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Mark Harmstone 14f9161e87 btrfs: don't force DIO writes to be serialized
Before btrfs switched to the new mount API in 2023, we were setting
SB_NOSEC in btrfs_mount_root(). This flag tells the VFS that the
filesystem may have files which don't have security xattrs, enabling it
to do some optimizations.

Unfortunately this was missed in the transition, meaning that IS_NOSEC
will always return false for a btrfs inode. This means that
btrfs_direct_write() calls will always get the inode lock exclusively,
meaning that DIO writes to the same file will be serialized.

On my machine, this one-line change results in a ~59% improvement in DIO
throughput:

Before patch:

  test: (g=0): rw=randwrite, bs=(R) 4096B-4096B, (W) 4096B-4096B, (T) 4096B-4096B, ioengine=io_uring, iodepth=64
  ...
  fio-3.39
  Starting 32 processes
  test: Laying out IO file (1 file / 1024MiB)
  Jobs: 32 (f=32): [w(32)][100.0%][w=764MiB/s][w=195k IOPS][eta 00m:00s]
  test: (groupid=0, jobs=32): err= 0: pid=586: Wed Apr 22 13:03:04 2026
    write: IOPS=202k, BW=787MiB/s (826MB/s)(46.1GiB/60012msec); 0 zone resets
     bw (  KiB/s): min=498714, max=1199892, per=100.00%, avg=806659.03, stdev=4229.94, samples=3808
     iops        : min=124677, max=299971, avg=201661.82, stdev=1057.49, samples=3808
    cpu          : usr=0.32%, sys=1.27%, ctx=8329204, majf=0, minf=1163
    IO depths    : 1=0.0%, 2=0.0%, 4=0.0%, 8=0.0%, 16=0.0%, 32=0.0%, >=64=100.0%
       submit    : 0=0.0%, 4=100.0%, 8=0.0%, 16=0.0%, 32=0.0%, 64=0.0%, >=64=0.0%
       complete  : 0=0.0%, 4=100.0%, 8=0.0%, 16=0.0%, 32=0.0%, 64=0.1%, >=64=0.0%
       issued rwts: total=0,12094328,0,0 short=0,0,0,0 dropped=0,0,0,0
       latency   : target=0, window=0, percentile=100.00%, depth=64

  Run status group 0 (all jobs):
    WRITE: bw=787MiB/s (826MB/s), 787MiB/s-787MiB/s (826MB/s-826MB/s), io=46.1GiB (49.5GB), run=60012-60012msec

After patch:

  test: (g=0): rw=randwrite, bs=(R) 4096B-4096B, (W) 4096B-4096B, (T) 4096B-4096B, ioengine=io_uring, iodepth=64
  ...
  fio-3.39
  Starting 32 processes
  test: Laying out IO file (1 file / 1024MiB)
  Jobs: 32 (f=32): [w(32)][100.0%][w=1255MiB/s][w=321k IOPS][eta 00m:00s]
  test: (groupid=0, jobs=32): err= 0: pid=572: Wed Apr 22 13:13:46 2026
    write: IOPS=320k, BW=1250MiB/s (1311MB/s)(73.3GiB/60003msec); 0 zone resets
     bw (  MiB/s): min=  619, max= 2289, per=100.00%, avg=1251.28, stdev= 9.64, samples=3808
     iops        : min=158538, max=586025, avg=320320.80, stdev=2468.97, samples=3808
    cpu          : usr=0.35%, sys=11.50%, ctx=1584847, majf=0, minf=1160
    IO depths    : 1=0.0%, 2=0.0%, 4=0.0%, 8=0.0%, 16=0.0%, 32=0.0%, >=64=100.0%
       submit    : 0=0.0%, 4=100.0%, 8=0.0%, 16=0.0%, 32=0.0%, 64=0.0%, >=64=0.0%
       complete  : 0=0.0%, 4=100.0%, 8=0.0%, 16=0.0%, 32=0.0%, 64=0.1%, >=64=0.0%
       issued rwts: total=0,19203309,0,0 short=0,0,0,0 dropped=0,0,0,0
       latency   : target=0, window=0, percentile=100.00%, depth=64

  Run status group 0 (all jobs):
    WRITE: bw=1250MiB/s (1311MB/s), 1250MiB/s-1250MiB/s (1311MB/s-1311MB/s), io=73.3GiB (78.7GB), run=60003-60003msec

The script to reproduce that:

  #!/bin/bash
  mkfs.btrfs -f /dev/nvme0n1
  mount /dev/nvme0n1 /mnt/test
  mkdir /mnt/test/nocow
  chattr +C /mnt/test/nocow
  fio /root/test.fio

  # cat /root/test.fio
  [global]
  rw=randwrite
  ioengine=io_uring
  iodepth=64
  size=1g
  direct=1
  startdelay=20
  force_async=4
  ramp_time=5
  runtime=60
  group_reporting=1
  numjobs=32
  time_based
  disk_util=0
  clat_percentiles=0
  disable_lat=1
  disable_clat=1
  disable_slat=1
  filename=/mnt/test/nocow/fiofile
  [test]
  name=test
  bs=4k
  stonewall

This was on a VM with 8 cores and 8GB of RAM, with a real NVMe exposed
through PCI passthrough. The figures for XFS and ext4 in comparison are
both about ~3GB/s.

Fixes: ad21f15b0f ("btrfs: switch to the new mount API")
Signed-off-by: Mark Harmstone <mark@harmstone.com>
Signed-off-by: David Sterba <dsterba@suse.com>
2026-06-08 15:53:31 +02:00
arch Miscellaneous x86 fixes: 2026-06-07 13:12:29 -07:00
block block-7.1-20260529 2026-05-29 10:41:07 -07:00
certs Clang build fixes for 7.1 2026-04-24 09:29:51 -07:00
crypto crypto/krb5, rxrpc: Fix lack of pre-decrypt/pre-verify length checks 2026-05-20 16:36:45 -07:00
Documentation Including fixes from Netfilter, wireless and Bluetooth. 2026-06-04 14:35:55 -07:00
drivers regulator: Fix for v7.1 2026-06-07 12:39:36 -07:00
fs btrfs: don't force DIO writes to be serialized 2026-06-08 15:53:31 +02:00
include btrfs: add ioctl GET_CSUMS to read raw checksums from file range 2026-06-08 15:53:29 +02:00
init memblock: updates for 7.0-rc1 2026-04-18 11:29:14 -07:00
io_uring io_uring-7.1-20260605 2026-06-05 13:52:15 -07:00
ipc ipc: limit next_id allocation to the valid ID range 2026-05-21 19:06:11 -07:00
kernel Miscellaneous timer fixes: 2026-06-07 13:02:02 -07:00
lib vdso/datastore: Mark vdso_k_*_data pointers as __ro_after_init 2026-06-02 21:39:29 +02:00
LICENSES LICENSES: Add modern form of the LGPL-2.1 tags to the usage guide section 2025-10-22 07:58:19 +02:00
mm 13 hotfixes. All are for MM. 10 are cc:stable and the remaining 3 2026-06-02 08:59:35 -07:00
net udp: clear skb->dev before running a sockmap verdict 2026-06-04 09:01:51 -07:00
rust rust: helpers: add is_vmalloc_addr wrapper for NOMMU builds 2026-05-27 20:01:04 +02:00
samples soc: drivers for 7.1 2026-04-16 20:34:34 -07:00
scripts Rust fixes for v7.1 (2nd) 2026-06-06 09:44:42 -07:00
security security/keys: fix missed RCU read section on lookup 2026-05-28 11:45:41 -07:00
sound ALSA: seq: dummy: fix UMP event stack overread 2026-06-05 10:08:57 +02:00
tools vfs-7.1-rc7.fixes 2026-06-06 07:28:59 -07:00
usr kbuild: uapi: also test UAPI headers against C++ compilers 2026-03-25 13:24:42 +01:00
virt KVM: Don't WARN if memory is dirtied without a vCPU when the VM is dying 2026-06-03 16:43:55 +02:00
.clang-format Devicetree updates for v7.0: 2026-02-11 18:27:08 -08:00
.clippy.toml rust: bump Clippy's MSRV and clean incompatible_msrv allows 2026-04-07 09:51:39 +02:00
.cocciconfig
.editorconfig editorconfig: add rst extension 2026-01-26 19:07:09 -08:00
.get_maintainer.ignore .get_maintainer.ignore: add myself 2026-04-02 16:48:25 +02:00
.gitattributes .gitattributes: set diff driver for Rust source code files 2023-05-31 17:48:25 +02:00
.gitignore kbuild: rust: provide an option to inline C helpers into Rust 2026-03-30 02:03:52 +02:00
.mailmap 13 hotfixes. 9 are for MM. 9 are cc:stable and the remaining 4 address 2026-05-26 08:23:19 -07:00
.pylintrc docs: Move the python libraries to tools/lib/python 2025-11-18 09:22:40 -07:00
.rustfmt.toml
COPYING
CREDITS Delete some obsolete networking code 2026-04-24 09:41:58 -07:00
Kbuild checksyscalls: move instance functionality into generic code 2026-04-05 09:21:32 +02:00
Kconfig io_uring: Rename KConfig to Kconfig 2025-02-19 14:53:27 -07:00
MAINTAINERS cgroup: Fixes for v7.1-rc6 2026-06-03 08:59:24 -07:00
Makefile Linux 7.1-rc7 2026-06-07 15:37:58 -07:00
README docs: add AI Coding Assistants documentation 2026-01-06 14:55:06 -07:00

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
* AI Coding Assistant - LLMs and AI-powered development tools


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

AI Coding Assistant
-------------------

CRITICAL: If you are an LLM or AI-powered coding assistant, you MUST read and
follow the AI coding assistants documentation before contributing to the Linux
kernel:

* Documentation/process/coding-assistants.rst

This documentation contains essential requirements about licensing, attribution,
and the Developer Certificate of Origin that all AI tools must comply with.


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