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Christian Brauner 99f414273b
Merge patch series "fs/pipe: reduce pipe->mutex contention by pre-allocating outside the lock"
Breno Leitao <leitao@debian.org> says:

While profiling Meta's caching code[1], I found pipe->mutex contention
on the hot path. anon_pipe_write() currently calls alloc_page() once
per page while holding pipe->mutex. The allocation can sleep doing
direct reclaim and runs memcg charging, which extends the critical
section and stalls any concurrent reader on the same mutex.

This series pre-allocates pages outside pipe->mutex in
anon_pipe_write(): for writes that span more than one full page, up
to PIPE_PREALLOC_MAX (8) pages are allocated via a per-page
alloc_page() loop before the mutex is taken. anon_pipe_get_page()
then drains the prealloc array first, falls back to the per-pipe
tmp_page[] cache, and only enters the allocator under the mutex for
the leftover pages (writes larger than PIPE_PREALLOC_MAX, single-page
writes that skip prealloc, or shortfalls when the prealloc loop
fails). Leftover prealloc pages are recycled into tmp_page[] before
unlock and any remainder is put_page()'d after unlock, keeping the
allocator out of the critical section on both sides.

alloc_pages_bulk_mempolicy() looked tempting but the bulk allocator
refuses __GFP_ACCOUNT under memcg -- it returns at most one page
when memcg_kmem_online() && (gfp & __GFP_ACCOUNT), see commit
8dcb3060d8 ("memcg: page_alloc: skip bulk allocator for
__GFP_ACCOUNT"). A per-page loop keeps memcg accounting and the
task NUMA mempolicy honoured uniformly without open-coding the
charge.

I also vibe-coded a microbenchmark to validate the change. It sweeps
writers x readers over {1,2,5} x {1,5,10} with 64KB writes against a
1 MB pipe and prints throughput + latency percentiles per config.

Measured on arm64 and also on x86 using virtme-ng (16 vCPUs, 64KB
writes, 1 MB pipe). The numbers below were collected on v1
(alloc_pages_bulk()); v2's per-page loop preserves the dominant
"allocation outside the mutex" win and is expected to land in the same
range.

== No memory pressure (10s per config) ==

  Throughput in MB/s (baseline -> patched, delta):
    writers   readers=1              readers=5               readers=10
          1   1119 -> 1354  (+21%)   1132 -> 1195   (+6%)   1060 -> 1240  (+17%)
          2   1162 -> 1487  (+28%)   1034 -> 1285  (+24%)   1069 -> 1213  (+14%)
          5   1152 -> 1357  (+18%)   1021 -> 1164  (+14%)    997 -> 1239  (+24%)

  Avg write latency in ns (baseline -> patched, delta):
    writers   readers=1                 readers=5                readers=10
          1    55786 ->  46103 (-17%)   55164 ->  52260  (-5%)   58906 ->  50370 (-14%)
          2   107546 ->  84011 (-22%)  120837 ->  97206 (-20%)  116860 -> 103036 (-12%)
          5   271293 -> 230170 (-15%)  306089 -> 268429 (-12%)  313300 -> 252232 (-19%)

Throughput improves +6% to +28% and average write latency drops 5%
to 22% across every configuration.

== Under memory pressure (--memory-pressure, 6s per config) ==

stress-ng --vm 2 --vm-bytes 50% --vm-keep is forked alongside the
sweep so the alloc_page() calls inside anon_pipe_write() routinely
hit direct reclaim -- exactly the regime the patch targets.

  Throughput in MB/s (baseline -> patched, delta):
    writers   readers=1            readers=5            readers=10
          1   1088 -> 1438  (+32%)   996  -> 1477  (+48%)   989  -> 1194  (+21%)
          2   1076 -> 1378  (+28%)   1007 -> 1269  (+26%)   1018 -> 1234  (+21%)
          5   1052 -> 1311  (+25%)   986  -> 1225  (+24%)   972  -> 1249  (+29%)

  Avg write latency in ns (baseline -> patched, delta):
    writers   readers=1              readers=5              readers=10
          1    57397 ->  43406 (-24%)   62690 ->  42272 (-33%)   63136 ->  52272 (-17%)
          2   116121 ->  90700 (-22%)  124098 ->  98481 (-21%)  122754 -> 101217 (-18%)
          5   297122 -> 238322 (-20%)  316836 -> 255095 (-19%)  321496 -> 250189 (-22%)

Throughput improves +21% to +48% and average write latency drops
17% to 33% -- a noticeably bigger win than the no-pressure run.

That tracks: when alloc_page() has to dip into reclaim, the cost
of holding pipe->mutex across it is highest, and pulling the
allocation out of the critical section pays the most.

* patches from https://patch.msgid.link/20260524-fix_pipe-v3-0-bb4a75d23a90@debian.org:
  selftests/pipe: add pipe_bench microbenchmark
  fs/pipe: pre-allocate pages outside pipe->mutex in anon_pipe_write

Link: https://www.usenix.org/system/files/conference/atc13/atc13-bronson.pdf [1]
Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20260524-fix_pipe-v3-0-bb4a75d23a90@debian.org
Signed-off-by: Christian Brauner <brauner@kernel.org>
2026-05-28 14:33:32 +02:00
arch ARM development for 7.1-rc1 2026-04-25 07:44:26 -07:00
block block: only restrict bio allocation gfp mask asked to block 2026-04-21 11:42:12 -06:00
certs Clang build fixes for 7.1 2026-04-24 09:29:51 -07:00
crypto This push contains the following changes: 2026-04-21 08:06:43 -07:00
Documentation fs: remove start_removing_user_path_at 2026-05-21 13:39:34 +02:00
drivers One more fix for the merge window to avoid a boot hang on 2026-04-26 14:03:20 -07:00
fs fs/pipe: pre-allocate pages outside pipe->mutex in anon_pipe_write 2026-05-28 14:33:24 +02:00
include fs: remove start_removing_user_path_at 2026-05-21 13:39:34 +02:00
init init/initramfs_test: wait_for_initramfs() before running 2026-05-27 15:11:02 +02:00
io_uring io_uring: take page references for NOMMU pbuf_ring mmaps 2026-04-21 20:14:39 -06:00
ipc Convert 'alloc_obj' family to use the new default GFP_KERNEL argument 2026-02-21 17:09:51 -08:00
kernel ring-buffer fix for 7.1: 2026-04-24 15:17:23 -07:00
lib iov_iter: use kmemdup_array for dup_iter to harden against overflow 2026-05-21 09:32:47 +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 slab fix for 7.1 2026-04-24 09:39:03 -07:00
net NFS client updates for Linux 7.1 2026-04-24 14:20:03 -07:00
rust Char/Misc/IIO/and others driver updates for 7.1-rc1 2026-04-24 13:23:50 -07:00
samples soc: drivers for 7.1 2026-04-16 20:34:34 -07:00
scripts First round of Kbuild fixes for 7.1 2026-04-25 17:04:15 -07:00
security + Cleanups 2026-04-24 09:22:21 -07:00
sound sound fixes for 7.1-rc1 2026-04-24 11:49:20 -07:00
tools selftests/pipe: add pipe_bench microbenchmark 2026-05-28 14:33:25 +02:00
usr kbuild: uapi: also test UAPI headers against C++ compilers 2026-03-25 13:24:42 +01:00
virt Arm: 2026-04-17 07:18:03 -07:00
.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 Askar 2026-04-15 02:15:02 -07:00
.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 Char/Misc/IIO/and others driver updates for 7.1-rc1 2026-04-24 13:23:50 -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
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 Char/Misc/IIO/and others driver updates for 7.1-rc1 2026-04-24 13:23:50 -07:00
Makefile Linux 7.1-rc1 2026-04-26 14:19:00 -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