[PATCH 1/2] mm/page_alloc: add tracepoints for zone->lock acquisitions

From: hawk

Date: Fri May 08 2026 - 12:23:45 EST


From: Jesper Dangaard Brouer <hawk@xxxxxxxxxx>

Add tracepoints to the page allocator fast paths that acquire
zone->lock, allowing diagnosis of lock contention in production.

Three tracepoints are introduced:
kmem:mm_zone_lock_contended - fires when trylock fails (lock is held)
kmem:mm_zone_locked - fires on every acquisition
kmem:mm_zone_lock_unlock - fires on every release

Each event records the NUMA node, zone name, batch count, and caller.
The mm_zone_locked event additionally records wait_ns: the time spent
spinning when contended, measured via local_clock() with IRQs disabled
to ensure accurate same-CPU timestamps.

The lock/unlock paths are wrapped in __zone_lock()/__zone_unlock()
helpers that use trylock-first to separate the contended and
uncontended cases. Only the fast paths (free_pcppages_bulk,
rmqueue_bulk, free_one_page) are covered. Other zone->lock holders
such as compaction, page isolation, and memory hotplug are not
instrumented.

For minimum overhead in production, enable only mm_zone_lock_contended
which fires only on actual contention. Enable mm_zone_locked for
wait-time analysis, and add mm_zone_lock_unlock for hold-time
measurement.

Signed-off-by: Jesper Dangaard Brouer <hawk@xxxxxxxxxx>
---
include/trace/events/kmem.h | 101 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
mm/page_alloc.c | 50 +++++++++++++++---
2 files changed, 145 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-)

diff --git a/include/trace/events/kmem.h b/include/trace/events/kmem.h
index cd7920c81f85..870c68c70d57 100644
--- a/include/trace/events/kmem.h
+++ b/include/trace/events/kmem.h
@@ -458,6 +458,107 @@ TRACE_EVENT(rss_stat,
__print_symbolic(__entry->member, TRACE_MM_PAGES),
__entry->size)
);
+
+/*
+ * Tracepoints for zone->lock on the page allocator fast paths only.
+ * Other code paths that acquire zone->lock (compaction, isolation,
+ * memory hotplug, vmstat, etc.) are not covered here.
+ *
+ * Three events:
+ * mm_zone_lock_contended - trylock failed, about to spin
+ * mm_zone_locked - lock acquired, includes wait_ns when
+ * contended (zero otherwise)
+ * mm_zone_lock_unlock - lock released
+ *
+ * For production use with minimum overhead, enable only
+ * mm_zone_lock_contended -- it fires only when trylock detects the
+ * lock is already held.
+ *
+ * For wait-time analysis, enable mm_zone_locked -- its wait_ns
+ * field gives the spin duration directly. Adding unlock allows
+ * hold-time measurement, at the cost of one event per acquisition.
+ */
+TRACE_EVENT(mm_zone_lock_contended,
+
+ TP_PROTO(struct zone *zone, int count, unsigned long caller),
+
+ TP_ARGS(zone, count, caller),
+
+ TP_STRUCT__entry(
+ __field( int, node_id )
+ __string( name, zone->name )
+ __field( int, count )
+ __field( unsigned long, caller )
+ ),
+
+ TP_fast_assign(
+ __entry->node_id = zone_to_nid(zone);
+ __assign_str(name);
+ __entry->count = count;
+ __entry->caller = caller;
+ ),
+
+ TP_printk("node=%d zone=%-8s count=%-5d caller=%pS",
+ __entry->node_id, __get_str(name),
+ __entry->count, (void *)__entry->caller)
+);
+
+TRACE_EVENT(mm_zone_locked,
+
+ TP_PROTO(struct zone *zone, int count, bool contended,
+ unsigned long caller, u64 wait_ns),
+
+ TP_ARGS(zone, count, contended, caller, wait_ns),
+
+ TP_STRUCT__entry(
+ __field( int, node_id )
+ __string( name, zone->name )
+ __field( int, count )
+ __field( bool, contended )
+ __field( unsigned long, caller )
+ __field( u64, wait_ns )
+ ),
+
+ TP_fast_assign(
+ __entry->node_id = zone_to_nid(zone);
+ __assign_str(name);
+ __entry->count = count;
+ __entry->contended = contended;
+ __entry->caller = caller;
+ __entry->wait_ns = wait_ns;
+ ),
+
+ TP_printk("node=%d zone=%-8s count=%-5d contended=%d caller=%pS wait=%llu ns",
+ __entry->node_id, __get_str(name),
+ __entry->count, __entry->contended,
+ (void *)__entry->caller, __entry->wait_ns)
+);
+
+TRACE_EVENT(mm_zone_lock_unlock,
+
+ TP_PROTO(struct zone *zone, int count, unsigned long caller),
+
+ TP_ARGS(zone, count, caller),
+
+ TP_STRUCT__entry(
+ __field( int, node_id )
+ __string( name, zone->name )
+ __field( int, count )
+ __field( unsigned long, caller )
+ ),
+
+ TP_fast_assign(
+ __entry->node_id = zone_to_nid(zone);
+ __assign_str(name);
+ __entry->count = count;
+ __entry->caller = caller;
+ ),
+
+ TP_printk("node=%d zone=%-8s count=%-5d caller=%pS",
+ __entry->node_id, __get_str(name),
+ __entry->count, (void *)__entry->caller)
+);
+
#endif /* _TRACE_KMEM_H */

/* This part must be outside protection */
diff --git a/mm/page_alloc.c b/mm/page_alloc.c
index 227d58dc3de6..08018e9beab4 100644
--- a/mm/page_alloc.c
+++ b/mm/page_alloc.c
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
#include <linux/highmem.h>
#include <linux/interrupt.h>
#include <linux/jiffies.h>
+#include <linux/sched/clock.h>
#include <linux/compiler.h>
#include <linux/kernel.h>
#include <linux/kasan.h>
@@ -1447,6 +1448,43 @@ bool free_pages_prepare(struct page *page, unsigned int order)
return __free_pages_prepare(page, order, FPI_NONE);
}

+/*
+ * Helper functions for locking zone->lock with tracepoints.
+ *
+ * This makes it easier to diagnose locking issues and contention in
+ * production environments. The @count parameter indicates the number
+ * of pages being freed or allocated in the batch operation.
+ *
+ * For minimum overhead attach to kmem:mm_zone_lock_contended, which
+ * only gets activated when trylock detects lock is contended.
+ */
+static inline void
+__zone_lock(struct zone *zone, int count, unsigned long *flags)
+ __acquires(&zone->lock)
+{
+ unsigned long caller = _RET_IP_;
+ u64 wait_start, wait_time = 0;
+ bool contended;
+
+ local_irq_save(*flags);
+ contended = !spin_trylock(&zone->lock);
+ if (contended) {
+ wait_start = local_clock();
+ trace_mm_zone_lock_contended(zone, count, caller);
+ spin_lock(&zone->lock);
+ wait_time = local_clock() - wait_start;
+ }
+ trace_mm_zone_locked(zone, count, contended, caller, wait_time);
+}
+
+static inline void
+__zone_unlock(struct zone *zone, int count, unsigned long *flags)
+ __releases(&zone->lock)
+{
+ trace_mm_zone_lock_unlock(zone, count, _RET_IP_);
+ spin_unlock_irqrestore(&zone->lock, *flags);
+}
+
/*
* Frees a number of pages from the PCP lists
* Assumes all pages on list are in same zone.
@@ -1469,7 +1507,7 @@ static void free_pcppages_bulk(struct zone *zone, int count,
/* Ensure requested pindex is drained first. */
pindex = pindex - 1;

- spin_lock_irqsave(&zone->lock, flags);
+ __zone_lock(zone, count, &flags);

while (count > 0) {
struct list_head *list;
@@ -1502,7 +1540,7 @@ static void free_pcppages_bulk(struct zone *zone, int count,
} while (count > 0 && !list_empty(list));
}

- spin_unlock_irqrestore(&zone->lock, flags);
+ __zone_unlock(zone, count, &flags);
}

/* Split a multi-block free page into its individual pageblocks. */
@@ -1551,7 +1589,7 @@ static void free_one_page(struct zone *zone, struct page *page,
return;
}
} else {
- spin_lock_irqsave(&zone->lock, flags);
+ __zone_lock(zone, 1 << order, &flags);
}

/* The lock succeeded. Process deferred pages. */
@@ -1569,7 +1607,7 @@ static void free_one_page(struct zone *zone, struct page *page,
}
}
split_large_buddy(zone, page, pfn, order, fpi_flags);
- spin_unlock_irqrestore(&zone->lock, flags);
+ __zone_unlock(zone, 1 << order, &flags);

__count_vm_events(PGFREE, 1 << order);
}
@@ -2525,7 +2563,7 @@ static int rmqueue_bulk(struct zone *zone, unsigned int order,
if (!spin_trylock_irqsave(&zone->lock, flags))
return 0;
} else {
- spin_lock_irqsave(&zone->lock, flags);
+ __zone_lock(zone, count, &flags);
}
for (i = 0; i < count; ++i) {
struct page *page = __rmqueue(zone, order, migratetype,
@@ -2545,7 +2583,7 @@ static int rmqueue_bulk(struct zone *zone, unsigned int order,
*/
list_add_tail(&page->pcp_list, list);
}
- spin_unlock_irqrestore(&zone->lock, flags);
+ __zone_unlock(zone, i, &flags);

return i;
}
--
2.43.0