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Suren Baghdasaryan 1d581ab234 alloc_tag: add ioctl to /proc/allocinfo
Patch series "alloc_tag: introduce IOCTL-based filtering for MAP", v8.

Currently, memory allocation profiling data is primarily exposed through
/proc/allocinfo.  While useful for manual inspection, this text-based
interface poses challenges for production monitoring and large-scale
analysis:

1. Userspace must parse large amounts of text to extract specific
fields.
2. To find specific tags, userspace must read the entire dataset,
requiring many context switches and high data copying.
3. The kernel currently aggregates per-CPU counters for every allocation
size, even those the user intends to filter out immediately.

This series introduces a new IOCTL-based binary interface for allocinfo
that supports kernel-side filtering.  By allowing the user to specify a
filter mask, we significantly reduce the work performed in-kernel and the
amount of data transferred to userspace.  The IOCTL mechanism was chosen
for allocinfo to address the per-CPU counter aggregation bottleneck.  A
traditional read() operation must report the total allocation count and
sizes for every code tag in the system.  Doing so requires iterating
across all CPUs to sum their per-CPU counters for thousands of tags, which
introduces substantial runtime overhead.

The IOCTL interface allows userspace to push selective filtering criteria
directly into the kernel before the per-CPU counter aggregation.  The
kernel aggregates per-CPU counters only for a small subset of tags that
match the filter.  This results in significant performance improvement.

Beyond fast filtered retrieval, the IOCTL foundation allows introducing a
context capture mechanism in the future to capture the context for
specific allocations.

Performance measurements were conducted on an Intel Xeon Platinum 8481C
(224 CPUs) with caches dropped before each run.

The IOCTL mechanism shows a ~20x performance improvement for
filtered queries. The kernel avoids the expensive per-CPU counter
aggregation (alloc_tag_read) for any tags that fail the initial string
or location filters.

Scenario 1: Specific File Filtering (arch/x86/events/rapl.c)
1. Traditional (cat /proc/allocinfo | grep): 22ms (sys)
2. IOCTL Interface: 1ms (sys)

Scenario 2: Compound Filtering (Filename + Size)
1. Traditional: (cat ... | grep | awk): 21ms (sys)
2. IOCTL Interface: 1ms (sys)

Scenario 3: Size-Based Filtering (min_size = 1MB)
1. Traditional: (cat ... | awk): 21ms (sys)
2. IOCTL Interface: 14ms (sys)


This patch (of 6):

Add the following ioctl commands for /proc/allocinfo file:

ALLOCINFO_IOC_CONTENT_ID - gets content identifier which can be used to
check whether the file content has changed specifically due to module
load/unload.  Every time a module is loaded / unloaded, the returned value
will be different.  By comparing the identifier value at the beginning and
at the end of the content retrieval operation, users can validate
retrieved information for consistency.

ALLOCINFO_IOC_GET_AT - gets the record at the specified position.  This is
the position of a record in /proc/allocinfo.

ALLOCINFO_IOC_GET_NEXT - gets the record next to the last retrieved one. 
If no records were previously retrieved, returns the first record.

Note, function file and module names often have the same prefixes,
therefore when filtering for them, we compare the last 64 characters to
minimize the chances of name collisions.

[akpm@linux-foundation.org: include compat.h, per Suren]
  Closes: https://lore.kernel.org/oe-kbuild-all/202607091820.qbjlGhKK-lkp@intel.com/
Link: https://lore.kernel.org/cover.1783532853.git.abhishekbapat@google.com
Link: https://lore.kernel.org/15596de2607ef13e7c77c6d74763f4ae992ec475.1783532853.git.abhishekbapat@google.com
Signed-off-by: Suren Baghdasaryan <surenb@google.com>
Signed-off-by: Abhishek Bapat <abhishekbapat@google.com>
Acked-by: Hao Ge <hao.ge@linux.dev>
Cc: Jonathan Corbet <corbet@lwn.net>
Cc: Kent Overstreet <kent.overstreet@linux.dev>
Cc: Sourav Panda <souravpanda@google.com>
Signed-off-by: Andrew Morton <akpm@linux-foundation.org>
2026-08-24 18:43:12 -07:00
arch mm: provide vma_[flags_]is_cow_mapping() and remove is_cow_mapping() 2026-08-24 18:42:50 -07:00
block block: fix aligning of bounced dio read bios 2026-07-16 06:11:37 -06:00
certs treewide: fix indentation and whitespace in Kconfig files 2026-05-28 21:24:42 -07:00
crypto crypto: aes - Fix conditions for selecting MAC dependencies 2026-07-09 11:06:22 -04:00
Documentation alloc_tag: add ioctl to /proc/allocinfo 2026-08-24 18:43:12 -07:00
drivers drivers/base, mm: move arch_numa.c to mm/ 2026-08-24 18:43:10 -07:00
fs tmpfs/ramfs: let memfd_create() work on nommu 2026-08-24 18:43:01 -07:00
include alloc_tag: add ioctl to /proc/allocinfo 2026-08-24 18:43:12 -07:00
init mm/mseal: fix mseal documentation for 32-bit kernels 2026-08-06 18:57:12 -07:00
io_uring io_uring-7.2-20260724 2026-07-24 19:58:03 -07:00
ipc mm/vma: update do_mmap() to use vma_flags_t 2026-08-06 18:57:01 -07:00
kernel mm: provide vma_[flags_]is_cow_mapping() and remove is_cow_mapping() 2026-08-24 18:42:50 -07:00
lib alloc_tag: add ioctl to /proc/allocinfo 2026-08-24 18:43:12 -07:00
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 alloc_tag: add ioctl to /proc/allocinfo 2026-08-24 18:43:12 -07:00
net BPF fixes: 2026-07-24 19:31:12 -07:00
rust rust: time: fix as_micros_ceil() to round correctly for negative Delta 2026-07-18 19:07:35 +02:00
samples Merge branch 'mm-hotfixes-stable' into mm-stable to pick up 2026-08-24 18:40:27 -07:00
scripts mm/page_owner: add MR_NEVER to enum migrate_reason and use it for last_migrate_reason 2026-07-28 21:11:50 -07:00
security keys: make keyring key-chunk byte order agree with keyring_diff_objects() 2026-07-23 18:23:39 +03:00
sound mm: introduce vma_get_page_prot() and use it 2026-08-06 18:57:03 -07:00
tools mm: fix CONFIG_STACK_GROWSUP typo in tools/testing/vma/include/dup.h 2026-08-24 18:43:12 -07:00
usr kbuild: uapi: also test UAPI headers against C++ compilers 2026-03-25 13:24:42 +01:00
virt mm: use linear_page_[index, delta]() consistently 2026-08-04 19:19:01 -07:00
.clang-format clang-format: fix formatting of guard() and scoped_guard() statements 2026-05-28 21:24:41 -07:00
.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 SPDX patches for 7.2-rc1 2026-06-22 12:06:22 -07:00
.mailmap mailmap: add entries for Guodong Xu 2026-08-13 18:06:47 -07:00
.pylintrc docs: Move the python libraries to tools/lib/python 2025-11-18 09:22:40 -07:00
.rustfmt.toml rust: add .rustfmt.toml 2022-09-28 09:02:20 +02:00
COPYING COPYING: state that all contributions really are covered by this file 2020-02-10 13:32:20 -08:00
CREDITS MAINTAINERS: move inactive maintainer to CREDITS 2026-07-28 21:12:03 -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 alloc_tag: add ioctl to /proc/allocinfo 2026-08-24 18:43:12 -07:00
Makefile Linux 7.2-rc5 2026-07-26 14:45:48 -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