Re: [PATCH v4 08/17] mm/sparse-vmemmap: support section-based vmemmap optimization
From: Mike Rapoport
Date: Mon Aug 24 2026 - 05:05:34 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>
>
> 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);
> +
What do you think about adding a helper function here, e.g something
like
diff --git a/mm/sparse-vmemmap.c b/mm/sparse-vmemmap.c
index 0aa0ab4f8b11..933b122f9937 100644
--- a/mm/sparse-vmemmap.c
+++ b/mm/sparse-vmemmap.c
@@ -191,6 +191,23 @@ static inline struct page *vmemmap_get_tail(unsigned int order, struct zone *zon
}
#endif
+static void * __meminit vmemmap_alloc_pte(unsigned long pfn, int node,
+ struct vmem_altmap *altmap)
+{
+ unsigned int order = pfn_to_section_order(pfn);
+ struct zone *zone = pfn_to_zone(pfn, node);
+ struct page *page;
+
+ if (!vmemmap_optimizable_pfn(pfn))
+ return vmemmap_alloc_block_buf(PAGE_SIZE, node, altmap);
+
+ page = vmemmap_get_tail(order, zone);
+ if (!page)
+ return NULL;
+
+ return page_address(page);
+}
+
static pte_t * __meminit vmemmap_pte_populate(pmd_t *pmd, unsigned long addr, int node,
struct vmem_altmap *altmap,
unsigned long ptpfn, unsigned long flags)
@@ -201,19 +218,8 @@ static pte_t * __meminit vmemmap_pte_populate(pmd_t *pmd, unsigned long addr, in
if (pte_none(ptep_get(pte))) {
pte_t entry;
- 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) {
- void *p = vmemmap_alloc_block_buf(PAGE_SIZE, node, altmap);
-
+ void *p = vmemmap_alloc_pte(pfn, node, altmap);
if (!p)
return NULL;
ptpfn = PHYS_PFN(__pa(p));
> 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)
> +{
Can we do all code movements in separate patches?
Maybe even move this to the previous patch and update the changelog to
say "move code around in preparation ..."
--
Sincerely yours,
Mike.