[PATCH 3/3] dma/pool: Avoid allocating redundant pools
From: Robin Murphy
Date: Mon Jan 12 2026 - 10:46:54 EST
On smaller systems, e.g. embedded arm64, it is common for all memory
to end up in ZONE_DMA32 or even ZONE_DMA. In such cases it is redundant
to allocate a nominal pool for an empty higher zone that just ends up
coming from a lower zone that should already have its own pool anyway.
We already have logic to skip allocating a ZONE_DMA pool when that is
empty, so generalise that to save memory in the case of other zones too.
Signed-off-by: Robin Murphy <robin.murphy@xxxxxxx>
---
kernel/dma/pool.c | 19 ++++++++++++++-----
1 file changed, 14 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-)
diff --git a/kernel/dma/pool.c b/kernel/dma/pool.c
index 2645cfb5718b..c5da29ad010c 100644
--- a/kernel/dma/pool.c
+++ b/kernel/dma/pool.c
@@ -184,6 +184,12 @@ static __init struct gen_pool *__dma_atomic_pool_init(size_t pool_size,
return pool;
}
+#ifdef CONFIG_ZONE_DMA32
+#define has_managed_dma32 has_managed_zone(ZONE_DMA32)
+#else
+#define has_managed_dma32 false
+#endif
+
static int __init dma_atomic_pool_init(void)
{
int ret = 0;
@@ -199,17 +205,20 @@ static int __init dma_atomic_pool_init(void)
}
INIT_WORK(&atomic_pool_work, atomic_pool_work_fn);
- atomic_pool_kernel = __dma_atomic_pool_init(atomic_pool_size,
+ /* All memory might be in the DMA zone(s) to begin with */
+ if (has_managed_zone(ZONE_NORMAL)) {
+ atomic_pool_kernel = __dma_atomic_pool_init(atomic_pool_size,
GFP_KERNEL);
- if (!atomic_pool_kernel)
- ret = -ENOMEM;
+ if (!atomic_pool_kernel)
+ ret = -ENOMEM;
+ }
if (has_managed_dma()) {
atomic_pool_dma = __dma_atomic_pool_init(atomic_pool_size,
GFP_KERNEL | GFP_DMA);
if (!atomic_pool_dma)
ret = -ENOMEM;
}
- if (IS_ENABLED(CONFIG_ZONE_DMA32)) {
+ if (has_managed_dma32) {
atomic_pool_dma32 = __dma_atomic_pool_init(atomic_pool_size,
GFP_KERNEL | GFP_DMA32);
if (!atomic_pool_dma32)
@@ -228,7 +237,7 @@ static inline struct gen_pool *dma_guess_pool(struct gen_pool *prev, gfp_t gfp)
return atomic_pool_dma ?: atomic_pool_dma32 ?: atomic_pool_kernel;
if (gfp & GFP_DMA32)
return atomic_pool_dma32 ?: atomic_pool_dma ?: atomic_pool_kernel;
- return atomic_pool_kernel;
+ return atomic_pool_kernel ?: atomic_pool_dma32 ?: atomic_pool_dma;
}
if (prev == atomic_pool_kernel)
return atomic_pool_dma32 ? atomic_pool_dma32 : atomic_pool_dma;
--
2.34.1