[PATCH v4 08/17] mm/sparse-vmemmap: support section-based vmemmap optimization

From: Muchun Song

Date: Wed Aug 19 2026 - 05:55:22 EST


Teach sparse-vmemmap population code to use the compound page order
when deciding whether a vmemmap page can be optimized.

With this information, the common sparse-vmemmap population path can
allocate or reuse shared tail vmemmap pages directly instead of relying
on HugeTLB-specific handling.

This centralizes vmemmap optimization logic in the sparse-vmemmap code,
based on section metadata, and prepares for sharing the same mechanism
across different users of vmemmap optimization, including HugeTLB and
DAX.

Signed-off-by: Muchun Song <songmuchun@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
---
v4:
- Move section_nr_vmemmap_pages() outside CONFIG_MEMORY_HOTPLUG to
fix CONFIG_MEMORY_HOTPLUG=n builds (reported by kernel test robot)

v2:
- Keep vmemmap accounting and population logic in sparse-vmemmap.c
(suggested by Mike Rapoport)
- Move vmemmap_get_tail() before its first use instead of adding only a
forward declaration in the previous patch (suggested by Mike Rapoport)
- Simplify the PMD path handling for HVO-covered sections
---
mm/sparse-vmemmap.c | 88 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-----------------
mm/sparse.c | 4 +--
mm/sparse.h | 7 ++++
3 files changed, 65 insertions(+), 34 deletions(-)

diff --git a/mm/sparse-vmemmap.c b/mm/sparse-vmemmap.c
index b770fe2428fd..737d50bdd3ef 100644
--- a/mm/sparse-vmemmap.c
+++ b/mm/sparse-vmemmap.c
@@ -186,6 +186,11 @@ static __meminit struct page *vmemmap_get_tail(unsigned int order, struct zone *

return tail;
}
+#else
+static inline struct page *vmemmap_get_tail(unsigned int order, struct zone *zone)
+{
+ return NULL;
+}
#endif

static pte_t * __meminit vmemmap_pte_populate(pmd_t *pmd, unsigned long addr, int node,
@@ -193,12 +198,24 @@ static pte_t * __meminit vmemmap_pte_populate(pmd_t *pmd, unsigned long addr, in
unsigned long ptpfn, unsigned long flags)
{
pte_t *pte = pte_offset_kernel(pmd, addr);
+ unsigned long pfn = page_to_pfn((struct page *)addr);
+
if (pte_none(ptep_get(pte))) {
pte_t entry;
- void *p;
+
+ if (vmemmap_optimizable_pfn(pfn) && ptpfn == (unsigned long)-1) {
+ unsigned int order = pfn_to_section_order(pfn);
+ struct zone *zone = pfn_to_zone(pfn, node);
+ struct page *page = vmemmap_get_tail(order, zone);
+
+ if (!page)
+ return NULL;
+ ptpfn = page_to_pfn(page);
+ }

if (ptpfn == (unsigned long)-1) {
- p = vmemmap_alloc_block_buf(PAGE_SIZE, node, altmap);
+ void *p = vmemmap_alloc_block_buf(PAGE_SIZE, node, altmap);
+
if (!p)
return NULL;
ptpfn = PHYS_PFN(__pa(p));
@@ -217,7 +234,8 @@ static pte_t * __meminit vmemmap_pte_populate(pmd_t *pmd, unsigned long addr, in
}
entry = pfn_pte(ptpfn, PAGE_KERNEL);
set_pte_at(&init_mm, addr, pte, entry);
- }
+ } else if (WARN_ON_ONCE(vmemmap_optimizable_pfn(pfn)))
+ return NULL;
return pte;
}

@@ -406,6 +424,9 @@ int __meminit vmemmap_populate_hugepages(unsigned long start, unsigned long end,
pmd_t *pmd;

for (addr = start; addr < end; addr = next) {
+ unsigned long pfn = page_to_pfn((struct page *)addr);
+ const struct mem_section *ms = __pfn_to_section(pfn);
+
next = pmd_addr_end(addr, end);

pgd = vmemmap_pgd_populate(addr, node);
@@ -421,7 +442,7 @@ int __meminit vmemmap_populate_hugepages(unsigned long start, unsigned long end,
return -ENOMEM;

pmd = pmd_offset(pud, addr);
- if (pmd_none(pmdp_get(pmd))) {
+ if (pmd_none(pmdp_get(pmd)) && !section_vmemmap_optimizable(ms)) {
void *p;

p = vmemmap_alloc_block_buf(PMD_SIZE, node, altmap);
@@ -439,8 +460,11 @@ int __meminit vmemmap_populate_hugepages(unsigned long start, unsigned long end,
*/
return -ENOMEM;
}
- } else if (vmemmap_check_pmd(pmd, node, addr, next))
+ } else if (vmemmap_check_pmd(pmd, node, addr, next)) {
+ if (WARN_ON_ONCE(section_vmemmap_optimizable(ms)))
+ return -EOPNOTSUPP;
continue;
+ }
if (vmemmap_populate_basepages(addr, next, node, altmap))
return -ENOMEM;
}
@@ -620,6 +644,33 @@ void __init sparse_init_subsection_map(void)
sparse_init_subsection_map_range(start, end - start);
}

+int __meminit section_nr_vmemmap_pages(unsigned long pfn, unsigned long nr_pages,
+ struct vmem_altmap *altmap, struct dev_pagemap *pgmap)
+{
+ const struct mem_section *ms = __pfn_to_section(pfn);
+ const int order = pgmap ? pgmap->vmemmap_shift : section_order(ms);
+ const int vmemmap_pages = pgmap ? VMEMMAP_RESERVE_NR : VMEMMAP_OPTIMIZATION_PAGES;
+ const unsigned long pages_per_compound = 1UL << order;
+
+ VM_WARN_ON_ONCE(!IS_ALIGNED(pfn | nr_pages, PAGES_PER_SUBSECTION));
+ VM_WARN_ON_ONCE(nr_pages > PAGES_PER_SECTION);
+
+ if (!vmemmap_can_optimize(altmap, pgmap) && !section_vmemmap_optimizable(ms))
+ return DIV_ROUND_UP(nr_pages * sizeof(struct page), PAGE_SIZE);
+
+ if (order < PFN_SECTION_SHIFT) {
+ VM_WARN_ON_ONCE(!IS_ALIGNED(pfn | nr_pages, pages_per_compound));
+ return vmemmap_pages * nr_pages / pages_per_compound;
+ }
+
+ VM_WARN_ON_ONCE(!IS_ALIGNED(pfn | nr_pages, PAGES_PER_SECTION));
+
+ if (IS_ALIGNED(pfn, pages_per_compound))
+ return vmemmap_pages;
+
+ return 0;
+}
+
#ifdef CONFIG_MEMORY_HOTPLUG

/* Mark all memory sections within the pfn range as online */
@@ -648,33 +699,6 @@ void offline_mem_sections(unsigned long start_pfn, unsigned long end_pfn)
}
}

-static int __meminit section_nr_vmemmap_pages(unsigned long pfn, unsigned long nr_pages,
- struct vmem_altmap *altmap, struct dev_pagemap *pgmap)
-{
- const struct mem_section *ms = __pfn_to_section(pfn);
- const int order = pgmap ? pgmap->vmemmap_shift : section_order(ms);
- const int vmemmap_pages = pgmap ? VMEMMAP_RESERVE_NR : VMEMMAP_OPTIMIZATION_PAGES;
- const unsigned long pages_per_compound = 1UL << order;
-
- VM_WARN_ON_ONCE(!IS_ALIGNED(pfn | nr_pages, PAGES_PER_SUBSECTION));
- VM_WARN_ON_ONCE(nr_pages > PAGES_PER_SECTION);
-
- if (!vmemmap_can_optimize(altmap, pgmap) && !section_vmemmap_optimizable(ms))
- return DIV_ROUND_UP(nr_pages * sizeof(struct page), PAGE_SIZE);
-
- if (order < PFN_SECTION_SHIFT) {
- VM_WARN_ON_ONCE(!IS_ALIGNED(pfn | nr_pages, pages_per_compound));
- return vmemmap_pages * nr_pages / pages_per_compound;
- }
-
- VM_WARN_ON_ONCE(!IS_ALIGNED(pfn | nr_pages, PAGES_PER_SECTION));
-
- if (IS_ALIGNED(pfn, pages_per_compound))
- return vmemmap_pages;
-
- return 0;
-}
-
static struct page * __meminit populate_section_memmap(unsigned long pfn,
unsigned long nr_pages, int nid, struct vmem_altmap *altmap,
struct dev_pagemap *pgmap)
diff --git a/mm/sparse.c b/mm/sparse.c
index c84b4c7b8c70..e6cb67ca9c8d 100644
--- a/mm/sparse.c
+++ b/mm/sparse.c
@@ -305,8 +305,8 @@ static void __init sparse_init_nid(int nid, unsigned long pnum_begin,
nid, NULL, NULL);
if (!map)
panic("Failed to allocate memmap for section %lu\n", pnum);
- memmap_boot_pages_add(DIV_ROUND_UP(PAGES_PER_SECTION * sizeof(struct page),
- PAGE_SIZE));
+ memmap_boot_pages_add(section_nr_vmemmap_pages(pfn, PAGES_PER_SECTION,
+ NULL, NULL));
sparse_init_early_section(nid, map, pnum, 0);
}
}
diff --git a/mm/sparse.h b/mm/sparse.h
index 02ed0f34eac8..1569774270fb 100644
--- a/mm/sparse.h
+++ b/mm/sparse.h
@@ -111,8 +111,15 @@ static inline void sparse_init(void) {}
*/
#ifdef CONFIG_SPARSEMEM_VMEMMAP
void sparse_init_subsection_map(void);
+int __meminit section_nr_vmemmap_pages(unsigned long pfn, unsigned long nr_pages,
+ struct vmem_altmap *altmap, struct dev_pagemap *pgmap);
#else
static inline void sparse_init_subsection_map(void) {}
+static inline int section_nr_vmemmap_pages(unsigned long pfn, unsigned long nr_pages,
+ struct vmem_altmap *altmap, struct dev_pagemap *pgmap)
+{
+ return DIV_ROUND_UP(nr_pages * sizeof(struct page), PAGE_SIZE);
+}
#endif /* CONFIG_SPARSEMEM_VMEMMAP */

#endif /* __MM_SPARSE_H */
--
2.54.0