Thread (25 messages) 25 messages, 6 authors, 2022-01-19

Re: [PATCH v2 3/3] x86: Support huge vmalloc mappings

From: Christophe Leroy <hidden>
Date: 2022-01-15 10:15:43
Also in: linux-arm-kernel, linux-doc, linux-mm, lkml


Le 28/12/2021 à 17:14, Dave Hansen a écrit :
On 12/28/21 2:26 AM, Kefeng Wang wrote:
quoted
quoted
quoted
There are some disadvantages about this feature[2], one of the main
concerns is the possible memory fragmentation/waste in some scenarios,
also archs must ensure that any arch specific vmalloc allocations that
require PAGE_SIZE mappings(eg, module alloc with STRICT_MODULE_RWX)
use the VM_NO_HUGE_VMAP flag to inhibit larger mappings.
That just says that x86 *needs* PAGE_SIZE allocations.  But, what
happens if VM_NO_HUGE_VMAP is not passed (like it was in v1)?  Will the
subsequent permission changes just fragment the 2M mapping?
Yes, without VM_NO_HUGE_VMAP, it could fragment the 2M mapping.

When module alloc with STRICT_MODULE_RWX on x86, it calls
__change_page_attr()

from set_memory_ro/rw/nx which will split large page, so there is no
need to make

module alloc with HUGE_VMALLOC.
This all sounds very fragile to me.  Every time a new architecture would
get added for huge vmalloc() support, the developer needs to know to go
find that architecture's module_alloc() and add this flag.  They next
guy is going to forget, just like you did.
That's not correct from my point of view.

When powerpc added that, a clear comment explains why:


+	/*
+	 * Don't do huge page allocations for modules yet until more testing
+	 * is done. STRICT_MODULE_RWX may require extra work to support this
+	 * too.
+	 */

So as you can see, this is something specific to powerpc and temporary.
Considering that this is not a hot path, a weak function would be a nice
choice:

/* vmalloc() flags used for all module allocations. */
unsigned long __weak arch_module_vm_flags()
{
	/*
	 * Modules use a single, large vmalloc().  Different
	 * permissions are applied later and will fragment
	 * huge mappings.  Avoid using huge pages for modules.
	 */
Why ? Not everybody use STRICT_MODULES_RWX.
Even if you do so, you can still benefit from huge pages for modules.

Why make what was initially a temporary precaution for powerpc become a 
definitive default limitation for all ?
	return VM_NO_HUGE_VMAP;
}

Stick that in some the common module code, next to:
quoted
void * __weak module_alloc(unsigned long size)
{
         return __vmalloc_node_range(size, 1, VMALLOC_START, VMALLOC_END,
...

Then, put arch_module_vm_flags() in *all* of the module_alloc()
implementations, including the generic one.  That way (even with a new
architecture) whoever copies-and-pastes their module_alloc()
implementation is likely to get it right.  The next guy who just does a
"select HAVE_ARCH_HUGE_VMALLOC" will hopefully just work.

VM_FLUSH_RESET_PERMS could probably be dealt with in the same way.
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