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authorZeng Chi <zengchi@kylinos.cn>2026-09-21 18:24:42 +0800
committerSean Christopherson <seanjc@google.com>2026-09-22 08:36:16 -0700
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KVM: Don't pre-reserve xarray entries when storing empty/NULL attributesgrafted
Skip the xarray reservation loop when clearing all memory attributes, as storing NULL only erases the entry and never needs to allocate, so no reservation (and no cleanup of a failed one) is required in that case. Suggested-by: Sean Christopherson <seanjc@google.com> Cc: David Ballesteros <davimaba.v@proton.me> Signed-off-by: Zeng Chi <zengchi@kylinos.cn> Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20260921102442.1232375-1-zeng_chi911@163.com [sean: split to separate patch] Signed-off-by: Sean Christopherson <seanjc@google.com>
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+.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+
+=================================
+dm-pcache — Persistent Cache
+=================================
+
+*Author: Dongsheng Yang <dongsheng.yang@linux.dev>*
+
+This document describes *dm-pcache*, a Device-Mapper target that lets a
+byte-addressable *DAX* (persistent-memory, “pmem”) region act as a
+high-performance, crash-persistent cache in front of a slower block
+device. The code lives in `drivers/md/dm-pcache/`.
+
+Quick feature summary
+=====================
+
+* *Write-back* caching (only mode currently supported).
+* *16 MiB segments* allocated on the pmem device.
+* *Data CRC32* verification (optional, per cache).
+* Crash-safe: every metadata structure is duplicated (`PCACHE_META_INDEX_MAX
+ == 2`) and protected with CRC+sequence numbers.
+* *Multi-tree indexing* (indexing trees sharded by logical address) for high PMem parallelism
+* Pure *DAX path* I/O – no extra BIO round-trips
+* *Log-structured write-back* that preserves backend crash-consistency
+
+
+Constructor
+===========
+
+::
+
+ pcache <cache_dev> <backing_dev> [<number_of_optional_arguments> <cache_mode writeback> <data_crc true|false>]
+
+========================= ====================================================
+``cache_dev`` Any DAX-capable block device (``/dev/pmem0``…).
+ All metadata *and* cached blocks are stored here.
+
+``backing_dev`` The slow block device to be cached.
+
+``cache_mode`` Optional, Only ``writeback`` is accepted at the
+ moment.
+
+``data_crc`` Optional, default to ``false``
+
+ * ``true`` – store CRC32 for every cached entry
+ and verify on reads
+ * ``false`` – skip CRC (faster)
+========================= ====================================================
+
+Example
+-------
+
+.. code-block:: shell
+
+ dmsetup create pcache_sdb --table \
+ "0 $(blockdev --getsz /dev/sdb) pcache /dev/pmem0 /dev/sdb 4 cache_mode writeback data_crc true"
+
+The first time a pmem device is used, dm-pcache formats it automatically
+(super-block, cache_info, etc.).
+
+
+Status line
+===========
+
+``dmsetup status <device>`` (``STATUSTYPE_INFO``) prints:
+
+::
+
+ <sb_flags> <seg_total> <cache_segs> <segs_used> \
+ <gc_percent> <cache_flags> \
+ <key_head_seg>:<key_head_off> \
+ <dirty_tail_seg>:<dirty_tail_off> \
+ <key_tail_seg>:<key_tail_off>
+
+Field meanings
+--------------
+
+=============================== =============================================
+``sb_flags`` Super-block flags (e.g. endian marker).
+
+``seg_total`` Number of physical *pmem* segments.
+
+``cache_segs`` Number of segments used for cache.
+
+``segs_used`` Segments currently allocated (bitmap weight).
+
+``gc_percent`` Current GC high-water mark (0-90).
+
+``cache_flags`` Bit 0 – DATA_CRC enabled
+ Bit 1 – INIT_DONE (cache initialised)
+ Bits 2-5 – cache mode (0 == WB).
+
+``key_head`` Where new key-sets are being written.
+
+``dirty_tail`` First dirty key-set that still needs
+ write-back to the backing device.
+
+``key_tail`` First key-set that may be reclaimed by GC.
+=============================== =============================================
+
+
+Messages
+========
+
+*Change GC trigger*
+
+::
+
+ dmsetup message <dev> 0 gc_percent <0-90>
+
+
+Theory of operation
+===================
+
+Sub-devices
+-----------
+
+==================== =========================================================
+backing_dev Any block device (SSD/HDD/loop/LVM, etc.).
+cache_dev DAX device; must expose direct-access memory.
+==================== =========================================================
+
+Segments and key-sets
+---------------------
+
+* The pmem space is divided into *16 MiB segments*.
+* Each write allocates space from a per-CPU *data_head* inside a segment.
+* A *cache-key* records a logical range on the origin and where it lives
+ inside pmem (segment + offset + generation).
+* 128 keys form a *key-set* (kset); ksets are written sequentially in pmem
+ and are themselves crash-safe (CRC).
+* The pair *(key_tail, dirty_tail)* delimit clean/dirty and live/dead ksets.
+
+Write-back
+----------
+
+Dirty keys are queued into a tree; a background worker copies data
+back to the backing_dev and advances *dirty_tail*. A FLUSH/FUA bio from the
+upper layers forces an immediate metadata commit.
+
+Garbage collection
+------------------
+
+GC starts when ``segs_used >= seg_total * gc_percent / 100``. It walks
+from *key_tail*, frees segments whose every key has been invalidated, and
+advances *key_tail*.
+
+CRC verification
+----------------
+
+If ``data_crc is enabled`` dm-pcache computes a CRC32 over every cached data
+range when it is inserted and stores it in the on-media key. Reads
+validate the CRC before copying to the caller.
+
+
+Failure handling
+================
+
+* *pmem media errors* – all metadata copies are read with
+ ``copy_mc_to_kernel``; an uncorrectable error logs and aborts initialisation.
+* *Cache full* – if no free segment can be found, writes return ``-EBUSY``;
+ dm-pcache retries internally (request deferral).
+* *System crash* – on attach, the driver replays ksets from *key_tail* to
+ rebuild the in-core trees; every segment’s generation guards against
+ use-after-free keys.
+
+
+Limitations & TODO
+==================
+
+* Only *write-back* mode; other modes planned.
+* Only FIFO cache invalidate; other (LRU, ARC...) planned.
+* Table reload is not supported currently.
+* Discard planned.
+
+
+Example workflow
+================
+
+.. code-block:: shell
+
+ # 1. Create devices
+ dmsetup create pcache_sdb --table \
+ "0 $(blockdev --getsz /dev/sdb) pcache /dev/pmem0 /dev/sdb 4 cache_mode writeback data_crc true"
+
+ # 2. Put a filesystem on top
+ mkfs.ext4 /dev/mapper/pcache_sdb
+ mount /dev/mapper/pcache_sdb /mnt
+
+ # 3. Tune GC threshold to 80 %
+ dmsetup message pcache_sdb 0 gc_percent 80
+
+ # 4. Observe status
+ watch -n1 'dmsetup status pcache_sdb'
+
+ # 5. Shutdown
+ umount /mnt
+ dmsetup remove pcache_sdb
+
+
+``dm-pcache`` is under active development; feedback, bug reports and patches
+are very welcome!