Kairui Song eca4d01b98 mm, swap: protect si->swap_file properly and use as a mount indicator
Patch series "mm, swap: swap table phase III: remove swap_map", v3.

This series removes the static swap_map and uses the swap table for the
swap count directly.  This saves about ~30% memory usage for the static
swap metadata.  For example, this saves 256MB of memory when mounting a
1TB swap device.  Performance is slightly better too, since the double
update of the swap table and swap_map is now gone.

Test results:

Mounting a swap device:
=======================
Mount a 1TB brd device as SWAP, just to verify the memory save:

`free -m` before:
               total        used        free      shared  buff/cache   available
Mem:            1465        1051         417           1          61         413
Swap:        1054435           0     1054435

`free -m` after:
               total        used        free      shared  buff/cache   available
Mem:            1465         795         672           1          62         670
Swap:        1054435           0     1054435

Idle memory usage is reduced by ~256MB just as expected.  And following
this design we should be able to save another ~512MB in a next phase.

Build kernel test:
==================
Test using ZSWAP with NVME SWAP, make -j48, defconfig, in a x86_64 VM
with 5G RAM, under global pressure, avg of 32 test run:

                Before            After:
System time:    1038.97s          1013.75s (-2.4%)

Test using ZRAM as SWAP, make -j12, tinyconfig, in a ARM64 VM with 1.5G
RAM, under global pressure, avg of 32 test run:

                Before            After:
System time:    67.75s            66.65s (-1.6%)

The result is slightly better.

Redis / Valkey benchmark:
=========================
Test using ZRAM as SWAP, in a ARM64 VM with 1.5G RAM, under global pressure,
avg of 64 test run:

Server: valkey-server --maxmemory 2560M
Client: redis-benchmark -r 3000000 -n 3000000 -d 1024 -c 12 -P 32 -t get

        no persistence              with BGSAVE
Before: 472705.71 RPS               369451.68 RPS
After:  481197.93 RPS (+1.8%)       374922.32 RPS (+1.5%)

In conclusion, performance is better in all cases, and memory usage is
much lower.

The swap cgroup array will also be merged into the swap table in a later
phase, saving the other ~60% part of the static swap metadata and making
all the swap metadata dynamic.  The improved API for swap operations also
reduces the lock contention and makes more batching operations possible.


This patch (of 12):

/proc/swaps uses si->swap_map as the indicator to check if the swap
device is mounted. swap_map will be removed soon, so change it to use
si->swap_file instead because:

- si->swap_file is exactly the only dynamic content that /proc/swaps is
  interested in. Previously, it was checking si->swap_map just to ensure
  si->swap_file is available. si->swap_map is set under mutex
  protection, and after si->swap_file is set, so having si->swap_map set
  guarantees si->swap_file is set.

- Checking si->flags doesn't work here. SWP_WRITEOK is cleared during
  swapoff, but /proc/swaps is supposed to show the device under swapoff
  too to report the swapoff progress. And SWP_USED is set even if the
  device hasn't been properly set up.

We can have another flag, but the easier way is to just check
si->swap_file directly. So protect si->swap_file setting with mutext,
and set si->swap_file only when the swap device is truly enabled.

/proc/swaps only interested in si->swap_file and a few static data
reading. Only si->swap_file needs protection. Reading other static
fields is always fine.

Link: https://lkml.kernel.org/r/20260218-swap-table-p3-v3-0-f4e34be021a7@tencent.com
Link: https://lkml.kernel.org/r/20260218-swap-table-p3-v3-1-f4e34be021a7@tencent.com
Signed-off-by: Kairui Song <kasong@tencent.com>
Acked-by: Chris Li <chrisl@kernel.org>
Cc: Baoquan He <bhe@redhat.com>
Cc: Barry Song <baohua@kernel.org>
Cc: David Hildenbrand <david@kernel.org>
Cc: Johannes Weiner <hannes@cmpxchg.org>
Cc: Kemeng Shi <shikemeng@huaweicloud.com>
Cc: Lorenzo Stoakes <lorenzo.stoakes@oracle.com>
Cc: Nhat Pham <nphamcs@gmail.com>
Cc: Kairui Song <ryncsn@gmail.com>
Cc: kernel test robot <lkp@intel.com>
Signed-off-by: Andrew Morton <akpm@linux-foundation.org>
2026-04-05 13:52:58 -07:00
2026-01-26 19:07:09 -08:00
2022-09-28 09:02:20 +02:00
2025-02-19 14:53:27 -07:00
2026-03-22 14:42:17 -07:00

Linux kernel
============

The Linux kernel is the core of any Linux operating system. It manages hardware,
system resources, and provides the fundamental services for all other software.

Quick Start
-----------

* Report a bug: See Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-issues.rst
* Get the latest kernel: https://kernel.org
* Build the kernel: See Documentation/admin-guide/quickly-build-trimmed-linux.rst
* Join the community: https://lore.kernel.org/

Essential Documentation
-----------------------

All users should be familiar with:

* Building requirements: Documentation/process/changes.rst
* Code of Conduct: Documentation/process/code-of-conduct.rst
* License: See COPYING

Documentation can be built with make htmldocs or viewed online at:
https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/


Who Are You?
============

Find your role below:

* New Kernel Developer - Getting started with kernel development
* Academic Researcher - Studying kernel internals and architecture
* Security Expert - Hardening and vulnerability analysis
* Backport/Maintenance Engineer - Maintaining stable kernels
* System Administrator - Configuring and troubleshooting
* Maintainer - Leading subsystems and reviewing patches
* Hardware Vendor - Writing drivers for new hardware
* Distribution Maintainer - Packaging kernels for distros
* AI Coding Assistant - LLMs and AI-powered development tools


For Specific Users
==================

New Kernel Developer
--------------------

Welcome! Start your kernel development journey here:

* Getting Started: Documentation/process/development-process.rst
* Your First Patch: Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst
* Coding Style: Documentation/process/coding-style.rst
* Build System: Documentation/kbuild/index.rst
* Development Tools: Documentation/dev-tools/index.rst
* Kernel Hacking Guide: Documentation/kernel-hacking/hacking.rst
* Core APIs: Documentation/core-api/index.rst

Academic Researcher
-------------------

Explore the kernel's architecture and internals:

* Researcher Guidelines: Documentation/process/researcher-guidelines.rst
* Memory Management: Documentation/mm/index.rst
* Scheduler: Documentation/scheduler/index.rst
* Networking Stack: Documentation/networking/index.rst
* Filesystems: Documentation/filesystems/index.rst
* RCU (Read-Copy Update): Documentation/RCU/index.rst
* Locking Primitives: Documentation/locking/index.rst
* Power Management: Documentation/power/index.rst

Security Expert
---------------

Security documentation and hardening guides:

* Security Documentation: Documentation/security/index.rst
* LSM Development: Documentation/security/lsm-development.rst
* Self Protection: Documentation/security/self-protection.rst
* Reporting Vulnerabilities: Documentation/process/security-bugs.rst
* CVE Procedures: Documentation/process/cve.rst
* Embargoed Hardware Issues: Documentation/process/embargoed-hardware-issues.rst
* Security Features: Documentation/userspace-api/seccomp_filter.rst

Backport/Maintenance Engineer
-----------------------------

Maintain and stabilize kernel versions:

* Stable Kernel Rules: Documentation/process/stable-kernel-rules.rst
* Backporting Guide: Documentation/process/backporting.rst
* Applying Patches: Documentation/process/applying-patches.rst
* Subsystem Profile: Documentation/maintainer/maintainer-entry-profile.rst
* Git for Maintainers: Documentation/maintainer/configure-git.rst

System Administrator
--------------------

Configure, tune, and troubleshoot Linux systems:

* Admin Guide: Documentation/admin-guide/index.rst
* Kernel Parameters: Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.rst
* Sysctl Tuning: Documentation/admin-guide/sysctl/index.rst
* Tracing/Debugging: Documentation/trace/index.rst
* Performance Security: Documentation/admin-guide/perf-security.rst
* Hardware Monitoring: Documentation/hwmon/index.rst

Maintainer
----------

Lead kernel subsystems and manage contributions:

* Maintainer Handbook: Documentation/maintainer/index.rst
* Pull Requests: Documentation/maintainer/pull-requests.rst
* Managing Patches: Documentation/maintainer/modifying-patches.rst
* Rebasing and Merging: Documentation/maintainer/rebasing-and-merging.rst
* Development Process: Documentation/process/maintainer-handbooks.rst
* Maintainer Entry Profile: Documentation/maintainer/maintainer-entry-profile.rst
* Git Configuration: Documentation/maintainer/configure-git.rst

Hardware Vendor
---------------

Write drivers and support new hardware:

* Driver API Guide: Documentation/driver-api/index.rst
* Driver Model: Documentation/driver-api/driver-model/driver.rst
* Device Drivers: Documentation/driver-api/infrastructure.rst
* Bus Types: Documentation/driver-api/driver-model/bus.rst
* Device Tree Bindings: Documentation/devicetree/bindings/
* Power Management: Documentation/driver-api/pm/index.rst
* DMA API: Documentation/core-api/dma-api.rst

Distribution Maintainer
-----------------------

Package and distribute the kernel:

* Stable Kernel Rules: Documentation/process/stable-kernel-rules.rst
* ABI Documentation: Documentation/ABI/README
* Kernel Configuration: Documentation/kbuild/kconfig.rst
* Module Signing: Documentation/admin-guide/module-signing.rst
* Kernel Parameters: Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.rst
* Tainted Kernels: Documentation/admin-guide/tainted-kernels.rst

AI Coding Assistant
-------------------

CRITICAL: If you are an LLM or AI-powered coding assistant, you MUST read and
follow the AI coding assistants documentation before contributing to the Linux
kernel:

* Documentation/process/coding-assistants.rst

This documentation contains essential requirements about licensing, attribution,
and the Developer Certificate of Origin that all AI tools must comply with.


Communication and Support
=========================

* Mailing Lists: https://lore.kernel.org/
* IRC: #kernelnewbies on irc.oftc.net
* Bugzilla: https://bugzilla.kernel.org/
* MAINTAINERS file: Lists subsystem maintainers and mailing lists
* Email Clients: Documentation/process/email-clients.rst
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