[RFC PATCH 14/18] mm/filemap: read from the page cache without folio references

From: Kiryl Shutsemau (Meta)

Date: Mon Oct 19 2026 - 12:39:55 EST


From: Linus Torvalds <torvalds@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

Small reads of one file from many CPUs all take and drop a reference on
the same folio, and its refcount bounces between the CPUs.

Before taking a reference, copy what can be copied under rcu_read_lock()
from folios with PG_rcu_free, with page faults disabled. A flagged
folio is not reused before rcu_read_unlock(), so a folio still in its
slot after the flag test is this file's page until then. A folio that
leaves the page cache during the copy reads as the file did when it
left. Read i_size between the flag and the second look at the slot: a
write that extends the file fills the slot before it moves i_size.

Leave to the slow path a folio that is not uptodate, needs readahead or
dropbehind, is not hot, or has a poisoned page. Leave large folios
there too: looking one up for every page is slower than one reference
for all of its pages. Copy at most 512 KiB per rcu_read_lock()
section, and skip files that never had a folio flagged or that are
writably mapped where flush_dcache_folio() is needed.

Assisted-by: LLM
Signed-off-by: Linus Torvalds <torvalds@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
[kas: i_size before the second look at the slot, poisoned folio check,
large folios left to the slow path, 512 KiB sections, shorter comments
and changelog]
Signed-off-by: Kiryl Shutsemau (Meta) <kas@xxxxxxxxxx>
---
mm/filemap.c | 169 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1 file changed, 169 insertions(+)

diff --git a/mm/filemap.c b/mm/filemap.c
index 960d53b61d4b..55fc471c0489 100644
--- a/mm/filemap.c
+++ b/mm/filemap.c
@@ -2827,6 +2827,165 @@ static void filemap_end_dropbehind_read(struct folio *folio)
}
}

+/*
+ * Whether filemap_read_rcu_batch() can copy from @folio, or has to leave it
+ * to the slow path, which holds a reference for readahead, dropbehind and
+ * folio_mark_accessed(), and deals with poisoned pages. @last_index is the
+ * page the previous copy ended in.
+ */
+static bool filemap_read_rcu_can_copy(struct folio *folio, pgoff_t index,
+ pgoff_t last_index)
+{
+ if (!folio_test_uptodate(folio))
+ return false;
+ if (folio_test_readahead(folio) || folio_test_dropbehind(folio))
+ return false;
+ /* memory_failure() waits only for readers that got past this */
+ if (folio_contain_hwpoisoned_page(folio))
+ return false;
+ /* One reference covers all of a large folio's pages */
+ if (folio_test_large(folio))
+ return false;
+
+ /*
+ * The slow path does not call folio_mark_accessed() on the folio that
+ * the previous read ended in, so copying from it skips nothing. The
+ * folio's size can change without a reference: compare pages instead.
+ */
+ if (index == last_index)
+ return true;
+
+ /* Otherwise only if folio_mark_accessed() would leave it as it is */
+ if (lru_gen_enabled()) {
+ unsigned long all = LRU_REFS_FLAGS | BIT(PG_workingset);
+
+ return folio_test_unevictable(folio) ||
+ (READ_ONCE(folio->flags.f) & all) == all;
+ }
+ return folio_test_referenced(folio) && !folio_test_idle(folio) &&
+ (folio_test_active(folio) || folio_test_unevictable(folio));
+}
+
+/*
+ * Return the folio at @pos if it is this file's page until rcu_read_unlock(),
+ * and read i_size into @isize. A folio with PG_rcu_free is freed only after
+ * an RCU grace period. Without a reference, the folio that xas_load()
+ * returned can be freed and its memory reused as another folio before the
+ * flag is tested, so look at the slot again after the flag.
+ */
+static struct folio *filemap_read_rcu_lookup(struct xa_state *xas,
+ struct inode *inode, loff_t pos, loff_t *isize)
+{
+ struct folio *folio;
+
+ xas_set(xas, pos >> PAGE_SHIFT);
+ folio = xas_load(xas);
+ if (xas_retry(xas, folio) || !folio || xa_is_value(folio))
+ return NULL;
+
+ /* Not folio_test_rcu_free(): it may not be a folio any more */
+ if (!(READ_ONCE(folio->flags.f) & __PG_RCU_FREE))
+ return NULL;
+ /* Read i_size and slot after the flag: it implies uptodate */
+ smp_rmb();
+ *isize = i_size_read(inode);
+ if (pos >= *isize)
+ return NULL;
+ /* i_size_read() is an acquire; a write fills the slot first */
+ if (xas_reload(xas) != folio)
+ return NULL;
+ /* Read the rest of the folio only once the slot holds it */
+ smp_rmb();
+ return folio;
+}
+
+/* Bytes one RCU read section copies at most: it holds up grace periods */
+#define FILEMAP_RCU_READ_MAX SZ_512K
+
+/*
+ * Copy from folios with PG_rcu_free without taking references, at most
+ * FILEMAP_RCU_READ_MAX bytes under one rcu_read_lock(). Return true if that
+ * much was copied and the read is not done. *last_index is the page the
+ * previous copy ended in, set as the slow path sets last_pos.
+ */
+static bool filemap_read_rcu_batch(struct kiocb *iocb, struct iov_iter *iter,
+ pgoff_t *last_index, size_t *copied)
+{
+ struct address_space *mapping = iocb->ki_filp->f_mapping;
+ struct inode *inode = mapping->host;
+ XA_STATE(xas, &mapping->i_pages, 0);
+ size_t budget = FILEMAP_RCU_READ_MAX;
+ bool more = false;
+
+ /* flush_dcache_folio() is not known to be safe without a reference */
+ if (ARCH_IMPLEMENTS_FLUSH_DCACHE_PAGE &&
+ mapping_writably_mapped(mapping))
+ return false;
+
+ /* A user fault cannot sleep in the RCU read section: it ends the copy */
+ rcu_read_lock();
+ pagefault_disable();
+ while (iov_iter_count(iter)) {
+ loff_t pos = iocb->ki_pos;
+ pgoff_t index = pos >> PAGE_SHIFT;
+ size_t offset = offset_in_page(pos);
+ struct folio *folio;
+ size_t bytes, n;
+ loff_t isize;
+
+ if (!budget) {
+ more = true;
+ break;
+ }
+ folio = filemap_read_rcu_lookup(&xas, inode, pos, &isize);
+ if (!folio)
+ break;
+ if (!filemap_read_rcu_can_copy(folio, index, *last_index))
+ break;
+
+ bytes = min_t(loff_t, isize - pos, iov_iter_count(iter));
+ bytes = min3(bytes, budget, PAGE_SIZE - offset);
+ /* Not _nofault(): its usercopy check reads the folio's order */
+ n = copy_page_to_iter(folio_page(folio, index - folio->index),
+ offset, bytes, iter);
+ *copied += n;
+ iocb->ki_pos += n;
+ budget -= n;
+ if (n)
+ *last_index = (pos + n - 1) >> PAGE_SHIFT;
+ if (n < bytes)
+ break;
+ }
+ pagefault_enable();
+ rcu_read_unlock();
+
+ return more;
+}
+
+/*
+ * Copy from the page cache without folio references, in batches, and
+ * return how much was copied. The slow path reads the rest.
+ */
+static size_t filemap_read_rcu(struct kiocb *iocb, struct iov_iter *iter,
+ loff_t last_pos)
+{
+ /* The page the previous read ended in; ULONG_MAX if none */
+ pgoff_t last_index = (last_pos - 1) >> PAGE_SHIFT;
+ size_t copied = 0;
+
+ /* Not on an inode that never had a folio flagged */
+ if (!IS_ENABLED(CONFIG_PAGE_RCU_FREE) ||
+ !mapping_rcu_read(iocb->ki_filp->f_mapping))
+ return 0;
+
+ while (filemap_read_rcu_batch(iocb, iter, &last_index, &copied)) {
+ if (fatal_signal_pending(current))
+ break;
+ cond_resched();
+ }
+ return copied;
+}
+
/**
* filemap_read - Read data from the page cache.
* @iocb: The iocb to read.
@@ -2852,6 +3011,7 @@ ssize_t filemap_read(struct kiocb *iocb, struct iov_iter *iter,
bool writably_mapped;
loff_t isize, end_offset;
loff_t last_pos = ra->prev_pos;
+ size_t fast_read;

if (unlikely(iocb->ki_pos < 0))
return -EINVAL;
@@ -2863,6 +3023,14 @@ ssize_t filemap_read(struct kiocb *iocb, struct iov_iter *iter,
iov_iter_truncate(iter, inode->i_sb->s_maxbytes - iocb->ki_pos);
folio_batch_init(&fbatch);

+ fast_read = filemap_read_rcu(iocb, iter, last_pos);
+ if (fast_read) {
+ already_read += fast_read;
+ last_pos = iocb->ki_pos;
+ if (!iov_iter_count(iter))
+ goto out;
+ }
+
do {
cond_resched();

@@ -2940,6 +3108,7 @@ ssize_t filemap_read(struct kiocb *iocb, struct iov_iter *iter,
folio_batch_init(&fbatch);
} while (iov_iter_count(iter) && iocb->ki_pos < isize && !error);

+out:
file_accessed(filp);
/* Readers sharing the file would bounce the line for nothing */
if (ra->prev_pos != last_pos)
--
2.54.0