Re: [PATCH] fs/super: skip non-memcg-aware nr_cached_objects in memcg slab shrink
From: Jan Kara
Date: Tue Jun 09 2026 - 08:53:54 EST
On Tue 09-06-26 05:30:47, Usama Arif wrote:
> The super_block shrinker is registered with SHRINKER_MEMCG_AWARE because its
> dentry and inode LRUs are memcg-aware (via list_lru). But the optional
> ->nr_cached_objects() hooks that the shrinker also drives are not memcg-aware:
> btrfs extent maps and xfs inode reclaim operate on filesystem-global
> state, and shmem's unused-huge shrinker walks a per-superblock shrinklist.
> None of them filter by sc->memcg.
>
> The mismatch shows up under memcg-heavy slab reclaim. shrink_slab_memcg()
> calls do_shrink_slab() once per (memcg, NUMA node) pair for every memcg
> whose bit is set in the per-superblock shrinker bitmap, which on a busy
> host means hundreds of calls per reclaim pass. Each scan queues the same
> global shrinker work item that's already kicked from the root path.
>
> Because btrfs/xfs global count is typically non-zero on any in-use filesystem,
> the returned total stays positive even if a memcg's own dentry/inode LRUs
> are empty. shrink_slab_memcg() therefore never clears the SB shrinker bit
> in the memcg bitmap, so subsequent reclaim passes from the same memcg
> re-enter super_cache_count() and pay for the global counter walk again.
>
> Restrict ->nr_cached_objects() to the global shrink path (sc->memcg NULL
> or root). The memcg-aware dentry/inode LRUs keep being counted and
> scanned per memcg as before; only the global fs-specific hooks are skipped.
> The root/global shrink path still drives those hooks; only their
> invocation from non-root memcg slab reclaim is removed.
>
> Signed-off-by: Usama Arif <usama.arif@xxxxxxxxx>
To me this makes sense. However I'm bit surprised that XFS inode shrinker
(which is what gets counted in nr_cached_objects for XFS) isn't memcg
aware. I guess since these inodes are on their way to a relatively quick
destruction, nobody really bothered. So I'm fine with the change, just
I'd like to make sure XFS folks are aware and don't plan anything in this
area.
Honza
> ---
> fs/super.c | 19 +++++++++++++++++--
> 1 file changed, 17 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)
>
> diff --git a/fs/super.c b/fs/super.c
> index 378e81efe643..5216c5dbd4c4 100644
> --- a/fs/super.c
> +++ b/fs/super.c
> @@ -24,6 +24,7 @@
> #include <linux/export.h>
> #include <linux/slab.h>
> #include <linux/blkdev.h>
> +#include <linux/memcontrol.h>
> #include <linux/mount.h>
> #include <linux/security.h>
> #include <linux/writeback.h> /* for the emergency remount stuff */
> @@ -169,6 +170,19 @@ static void super_wake(struct super_block *sb, unsigned int flag)
> wake_up_var(&sb->s_flags);
> }
>
> +/*
> + * The s_op->nr_cached_objects hooks (used for example by btrfs and xfs)
> + * operate on filesystem-global state and ignore sc->memcg. Driving them
> + * from per-memcg shrink_slab_memcg() invocations only burns CPU walking
> + * per-cpu counters and queueing duplicate work: the actual reclaim happens on
> + * the global path (kswapd or root direct reclaim) regardless. Restrict them
> + * to that path.
> + */
> +static inline bool super_fs_objects_eligible(struct shrink_control *sc)
> +{
> + return !sc->memcg || mem_cgroup_is_root(sc->memcg);
> +}
> +
> /*
> * One thing we have to be careful of with a per-sb shrinker is that we don't
> * drop the last active reference to the superblock from within the shrinker.
> @@ -198,7 +212,7 @@ static unsigned long super_cache_scan(struct shrinker *shrink,
> if (!super_trylock_shared(sb))
> return SHRINK_STOP;
>
> - if (sb->s_op->nr_cached_objects)
> + if (sb->s_op->nr_cached_objects && super_fs_objects_eligible(sc))
> fs_objects = sb->s_op->nr_cached_objects(sb, sc);
>
> inodes = list_lru_shrink_count(&sb->s_inode_lru, sc);
> @@ -259,7 +273,8 @@ static unsigned long super_cache_count(struct shrinker *shrink,
> return 0;
> smp_rmb();
>
> - if (sb->s_op && sb->s_op->nr_cached_objects)
> + if (sb->s_op && sb->s_op->nr_cached_objects &&
> + super_fs_objects_eligible(sc))
> total_objects = sb->s_op->nr_cached_objects(sb, sc);
>
> total_objects += list_lru_shrink_count(&sb->s_dentry_lru, sc);
> --
> 2.52.0
>
--
Jan Kara <jack@xxxxxxxx>
SUSE Labs, CR