linux/include
Jan Kara c474bc56b6
fs: Provide way for filesystem to wait for metadata writeback
Currently, inode and in general metadata writeback is handled in a lazy
manner. When inode is dirty, __writeback_single_inode() calls
.write_inode method which for lots of filesystems just copies inode
metadata into the underlying block buffer. Writeback of other metadata
associated with the inode (as well as buffers underlying inodes) is
usually handled completely separately and implicitely during writeback
of block device inode. This is good for efficiency of WB_SYNC_NONE
writeback or sync(2). However it becomes problematic for situations
where we want to make sure inode and its metadata is really persistent
on disk. fsync(2) is the most pronounced example of this and thus we
have grown a special file operation and various helper functions to
assist with this task. However fsync(2) is not the only case, For
example directories with DIRSYNC flag need similar functionality and
current use of sync_inode_metadata() for this task in filesystems
generally misses writeout of necessary metadata.

Furthermore even fsync(2) handling as implemented by simple_fsync() or
similar helpers is racy and can fail to properly persist the inode. The
problem is that WB_SYNC_NONE writeback can copy inode metadata into
underlying buffer and clean inode dirty bits. Following fsync(2) will
see inode is clean and will fail to make sure underlying buffer is
written out.

When multiple fsync(2) calls race, there's also another type of race
involving mmb_fsync(). There the problem is buffers already submitted to
the disk are no longer tracked in the mmb list and so racing mmb_sync()
can return before all of the IO completes.

Provide a new inode state bit I_METADATA_WRITEBACK tracking whether
writeback of inode related metadata may be needed for successful data
integrity sync and if this bit is set __writeback_single_inode() for
data integrity writeback will call new superblock operation
.sync_inode_metadata whose task is to make sure all metadata associated
with the inode (including the inode itself) is properly persisted. This
will allow filesystems to address the data integrity issues described
above and at the same time somewhat simplify our fsync implementations.
Issues with racing fsync(2) calls will be addressed by synchronization on
I_SYNC inode state which is set while calling .sync_inode_metadata, issues
with missed inode buffer writeback are fixed by filesystems looking up
corresponding buffer head and writing it out if needed.

Signed-off-by: Jan Kara <jack@suse.cz>
Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20260727104923.3828017-25-jack@suse.cz
Signed-off-by: Christian Brauner (Amutable) <brauner@kernel.org>
2026-07-27 16:25:32 +02:00
..
acpi ACPICA: Define acpi_ut_safe_strncpy() as strscpy_pad() alias 2026-07-01 12:29:24 +02:00
asm-generic mm.git review status for mm-hotfixes-stable..mm-nonmm-stable 2026-06-21 13:20:19 -07:00
clocksource
crypto Networking changes for 7.2. 2026-06-17 08:17:00 +01:00
cxl
drm drm/amd/display: Force PWM backlight on Lenovo Legion 5 15ARH05 2026-07-17 17:41:15 -04:00
dt-bindings SoC fixes for 7.2 2026-07-17 08:52:09 -07:00
hyperv
keys keys: Pin request_key_auth payload in instantiate paths 2026-06-15 15:19:13 +03:00
kunit linux_kselftest-kunit-7.2-rc1 2026-06-16 16:33:57 +05:30
kvm
linux fs: Provide way for filesystem to wait for metadata writeback 2026-07-27 16:25:32 +02:00
math-emu
media
memory
misc
net sctp: fix auth_hmacs array size in struct sctp_cookie 2026-07-17 12:27:53 +02:00
pcmcia Replace <linux/mod_devicetable.h> by more specific <linux/device-id/*.h> (headers) 2026-07-03 07:38:16 +02:00
ras
rdma RDMA v7.2 merge window 2026-06-18 08:16:21 -07:00
rv
scsi scsi: core: wake eh reliably when using scsi_schedule_eh 2026-07-12 22:21:22 -04:00
soc soc/tegra: pmc: Fixes for v7.2 2026-07-10 14:40:52 +02:00
sound Replace <linux/mod_devicetable.h> by more specific <linux/device-id/*.h> (headers) 2026-07-03 07:38:16 +02:00
target
trace This adds support for manual client session reset in CephFS, allowing 2026-06-26 16:15:53 -07:00
uapi Including fixes from netfilter and IPsec. 2026-06-25 12:25:36 -07:00
ufs Merge branch 7.1/scsi-fixes into 7.2/scsi-staging 2026-06-15 21:01:30 -04:00
vdso
video
xen xen: Replace __ASSEMBLY__ with __ASSEMBLER__ in header files 2026-07-01 09:49:52 +02:00
Kbuild