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authorNiklas Cassel <cassel@kernel.org>2026-09-16 15:00:32 +0200
committerNiklas Cassel <cassel@kernel.org>2026-09-16 16:18:00 +0200
commit8d836581f9b1f57ceaa2b47654754ef1260b410b (patch)
tree1dbd4d0dfb99c2e238356cbe947e5b0be3e3a571 /Documentation/driver-api/cxl/allocation
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ata: libata-scsi: fix ata_dsm_trim_pages() kernel-docgrafted
make htmldocs fails with: Documentation/driver-api/libata:604: ./drivers/ata/libata-scsi.c:2301: ERROR: Unexpected indentation. [docutils] The Return: section of ata_dsm_trim_pages() ends its first sentence with a colon and continues with an indented bullet list. reStructuredText requires a blank line before an indented block, so docutils chokes on the list. Simply adding the missing blank line does not work either: Return: is a kernel-doc "special section", which is terminated by the first blank line, so the bullet list would end up in the Description section, detached from the sentence introducing it. Spell the two bounds out as prose instead, so that the Return: section stays self-contained. Documentation-only change. Fixes: e64e6b5dc867 ("ata: libata-scsi: scale DSM TRIM payload by MAX PAGES PER DSM COMMAND") Reported-by: Thomas Huth <thuth@redhat.com> Closes: https://lore.kernel.org/linux-ide/b0a0b8e8-cc4f-4c7b-8bc5-fee0712d405a@redhat.com/ Reviewed-by: Damien Le Moal <dlemoal@kernel.org> Reviewed-by: Thomas Huth <thuth@redhat.com> Link: https://lore.kernel.org/r/20260916130031.29990-2-cassel@kernel.org Signed-off-by: Niklas Cassel <cassel@kernel.org>
Diffstat (limited to 'Documentation/driver-api/cxl/allocation')
-rw-r--r--Documentation/driver-api/cxl/allocation/dax.rst60
-rw-r--r--Documentation/driver-api/cxl/allocation/hugepages.rst32
-rw-r--r--Documentation/driver-api/cxl/allocation/page-allocator.rst54
-rw-r--r--Documentation/driver-api/cxl/allocation/reclaim.rst51
4 files changed, 197 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/driver-api/cxl/allocation/dax.rst b/Documentation/driver-api/cxl/allocation/dax.rst
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c6f7a5da8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Documentation/driver-api/cxl/allocation/dax.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+
+===========
+DAX Devices
+===========
+CXL capacity exposed as a DAX device can be accessed directly via mmap.
+Users may wish to use this interface mechanism to write their own userland
+CXL allocator, or to managed shared or persistent memory regions across multiple
+hosts.
+
+If the capacity is shared across hosts or persistent, appropriate flushing
+mechanisms must be employed unless the region supports Snoop Back-Invalidate.
+
+Note that mappings must be aligned (size and base) to the dax device's base
+alignment, which is typically 2MB - but maybe be configured larger.
+
+::
+
+ #include <stdio.h>
+ #include <stdlib.h>
+ #include <stdint.h>
+ #include <sys/mman.h>
+ #include <fcntl.h>
+ #include <unistd.h>
+
+ #define DEVICE_PATH "/dev/dax0.0" // Replace DAX device path
+ #define DEVICE_SIZE (4ULL * 1024 * 1024 * 1024) // 4GB
+
+ int main() {
+ int fd;
+ void* mapped_addr;
+
+ /* Open the DAX device */
+ fd = open(DEVICE_PATH, O_RDWR);
+ if (fd < 0) {
+ perror("open");
+ return -1;
+ }
+
+ /* Map the device into memory */
+ mapped_addr = mmap(NULL, DEVICE_SIZE, PROT_READ | PROT_WRITE,
+ MAP_SHARED, fd, 0);
+ if (mapped_addr == MAP_FAILED) {
+ perror("mmap");
+ close(fd);
+ return -1;
+ }
+
+ printf("Mapped address: %p\n", mapped_addr);
+
+ /* You can now access the device through the mapped address */
+ uint64_t* ptr = (uint64_t*)mapped_addr;
+ *ptr = 0x1234567890abcdef; // Write a value to the device
+ printf("Value at address %p: 0x%016llx\n", ptr, *ptr);
+
+ /* Clean up */
+ munmap(mapped_addr, DEVICE_SIZE);
+ close(fd);
+ return 0;
+ }
diff --git a/Documentation/driver-api/cxl/allocation/hugepages.rst b/Documentation/driver-api/cxl/allocation/hugepages.rst
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1023c6922
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Documentation/driver-api/cxl/allocation/hugepages.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+
+==========
+Huge Pages
+==========
+
+Contiguous Memory Allocator
+===========================
+CXL Memory onlined as SystemRAM during early boot is eligible for use by CMA,
+as the NUMA node hosting that capacity will be `Online` at the time CMA
+carves out contiguous capacity.
+
+CXL Memory deferred to the CXL Driver for configuration cannot have its
+capacity allocated by CMA - as the NUMA node hosting the capacity is `Offline`
+at :code:`__init` time - when CMA carves out contiguous capacity.
+
+HugeTLB
+=======
+Different huge page sizes allow different memory configurations.
+
+2MB Huge Pages
+--------------
+All CXL capacity regardless of configuration time or memory zone is eligible
+for use as 2MB huge pages.
+
+1GB Huge Pages
+--------------
+CXL capacity onlined in :code:`ZONE_NORMAL` is eligible for 1GB Gigantic Page
+allocation.
+
+CXL capacity onlined in :code:`ZONE_MOVABLE` is not eligible for 1GB Gigantic
+Page allocation.
diff --git a/Documentation/driver-api/cxl/allocation/page-allocator.rst b/Documentation/driver-api/cxl/allocation/page-allocator.rst
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3fa584a24
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Documentation/driver-api/cxl/allocation/page-allocator.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+
+==================
+The Page Allocator
+==================
+
+The kernel page allocator services all general page allocation requests, such
+as :code:`kmalloc`. CXL configuration steps affect the behavior of the page
+allocator based on the selected `Memory Zone` and `NUMA node` the capacity is
+placed in.
+
+This section mostly focuses on how these configurations affect the page
+allocator (as of Linux v6.15) rather than the overall page allocator behavior.
+
+NUMA nodes and mempolicy
+========================
+Unless a task explicitly registers a mempolicy, the default memory policy
+of the linux kernel is to allocate memory from the `local NUMA node` first,
+and fall back to other nodes only if the local node is pressured.
+
+Generally, we expect to see local DRAM and CXL memory on separate NUMA nodes,
+with the CXL memory being non-local. Technically, however, it is possible
+for a compute node to have no local DRAM, and for CXL memory to be the
+`local` capacity for that compute node.
+
+
+Memory Zones
+============
+CXL capacity may be onlined in :code:`ZONE_NORMAL` or :code:`ZONE_MOVABLE`.
+
+As of v6.15, the page allocator attempts to allocate from the highest
+available and compatible ZONE for an allocation from the local node first.
+
+An example of a `zone incompatibility` is attempting to service an allocation
+marked :code:`GFP_KERNEL` from :code:`ZONE_MOVABLE`. Kernel allocations are
+typically not migratable, and as a result can only be serviced from
+:code:`ZONE_NORMAL` or lower.
+
+To simplify this, the page allocator will prefer :code:`ZONE_MOVABLE` over
+:code:`ZONE_NORMAL` by default, but if :code:`ZONE_MOVABLE` is depleted, it
+will fallback to allocate from :code:`ZONE_NORMAL`.
+
+
+CGroups and CPUSets
+===================
+Finally, assuming CXL memory is reachable via the page allocation (i.e. onlined
+in :code:`ZONE_NORMAL`), the :code:`cpusets.mems_allowed` may be used by
+containers to limit the accessibility of certain NUMA nodes for tasks in that
+container. Users may wish to utilize this in multi-tenant systems where some
+tasks prefer not to use slower memory.
+
+In the reclaim section we'll discuss some limitations of this interface to
+prevent demotions of shared data to CXL memory (if demotions are enabled).
+
diff --git a/Documentation/driver-api/cxl/allocation/reclaim.rst b/Documentation/driver-api/cxl/allocation/reclaim.rst
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f40f1cae3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Documentation/driver-api/cxl/allocation/reclaim.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+
+=======
+Reclaim
+=======
+Another way CXL memory can be utilized *indirectly* is via the reclaim system
+in :code:`mm/vmscan.c`. Reclaim is engaged when memory capacity on the system
+becomes pressured based on global and cgroup-local `watermark` settings.
+
+In this section we won't discuss the `watermark` configurations, just how CXL
+memory can be consumed by various pieces of reclaim system.
+
+Demotion
+========
+By default, the reclaim system will prefer swap (or zswap) when reclaiming
+memory. Enabling :code:`kernel/mm/numa/demotion_enabled` will cause vmscan
+to opportunistically prefer distant NUMA nodes to swap or zswap, if capacity
+is available.
+
+Demotion engages the :code:`mm/memory_tier.c` component to determine the
+next demotion node. The next demotion node is based on the :code:`HMAT`
+or :code:`CDAT` performance data.
+
+cpusets.mems_allowed quirk
+--------------------------
+In Linux v6.15 and below, demotion does not respect :code:`cpusets.mems_allowed`
+when migrating pages. As a result, if demotion is enabled, vmscan cannot
+guarantee isolation of a container's memory from nodes not set in mems_allowed.
+
+In Linux v6.XX and up, demotion does attempt to respect
+:code:`cpusets.mems_allowed`; however, certain classes of shared memory
+originally instantiated by another cgroup (such as common libraries - e.g.
+libc) may still be demoted. As a result, the mems_allowed interface still
+cannot provide perfect isolation from the remote nodes.
+
+ZSwap and Node Preference
+=========================
+In Linux v6.15 and below, ZSwap allocates memory from the local node of the
+processor for the new pages being compressed. Since pages being compressed
+are typically cold, the result is a cold page becomes promoted - only to
+be later demoted as it ages off the LRU.
+
+In Linux v6.XX, ZSwap tries to prefer the node of the page being compressed
+as the allocation target for the compression page. This helps prevent
+thrashing.
+
+Demotion with ZSwap
+===================
+When enabling both Demotion and ZSwap, you create a situation where ZSwap
+will prefer the slowest form of CXL memory by default until that tier of
+memory is exhausted.