Linux kernel ============ The Linux kernel is the core of any Linux operating system. It manages hardware, system resources, and provides the fundamental services for all other software. Quick Start ----------- * Report a bug: See Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-issues.rst * Get the latest kernel: https://kernel.org * Build the kernel: See Documentation/admin-guide/quickly-build-trimmed-linux.rst * Join the community: https://lore.kernel.org/ Essential Documentation ----------------------- All users should be familiar with: * Building requirements: Documentation/process/changes.rst * Code of Conduct: Documentation/process/code-of-conduct.rst * License: See COPYING Documentation can be built with make htmldocs or viewed online at: https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/ Who Are You? ============ Find your role below: * New Kernel Developer - Getting started with kernel development * Academic Researcher - Studying kernel internals and architecture * Security Expert - Hardening and vulnerability analysis * Backport/Maintenance Engineer - Maintaining stable kernels * System Administrator - Configuring and troubleshooting * Maintainer - Leading subsystems and reviewing patches * Hardware Vendor - Writing drivers for new hardware * Distribution Maintainer - Packaging kernels for distros For Specific Users ================== New Kernel Developer -------------------- Welcome! Start your kernel development journey here: * Getting Started: Documentation/process/development-process.rst * Your First Patch: Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst * Coding Style: Documentation/process/coding-style.rst * Build System: Documentation/kbuild/index.rst * Development Tools: Documentation/dev-tools/index.rst * Kernel Hacking Guide: Documentation/kernel-hacking/hacking.rst * Core APIs: Documentation/core-api/index.rst Academic Researcher ------------------- Explore the kernel's architecture and internals: * Researcher Guidelines: Documentation/process/researcher-guidelines.rst * Memory Management: Documentation/mm/index.rst * Scheduler: Documentation/scheduler/index.rst * Networking Stack: Documentation/networking/index.rst * Filesystems: Documentation/filesystems/index.rst * RCU (Read-Copy Update): Documentation/RCU/index.rst * Locking Primitives: Documentation/locking/index.rst * Power Management: Documentation/power/index.rst Security Expert --------------- Security documentation and hardening guides: * Security Documentation: Documentation/security/index.rst * LSM Development: Documentation/security/lsm-development.rst * Self Protection: Documentation/security/self-protection.rst * Reporting Vulnerabilities: Documentation/process/security-bugs.rst * CVE Procedures: Documentation/process/cve.rst * Embargoed Hardware Issues: Documentation/process/embargoed-hardware-issues.rst * Security Features: Documentation/userspace-api/seccomp_filter.rst Backport/Maintenance Engineer ----------------------------- Maintain and stabilize kernel versions: * Stable Kernel Rules: Documentation/process/stable-kernel-rules.rst * Backporting Guide: Documentation/process/backporting.rst * Applying Patches: Documentation/process/applying-patches.rst * Subsystem Profile: Documentation/maintainer/maintainer-entry-profile.rst * Git for Maintainers: Documentation/maintainer/configure-git.rst System Administrator -------------------- Configure, tune, and troubleshoot Linux systems: * Admin Guide: Documentation/admin-guide/index.rst * Kernel Parameters: Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.rst * Sysctl Tuning: Documentation/admin-guide/sysctl/index.rst * Tracing/Debugging: Documentation/trace/index.rst * Performance Security: Documentation/admin-guide/perf-security.rst * Hardware Monitoring: Documentation/hwmon/index.rst Maintainer ---------- Lead kernel subsystems and manage contributions: * Maintainer Handbook: Documentation/maintainer/index.rst * Pull Requests: Documentation/maintainer/pull-requests.rst * Managing Patches: Documentation/maintainer/modifying-patches.rst * Rebasing and Merging: Documentation/maintainer/rebasing-and-merging.rst * Development Process: Documentation/process/maintainer-handbooks.rst * Maintainer Entry Profile: Documentation/maintainer/maintainer-entry-profile.rst * Git Configuration: Documentation/maintainer/configure-git.rst Hardware Vendor --------------- Write drivers and support new hardware: * Driver API Guide: Documentation/driver-api/index.rst * Driver Model: Documentation/driver-api/driver-model/driver.rst * Device Drivers: Documentation/driver-api/infrastructure.rst * Bus Types: Documentation/driver-api/driver-model/bus.rst * Device Tree Bindings: Documentation/devicetree/bindings/ * Power Management: Documentation/driver-api/pm/index.rst * DMA API: Documentation/core-api/dma-api.rst Distribution Maintainer ----------------------- Package and distribute the kernel: * Stable Kernel Rules: Documentation/process/stable-kernel-rules.rst * ABI Documentation: Documentation/ABI/README * Kernel Configuration: Documentation/kbuild/kconfig.rst * Module Signing: Documentation/admin-guide/module-signing.rst * Kernel Parameters: Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.rst * Tainted Kernels: Documentation/admin-guide/tainted-kernels.rst Communication and Support ========================= * Mailing Lists: https://lore.kernel.org/ * IRC: #kernelnewbies on irc.oftc.net * Bugzilla: https://bugzilla.kernel.org/ * MAINTAINERS file: Lists subsystem maintainers and mailing lists * Email Clients: Documentation/process/email-clients.rst
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The changes related to sheaves made the description of locking and other
details outdated. Update it to reflect current state.
Also add a new copyright line due to major changes.
Reviewed-by: Suren Baghdasaryan <surenb@google.com>
Reviewed-by: Hao Li <hao.li@linux.dev>
Reviewed-by: Harry Yoo <harry.yoo@oracle.com>
Signed-off-by: Vlastimil Babka <vbabka@suse.cz>
__refill_objects() currently only attempts to get partial slabs from the
local node and then allocates new slab(s). Expand it to trying also
other nodes while observing the remote node defrag ratio, similarly to
get_any_partial().
This will prevent allocating new slabs on a node while other nodes have
many free slabs. It does mean sheaves will contain non-local objects in
that case. Allocations that care about specific node will still be
served appropriately, but might get a slowpath allocation.
Like get_any_partial() we do observe cpuset_zone_allowed(), although we
might be refilling a sheaf that will be then used from a different
allocation context.
We can also use the resulting refill_objects() in
__kmem_cache_alloc_bulk() for non-debug caches. This means
kmem_cache_alloc_bulk() will get better performance when sheaves are
exhausted. kmem_cache_alloc_bulk() cannot indicate a preferred node so
it's compatible with sheaves refill in preferring the local node.
Its users also have gfp flags that allow spinning, so document that
as a requirement.
Reviewed-by: Suren Baghdasaryan <surenb@google.com>
Reviewed-by: Hao Li <hao.li@linux.dev>
Signed-off-by: Vlastimil Babka <vbabka@suse.cz>
The macros slub_get_cpu_ptr()/slub_put_cpu_ptr() are now unused, remove
them. USE_LOCKLESS_FAST_PATH() has lost its true meaning with the code
being removed. The only remaining usage is in fact testing whether we
can assert irqs disabled, because spin_lock_irqsave() only does that on
!RT. Test for CONFIG_PREEMPT_RT instead.
Reviewed-by: Hao Li <hao.li@linux.dev>
Reviewed-by: Suren Baghdasaryan <surenb@google.com>
Reviewed-by: Harry Yoo <harry.yoo@oracle.com>
Signed-off-by: Vlastimil Babka <vbabka@suse.cz>
The cpu slab is not used anymore for allocation or freeing, the
remaining code is for flushing, but it's effectively dead. Remove the
whole struct kmem_cache_cpu, the flushing code and other orphaned
functions.
The remaining used field of kmem_cache_cpu is the stat array with
CONFIG_SLUB_STATS. Put it instead in a new struct kmem_cache_stats.
In struct kmem_cache, the field is cpu_stats and placed near the
end of the struct.
Reviewed-by: Hao Li <hao.li@linux.dev>
Reviewed-by: Suren Baghdasaryan <surenb@google.com>
Reviewed-by: Harry Yoo <harry.yoo@oracle.com>
Signed-off-by: Vlastimil Babka <vbabka@suse.cz>
The kmalloc_nolock() implementation has several complications and
restrictions due to SLUB's cpu slab locking, lockless fastpath and
PREEMPT_RT differences. With cpu slab usage removed, we can simplify
things:
- relax the PREEMPT_RT context checks as they were before commit
99a3e3a1cfc9 ("slab: fix kmalloc_nolock() context check for
PREEMPT_RT") and also reference the explanation comment in the page
allocator
- the local_lock_cpu_slab() macros became unused, remove them
- we no longer need to set up lockdep classes on PREEMPT_RT
- we no longer need to annotate ___slab_alloc as NOKPROBE_SYMBOL
since there's no lockless cpu freelist manipulation anymore
- __slab_alloc_node() can be called from kmalloc_nolock_noprof()
unconditionally. It can also no longer return EBUSY. But trylock
failures can still happen so retry with the larger bucket if the
allocation fails for any reason.
Note that we still need __CMPXCHG_DOUBLE, because while it was removed
we don't use cmpxchg16b on cpu freelist anymore, we still use it on
slab freelist, and the alternative is slab_lock() which can be
interrupted by a nmi. Clarify the comment to mention it specifically.
Acked-by: Alexei Starovoitov <ast@kernel.org>
Reviewed-by: Hao Li <hao.li@linux.dev>
Reviewed-by: Suren Baghdasaryan <surenb@google.com>
Reviewed-by: Harry Yoo <harry.yoo@oracle.com>
Signed-off-by: Vlastimil Babka <vbabka@suse.cz>
There are no more cpu slabs so we don't need their deferred
deactivation. The function is now only used from places where we
allocate a new slab but then can't spin on node list_lock to put it on
the partial list. Instead of the deferred action we can free it directly
via __free_slab(), we just need to tell it to use _nolock() freeing of
the underlying pages and take care of the accounting.
Since free_frozen_pages_nolock() variant does not yet exist for code
outside of the page allocator, create it as a trivial wrapper for
__free_frozen_pages(..., FPI_TRYLOCK).
Reviewed-by: Harry Yoo <harry.yoo@oracle.com>
Reviewed-by: Hao Li <hao.li@linux.dev>
Reviewed-by: Suren Baghdasaryan <surenb@google.com>
Acked-by: Alexei Starovoitov <ast@kernel.org>
Signed-off-by: Vlastimil Babka <vbabka@suse.cz>
We have removed cpu slab usage from allocation paths. Now remove
do_slab_free() which was freeing objects to the cpu slab when
the object belonged to it. Instead call __slab_free() directly,
which was previously the fallback.
This simplifies kfree_nolock() - when freeing to percpu sheaf
fails, we can call defer_free() directly.
Also remove functions that became unused.
Reviewed-by: Harry Yoo <harry.yoo@oracle.com>
Reviewed-by: Hao Li <hao.li@linux.dev>
Reviewed-by: Suren Baghdasaryan <surenb@google.com>
Acked-by: Alexei Starovoitov <ast@kernel.org>
Signed-off-by: Vlastimil Babka <vbabka@suse.cz>
We have removed the partial slab usage from allocation paths. Now remove
the whole config option and associated code.
Reviewed-by: Harry Yoo <harry.yoo@oracle.com>
Reviewed-by: Hao Li <hao.li@linux.dev>
Reviewed-by: Suren Baghdasaryan <surenb@google.com>
Signed-off-by: Vlastimil Babka <vbabka@suse.cz>
We now rely on sheaves as the percpu caching layer and can refill them
directly from partial or newly allocated slabs. Start removing the cpu
(partial) slabs code, first from allocation paths.
This means that any allocation not satisfied from percpu sheaves will
end up in ___slab_alloc(), where we remove the usage of cpu (partial)
slabs, so it will only perform get_partial() or new_slab(). In the
latter case we reuse alloc_from_new_slab() (when we don't use
the debug/tiny alloc_single_from_new_slab() variant).
In get_partial_node() we used to return a slab for freezing as the cpu
slab and to refill the partial slab. Now we only want to return a single
object and leave the slab on the list (unless it became full). We can't
simply reuse alloc_single_from_partial() as that assumes freeing uses
free_to_partial_list(). Instead we need to use __slab_update_freelist()
to work properly against a racing __slab_free().
To reflect the new purpose of get_partial() functions, rename them to
get_from_partial(), get_from_partial_node(), and get_from_any_partial().
The rest of the changes is removing functions that no longer have any
callers.
Reviewed-by: Harry Yoo <harry.yoo@oracle.com>
Reviewed-by: Hao Li <hao.li@linux.dev>
Reviewed-by: Suren Baghdasaryan <surenb@google.com>
Acked-by: Alexei Starovoitov <ast@kernel.org>
Signed-off-by: Vlastimil Babka <vbabka@suse.cz>
At this point we have sheaves enabled for all caches, but their refill
is done via __kmem_cache_alloc_bulk() which relies on cpu (partial)
slabs - now a redundant caching layer that we are about to remove.
The refill will thus be done from slabs on the node partial list.
Introduce new functions that can do that in an optimized way as it's
easier than modifying the __kmem_cache_alloc_bulk() call chain.
Introduce struct partial_bulk_context, a variant of struct
partial_context that can return a list of slabs from the partial list
with the sum of free objects in them within the requested min and max.
Introduce get_partial_node_bulk() that removes the slabs from freelist
and returns them in the list. There is a racy read of slab->counters
so make sure the non-atomic write in __update_freelist_slow() is not
tearing.
Introduce get_freelist_nofreeze() which grabs the freelist without
freezing the slab.
Introduce alloc_from_new_slab() which can allocate multiple objects from
a newly allocated slab where we don't need to synchronize with freeing.
In some aspects it's similar to alloc_single_from_new_slab() but assumes
the cache is a non-debug one so it can avoid some actions. It supports
the allow_spin parameter, which we always set true here, but the
followup change will reuse the function in a context where it may be
false.
Introduce __refill_objects() that uses the functions above to fill an
array of objects. It has to handle the possibility that the slabs will
contain more objects that were requested, due to concurrent freeing of
objects to those slabs. When no more slabs on partial lists are
available, it will allocate new slabs. It is intended to be only used
in context where spinning is allowed, so add a WARN_ON_ONCE check there.
Finally, switch refill_sheaf() to use __refill_objects(). Sheaves are
only refilled from contexts that allow spinning, or even blocking.
Reviewed-by: Suren Baghdasaryan <surenb@google.com>
Reviewed-by: Hao Li <hao.li@linux.dev>
Reviewed-by: Harry Yoo <harry.yoo@oracle.com>
Signed-off-by: Vlastimil Babka <vbabka@suse.cz>
Enable sheaves for kmalloc caches. For other types than KMALLOC_NORMAL,
we can simply allow them in calculate_sizes() as they are created later
than KMALLOC_NORMAL caches and can allocate sheaves and barns from
those.
For KMALLOC_NORMAL caches we perform additional step after first
creating them without sheaves. Then bootstrap_cache_sheaves() simply
allocates and initializes barns and sheaves and finally sets
s->sheaf_capacity to make them actually used.
Afterwards the only caches left without sheaves (unless SLUB_TINY or
debugging is enabled) are kmem_cache and kmem_cache_node. These are only
used when creating or destroying other kmem_caches. Thus they are not
performance critical and we can simply leave it that way.
Reviewed-by: Harry Yoo <harry.yoo@oracle.com>
Reviewed-by: Hao Li <hao.li@linux.dev>
Reviewed-by: Liam R. Howlett <Liam.Howlett@oracle.com>
Signed-off-by: Vlastimil Babka <vbabka@suse.cz>
Before we enable percpu sheaves for kmalloc caches, we need to make sure
kmalloc_nolock() and kfree_nolock() will continue working properly and
not spin when not allowed to.
Percpu sheaves themselves use local_trylock() so they are already
compatible. We just need to be careful with the barn->lock spin_lock.
Pass a new allow_spin parameter where necessary to use
spin_trylock_irqsave().
In kmalloc_nolock_noprof() we can now attempt alloc_from_pcs() safely,
for now it will always fail until we enable sheaves for kmalloc caches
next. Similarly in kfree_nolock() we can attempt free_to_pcs().
Reviewed-by: Suren Baghdasaryan <surenb@google.com>
Reviewed-by: Harry Yoo <harry.yoo@oracle.com>
Reviewed-by: Hao Li <hao.li@linux.dev>
Reviewed-by: Liam R. Howlett <Liam.Howlett@oracle.com>
Signed-off-by: Vlastimil Babka <vbabka@suse.cz>
Until now, kmem_cache->cpu_sheaves was !NULL only for caches with
sheaves enabled. Since we want to enable them for almost all caches,
it's suboptimal to test the pointer in the fast paths, so instead
allocate it for all caches in do_kmem_cache_create(). Instead of testing
the cpu_sheaves pointer to recognize caches (yet) without sheaves, test
kmem_cache->sheaf_capacity for being 0, where needed, using a new
cache_has_sheaves() helper.
However, for the fast paths sake we also assume that the main sheaf
always exists (pcs->main is !NULL), and during bootstrap we cannot
allocate sheaves yet.
Solve this by introducing a single static bootstrap_sheaf that's
assigned as pcs->main during bootstrap. It has a size of 0, so during
allocations, the fast path will find it's empty. Since the size of 0
matches sheaf_capacity of 0, the freeing fast paths will find it's
"full". In the slow path handlers, we use cache_has_sheaves() to
recognize that the cache doesn't (yet) have real sheaves, and fall back.
Thus sharing the single bootstrap sheaf like this for multiple caches
and cpus is safe.
Reviewed-by: Harry Yoo <harry.yoo@oracle.com>
Reviewed-by: Hao Li <hao.li@linux.dev>
Reviewed-by: Liam R. Howlett <Liam.Howlett@oracle.com>
Signed-off-by: Vlastimil Babka <vbabka@suse.cz>
In the first step to replace cpu (partial) slabs with sheaves, enable
sheaves for almost all caches. Treat args->sheaf_capacity as a minimum,
and calculate sheaf capacity with a formula that roughly follows the
formula for number of objects in cpu partial slabs in set_cpu_partial().
This should achieve roughly similar contention on the barn spin lock as
there's currently for node list_lock without sheaves, to make
benchmarking results comparable. It can be further tuned later.
Don't enable sheaves for bootstrap caches as that wouldn't work. In
order to recognize them by SLAB_NO_OBJ_EXT, make sure the flag exists
even for !CONFIG_SLAB_OBJ_EXT.
This limitation will be lifted for kmalloc caches after the necessary
bootstrapping changes.
Also do not enable sheaves for SLAB_NOLEAKTRACE caches to avoid
recursion with kmemleak tracking (thanks to Breno Leitao).
Reviewed-by: Suren Baghdasaryan <surenb@google.com>
Reviewed-by: Harry Yoo <harry.yoo@oracle.com>
Reviewed-by: Hao Li <hao.li@linux.dev>
Tested-by: Breno Leitao <leitao@debian.org>
Reviewed-by: Liam R. Howlett <Liam.Howlett@oracle.com>
Tested-by: Zhao Liu <zhao1.liu@intel.com>
Signed-off-by: Vlastimil Babka <vbabka@suse.cz>
When __pcs_replace_empty_main() fails to obtain a full sheaf directly
from the barn, it may either:
- Refill an empty sheaf obtained via barn_get_empty_sheaf(), or
- Allocate a brand new full sheaf via alloc_full_sheaf().
After reacquiring the per-CPU lock, if pcs->main is still empty and
pcs->spare is NULL, the current code donates the empty main sheaf to
the barn via barn_put_empty_sheaf() and installs the full sheaf as
pcs->main, leaving pcs->spare unpopulated.
Instead, keep the existing empty main sheaf locally as the spare:
pcs->spare = pcs->main;
pcs->main = full;
This populates pcs->spare earlier, which can reduce future barn traffic.
Suggested-by: Vlastimil Babka <vbabka@suse.cz>
Signed-off-by: Hao Li <haolee.swjtu@gmail.com>
Reviewed-by: Harry Yoo <harry.yoo@oracle.com>
Signed-off-by: Vlastimil Babka <vbabka@suse.cz>
Tested-by: Zhao Liu <zhao1.liu@intel.com>
slab_mergeable() determines whether a slab cache can be merged, but it
should not be used when the cache is not fully created yet.
Extract the pre-cache-creation mergeability checks into
slab_args_unmergeable(), which evaluates kmem_cache_args, slab flags,
and slab_nomerge to determine if a cache will be mergeable before it is
created.
Signed-off-by: Harry Yoo <harry.yoo@oracle.com>
Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20260127103151.21883-2-harry.yoo@oracle.com
Signed-off-by: Vlastimil Babka <vbabka@suse.cz>