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| author | Linus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org> | 2026-08-23 13:28:57 -0700 |
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| committer | Linus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org> | 2026-08-23 13:28:57 -0700 |
| commit | 4352b8aee98005853aa63f57d6377282de17a33f (patch) | |
| tree | 27614d7a9ef05c32d089004e104364ce42324837 /Documentation/admin-guide/device-mapper/dm-pcache.rst | |
| download | linux-stable-4352b8aee98005853aa63f57d6377282de17a33f.tar.gz linux-stable-4352b8aee98005853aa63f57d6377282de17a33f.zip | |
Merge tag 'i3c/for-7.3' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/i3c/linuxgrafted
Pull I3C updates from Alexandre Belloni:
"A new driver this cycle, for the AMD AXI I3C controller.
There are also new features such as IBI wakeup support, SETAASA device
discovery and ACPI support for the the DAA methods, meaning we can now
communicate with the SPD devices on DDR5 modules.
New driver:
- AMD AXI I3C master controller
Subsystem:
- I3C Common Command Code (CCC) handling improvements, especially
around GET CCCs
- SETAASA device discovery support
- ACPI support for all existing DAA methods like SETDASA, SETNEWDA as
well as I2C devices on I3C bus
- IBI-based wakeup support
Drivers:
- dw: SETAASA support
- mipi-i3c-hci: advertise IBI wakeup capability, AMD_PT I3C
controller support, PIO queue management support for HCI v1.2
- renesas: improve suspend to RAM support, add runtime PM support"
* tag 'i3c/for-7.3' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/i3c/linux: (70 commits)
i3c: dw: reduce do_daa time if there's no client
i3c: mipi-i3c-hci: Add support for AMD_PT I3C controller
i3c: mipi-i3c-hci: Add PIO queue management support for HCI v1.2
i3c: mipi-i3c-hci: Fix missing STAT_IBI_STATUS_THLD in PIO mode
i3c: dw: rename "pclk" to "apb" to match dt-binding
i3c: dw: make struct dw_i3c_cmd smaller
i3c: dw: use COMMAND_PORT_TRANSFER_ARG instead of hardcoding
i3c: renesas: Don't register devices when ENTDAA times out
i3c: master: dw-i3c-master: fix OD timing for first broadcast
i3c: mipi-i3c-hci: Advertise IBI wakeup capability
i3c: mipi-i3c-hci: Factor out i3c_hci_sysdev()
i3c: mipi-i3c-hci-pci: Propagate I3C wakeup requirements to PCI
i3c: master: Reject IBI requests from non-IBI-capable devices
i3c: master: Add helper to query bus wakeup requirements
i3c: master: Report wakeup events for IBIs
i3c: master: Support IBI-based wakeup capability
i3c: master: Fix potential UAF in i3c_device_match()
i3c: master: Fix potential UAF in i3c_device_uevent()
i3c: Make dev->desc locking assumptions explicit
i3c: master: Fix use-after-free of master->this
...
Diffstat (limited to 'Documentation/admin-guide/device-mapper/dm-pcache.rst')
| -rw-r--r-- | Documentation/admin-guide/device-mapper/dm-pcache.rst | 202 |
1 files changed, 202 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/device-mapper/dm-pcache.rst b/Documentation/admin-guide/device-mapper/dm-pcache.rst new file mode 100644 index 000000000..09d327ef4 --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/device-mapper/dm-pcache.rst @@ -0,0 +1,202 @@ +.. 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! |
