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mm/virtio: skip redundant zeroing of host-zeroed pages

PATCH Superseded Michael S. Tsirkin 1 participant 20 messages May 11

Subsystems (15)
Memory management x86 MM core s390 +11 more subsystems

v6 of 10 Superseded Latest is v10 →

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Michael S. Tsirkin

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#0 lore raw

v6 cover mm/virtio: skip redundant zeroing of host-zeroed pages

When a guest reports free pages to the hypervisor via virtio-balloon's free page reporting, the host typically zeros those pages when reclaiming their backing memory (e.g., via MADV_DONTNEED on anonymous mappings). When the guest later reallocates those pages, the kernel zeros them again, redundantly.

Further, on architectures with aliasing caches, upstream with init_on_alloc double-zeros user pages: once via kernel_init_pages() in post_alloc_hook, and again via clear_user_highpage() at the callsite (because user_alloc_needs_zeroing() returns true). This series eliminates that double-zeroing by moving the zeroing into the post_alloc_hook + propagating the "host
already zeroed this page" information through the buddy allocator.

For page reporting, VIRTIO_BALLOON_F_DEVICE_INIT_REPORTED (bit 6) is used. For the inflate/deflate path, VIRTIO_BALLOON_F_DEVICE_INIT_ON_INFLATE (bit 7) is used.

Virtio spec: https://lore.kernel.org/all/[email protected]

Based on v7.1-rc2. When applying on mm-unstable, two conflicts are expected:
- kernel_init_pages() was renamed to clear_highpages_kasan_tagged() in mm-unstable. Use clear_highpages_kasan_tagged() in the post_alloc_hook else branch.
- FPI_PREPARED uses BIT(3) in mm-unstable. Bump FPI_ZEROED to BIT(4).
Build-tested on mm-unstable at e9dd96806dbc:
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/mst/vhost.git zero-mm-unstable

The first 16 patches are independently mergeable cleanups + fixes:
- Patches 1-15: mm rework + cleanups + init_on_alloc double-zeroing fix.
- Patch 16: page_reporting capacity bugfix.
Patches 17-26: page reporting zeroing (DEVICE_INIT_REPORTED). Patches 27-30: inflate/deflate zeroing (DEVICE_INIT_ON_INFLATE).

-------

Performance with THP enabled on a 2GB VM, 1 vCPU, allocating 256MB of anonymous pages:

  metric         baseline            optimized           delta
  task-clock     232 +- 20 ms        51 +- 26 ms         -78%
  cache-misses   1.20M +- 248K       288K +- 102K        -76%
  instructions   16.3M +- 1.2M       13.8M +- 1.0M       -15%

With hugetlb surplus pages:

  metric         baseline            optimized           delta
  task-clock     219 +- 23 ms        65 +- 34 ms         -70%
  cache-misses   1.17M +- 391K       263K +- 36K         -78%
  instructions   17.9M +- 1.2M       15.1M +- 724K       -16%

Two flags track known-zero pages:
PG_zeroed (aliased to PG_private) marks buddy allocator pages that are known to contain all zeros -- either because the host zeroed them during page reporting, or because they were freed via the balloon deflate path. It lives on free-list pages and is consumed by post_alloc_hook() on allocation.
HPG_zeroed (stored in hugetlb folio->private bits) serves the same purpose for hugetlb pool pages, which are kept in a pool and may be zeroed long after buddy allocation, so PG_zeroed (consumed at allocation time) cannot track their state.

PG_zeroed lifecycle:

Sets PG_zeroed:
- page_reporting_drain: on reported pages when host zeroes them
- __free_pages_ok / __free_frozen_pages: when FPI_ZEROED is set (balloon deflate path)
- buddy merge: on merged page if both buddies were zeroed
- expand(): propagate to split-off buddy sub-pages

Clears PG_zeroed:
- __free_pages_prepare: clears all PAGE_FLAGS_CHECK_AT_PREP flags (PG_zeroed included), preventing PG_private aliasing leaks
- rmqueue_buddy / __rmqueue_pcplist: read-then-clear, passes

    zeroed hint to prep_new_page -> post_alloc_hook

- __isolate_free_page: clear (compaction/page_reporting isolation)
- compaction, alloc_contig, split_free_frozen: clear before use
- buddy merge: clear both pages before merge, then conditionally re-set on merged head if both were zeroed

HPG_zeroed lifecycle (hugetlb pool pages, stored in folio->private):

Sets HPG_zeroed:
- alloc_surplus_hugetlb_folio: after buddy allocation with __GFP_ZERO, mark pool page as known-zero

Clears HPG_zeroed:
- free_huge_folio: page was mapped to userspace, no longer known-zero when it returns to the pool
- alloc_hugetlb_folio / alloc_hugetlb_folio_reserve: clear after reporting to caller via bool *zeroed output (consumed)

- The optimization is most effective with THP, where entire 2MB pages are allocated directly from reported order-9+ buddy pages. Without THP, only ~21% of order-0 allocations come from reported pages due to low-order fragmentation.
- Persistent hugetlb pool pages are not covered: when freed by userspace they return to the hugetlb free pool, not the buddy allocator, so they are never reported to the host. Surplus hugetlb pages are allocated from buddy and do benefit.

- PG_zeroed is aliased to PG_private. __free_pages_prepare() clears it (preventing filesystem PG_private from leaking as false PG_zeroed). FPI_ZEROED re-sets it after prepare for balloon deflate pages. Is aliasing PG_private acceptable, or should a different bit be used?

- On architectures with aliasing caches, upstream with init_on_alloc double-zeros user pages: once via kernel_init_pages() in post_alloc_hook, and again via clear_user_highpage() at the callsite (because user_alloc_needs_zeroing() returns true). Our patches eliminate this by zeroing once via folio_zero_user() in post_alloc_hook. Not a critical fix (people who set init_on_alloc know they are paying performance) but a nice cleanup anyway.

Test program:

  #include <stdio.h>
  #include <stdlib.h>
  #include <string.h>
  #include <sys/mman.h>

  #ifndef MADV_POPULATE_WRITE
  #define MADV_POPULATE_WRITE 23
  #endif
  #ifndef MAP_HUGETLB
  #define MAP_HUGETLB 0x40000
  #endif

  int main(int argc, char **argv)
  {
      unsigned long size;
      int flags = MAP_PRIVATE | MAP_ANONYMOUS;
      void *p;
      int r;
      if (argc < 2) {
          fprintf(stderr, "usage: %s <size_mb> [huge]\n", argv[0]);
          return 1;
      }
      size = atol(argv[1]) * 1024UL * 1024;
      if (argc >= 3 && strcmp(argv[2], "huge") == 0)
          flags |= MAP_HUGETLB;
      p = mmap(NULL, size, PROT_READ | PROT_WRITE, flags, -1, 0);
      if (p == MAP_FAILED) {
          perror("mmap");
          return 1;
      }
      r = madvise(p, size, MADV_POPULATE_WRITE);
      if (r) {
          perror("madvise");
          return 1;
      }
      munmap(p, size);
      return 0;

}

Test script (bench.sh):

  #!/bin/bash
  # Usage: bench.sh <size_mb> <mode> <iterations> [huge]
  # mode 0 = baseline, mode 1 = skip zeroing
  SZ=${1:-256}; MODE=${2:-0}; ITER=${3:-10}; HUGE=${4:-}
  FLUSH=/sys/module/page_reporting/parameters/flush
  PERF_DATA=/tmp/perf-$MODE.csv
  rmmod virtio_balloon 2>/dev/null
  insmod virtio_balloon.ko host_zeroes_pages=$MODE
  echo 512 > $FLUSH
  [ "$HUGE" = "huge" ] && echo $((SZ/2)) > /proc/sys/vm/nr_overcommit_hugepages
  rm -f $PERF_DATA
  echo "=== sz=${SZ}MB mode=$MODE iter=$ITER $HUGE ==="
  for i in $(seq 1 $ITER); do
      echo 3 > /proc/sys/vm/drop_caches
      echo 512 > $FLUSH
      perf stat -e task-clock,instructions,cache-misses \
          -x, -o $PERF_DATA --append -- ./alloc_once $SZ $HUGE
  done
  [ "$HUGE" = "huge" ] && echo 0 > /proc/sys/vm/nr_overcommit_hugepages
  rmmod virtio_balloon
  awk -F, '/^#/||/^$/{next}{v=$1+0;e=$3;gsub(/ /,"",e);s[e]+=v;ss[e]+=v*v;n[e]++}
  END{for(e in s){a=s[e]/n[e];d=sqrt(ss[e]/n[e]-a*a);printf "  %-16s %10.0f +- %8.0f (n=%d)\n",e,a,d,n[e]}}' $PERF_DATA

Compile and run:
gcc -static -O2 -o alloc_once alloc_once.c

  bash bench.sh 256 0 10          # baseline (regular pages)
  bash bench.sh 256 1 10          # optimized (regular pages)
  bash bench.sh 256 0 10 huge     # baseline (hugetlb surplus)
  bash bench.sh 256 1 10 huge     # optimized (hugetlb surplus)

Changes since v5:
- Rebased onto v7.1-rc2.
- Split alloc_anon_folio and alloc_swap_folio raw fault address changes into separate patches.
- In virtio, move PAGE_POISON check for DEVICE_INIT_REPORTED from probe() to validate(), clearing the feature instead of just gating host_zeroes_pages. Same for confidential computing check.
- Fix bisectability: FPI_ZEROED definition and usage now in the same patch.
- Lots of commit log tweaks.
- Reorder: REPORTED before ON_INFLATE.
- Kerneldoc fixes.

Changes since v4:
With virtio spec posted, update to latest spec:
- Add VIRTIO_BALLOON_F_DEVICE_INIT_REPORTED (bit 6) for reporting.
- Add VIRTIO_BALLOON_F_DEVICE_INIT_ON_INFLATE (bit 7) for inflate.
- Per-page virtqueue submission, per-page used_len feedback.
- Balloon migration preserves PageZeroed hint.
- Page_reporting capacity bugfix for small virtqueues.
- PG_zeroed propagation in split_large_buddy.
- Disable both features for confidential computing guests.
- Gate host_zeroes_pages on PAGE_POISON/poison_val: when PAGE_POISON is negotiated with non-zero poison_val, device fills with poison not zeros, so host_zeroes_pages must be false.
- Disable ON_INFLATE when PAGE_POISON with non-zero poison_val.
- Bound inflate bitmap reads by used_len from device.
- Move ON_INFLATE poison_val check to validate() for proper feature negotiation.
- Fix NUMA interleave index for unaligned VMA start (new patch 1).
- Drop vma_alloc_folio_user_addr: with the ilx fix, callers can pass raw fault address to vma_alloc_folio directly.
- Tested with DEBUG_VM, INIT_ON_ALLOC/FREE enabled.

Changes since v3 (address review by Gregory Price and David Hildenbrand):
- Keep user_addr threading internal: public APIs (__alloc_pages, __folio_alloc, folio_alloc_mpol) are unchanged. Only internal functions (__alloc_frozen_pages_noprof, __alloc_pages_mpol) carry user_addr. This eliminates all API churn for external callers.
- Add vma_alloc_folio_user_addr() (2/22) to separate NUMA policy address from the zeroing hint address. Fixes NUMA interleave index corruption when passing unaligned fault address for higher-order allocations.
- Add per-page zeroed_bitmap to page_reporting_dev_info (17/22). The driver's report() callback manages the bitmap. Drain checks it gated by the host_zeroes_pages static key. This matches the proposed virtio balloon extension at
https://lore.kernel.org/all/[email protected]/
- Clear PG_zeroed in __isolate_free_page() to prevent the aliased PG_private flag from leaking to compaction/alloc_contig paths.
- Do not exclude PG_zeroed from PAGE_FLAGS_CHECK_AT_PREP macro. Instead, __free_pages_prepare() clears it (preventing filesystem PG_private leaking as false PG_zeroed), and FPI_ZEROED sets it after prepare. Only buddy merge assertion is relaxed.
- Initialize alloc_context.user_addr in alloc_pages_bulk_noprof.
- Deflate and hugetlb changes are much smaller now. Still, the patchset can be merged gradually, if desired.

Changes since v2 (address review by Gregory Price and David Hildenbrand):
- v2 used pghint_t / vma_alloc_folio_hints API. v3 switches to threading user_addr through the page allocator and using __GFP_ZERO, so post_alloc_hook() can use folio_zero_user() for cache-friendly zeroing when the user fault address is known.
- Use FPI_ZEROED to set PG_zeroed after __free_pages_prepare() instead of runtime masking in __free_one_page (further refined in v4).
- Drop redundant page_poisoning_enabled() check from mm core free path -- already guarded at feature negotiation time in virtio_balloon_validate. The balloon driver keeps its own page_poisoning_enabled_static() check as defense in depth.
- Split free_frozen_pages_zeroed and put_page_zeroed into separate patches. David Hildenbrand indicated he intends to rework balloon pages to be frozen (no refcount), at which point put_page_zeroed (21/22) can be dropped and the balloon can call free_frozen_pages_zeroed directly.
- Use HPG_zeroed flag (in hugetlb folio->private) for hugetlb pool pages instead of PG_zeroed, since pool pages are zeroed long after buddy allocation and PG_zeroed is consumed at allocation time.
- syzbot CI found a PF_NO_COMPOUND BUG in the v2 pghint_t approach where __ClearPageZeroed was called on compound hugetlb pages in free_huge_folio. The v3 HPG_zeroed approach avoids this.
- Remove redundant arch vma_alloc_zeroed_movable_folio overrides on x86, s390, m68k, and alpha (12/22). Suggested by David Hildenbrand.
- Updated benchmarking script to compute per-run avg +- stddev via awk on CSV output.

Changes v1->v2:
- Replaced __GFP_PREZEROED with PG_zeroed page flag (aliased PG_private)
- Added pghint_t type and vma_alloc_folio_hints() API
- Track PG_zeroed across buddy merges and splits
- Added post_alloc_hook integration (single consume/clear point)
- Added hugetlb support (pool pages + memfd)
- Added page_reporting flush parameter for deterministic testing
- Added free_frozen_pages_hint/put_page_hint for balloon deflate path
- Added try_to_claim_block PG_zeroed preservation
- Updated perf numbers with per-iteration flush methodology

Written with assistance from Claude (claude-opus-4-6). Reviewed by cursor-agent (GPT-5.4-xhigh).
Everything manually read, patchset split and commit logs edited manually.

Michael S. Tsirkin (30):
mm: move vma_alloc_folio_noprof to page_alloc.c
mm: mempolicy: fix interleave index for unaligned VMA start
mm: thread user_addr through page allocator for cache-friendly zeroing
mm: add folio_zero_user stub for configs without THP/HUGETLBFS
mm: page_alloc: move prep_compound_page before post_alloc_hook
mm: use folio_zero_user for user pages in post_alloc_hook
mm: use __GFP_ZERO in vma_alloc_zeroed_movable_folio
mm: remove arch vma_alloc_zeroed_movable_folio overrides
mm: alloc_anon_folio: pass raw fault address to vma_alloc_folio
mm: alloc_swap_folio: pass raw fault address to vma_alloc_folio
mm: use __GFP_ZERO in alloc_anon_folio
mm: vma_alloc_anon_folio_pmd: pass raw fault address to
vma_alloc_folio
mm: use __GFP_ZERO in vma_alloc_anon_folio_pmd
mm: hugetlb: use __GFP_ZERO and skip zeroing for zeroed pages
mm: memfd: skip zeroing for zeroed hugetlb pool pages
mm: page_reporting: allow driver to set batch capacity
mm: page_alloc: propagate PageReported flag across buddy splits
mm: page_reporting: skip redundant zeroing of host-zeroed reported
pages
mm: page_reporting: add per-page zeroed bitmap for host feedback
mm: page_alloc: clear PG_zeroed on buddy merge if not both zero
mm: page_alloc: preserve PG_zeroed in page_del_and_expand
virtio_balloon: submit reported pages as individual buffers
mm: page_reporting: add flush parameter with page budget
mm: page_alloc: propagate PG_zeroed in split_large_buddy
virtio_balloon: skip zeroing for host-zeroed reported pages
virtio_balloon: disable reporting zeroed optimization for confidential
guests
mm: add free_frozen_pages_zeroed
mm: add put_page_zeroed and folio_put_zeroed
virtio_balloon: implement VIRTIO_BALLOON_F_DEVICE_INIT_ON_INFLATE
mm: balloon: use put_page_zeroed for zeroed balloon pages

 arch/alpha/include/asm/page.h       |   3 -
 arch/m68k/include/asm/page_no.h     |   3 -
 arch/s390/include/asm/page.h        |   3 -
 arch/x86/include/asm/page.h         |   3 -
 drivers/virtio/virtio_balloon.c     | 160 +++++++++++++++++----
 fs/hugetlbfs/inode.c                |  10 +-
 include/linux/gfp.h                 |  12 +-
 include/linux/highmem.h             |   9 +-
 include/linux/hugetlb.h             |  14 +-
 include/linux/mm.h                  |  15 ++
 include/linux/page-flags.h          |   9 ++
 include/linux/page_reporting.h      |  13 ++
 include/uapi/linux/virtio_balloon.h |   2 +
 mm/balloon.c                        |   7 +-
 mm/compaction.c                     |   7 +-
 mm/huge_memory.c                    |  12 +-
 mm/hugetlb.c                        |  99 +++++++++----
 mm/internal.h                       |  17 ++-
 mm/memfd.c                          |  14 +-
 mm/memory.c                         |  17 +--
 mm/mempolicy.c                      |  73 ++++------
 mm/page_alloc.c                     | 213 +++++++++++++++++++++++-----
 mm/page_reporting.c                 |  88 ++++++++++--
 mm/page_reporting.h                 |  12 ++
 mm/slub.c                           |   4 +-
 mm/swap.c                           |  18 ++-
 26 files changed, 615 insertions(+), 222 deletions(-)
Signature · 1 line
MST
author maintainer
#1 lore raw

PATCH v6 1/30 mm: move vma_alloc_folio_noprof to page_alloc.c

Move vma_alloc_folio_noprof() from an inline in gfp.h (for !NUMA) and mempolicy.c (for NUMA) to page_alloc.c.

This prepares for a subsequent patch that will thread user_addr through the allocator: having vma_alloc_folio_noprof in page_alloc.c means user_addr can be passed to the internal allocation path without changing public API signatures or duplicating plumbing in both gfp.h and mempolicy.c.

The !NUMA path gains the VM_DROPPABLE -> __GFP_NOWARN check that the NUMA path already had.

Assisted-by Claude:claude-opus-4-6
Assisted-by cursor-agent:GPT-5.4-xhigh
---
 include/linux/gfp.h |  9 ++-------
 mm/mempolicy.c      | 32 --------------------------------
 mm/page_alloc.c     | 43 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 3 files changed, 45 insertions(+), 39 deletions(-)
include/linux/gfp.h +2 -7
index 51ef13ed756e..7ccbda35b9ad 100644
@@ -318,13 +318,13 @@ static inline struct page *alloc_pages_node_noprof(int nid, gfp_t gfp_mask,
 
 #define  alloc_pages_node(...)			alloc_hooks(alloc_pages_node_noprof(__VA_ARGS__))
 
+struct folio *vma_alloc_folio_noprof(gfp_t gfp, int order,
+		struct vm_area_struct *vma, unsigned long addr);
 #ifdef CONFIG_NUMA
 struct page *alloc_pages_noprof(gfp_t gfp, unsigned int order);
 struct folio *folio_alloc_noprof(gfp_t gfp, unsigned int order);
 struct folio *folio_alloc_mpol_noprof(gfp_t gfp, unsigned int order,
 		struct mempolicy *mpol, pgoff_t ilx, int nid);
-struct folio *vma_alloc_folio_noprof(gfp_t gfp, int order, struct vm_area_struct *vma,
-		unsigned long addr);
 #else
 static inline struct page *alloc_pages_noprof(gfp_t gfp_mask, unsigned int order)
 {
@@ -339,11 +339,6 @@ static inline struct folio *folio_alloc_mpol_noprof(gfp_t gfp, unsigned int orde
 {
 	return folio_alloc_noprof(gfp, order);
 }
-static inline struct folio *vma_alloc_folio_noprof(gfp_t gfp, int order,
-		struct vm_area_struct *vma, unsigned long addr)
-{
-	return folio_alloc_noprof(gfp, order);
-}
 #endif
 
 #define alloc_pages(...)			alloc_hooks(alloc_pages_noprof(__VA_ARGS__))
mm/mempolicy.c +0 -32
index 4e4421b22b59..6832cc68120f 100644
@@ -2515,38 +2515,6 @@ struct folio *folio_alloc_mpol_noprof(gfp_t gfp, unsigned int order,
 	return page_rmappable_folio(page);
 }
 
-/**
- * vma_alloc_folio - Allocate a folio for a VMA.
- * @gfp: GFP flags.
- * @order: Order of the folio.
- * @vma: Pointer to VMA.
- * @addr: Virtual address of the allocation.  Must be inside @vma.
- *
- * Allocate a folio for a specific address in @vma, using the appropriate
- * NUMA policy.  The caller must hold the mmap_lock of the mm_struct of the
- * VMA to prevent it from going away.  Should be used for all allocations
- * for folios that will be mapped into user space, excepting hugetlbfs, and
- * excepting where direct use of folio_alloc_mpol() is more appropriate.
- *
- * Return: The folio on success or NULL if allocation fails.
- */
-struct folio *vma_alloc_folio_noprof(gfp_t gfp, int order, struct vm_area_struct *vma,
-		unsigned long addr)
-{
-	struct mempolicy *pol;
-	pgoff_t ilx;
-	struct folio *folio;
-
-	if (vma->vm_flags & VM_DROPPABLE)
-		gfp |= __GFP_NOWARN;
-
-	pol = get_vma_policy(vma, addr, order, &ilx);
-	folio = folio_alloc_mpol_noprof(gfp, order, pol, ilx, numa_node_id());
-	mpol_cond_put(pol);
-	return folio;
-}
-EXPORT_SYMBOL(vma_alloc_folio_noprof);
-
 struct page *alloc_frozen_pages_noprof(gfp_t gfp, unsigned order)
 {
 	struct mempolicy *pol = &default_policy;
mm/page_alloc.c +43 -0

49 lines not on this page · raw message

Signature · 1 line
MST
author maintainer
#2 lore raw

PATCH v6 2/30 mm: mempolicy: fix interleave index for unaligned VMA start

In reply to Michael S. Tsirkin

The NUMA interleave index formula (addr - vm_start) >> shift gives wrong results when vm_start is not aligned to the folio
size: the subtraction before the shift allows low bits to affect the result via borrows.

Use (addr >> shift) - (vm_start >> shift) instead, which independently aligns both values before computing the difference.

No functional change for current callers: the fix only affects NUMA interleave and weighted-interleave policies. Current large-order callers either pre-align the address (vma_alloc_anon_folio_pmd) or do not use NUMA interleave (drm_pagemap). All other callers use order 0 where the old and new formulas are equivalent. However subsequent patches in this series add large-order callers that pass unaligned fault addresses, making this fix necessary.

---
 mm/mempolicy.c | 3 ++-
 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
mm/mempolicy.c +2 -1
index 6832cc68120f..39e556e3d263 100644
@@ -2049,7 +2049,8 @@ struct mempolicy *get_vma_policy(struct vm_area_struct *vma,
 	if (pol->mode == MPOL_INTERLEAVE ||
 	    pol->mode == MPOL_WEIGHTED_INTERLEAVE) {
 		*ilx += vma->vm_pgoff >> order;
-		*ilx += (addr - vma->vm_start) >> (PAGE_SHIFT + order);
+		*ilx += (addr >> (PAGE_SHIFT + order)) -
+			(vma->vm_start >> (PAGE_SHIFT + order));
 	}
 	return pol;
 }
Signature · 1 line
MST
author maintainer
#3 lore raw

PATCH v6 3/30 mm: thread user_addr through page allocator for cache-friendly zeroing

In reply to Michael S. Tsirkin

Thread a user virtual address from vma_alloc_folio() down through the page allocator to post_alloc_hook(). This is plumbing preparation for a subsequent patch that will use user_addr to call folio_zero_user() for cache-friendly zeroing of user pages.

The user_addr is stored in struct alloc_context and flows through:
vma_alloc_folio -> folio_alloc_mpol -> __alloc_pages_mpol -> __alloc_frozen_pages -> get_page_from_freelist -> prep_new_page -> post_alloc_hook

USER_ADDR_NONE ((unsigned long)-1) is used for non-user allocations, since address 0 is a valid userspace mapping.

Assisted-by Claude:claude-opus-4-6
Assisted-by cursor-agent:GPT-5.4-xhigh
---
 include/linux/gfp.h |  2 +-
 mm/compaction.c     |  5 ++---
 mm/hugetlb.c        | 36 ++++++++++++++++++++----------------
 mm/internal.h       | 18 +++++++++++++++---
 mm/mempolicy.c      | 44 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++------------
 mm/page_alloc.c     | 44 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++---------------
 mm/slub.c           |  4 ++--
 7 files changed, 101 insertions(+), 52 deletions(-)
include/linux/gfp.h +1 -1
index 7ccbda35b9ad..ee35c5367abc 100644
@@ -337,7 +337,7 @@ static inline struct folio *folio_alloc_noprof(gfp_t gfp, unsigned int order)
 static inline struct folio *folio_alloc_mpol_noprof(gfp_t gfp, unsigned int order,
 		struct mempolicy *mpol, pgoff_t ilx, int nid)
 {
-	return folio_alloc_noprof(gfp, order);
+	return __folio_alloc_noprof(gfp, order, numa_node_id(), NULL);
 }
 #endif
 
mm/compaction.c +2 -3
index 3648ce22c807..72684fe81e83 100644
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ static inline bool is_via_compact_memory(int order) { return false; }
 
 static struct page *mark_allocated_noprof(struct page *page, unsigned int order, gfp_t gfp_flags)
 {
-	post_alloc_hook(page, order, __GFP_MOVABLE);
+	post_alloc_hook(page, order, __GFP_MOVABLE, USER_ADDR_NONE);
 	set_page_refcounted(page);
 	return page;
 }
@@ -1849,8 +1849,7 @@ static struct folio *compaction_alloc_noprof(struct folio *src, unsigned long da
 		set_page_private(&freepage[size], start_order);
 	}
 	dst = (struct folio *)freepage;
-
-	post_alloc_hook(&dst->page, order, __GFP_MOVABLE);
+	post_alloc_hook(&dst->page, order, __GFP_MOVABLE, USER_ADDR_NONE);
 	set_page_refcounted(&dst->page);
 	if (order)
 		prep_compound_page(&dst->page, order);
mm/hugetlb.c +20 -16
index f24bf49be047..a999f3ead852 100644
@@ -1806,7 +1806,8 @@ struct address_space *hugetlb_folio_mapping_lock_write(struct folio *folio)
 }
 
 static struct folio *alloc_buddy_frozen_folio(int order, gfp_t gfp_mask,
-		int nid, nodemask_t *nmask, nodemask_t *node_alloc_noretry)
+		int nid, nodemask_t *nmask, nodemask_t *node_alloc_noretry,
+		unsigned long addr)
 {
 	struct folio *folio;
 	bool alloc_try_hard = true;
@@ -1823,7 +1824,7 @@ static struct folio *alloc_buddy_frozen_folio(int order, gfp_t gfp_mask,
 	if (alloc_try_hard)
 		gfp_mask |= __GFP_RETRY_MAYFAIL;
 
-	folio = (struct folio *)__alloc_frozen_pages(gfp_mask, order, nid, nmask);
+	folio = (struct folio *)__alloc_frozen_pages(gfp_mask, order, nid, nmask, addr);
 
 	/*
 	 * If we did not specify __GFP_RETRY_MAYFAIL, but still got a
@@ -1852,7 +1853,7 @@ static struct folio *alloc_buddy_frozen_folio(int order, gfp_t gfp_mask,
 
 static struct folio *only_alloc_fresh_hugetlb_folio(struct hstate *h,
 		gfp_t gfp_mask, int nid, nodemask_t *nmask,
-		nodemask_t *node_alloc_noretry)
+		nodemask_t *node_alloc_noretry, unsigned long addr)
 {
 	struct folio *folio;
 	int order = huge_page_order(h);
@@ -1864,7 +1865,7 @@ static struct folio *only_alloc_fresh_hugetlb_folio(struct hstate *h,
 		folio = alloc_gigantic_frozen_folio(order, gfp_mask, nid, nmask);
 	else
 		folio = alloc_buddy_frozen_folio(order, gfp_mask, nid, nmask,
-						 node_alloc_noretry);
+						 node_alloc_noretry, addr);
 	if (folio)
 		init_new_hugetlb_folio(folio);
 	return folio;
@@ -1878,11 +1879,12 @@ static struct folio *only_alloc_fresh_hugetlb_folio(struct hstate *h,
  * pages is zero, and the accounting must be done in the caller.
  */
 static struct folio *alloc_fresh_hugetlb_folio(struct hstate *h,
-		gfp_t gfp_mask, int nid, nodemask_t *nmask)
+		gfp_t gfp_mask, int nid, nodemask_t *nmask,
+		unsigned long addr)
 {
 	struct folio *folio;
 
-	folio = only_alloc_fresh_hugetlb_folio(h, gfp_mask, nid, nmask, NULL);
+	folio = only_alloc_fresh_hugetlb_folio(h, gfp_mask, nid, nmask, NULL, addr);
 	if (folio)
 		hugetlb_vmemmap_optimize_folio(h, folio);
 	return folio;
@@ -1922,7 +1924,7 @@ static struct folio *alloc_pool_huge_folio(struct hstate *h,
 		struct folio *folio;
 
 		folio = only_alloc_fresh_hugetlb_folio(h, gfp_mask, node,
-					nodes_allowed, node_alloc_noretry);
+					nodes_allowed, node_alloc_noretry, USER_ADDR_NONE);
 		if (folio)
 			return folio;
 	}
@@ -2091,7 +2093,8 @@ int dissolve_free_hugetlb_folios(unsigned long start_pfn, unsigned long end_pfn)
  * Allocates a fresh surplus page from the page allocator.
  */
 static struct folio *alloc_surplus_hugetlb_folio(struct hstate *h,
-				gfp_t gfp_mask,	int nid, nodemask_t *nmask)
+				gfp_t gfp_mask,	int nid, nodemask_t *nmask,
+				unsigned long addr)
 {
 	struct folio *folio = NULL;
 
@@ -2103,7 +2106,7 @@ static struct folio *alloc_surplus_hugetlb_folio(struct hstate *h,
 		goto out_unlock;
 	spin_unlock_irq(&hugetlb_lock);
 
-	folio = alloc_fresh_hugetlb_folio(h, gfp_mask, nid, nmask);
+	folio = alloc_fresh_hugetlb_folio(h, gfp_mask, nid, nmask, addr);
 	if (!folio)
 		return NULL;
 
@@ -2146,7 +2149,7 @@ static struct folio *alloc_migrate_hugetlb_folio(struct hstate *h, gfp_t gfp_mas
 	if (hstate_is_gigantic(h))
 		return NULL;
 
-	folio = alloc_fresh_hugetlb_folio(h, gfp_mask, nid, nmask);
+	folio = alloc_fresh_hugetlb_folio(h, gfp_mask, nid, nmask, USER_ADDR_NONE);
 	if (!folio)
 		return NULL;
 
@@ -2182,14 +2185,14 @@ struct folio *alloc_buddy_hugetlb_folio_with_mpol(struct hstate *h,
 	if (mpol_is_preferred_many(mpol)) {
 		gfp_t gfp = gfp_mask & ~(__GFP_DIRECT_RECLAIM | __GFP_NOFAIL);
 
-		folio = alloc_surplus_hugetlb_folio(h, gfp, nid, nodemask);
+		folio = alloc_surplus_hugetlb_folio(h, gfp, nid, nodemask, addr);
 
 		/* Fallback to all nodes if page==NULL */
 		nodemask = NULL;
 	}
 
 	if (!folio)
-		folio = alloc_surplus_hugetlb_folio(h, gfp_mask, nid, nodemask);
+		folio = alloc_surplus_hugetlb_folio(h, gfp_mask, nid, nodemask, addr);
 	mpol_cond_put(mpol);
 	return folio;
 }
@@ -2296,7 +2299,8 @@ static int gather_surplus_pages(struct hstate *h, long delta)
 		 * down the road to pick the current node if that is the case.
 		 */
 		folio = alloc_surplus_hugetlb_folio(h, htlb_alloc_mask(h),
-						    NUMA_NO_NODE, &alloc_nodemask);
+						    NUMA_NO_NODE, &alloc_nodemask,
+						    USER_ADDR_NONE);
 		if (!folio) {
 			alloc_ok = false;
 			break;
@@ -2702,7 +2706,7 @@ static int alloc_and_dissolve_hugetlb_folio(struct folio *old_folio,
 			spin_unlock_irq(&hugetlb_lock);
 			gfp_mask = htlb_alloc_mask(h) | __GFP_THISNODE;
 			new_folio = alloc_fresh_hugetlb_folio(h, gfp_mask,
-							      nid, NULL);
+							      nid, NULL, USER_ADDR_NONE);
 			if (!new_folio)
 				return -ENOMEM;
 			goto retry;
@@ -3400,13 +3404,13 @@ static void __init hugetlb_hstate_alloc_pages_onenode(struct hstate *h, int nid)
 			gfp_t gfp_mask = htlb_alloc_mask(h) | __GFP_THISNODE;
 
 			folio = only_alloc_fresh_hugetlb_folio(h, gfp_mask, nid,
-					&node_states[N_MEMORY], NULL);
+					&node_states[N_MEMORY], NULL, USER_ADDR_NONE);
 			if (!folio && !list_empty(&folio_list) &&
 			    hugetlb_vmemmap_optimizable_size(h)) {
 				prep_and_add_allocated_folios(h, &folio_list);
 				INIT_LIST_HEAD(&folio_list);
 				folio = only_alloc_fresh_hugetlb_folio(h, gfp_mask, nid,
-						&node_states[N_MEMORY], NULL);
+						&node_states[N_MEMORY], NULL, USER_ADDR_NONE);
 			}
 			if (!folio)
 				break;
mm/internal.h +15 -3
index 5a2ddcf68e0b..751ae8911607 100644
@@ -662,6 +662,12 @@ void calculate_min_free_kbytes(void);
 int __meminit init_per_zone_wmark_min(void);
 void page_alloc_sysctl_init(void);
 
+/*
+ * Sentinel for user_addr: indicates a non-user allocation.
+ * Cannot use 0 because address 0 is a valid userspace mapping.
+ */
+#define USER_ADDR_NONE	((unsigned long)-1)
+
 /*
  * Structure for holding the mostly immutable allocation parameters passed
  * between functions involved in allocations, including the alloc_pages*
@@ -693,6 +699,7 @@ struct alloc_context {
 	 */
 	enum zone_type highest_zoneidx;
 	bool spread_dirty_pages;
+	unsigned long user_addr;
 };
 
 /*
@@ -916,24 +923,29 @@ static inline void init_compound_tail(struct page *tail,
 	prep_compound_tail(tail, head, order);
 }
 
-void post_alloc_hook(struct page *page, unsigned int order, gfp_t gfp_flags);
+void post_alloc_hook(struct page *page, unsigned int order, gfp_t gfp_flags,
+		     unsigned long user_addr);
 extern bool free_pages_prepare(struct page *page, unsigned int order);
 
 extern int user_min_free_kbytes;
 
 struct page *__alloc_frozen_pages_noprof(gfp_t, unsigned int order, int nid,
-		nodemask_t *);
+		nodemask_t *, unsigned long user_addr);
 #define __alloc_frozen_pages(...) \
 	alloc_hooks(__alloc_frozen_pages_noprof(__VA_ARGS__))
 void free_frozen_pages(struct page *page, unsigned int order);
+void free_frozen_pages_zeroed(struct page *page, unsigned int order);
 void free_unref_folios(struct folio_batch *fbatch);
 
 #ifdef CONFIG_NUMA
 struct page *alloc_frozen_pages_noprof(gfp_t, unsigned int order);
+struct folio *folio_alloc_mpol_user_noprof(gfp_t gfp, unsigned int order,
+		struct mempolicy *pol, pgoff_t ilx, int nid,
+		unsigned long user_addr);
 #else
 static inline struct page *alloc_frozen_pages_noprof(gfp_t gfp, unsigned int order)
 {
-	return __alloc_frozen_pages_noprof(gfp, order, numa_node_id(), NULL);
+	return __alloc_frozen_pages_noprof(gfp, order, numa_node_id(), NULL, USER_ADDR_NONE);
 }
 #endif
 
mm/mempolicy.c +32 -12

102 lines not on this page · raw message

mm/page_alloc.c +29 -15

133 lines not on this page · raw message

mm/slub.c +2 -2
index 0baa906f39ab..74dd2d96941b 100644
@@ -3275,7 +3275,7 @@ static inline struct slab *alloc_slab_page(gfp_t flags, int node,
 	else if (node == NUMA_NO_NODE)
 		page = alloc_frozen_pages(flags, order);
 	else
-		page = __alloc_frozen_pages(flags, order, node, NULL);
+		page = __alloc_frozen_pages(flags, order, node, NULL, USER_ADDR_NONE);
 
 	if (!page)
 		return NULL;
@@ -5235,7 +5235,7 @@ static void *___kmalloc_large_node(size_t size, gfp_t flags, int node)
 	if (node == NUMA_NO_NODE)
 		page = alloc_frozen_pages_noprof(flags, order);
 	else
-		page = __alloc_frozen_pages_noprof(flags, order, node, NULL);
+		page = __alloc_frozen_pages_noprof(flags, order, node, NULL, USER_ADDR_NONE);
 
 	if (page) {
 		ptr = page_address(page);
Signature · 1 line
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author maintainer
#4 lore raw

PATCH v6 4/30 mm: add folio_zero_user stub for configs without THP/HUGETLBFS

In reply to Michael S. Tsirkin

folio_zero_user() is defined in mm/memory.c under CONFIG_TRANSPARENT_HUGEPAGE || CONFIG_HUGETLBFS. A subsequent patch will call it from post_alloc_hook() for all user page zeroing, so configs without THP or HUGETLBFS will need a stub.

Add a macro in the #else branch that falls back to clear_user_highpages(), which handles cache aliasing correctly on VIPT architectures and is always available via highmem.h.

Without THP/HUGETLBFS, only order-0 user pages are allocated, so the locality optimization in the real folio_zero_user() (zero near the faulting address last) is not needed.
This also matches what vma_alloc_zeroed_movable_folio currently does.

Assisted-by Claude:claude-opus-4-6
Assisted-by cursor-agent:GPT-5.4-xhigh
---
 include/linux/mm.h | 3 +++
 1 file changed, 3 insertions(+)
include/linux/mm.h +3 -0
index af23453e9dbd..3b1ca90fd435 100644
@@ -5070,6 +5070,9 @@ long copy_folio_from_user(struct folio *dst_folio,
 			   const void __user *usr_src,
 			   bool allow_pagefault);
 
+#else /* !CONFIG_TRANSPARENT_HUGEPAGE && !CONFIG_HUGETLBFS */
+#define folio_zero_user(folio, addr_hint) \
+	clear_user_highpages(&(folio)->page, (addr_hint), folio_nr_pages(folio))
 #endif /* CONFIG_TRANSPARENT_HUGEPAGE || CONFIG_HUGETLBFS */
 
 #if MAX_NUMNODES > 1
Signature · 1 line
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author maintainer
#5 lore raw

PATCH v6 5/30 mm: page_alloc: move prep_compound_page before post_alloc_hook

In reply to Michael S. Tsirkin

Move prep_compound_page() before post_alloc_hook() in prep_new_page().

The next patch adds a folio_zero_user() call to post_alloc_hook(), which uses folio_nr_pages() to determine how many pages to zero. Without compound metadata set up first, folio_nr_pages() returns 1 for higher-order allocations, so only the first page would be zeroed.

All other operations in post_alloc_hook() (arch_alloc_page, KASAN, debug, page owner, etc.) use raw page pointers with explicit order counts and are unaffected by this reordering.

Note: compaction_alloc_noprof() has the opposite ordering (post_alloc_hook before prep_compound_page). This is fine because compaction always passes USER_ADDR_NONE, so folio_zero_user() is never called there and folio_nr_pages() is never reached inside post_alloc_hook().

Assisted-by Claude:claude-opus-4-6
Assisted-by cursor-agent:GPT-5.4-xhigh
---
 mm/page_alloc.c | 4 ++--
 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)
mm/page_alloc.c +2 -2
index c3c0f4e2baa7..f76d5271b5c6 100644
@@ -1864,11 +1864,11 @@ static void prep_new_page(struct page *page, unsigned int order, gfp_t gfp_flags
 							unsigned int alloc_flags,
 							unsigned long user_addr)
 {
-	post_alloc_hook(page, order, gfp_flags, user_addr);
-
 	if (order && (gfp_flags & __GFP_COMP))
 		prep_compound_page(page, order);
 
+	post_alloc_hook(page, order, gfp_flags, user_addr);
+
 	/*
 	 * page is set pfmemalloc when ALLOC_NO_WATERMARKS was necessary to
 	 * allocate the page. The expectation is that the caller is taking
Signature · 1 line
MST
author maintainer
#6 lore raw

PATCH v6 6/30 mm: use folio_zero_user for user pages in post_alloc_hook

In reply to Michael S. Tsirkin

When post_alloc_hook() needs to zero a page for an explicit __GFP_ZERO allocation for a user page (user_addr is set), use folio_zero_user() instead of kernel_init_pages(). This zeros near the faulting address last, keeping those cachelines hot for the impending
user access.

folio_zero_user() is only used for explicit __GFP_ZERO, not for init_on_alloc. On architectures with virtually-indexed caches (e.g., ARM), clear_user_highpage() performs per-line cache operations; using it for init_on_alloc would add overhead that kernel_init_pages() avoids (the page fault path flushes the cache at PTE installation time regardless).

No functional change yet: current callers do not pass __GFP_ZERO for user pages (they zero at the callsite instead). Subsequent patches will convert them.

Assisted-by Claude:claude-opus-4-6
---
 mm/page_alloc.c | 17 ++++++++++++++---
 1 file changed, 14 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)
mm/page_alloc.c +14 -3
index f76d5271b5c6..842f5080d728 100644
@@ -1851,9 +1851,20 @@ inline void post_alloc_hook(struct page *page, unsigned int order,
 		for (i = 0; i != 1 << order; ++i)
 			page_kasan_tag_reset(page + i);
 	}
-	/* If memory is still not initialized, initialize it now. */
-	if (init)
-		kernel_init_pages(page, 1 << order);
+	/*
+	 * If memory is still not initialized, initialize it now.
+	 * When __GFP_ZERO was explicitly requested and user_addr is set,
+	 * use folio_zero_user() which zeros near the faulting address
+	 * last, keeping those cachelines hot.  For init_on_alloc, use
+	 * kernel_init_pages() to avoid unnecessary cache flush overhead
+	 * on architectures with virtually-indexed caches.
+	 */
+	if (init) {
+		if ((gfp_flags & __GFP_ZERO) && user_addr != USER_ADDR_NONE)
+			folio_zero_user(page_folio(page), user_addr);
+		else
+			kernel_init_pages(page, 1 << order);
+	}
 
 	set_page_owner(page, order, gfp_flags);
 	page_table_check_alloc(page, order);
Signature · 1 line
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author maintainer
#7 lore raw

PATCH v6 7/30 mm: use __GFP_ZERO in vma_alloc_zeroed_movable_folio

In reply to Michael S. Tsirkin

Now that post_alloc_hook() handles cache-friendly user page zeroing via folio_zero_user(), convert vma_alloc_zeroed_movable_folio() to pass __GFP_ZERO instead of zeroing at the callsite.

Assisted-by Claude:claude-opus-4-6
---
 include/linux/highmem.h | 9 ++-------
 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 7 deletions(-)
include/linux/highmem.h +2 -7
index af03db851a1d..ffa683f64f1d 100644
@@ -320,13 +320,8 @@ static inline
 struct folio *vma_alloc_zeroed_movable_folio(struct vm_area_struct *vma,
 				   unsigned long vaddr)
 {
-	struct folio *folio;
-
-	folio = vma_alloc_folio(GFP_HIGHUSER_MOVABLE, 0, vma, vaddr);
-	if (folio && user_alloc_needs_zeroing())
-		clear_user_highpage(&folio->page, vaddr);
-
-	return folio;
+	return vma_alloc_folio(GFP_HIGHUSER_MOVABLE | __GFP_ZERO,
+			      0, vma, vaddr);
 }
 #endif
 
Signature · 1 line
MST
author maintainer
#8 lore raw

PATCH v6 8/30 mm: remove arch vma_alloc_zeroed_movable_folio overrides

In reply to Michael S. Tsirkin

Now that the generic vma_alloc_zeroed_movable_folio() uses __GFP_ZERO, the arch-specific macros on alpha, m68k, s390, and x86 that did the same thing are redundant. Remove them.

arm64 is not affected: it has a real function override that handles MTE tag zeroing, not just __GFP_ZERO.

---
 arch/alpha/include/asm/page.h   | 3 ---
 arch/m68k/include/asm/page_no.h | 3 ---
 arch/s390/include/asm/page.h    | 3 ---
 arch/x86/include/asm/page.h     | 3 ---
 4 files changed, 12 deletions(-)
arch/alpha/include/asm/page.h +0 -3
index 59d01f9b77f6..4327029cd660 100644
@@ -12,9 +12,6 @@
 
 extern void clear_page(void *page);
 
-#define vma_alloc_zeroed_movable_folio(vma, vaddr) \
-	vma_alloc_folio(GFP_HIGHUSER_MOVABLE | __GFP_ZERO, 0, vma, vaddr)
-
 extern void copy_page(void * _to, void * _from);
 #define copy_user_page(to, from, vaddr, pg)	copy_page(to, from)
 
arch/m68k/include/asm/page_no.h +0 -3
index d2532bc407ef..f511b763a235 100644
@@ -12,9 +12,6 @@ extern unsigned long memory_end;
 
 #define copy_user_page(to, from, vaddr, pg)	copy_page(to, from)
 
-#define vma_alloc_zeroed_movable_folio(vma, vaddr) \
-	vma_alloc_folio(GFP_HIGHUSER_MOVABLE | __GFP_ZERO, 0, vma, vaddr)
-
 #define __pa(vaddr)		((unsigned long)(vaddr))
 #define __va(paddr)		((void *)((unsigned long)(paddr)))
 
arch/s390/include/asm/page.h +0 -3
index 56da819a79e6..e995d2a413f9 100644
@@ -67,9 +67,6 @@ static inline void copy_page(void *to, void *from)
 
 #define copy_user_page(to, from, vaddr, pg)	copy_page(to, from)
 
-#define vma_alloc_zeroed_movable_folio(vma, vaddr) \
-	vma_alloc_folio(GFP_HIGHUSER_MOVABLE | __GFP_ZERO, 0, vma, vaddr)
-
 #ifdef CONFIG_STRICT_MM_TYPECHECKS
 #define STRICT_MM_TYPECHECKS
 #endif
arch/x86/include/asm/page.h +0 -3
index 416dc88e35c1..92fa975b46f3 100644
@@ -28,9 +28,6 @@ static inline void copy_user_page(void *to, void *from, unsigned long vaddr,
 	copy_page(to, from);
 }
 
-#define vma_alloc_zeroed_movable_folio(vma, vaddr) \
-	vma_alloc_folio(GFP_HIGHUSER_MOVABLE | __GFP_ZERO, 0, vma, vaddr)
-
 #ifndef __pa
 #define __pa(x)		__phys_addr((unsigned long)(x))
 #endif
Signature · 1 line
MST
author maintainer
#9 lore raw

PATCH v6 9/30 mm: alloc_anon_folio: pass raw fault address to vma_alloc_folio

In reply to Michael S. Tsirkin

Pass vmf->address directly instead of ALIGN_DOWN(vmf->address, ...). vma_alloc_folio_noprof now aligns internally for NUMA interleave, and post_alloc_hook will use the raw address for cache-friendly zeroing via folio_zero_user().

Assisted-by Claude:claude-opus-4-6
Assisted-by cursor-agent:GPT-5.4-xhigh
---
 mm/memory.c | 3 +--
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 2 deletions(-)
mm/memory.c +1 -2
index ea6568571131..0824441a6ba1 100644
@@ -5252,8 +5252,7 @@ static struct folio *alloc_anon_folio(struct vm_fault *vmf)
 	/* Try allocating the highest of the remaining orders. */
 	gfp = vma_thp_gfp_mask(vma);
 	while (orders) {
-		addr = ALIGN_DOWN(vmf->address, PAGE_SIZE << order);
-		folio = vma_alloc_folio(gfp, order, vma, addr);
+		folio = vma_alloc_folio(gfp, order, vma, vmf->address);
 		if (folio) {
 			if (mem_cgroup_charge(folio, vma->vm_mm, gfp)) {
 				count_mthp_stat(order, MTHP_STAT_ANON_FAULT_FALLBACK_CHARGE);
Signature · 1 line
MST
author maintainer
#10 lore raw

PATCH v6 10/30 mm: alloc_swap_folio: pass raw fault address to vma_alloc_folio

In reply to Michael S. Tsirkin

Same change as the previous patch but for alloc_swap_folio:
pass vmf->address directly instead of ALIGN_DOWN(vmf->address, ...).

Assisted-by Claude:claude-opus-4-6
Assisted-by cursor-agent:GPT-5.4-xhigh
---
 mm/memory.c | 3 +--
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 2 deletions(-)
mm/memory.c +1 -2
index 0824441a6ba1..74523bc00d8a 100644
@@ -4734,8 +4734,7 @@ static struct folio *alloc_swap_folio(struct vm_fault *vmf)
 	/* Try allocating the highest of the remaining orders. */
 	gfp = vma_thp_gfp_mask(vma);
 	while (orders) {
-		addr = ALIGN_DOWN(vmf->address, PAGE_SIZE << order);
-		folio = vma_alloc_folio(gfp, order, vma, addr);
+		folio = vma_alloc_folio(gfp, order, vma, vmf->address);
 		if (folio) {
 			if (!mem_cgroup_swapin_charge_folio(folio, vma->vm_mm,
 							    gfp, entry))
Signature · 1 line
MST
author maintainer
#11 lore raw

PATCH v6 11/30 mm: use __GFP_ZERO in alloc_anon_folio

In reply to Michael S. Tsirkin

Convert alloc_anon_folio() to pass __GFP_ZERO instead of zeroing at the callsite. post_alloc_hook uses the fault address passed through vma_alloc_folio for cache-friendly zeroing.

Assisted-by Claude:claude-opus-4-6
---
 mm/memory.c | 11 +----------
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 10 deletions(-)
mm/memory.c +1 -10
index 74523bc00d8a..f3f1bc66366d 100644
@@ -5249,7 +5249,7 @@ static struct folio *alloc_anon_folio(struct vm_fault *vmf)
 		goto fallback;
 
 	/* Try allocating the highest of the remaining orders. */
-	gfp = vma_thp_gfp_mask(vma);
+	gfp = vma_thp_gfp_mask(vma) | __GFP_ZERO;
 	while (orders) {
 		folio = vma_alloc_folio(gfp, order, vma, vmf->address);
 		if (folio) {
@@ -5259,15 +5259,6 @@ static struct folio *alloc_anon_folio(struct vm_fault *vmf)
 				goto next;
 			}
 			folio_throttle_swaprate(folio, gfp);
-			/*
-			 * When a folio is not zeroed during allocation
-			 * (__GFP_ZERO not used) or user folios require special
-			 * handling, folio_zero_user() is used to make sure
-			 * that the page corresponding to the faulting address
-			 * will be hot in the cache after zeroing.
-			 */
-			if (user_alloc_needs_zeroing())
-				folio_zero_user(folio, vmf->address);
 			return folio;
 		}
 next:
Signature · 1 line
MST
author maintainer
#12 lore raw

PATCH v6 12/30 mm: vma_alloc_anon_folio_pmd: pass raw fault address to vma_alloc_folio

In reply to Michael S. Tsirkin

Now that vma_alloc_folio aligns the address internally, drop the redundant HPAGE_PMD_MASK alignment at the callsite.

---
 mm/huge_memory.c | 2 +-
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)
mm/huge_memory.c +1 -1
index 970e077019b7..d689e6491ddb 100644
@@ -1337,7 +1337,7 @@ static struct folio *vma_alloc_anon_folio_pmd(struct vm_area_struct *vma,
 	const int order = HPAGE_PMD_ORDER;
 	struct folio *folio;
 
-	folio = vma_alloc_folio(gfp, order, vma, addr & HPAGE_PMD_MASK);
+	folio = vma_alloc_folio(gfp, order, vma, addr);
 
 	if (unlikely(!folio)) {
 		count_vm_event(THP_FAULT_FALLBACK);
Signature · 1 line
MST
author maintainer
#13 lore raw

PATCH v6 13/30 mm: use __GFP_ZERO in vma_alloc_anon_folio_pmd

In reply to Michael S. Tsirkin

Convert vma_alloc_anon_folio_pmd() to pass __GFP_ZERO instead of zeroing at the callsite. post_alloc_hook uses the fault address passed through vma_alloc_folio for cache-friendly zeroing.

Assisted-by Claude:claude-opus-4-6
---
 mm/huge_memory.c | 10 +---------
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 9 deletions(-)
mm/huge_memory.c +1 -9
index d689e6491ddb..9845c920c29c 100644
@@ -1333,7 +1333,7 @@ EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(thp_get_unmapped_area);
 static struct folio *vma_alloc_anon_folio_pmd(struct vm_area_struct *vma,
 		unsigned long addr)
 {
-	gfp_t gfp = vma_thp_gfp_mask(vma);
+	gfp_t gfp = vma_thp_gfp_mask(vma) | __GFP_ZERO;
 	const int order = HPAGE_PMD_ORDER;
 	struct folio *folio;
 
@@ -1356,14 +1356,6 @@ static struct folio *vma_alloc_anon_folio_pmd(struct vm_area_struct *vma,
 	}
 	folio_throttle_swaprate(folio, gfp);
 
-       /*
-	* When a folio is not zeroed during allocation (__GFP_ZERO not used)
-	* or user folios require special handling, folio_zero_user() is used to
-	* make sure that the page corresponding to the faulting address will be
-	* hot in the cache after zeroing.
-	*/
-	if (user_alloc_needs_zeroing())
-		folio_zero_user(folio, addr);
 	/*
 	 * The memory barrier inside __folio_mark_uptodate makes sure that
 	 * folio_zero_user writes become visible before the set_pmd_at()
Signature · 1 line
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author maintainer
#14 lore raw

PATCH v6 14/30 mm: hugetlb: use __GFP_ZERO and skip zeroing for zeroed pages

In reply to Michael S. Tsirkin

Convert the hugetlb fault and fallocate paths to use __GFP_ZERO. For pages allocated from the buddy allocator, post_alloc_hook() handles zeroing.

Hugetlb surplus pages need special handling because they can be pre-allocated into the pool during mmap (by hugetlb_acct_memory) before any page fault. Pool pages are kept around and may need zeroing long after buddy allocation, so a buddy-level zeroed hint (consumed at allocation time) cannot track their state.

Add a bool *zeroed output parameter to alloc_hugetlb_folio() so callers know whether the page needs zeroing. Buddy-allocated pages are always zeroed (zeroed by post_alloc_hook). Pool pages use a new HPG_zeroed flag to track whether the page is known-zero (freshly buddy-allocated, never mapped to userspace). The flag is set in alloc_surplus_hugetlb_folio() after buddy allocation and cleared in free_huge_folio() when a user-mapped page returns to the pool.

Callers that do not need zeroing (CoW, migration) pass NULL for zeroed and 0 for gfp.

Assisted-by Claude:claude-opus-4-6
Assisted-by cursor-agent:GPT-5.4-xhigh
---
 fs/hugetlbfs/inode.c    | 10 ++++++--
 include/linux/hugetlb.h |  8 +++++--
 mm/hugetlb.c            | 52 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-----------
 3 files changed, 53 insertions(+), 17 deletions(-)
fs/hugetlbfs/inode.c +8 -2
index 8b05bec08e04..24e42cb10ade 100644
@@ -810,14 +810,20 @@ static long hugetlbfs_fallocate(struct file *file, int mode, loff_t offset,
 		 * folios in these areas, we need to consume the reserves
 		 * to keep reservation accounting consistent.
 		 */
-		folio = alloc_hugetlb_folio(&pseudo_vma, addr, false);
+		{
+		bool zeroed;
+
+		folio = alloc_hugetlb_folio(&pseudo_vma, addr, false,
+					   __GFP_ZERO, &zeroed);
 		if (IS_ERR(folio)) {
 			mutex_unlock(&hugetlb_fault_mutex_table[hash]);
 			error = PTR_ERR(folio);
 			goto out;
 		}
-		folio_zero_user(folio, addr);
+		if (!zeroed)
+			folio_zero_user(folio, addr);
 		__folio_mark_uptodate(folio);
+		}
 		error = hugetlb_add_to_page_cache(folio, mapping, index);
 		if (unlikely(error)) {
 			restore_reserve_on_error(h, &pseudo_vma, addr, folio);
include/linux/hugetlb.h +6 -2
index 93418625d3c5..950e1702fbd8 100644
@@ -599,6 +599,7 @@ enum hugetlb_page_flags {
 	HPG_vmemmap_optimized,
 	HPG_raw_hwp_unreliable,
 	HPG_cma,
+	HPG_zeroed,
 	__NR_HPAGEFLAGS,
 };
 
@@ -659,6 +660,7 @@ HPAGEFLAG(Freed, freed)
 HPAGEFLAG(VmemmapOptimized, vmemmap_optimized)
 HPAGEFLAG(RawHwpUnreliable, raw_hwp_unreliable)
 HPAGEFLAG(Cma, cma)
+HPAGEFLAG(Zeroed, zeroed)
 
 #ifdef CONFIG_HUGETLB_PAGE
 
@@ -706,7 +708,8 @@ int isolate_or_dissolve_huge_folio(struct folio *folio, struct list_head *list);
 int replace_free_hugepage_folios(unsigned long start_pfn, unsigned long end_pfn);
 void wait_for_freed_hugetlb_folios(void);
 struct folio *alloc_hugetlb_folio(struct vm_area_struct *vma,
-				unsigned long addr, bool cow_from_owner);
+				unsigned long addr, bool cow_from_owner,
+				gfp_t gfp, bool *zeroed);
 struct folio *alloc_hugetlb_folio_nodemask(struct hstate *h, int preferred_nid,
 				nodemask_t *nmask, gfp_t gfp_mask,
 				bool allow_alloc_fallback);
@@ -1131,7 +1134,8 @@ static inline void wait_for_freed_hugetlb_folios(void)
 
 static inline struct folio *alloc_hugetlb_folio(struct vm_area_struct *vma,
 					   unsigned long addr,
-					   bool cow_from_owner)
+					   bool cow_from_owner,
+					   gfp_t gfp, bool *zeroed)
 {
 	return NULL;
 }
mm/hugetlb.c +39 -13

144 lines not on this page · raw message

Signature · 1 line
MST
author maintainer
#15 lore raw

PATCH v6 15/30 mm: memfd: skip zeroing for zeroed hugetlb pool pages

In reply to Michael S. Tsirkin

gather_surplus_pages() pre-allocates hugetlb pages into the pool during mmap. Pass __GFP_ZERO so these pages are zeroed by the buddy allocator, and HPG_zeroed is set by alloc_surplus_hugetlb_folio.

Add bool *zeroed output to alloc_hugetlb_folio_reserve() so callers can check whether the pool page is known-zero. memfd's memfd_alloc_folio() uses this to skip the explicit folio_zero_user() when the page is already zero.

This avoids redundant zeroing for memfd hugetlb pages that were pre-allocated into the pool and never mapped to userspace.

Assisted-by Claude:claude-opus-4-6
---
 include/linux/hugetlb.h |  6 ++++--
 mm/hugetlb.c            | 11 +++++++++--
 mm/memfd.c              | 14 ++++++++------
 3 files changed, 21 insertions(+), 10 deletions(-)
include/linux/hugetlb.h +4 -2
index 950e1702fbd8..c4e66a371fce 100644
@@ -714,7 +714,8 @@ struct folio *alloc_hugetlb_folio_nodemask(struct hstate *h, int preferred_nid,
 				nodemask_t *nmask, gfp_t gfp_mask,
 				bool allow_alloc_fallback);
 struct folio *alloc_hugetlb_folio_reserve(struct hstate *h, int preferred_nid,
-					  nodemask_t *nmask, gfp_t gfp_mask);
+					  nodemask_t *nmask, gfp_t gfp_mask,
+					  bool *zeroed);
 
 int hugetlb_add_to_page_cache(struct folio *folio, struct address_space *mapping,
 			pgoff_t idx);
@@ -1142,7 +1143,8 @@ static inline struct folio *alloc_hugetlb_folio(struct vm_area_struct *vma,
 
 static inline struct folio *
 alloc_hugetlb_folio_reserve(struct hstate *h, int preferred_nid,
-			    nodemask_t *nmask, gfp_t gfp_mask)
+			    nodemask_t *nmask, gfp_t gfp_mask,
+			    bool *zeroed)
 {
 	return NULL;
 }
mm/hugetlb.c +9 -2
index 8710366d14b7..03ad5c1e0655 100644
@@ -2205,7 +2205,7 @@ struct folio *alloc_buddy_hugetlb_folio_with_mpol(struct hstate *h,
 }
 
 struct folio *alloc_hugetlb_folio_reserve(struct hstate *h, int preferred_nid,
-		nodemask_t *nmask, gfp_t gfp_mask)
+		nodemask_t *nmask, gfp_t gfp_mask, bool *zeroed)
 {
 	struct folio *folio;
 
@@ -2221,6 +2221,12 @@ struct folio *alloc_hugetlb_folio_reserve(struct hstate *h, int preferred_nid,
 		h->resv_huge_pages--;
 
 	spin_unlock_irq(&hugetlb_lock);
+
+	if (zeroed && folio) {
+		*zeroed = folio_test_hugetlb_zeroed(folio);
+		folio_clear_hugetlb_zeroed(folio);
+	}
+
 	return folio;
 }
 
@@ -2305,7 +2311,8 @@ static int gather_surplus_pages(struct hstate *h, long delta)
 		 * It is okay to use NUMA_NO_NODE because we use numa_mem_id()
 		 * down the road to pick the current node if that is the case.
 		 */
-		folio = alloc_surplus_hugetlb_folio(h, htlb_alloc_mask(h),
+		folio = alloc_surplus_hugetlb_folio(h,
+						    htlb_alloc_mask(h) | __GFP_ZERO,
 						    NUMA_NO_NODE, &alloc_nodemask,
 						    USER_ADDR_NONE);
 		if (!folio) {
mm/memfd.c +8 -6
index fb425f4e315f..5518f7d2d91f 100644
@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@ struct folio *memfd_alloc_folio(struct file *memfd, pgoff_t idx)
 #ifdef CONFIG_HUGETLB_PAGE
 	struct folio *folio;
 	gfp_t gfp_mask;
+	bool zeroed;
 
 	if (is_file_hugepages(memfd)) {
 		/*
@@ -93,17 +94,18 @@ struct folio *memfd_alloc_folio(struct file *memfd, pgoff_t idx)
 		folio = alloc_hugetlb_folio_reserve(h,
 						    numa_node_id(),
 						    NULL,
-						    gfp_mask);
+						    gfp_mask,
+						    &zeroed);
 		if (folio) {
 			u32 hash;
 
 			/*
-			 * Zero the folio to prevent information leaks to userspace.
-			 * Use folio_zero_user() which is optimized for huge/gigantic
-			 * pages. Pass 0 as addr_hint since this is not a faulting path
-			 *  and we don't have a user virtual address yet.
+			 * Zero the folio to prevent information leaks to
+			 * userspace.  Skip if the pool page is known-zero
+			 * (HPG_zeroed set during pool pre-allocation).
 			 */
-			folio_zero_user(folio, 0);
+			if (!zeroed)
+				folio_zero_user(folio, 0);
 
 			/*
 			 * Mark the folio uptodate before adding to page cache,
Signature · 1 line
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author maintainer
#16 lore raw

PATCH v6 16/30 mm: page_reporting: allow driver to set batch capacity

In reply to Michael S. Tsirkin

Add a capacity field to page_reporting_dev_info so drivers can control the maximum number of pages per report batch. This is useful when the driver needs to reserve virtqueue descriptors for metadata (e.g., a bitmap buffer) alongside the page buffers.

The value is capped at PAGE_REPORTING_CAPACITY and rounded down to a power of 2. If unset (0), defaults to PAGE_REPORTING_CAPACITY.

The virtio_balloon driver sets capacity to the reporting virtqueue size, letting page_reporting adapt to whatever the device provides.

Assisted-by Claude:claude-opus-4-6
---
 drivers/virtio/virtio_balloon.c |  5 +----
 include/linux/page_reporting.h  |  3 +++
 mm/page_reporting.c             | 26 +++++++++++++++-----------
 3 files changed, 19 insertions(+), 15 deletions(-)
drivers/virtio/virtio_balloon.c +1 -4
index f6c2dff33f8a..6a1a610c2cb1 100644
@@ -1017,10 +1017,6 @@ static int virtballoon_probe(struct virtio_device *vdev)
 		unsigned int capacity;
 
 		capacity = virtqueue_get_vring_size(vb->reporting_vq);
-		if (capacity < PAGE_REPORTING_CAPACITY) {
-			err = -ENOSPC;
-			goto out_unregister_oom;
-		}
 
 		vb->pr_dev_info.order = PAGE_REPORTING_ORDER_UNSPECIFIED;
 
@@ -1041,6 +1037,7 @@ static int virtballoon_probe(struct virtio_device *vdev)
 		vb->pr_dev_info.order = 5;
 #endif
 
+		vb->pr_dev_info.capacity = capacity;
 		err = page_reporting_register(&vb->pr_dev_info);
 		if (err)
 			goto out_unregister_oom;
include/linux/page_reporting.h +3 -0
index 9d4ca5c218a0..5ab5be02fa15 100644
@@ -22,6 +22,9 @@ struct page_reporting_dev_info {
 
 	/* Minimal order of page reporting */
 	unsigned int order;
+
+	/* Max pages per report batch (default PAGE_REPORTING_CAPACITY) */
+	unsigned int capacity;
 };
 
 /* Tear-down and bring-up for page reporting devices */
mm/page_reporting.c +15 -11
index 7418f2e500bb..006f7cdddc18 100644
@@ -174,10 +174,10 @@ page_reporting_cycle(struct page_reporting_dev_info *prdev, struct zone *zone,
 	 * list processed. This should result in us reporting all pages on
 	 * an idle system in about 30 seconds.
 	 *
-	 * The division here should be cheap since PAGE_REPORTING_CAPACITY
-	 * should always be a power of 2.
+	 * The division here should be cheap since capacity should
+	 * always be a power of 2.
 	 */
-	budget = DIV_ROUND_UP(area->nr_free, PAGE_REPORTING_CAPACITY * 16);
+	budget = DIV_ROUND_UP(area->nr_free, prdev->capacity * 16);
 
 	/* loop through free list adding unreported pages to sg list */
 	list_for_each_entry_safe(page, next, list, lru) {
@@ -222,10 +222,10 @@ page_reporting_cycle(struct page_reporting_dev_info *prdev, struct zone *zone,
 		spin_unlock_irq(&zone->lock);
 
 		/* begin processing pages in local list */
-		err = prdev->report(prdev, sgl, PAGE_REPORTING_CAPACITY);
+		err = prdev->report(prdev, sgl, prdev->capacity);
 
 		/* reset offset since the full list was reported */
-		*offset = PAGE_REPORTING_CAPACITY;
+		*offset = prdev->capacity;
 
 		/* update budget to reflect call to report function */
 		budget--;
@@ -234,7 +234,7 @@ page_reporting_cycle(struct page_reporting_dev_info *prdev, struct zone *zone,
 		spin_lock_irq(&zone->lock);
 
 		/* flush reported pages from the sg list */
-		page_reporting_drain(prdev, sgl, PAGE_REPORTING_CAPACITY, !err);
+		page_reporting_drain(prdev, sgl, prdev->capacity, !err);
 
 		/*
 		 * Reset next to first entry, the old next isn't valid
@@ -260,13 +260,13 @@ static int
 page_reporting_process_zone(struct page_reporting_dev_info *prdev,
 			    struct scatterlist *sgl, struct zone *zone)
 {
-	unsigned int order, mt, leftover, offset = PAGE_REPORTING_CAPACITY;
+	unsigned int order, mt, leftover, offset = prdev->capacity;
 	unsigned long watermark;
 	int err = 0;
 
 	/* Generate minimum watermark to be able to guarantee progress */
 	watermark = low_wmark_pages(zone) +
-		    (PAGE_REPORTING_CAPACITY << page_reporting_order);
+		    (prdev->capacity << page_reporting_order);
 
 	/*
 	 * Cancel request if insufficient free memory or if we failed
@@ -290,7 +290,7 @@ page_reporting_process_zone(struct page_reporting_dev_info *prdev,
 	}
 
 	/* report the leftover pages before going idle */
-	leftover = PAGE_REPORTING_CAPACITY - offset;
+	leftover = prdev->capacity - offset;
 	if (leftover) {
 		sgl = &sgl[offset];
 		err = prdev->report(prdev, sgl, leftover);
@@ -322,11 +322,11 @@ static void page_reporting_process(struct work_struct *work)
 	atomic_set(&prdev->state, state);
 
 	/* allocate scatterlist to store pages being reported on */
-	sgl = kmalloc_objs(*sgl, PAGE_REPORTING_CAPACITY);
+	sgl = kmalloc_objs(*sgl, prdev->capacity);
 	if (!sgl)
 		goto err_out;
 
-	sg_init_table(sgl, PAGE_REPORTING_CAPACITY);
+	sg_init_table(sgl, prdev->capacity);
 
 	for_each_zone(zone) {
 		err = page_reporting_process_zone(prdev, sgl, zone);
@@ -377,6 +377,10 @@ int page_reporting_register(struct page_reporting_dev_info *prdev)
 			page_reporting_order = pageblock_order;
 	}
 
+	if (!prdev->capacity || prdev->capacity > PAGE_REPORTING_CAPACITY)
+		prdev->capacity = PAGE_REPORTING_CAPACITY;
+	prdev->capacity = rounddown_pow_of_two(prdev->capacity);
+
 	/* initialize state and work structures */
 	atomic_set(&prdev->state, PAGE_REPORTING_IDLE);
 	INIT_DELAYED_WORK(&prdev->work, &page_reporting_process);
Signature · 1 line
MST
author maintainer
#17 lore raw

PATCH v6 17/30 mm: page_alloc: propagate PageReported flag across buddy splits

In reply to Michael S. Tsirkin

When a reported free page is split via expand() to satisfy a smaller allocation, the sub-pages placed back on the free lists lose the PageReported flag. This means they will be unnecessarily re-reported to the hypervisor in the next reporting cycle, wasting work.

Propagate the PageReported flag to sub-pages during expand(), both in page_del_and_expand() and try_to_claim_block(), so that they are recognized as already-reported.

Assisted-by Claude:claude-opus-4-6
---
 mm/page_alloc.c | 18 +++++++++++++++---
 1 file changed, 15 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)
mm/page_alloc.c +15 -3
index 842f5080d728..76f39dd026ff 100644
@@ -1699,7 +1699,7 @@ struct page *__pageblock_pfn_to_page(unsigned long start_pfn,
  * -- nyc
  */
 static inline unsigned int expand(struct zone *zone, struct page *page, int low,
-				  int high, int migratetype)
+				  int high, int migratetype, bool reported)
 {
 	unsigned int size = 1 << high;
 	unsigned int nr_added = 0;
@@ -1721,6 +1721,15 @@ static inline unsigned int expand(struct zone *zone, struct page *page, int low,
 		__add_to_free_list(&page[size], zone, high, migratetype, false);
 		set_buddy_order(&page[size], high);
 		nr_added += size;
+
+		/*
+		 * The parent page has been reported to the host.  The
+		 * sub-pages are part of the same reported block, so mark
+		 * them reported too.  This avoids re-reporting pages that
+		 * the host already knows about.
+		 */
+		if (reported)
+			__SetPageReported(&page[size]);
 	}
 
 	return nr_added;
@@ -1731,9 +1740,10 @@ static __always_inline void page_del_and_expand(struct zone *zone,
 						int high, int migratetype)
 {
 	int nr_pages = 1 << high;
+	bool was_reported = page_reported(page);
 
 	__del_page_from_free_list(page, zone, high, migratetype);
-	nr_pages -= expand(zone, page, low, high, migratetype);
+	nr_pages -= expand(zone, page, low, high, migratetype, was_reported);
 	account_freepages(zone, -nr_pages, migratetype);
 }
 
@@ -2300,10 +2310,12 @@ try_to_claim_block(struct zone *zone, struct page *page,
 	/* Take ownership for orders >= pageblock_order */
 	if (current_order >= pageblock_order) {
 		unsigned int nr_added;
+		bool was_reported = page_reported(page);
 
 		del_page_from_free_list(page, zone, current_order, block_type);
 		change_pageblock_range(page, current_order, start_type);
-		nr_added = expand(zone, page, order, current_order, start_type);
+		nr_added = expand(zone, page, order, current_order, start_type,
+				  was_reported);
 		account_freepages(zone, nr_added, start_type);
 		return page;
 	}
Signature · 1 line
MST
author maintainer
#18 lore raw

PATCH v6 18/30 mm: page_reporting: skip redundant zeroing of host-zeroed reported pages

In reply to Michael S. Tsirkin

When a guest reports free pages to the hypervisor via the page reporting framework (used by virtio-balloon and hv_balloon), the host typically zeros those pages when reclaiming their backing memory. However, when those pages are later allocated in the guest, post_alloc_hook() unconditionally zeros them again if __GFP_ZERO is set. This double-zeroing is wasteful, especially for large pages.

Avoid redundant zeroing:

- Add a host_zeroes_pages flag to page_reporting_dev_info, allowing drivers to declare that their host zeros reported pages on reclaim. A static key (page_reporting_host_zeroes) gates the fast path.

- Add PG_zeroed page flag (sharing PG_private bit) to mark pages that have been zeroed by the host. Set it in page_reporting_drain() after the host reports them.

- Thread the zeroed bool through rmqueue -> prep_new_page -> post_alloc_hook, where it skips redundant zeroing for __GFP_ZERO allocations.

No driver sets host_zeroes_pages yet; a follow-up patch to virtio_balloon is needed to opt in.

Assisted-by Claude:claude-opus-4-6
Assisted-by cursor-agent:GPT-5.4-xhigh
---
 include/linux/page-flags.h     |  9 +++++
 include/linux/page_reporting.h |  3 ++
 mm/compaction.c                |  6 ++--
 mm/internal.h                  |  2 +-
 mm/page_alloc.c                | 66 +++++++++++++++++++++++-----------
 mm/page_reporting.c            | 14 +++++++-
 mm/page_reporting.h            | 12 +++++++
 7 files changed, 87 insertions(+), 25 deletions(-)
include/linux/page-flags.h +9 -0
index 0e03d816e8b9..4ee64134acc3 100644
@@ -135,6 +135,8 @@ enum pageflags {
 	PG_swapcache = PG_owner_priv_1, /* Swap page: swp_entry_t in private */
 	/* Some filesystems */
 	PG_checked = PG_owner_priv_1,
+	/* Page contents are known to be zero */
+	PG_zeroed = PG_private,
 
 	/*
 	 * Depending on the way an anonymous folio can be mapped into a page
@@ -673,6 +675,13 @@ FOLIO_TEST_CLEAR_FLAG_FALSE(young)
 FOLIO_FLAG_FALSE(idle)
 #endif
 
+/*
+ * PageZeroed() tracks pages known to be zero.  The allocator
+ * uses this to skip redundant zeroing in post_alloc_hook().
+ */
+__PAGEFLAG(Zeroed, zeroed, PF_NO_COMPOUND)
+#define __PG_ZEROED (1UL << PG_zeroed)
+
 /*
  * PageReported() is used to track reported free pages within the Buddy
  * allocator. We can use the non-atomic version of the test and set
include/linux/page_reporting.h +3 -0
index 5ab5be02fa15..c331c6b36687 100644
@@ -14,6 +14,9 @@ struct page_reporting_dev_info {
 	int (*report)(struct page_reporting_dev_info *prdev,
 		      struct scatterlist *sg, unsigned int nents);
 
+	/* If true, host zeros reported pages on reclaim */
+	bool host_zeroes_pages;
+
 	/* work struct for processing reports */
 	struct delayed_work work;
 
mm/compaction.c +4 -2
index 72684fe81e83..0471c5326ec0 100644
@@ -82,7 +82,8 @@ static inline bool is_via_compact_memory(int order) { return false; }
 
 static struct page *mark_allocated_noprof(struct page *page, unsigned int order, gfp_t gfp_flags)
 {
-	post_alloc_hook(page, order, __GFP_MOVABLE, USER_ADDR_NONE);
+	__ClearPageZeroed(page);
+	post_alloc_hook(page, order, __GFP_MOVABLE, false, USER_ADDR_NONE);
 	set_page_refcounted(page);
 	return page;
 }
@@ -1849,7 +1850,8 @@ static struct folio *compaction_alloc_noprof(struct folio *src, unsigned long da
 		set_page_private(&freepage[size], start_order);
 	}
 	dst = (struct folio *)freepage;
-	post_alloc_hook(&dst->page, order, __GFP_MOVABLE, USER_ADDR_NONE);
+	__ClearPageZeroed(&dst->page);
+	post_alloc_hook(&dst->page, order, __GFP_MOVABLE, false, USER_ADDR_NONE);
 	set_page_refcounted(&dst->page);
 	if (order)
 		prep_compound_page(&dst->page, order);
mm/internal.h +1 -1
index 751ae8911607..fa7ffea4d492 100644
@@ -924,7 +924,7 @@ static inline void init_compound_tail(struct page *tail,
 }
 
 void post_alloc_hook(struct page *page, unsigned int order, gfp_t gfp_flags,
-		     unsigned long user_addr);
+		     bool zeroed, unsigned long user_addr);
 extern bool free_pages_prepare(struct page *page, unsigned int order);
 
 extern int user_min_free_kbytes;
mm/page_alloc.c +45 -21

206 lines not on this page · raw message

mm/page_reporting.c +13 -1
index 006f7cdddc18..37e4fce9eb38 100644
@@ -50,6 +50,8 @@ EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(page_reporting_order);
 #define PAGE_REPORTING_DELAY	(2 * HZ)
 static struct page_reporting_dev_info __rcu *pr_dev_info __read_mostly;
 
+DEFINE_STATIC_KEY_FALSE(page_reporting_host_zeroes);
+
 enum {
 	PAGE_REPORTING_IDLE = 0,
 	PAGE_REPORTING_REQUESTED,
@@ -129,8 +131,11 @@ page_reporting_drain(struct page_reporting_dev_info *prdev,
 		 * report on the new larger page when we make our way
 		 * up to that higher order.
 		 */
-		if (PageBuddy(page) && buddy_order(page) == order)
+		if (PageBuddy(page) && buddy_order(page) == order) {
 			__SetPageReported(page);
+			if (page_reporting_host_zeroes_pages())
+				__SetPageZeroed(page);
+		}
 	} while ((sg = sg_next(sg)));
 
 	/* reinitialize scatterlist now that it is empty */
@@ -391,6 +396,10 @@ int page_reporting_register(struct page_reporting_dev_info *prdev)
 	/* Assign device to allow notifications */
 	rcu_assign_pointer(pr_dev_info, prdev);
 
+	/* enable zeroed page optimization if host zeroes reported pages */
+	if (prdev->host_zeroes_pages)
+		static_branch_enable(&page_reporting_host_zeroes);
+
 	/* enable page reporting notification */
 	if (!static_key_enabled(&page_reporting_enabled)) {
 		static_branch_enable(&page_reporting_enabled);
@@ -415,6 +424,9 @@ void page_reporting_unregister(struct page_reporting_dev_info *prdev)
 
 		/* Flush any existing work, and lock it out */
 		cancel_delayed_work_sync(&prdev->work);
+
+		if (prdev->host_zeroes_pages)
+			static_branch_disable(&page_reporting_host_zeroes);
 	}
 
 	mutex_unlock(&page_reporting_mutex);
mm/page_reporting.h +12 -0
index c51dbc228b94..736ea7b37e9e 100644
@@ -15,6 +15,13 @@ DECLARE_STATIC_KEY_FALSE(page_reporting_enabled);
 extern unsigned int page_reporting_order;
 void __page_reporting_notify(void);
 
+DECLARE_STATIC_KEY_FALSE(page_reporting_host_zeroes);
+
+static inline bool page_reporting_host_zeroes_pages(void)
+{
+	return static_branch_unlikely(&page_reporting_host_zeroes);
+}
+
 static inline bool page_reported(struct page *page)
 {
 	return static_branch_unlikely(&page_reporting_enabled) &&
@@ -46,6 +53,11 @@ static inline void page_reporting_notify_free(unsigned int order)
 #else /* CONFIG_PAGE_REPORTING */
 #define page_reported(_page)	false
 
+static inline bool page_reporting_host_zeroes_pages(void)
+{
+	return false;
+}
+
 static inline void page_reporting_notify_free(unsigned int order)
 {
 }
Signature · 1 line
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