Re: [patch 2] Xen core patch : arch_free_page return value

[Keir Fraser]

> > Pages that have been allocated by our custom allocators get passed
> > into standard linux subsystems where we get no control over how
> > they're freed.
> 
> OK, then how are they allocated?  Are they only allocated by your
> special drivers or in your architecture?

Yes, they are only allocated within our own code. I use "allocation"
loosely here -- in the case of our network backend driver, the page
fragments that we pass into the network subsystem are actually
temporary mappings of other domains' RAM -- not allocated from this
kernel's heap at all.

> I think allowing this is weird:
> 
>         foo = special_zen_malloc();
>         bar = kmalloc();
>         kfree(foo);
>         kfree(bar);
>         
> Shoudn't it be
> 
> 	special_zen_free(free);?

We don't hook into the slab allocator, but into the page_alloc zoned
buddy allocator: so in your example replace kmalloc() with
get_free_page(), and kfree() with free_page(). The point is that we
can't always use 'special_xen_free_page()' because the page's refcnt
may fall to zero within a generic Linux subsystem (e.g., the network
stack). So we need to be able to hook of free_page().

It would be great if we could have a "destructor hook" per page that
points at the relevant heap-free function to use, but that'd never fly
here. This is the best we can do with absolutely minimal source
impact, and no run-time impact on other arches.

> BTW, your arch-specific definition of PG_foreign is a little goofy.  If
> you need the bit, then put it in page-flags.h now.  The memory hotplug
> people have an evil plan to consume all unused bits in page->flags
> (determined at compile-time) and that little gem will certainly break
> it.  

The whole of our foreign_page.h was in page-flags.h. Do you think the
whole lot should go back, or just the bit definition? 

> It's great that you contained stuff to your architecture, but little
> bits like the page-flags thing don't make me think you've done it for
> real, only hacked around it :)

We hacked around it in this case because the PageForeign stuff was
entirely within page_alloc.c and page-flags.h. Since only Xen used it
we were asked if we could have less non-arch source impact and this is
what we came up with. :-) Point taken on PG_foreign though.

 -- Keir
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