char* name, uint workers, bool are_GC_task_threads, bool are_ConcurrentGC_threads) :
       _name(name),
       _total_workers(workers),
       _active_workers(UseDynamicNumberOfGCThreads ? 1U : workers),
+      _created_workers(0),
       _are_GC_task_threads(are_GC_task_threads),
       _are_ConcurrentGC_threads(are_ConcurrentGC_threads)
   { }
 
   // Initialize workers in the gang.  Return true if initialization succeeded.
-  bool initialize_workers();
+  void initialize_workers();
 
   bool are_GC_task_threads()      const { return _are_GC_task_threads; }
   bool are_ConcurrentGC_threads() const { return _are_ConcurrentGC_threads; }
 
   uint total_workers() const { return _total_workers; }
 
+  uint created_workers() const {
+    return _created_workers;
+  }
+
   virtual uint active_workers() const {
     assert(_active_workers <= _total_workers,
            "_active_workers: %u > _total_workers: %u", _active_workers, _total_workers);
@@ -144,22 +155,29 @@
            "Unless dynamic should use total workers");
     return _active_workers;
   }
+
   void set_active_workers(uint v) {
     assert(v <= _total_workers,
            "Trying to set more workers active than there are");
     _active_workers = MIN2(v, _total_workers);
+    add_workers(false /* exit_on_failure */);
     assert(v != 0, "Trying to set active workers to 0");
-    _active_workers = MAX2(1U, _active_workers);
     assert(UseDynamicNumberOfGCThreads || _active_workers == _total_workers,
            "Unless dynamic should use total workers");
     log_info(gc, task)("GC Workers: using %d out of %d", _active_workers, _total_workers);
   }
 
+  // Add GC workers as needed.
+  void add_workers(bool initializing);
+
   // Return the Ith worker.
   AbstractGangWorker* worker(uint i) const;
 
   void threads_do(ThreadClosure* tc) const;
 
+  // Create a GC worker and install it into the work gang.
+  virtual AbstractGangWorker* install_worker(uint which);
+
   // Debugging.
   const char* name() const { return _name; }