@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ Core utilities
generic-radix-tree
memory-allocation
mm-api
+ pin_user_pages
gfp_mask-from-fs-io
timekeeping
boot-time-mm
new file mode 100644
@@ -0,0 +1,233 @@
+.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+
+====================================================
+pin_user_pages() and related calls
+====================================================
+
+.. contents:: :local:
+
+Overview
+========
+
+This document describes the following functions: ::
+
+ pin_user_pages
+ pin_user_pages_fast
+ pin_user_pages_remote
+
+Basic description of FOLL_PIN
+=============================
+
+FOLL_PIN and FOLL_LONGTERM are flags that can be passed to the get_user_pages*()
+("gup") family of functions. FOLL_PIN has significant interactions and
+interdependencies with FOLL_LONGTERM, so both are covered here.
+
+FOLL_PIN is internal to gup, meaning that it should not appear at the gup call
+sites. This allows the associated wrapper functions (pin_user_pages*() and
+others) to set the correct combination of these flags, and to check for problems
+as well.
+
+FOLL_LONGTERM, on the other hand, *is* allowed to be set at the gup call sites.
+This is in order to avoid creating a large number of wrapper functions to cover
+all combinations of get*(), pin*(), FOLL_LONGTERM, and more. Also, the
+pin_user_pages*() APIs are clearly distinct from the get_user_pages*() APIs, so
+that's a natural dividing line, and a good point to make separate wrapper calls.
+In other words, use pin_user_pages*() for DMA-pinned pages, and
+get_user_pages*() for other cases. There are four cases described later on in
+this document, to further clarify that concept.
+
+FOLL_PIN and FOLL_GET are mutually exclusive for a given gup call. However,
+multiple threads and call sites are free to pin the same struct pages, via both
+FOLL_PIN and FOLL_GET. It's just the call site that needs to choose one or the
+other, not the struct page(s).
+
+The FOLL_PIN implementation is nearly the same as FOLL_GET, except that FOLL_PIN
+uses a different reference counting technique.
+
+FOLL_PIN is a prerequisite to FOLL_LONGTGERM. Another way of saying that is,
+FOLL_LONGTERM is a specific case, more restrictive case of FOLL_PIN.
+
+Which flags are set by each wrapper
+===================================
+
+For these pin_user_pages*() functions, FOLL_PIN is OR'd in with whatever gup
+flags the caller provides. The caller is required to pass in a non-null struct
+pages* array, and the function then pin pages by incrementing each by a special
+value. For now, that value is +1, just like get_user_pages*().::
+
+ Function
+ --------
+ pin_user_pages FOLL_PIN is always set internally by this function.
+ pin_user_pages_fast FOLL_PIN is always set internally by this function.
+ pin_user_pages_remote FOLL_PIN is always set internally by this function.
+
+For these get_user_pages*() functions, FOLL_GET might not even be specified.
+Behavior is a little more complex than above. If FOLL_GET was *not* specified,
+but the caller passed in a non-null struct pages* array, then the function
+sets FOLL_GET for you, and proceeds to pin pages by incrementing the refcount
+of each page by +1.::
+
+ Function
+ --------
+ get_user_pages FOLL_GET is sometimes set internally by this function.
+ get_user_pages_fast FOLL_GET is sometimes set internally by this function.
+ get_user_pages_remote FOLL_GET is sometimes set internally by this function.
+
+Tracking dma-pinned pages
+=========================
+
+Some of the key design constraints, and solutions, for tracking dma-pinned
+pages:
+
+* An actual reference count, per struct page, is required. This is because
+ multiple processes may pin and unpin a page.
+
+* False positives (reporting that a page is dma-pinned, when in fact it is not)
+ are acceptable, but false negatives are not.
+
+* struct page may not be increased in size for this, and all fields are already
+ used.
+
+* Given the above, we can overload the page->_refcount field by using, sort of,
+ the upper bits in that field for a dma-pinned count. "Sort of", means that,
+ rather than dividing page->_refcount into bit fields, we simple add a medium-
+ large value (GUP_PIN_COUNTING_BIAS, initially chosen to be 1024: 10 bits) to
+ page->_refcount. This provides fuzzy behavior: if a page has get_page() called
+ on it 1024 times, then it will appear to have a single dma-pinned count.
+ And again, that's acceptable.
+
+This also leads to limitations: there are only 31-10==21 bits available for a
+counter that increments 10 bits at a time.
+
+TODO: for 1GB and larger huge pages, this is cutting it close. That's because
+when pin_user_pages() follows such pages, it increments the head page by "1"
+(where "1" used to mean "+1" for get_user_pages(), but now means "+1024" for
+pin_user_pages()) for each tail page. So if you have a 1GB huge page:
+
+* There are 256K (18 bits) worth of 4 KB tail pages.
+* There are 21 bits available to count up via GUP_PIN_COUNTING_BIAS (that is,
+ 10 bits at a time)
+* There are 21 - 18 == 3 bits available to count. Except that there aren't,
+ because you need to allow for a few normal get_page() calls on the head page,
+ as well. Fortunately, the approach of using addition, rather than "hard"
+ bitfields, within page->_refcount, allows for sharing these bits gracefully.
+ But we're still looking at about 8 references.
+
+This, however, is a missing feature more than anything else, because it's easily
+solved by addressing an obvious inefficiency in the original get_user_pages()
+approach of retrieving pages: stop treating all the pages as if they were
+PAGE_SIZE. Retrieve huge pages as huge pages. The callers need to be aware of
+this, so some work is required. Once that's in place, this limitation mostly
+disappears from view, because there will be ample refcounting range available.
+
+* Callers must specifically request "dma-pinned tracking of pages". In other
+ words, just calling get_user_pages() will not suffice; a new set of functions,
+ pin_user_page() and related, must be used.
+
+FOLL_PIN, FOLL_GET, FOLL_LONGTERM: when to use which flags
+==========================================================
+
+Thanks to Jan Kara, Vlastimil Babka and several other -mm people, for describing
+these categories:
+
+CASE 1: Direct IO (DIO)
+-----------------------
+There are GUP references to pages that are serving
+as DIO buffers. These buffers are needed for a relatively short time (so they
+are not "long term"). No special synchronization with page_mkclean() or
+munmap() is provided. Therefore, flags to set at the call site are: ::
+
+ FOLL_PIN
+
+...but rather than setting FOLL_PIN directly, call sites should use one of
+the pin_user_pages*() routines that set FOLL_PIN.
+
+CASE 2: RDMA
+------------
+There are GUP references to pages that are serving as DMA
+buffers. These buffers are needed for a long time ("long term"). No special
+synchronization with page_mkclean() or munmap() is provided. Therefore, flags
+to set at the call site are: ::
+
+ FOLL_PIN | FOLL_LONGTERM
+
+NOTE: Some pages, such as DAX pages, cannot be pinned with longterm pins. That's
+because DAX pages do not have a separate page cache, and so "pinning" implies
+locking down file system blocks, which is not (yet) supported in that way.
+
+CASE 3: Hardware with page faulting support
+-------------------------------------------
+Here, a well-written driver doesn't normally need to pin pages at all. However,
+if the driver does choose to do so, it can register MMU notifiers for the range,
+and will be called back upon invalidation. Either way (avoiding page pinning, or
+using MMU notifiers to unpin upon request), there is proper synchronization with
+both filesystem and mm (page_mkclean(), munmap(), etc).
+
+Therefore, neither flag needs to be set.
+
+In this case, ideally, neither get_user_pages() nor pin_user_pages() should be
+called. Instead, the software should be written so that it does not pin pages.
+This allows mm and filesystems to operate more efficiently and reliably.
+
+CASE 4: Pinning for struct page manipulation only
+-------------------------------------------------
+Here, normal GUP calls are sufficient, so neither flag needs to be set.
+
+page_dma_pinned(): the whole point of pinning
+=============================================
+
+The whole point of marking pages as "DMA-pinned" or "gup-pinned" is to be able
+to query, "is this page DMA-pinned?" That allows code such as page_mkclean()
+(and file system writeback code in general) to make informed decisions about
+what to do when a page cannot be unmapped due to such pins.
+
+What to do in those cases is the subject of a years-long series of discussions
+and debates (see the References at the end of this document). It's a TODO item
+here: fill in the details once that's worked out. Meanwhile, it's safe to say
+that having this available: ::
+
+ static inline bool page_dma_pinned(struct page *page)
+
+...is a prerequisite to solving the long-running gup+DMA problem.
+
+Another way of thinking about FOLL_GET, FOLL_PIN, and FOLL_LONGTERM
+===================================================================
+
+Another way of thinking about these flags is as a progression of restrictions:
+FOLL_GET is for struct page manipulation, without affecting the data that the
+struct page refers to. FOLL_PIN is a *replacement* for FOLL_GET, and is for
+short term pins on pages whose data *will* get accessed. As such, FOLL_PIN is
+a "more severe" form of pinning. And finally, FOLL_LONGTERM is an even more
+restrictive case that has FOLL_PIN as a prerequisite: this is for pages that
+will be pinned longterm, and whose data will be accessed.
+
+Unit testing
+============
+This file::
+
+ tools/testing/selftests/vm/gup_benchmark.c
+
+has the following new calls to exercise the new pin*() wrapper functions:
+
+* PIN_FAST_BENCHMARK (./gup_benchmark -a)
+* PIN_LONGTERM_BENCHMARK (./gup_benchmark -a)
+* PIN_BENCHMARK (./gup_benchmark -a)
+
+You can monitor how many total dma-pinned pages have been acquired and released
+since the system was booted, via two new /proc/vmstat entries: ::
+
+ /proc/vmstat/nr_foll_pin_requested
+ /proc/vmstat/nr_foll_pin_requested
+
+Those are both going to show zero, unless CONFIG_DEBUG_VM is set. This is
+because there is a noticeable performance drop in put_user_page(), when they
+are activated.
+
+References
+==========
+
+* `Some slow progress on get_user_pages() (Apr 2, 2019) <https://lwn.net/Articles/784574/>`_
+* `DMA and get_user_pages() (LPC: Dec 12, 2018) <https://lwn.net/Articles/774411/>`_
+* `The trouble with get_user_pages() (Apr 30, 2018) <https://lwn.net/Articles/753027/>`_
+
+John Hubbard, October, 2019
@@ -1075,16 +1075,14 @@ static inline void put_page(struct page *page)
* put_user_page() - release a gup-pinned page
* @page: pointer to page to be released
*
- * Pages that were pinned via get_user_pages*() must be released via
- * either put_user_page(), or one of the put_user_pages*() routines
- * below. This is so that eventually, pages that are pinned via
- * get_user_pages*() can be separately tracked and uniquely handled. In
- * particular, interactions with RDMA and filesystems need special
- * handling.
+ * Pages that were pinned via pin_user_pages*() must be released via either
+ * put_user_page(), or one of the put_user_pages*() routines. This is so that
+ * eventually such pages can be separately tracked and uniquely handled. In
+ * particular, interactions with RDMA and filesystems need special handling.
*
* put_user_page() and put_page() are not interchangeable, despite this early
* implementation that makes them look the same. put_user_page() calls must
- * be perfectly matched up with get_user_page() calls.
+ * be perfectly matched up with pin*() calls.
*/
static inline void put_user_page(struct page *page)
{
@@ -1542,9 +1540,16 @@ long get_user_pages_remote(struct task_struct *tsk, struct mm_struct *mm,
unsigned long start, unsigned long nr_pages,
unsigned int gup_flags, struct page **pages,
struct vm_area_struct **vmas, int *locked);
+long pin_user_pages_remote(struct task_struct *tsk, struct mm_struct *mm,
+ unsigned long start, unsigned long nr_pages,
+ unsigned int gup_flags, struct page **pages,
+ struct vm_area_struct **vmas, int *locked);
long get_user_pages(unsigned long start, unsigned long nr_pages,
unsigned int gup_flags, struct page **pages,
struct vm_area_struct **vmas);
+long pin_user_pages(unsigned long start, unsigned long nr_pages,
+ unsigned int gup_flags, struct page **pages,
+ struct vm_area_struct **vmas);
long get_user_pages_locked(unsigned long start, unsigned long nr_pages,
unsigned int gup_flags, struct page **pages, int *locked);
long get_user_pages_unlocked(unsigned long start, unsigned long nr_pages,
@@ -1552,6 +1557,8 @@ long get_user_pages_unlocked(unsigned long start, unsigned long nr_pages,
int get_user_pages_fast(unsigned long start, int nr_pages,
unsigned int gup_flags, struct page **pages);
+int pin_user_pages_fast(unsigned long start, int nr_pages,
+ unsigned int gup_flags, struct page **pages);
int account_locked_vm(struct mm_struct *mm, unsigned long pages, bool inc);
int __account_locked_vm(struct mm_struct *mm, unsigned long pages, bool inc,
@@ -2610,13 +2617,15 @@ struct page *follow_page(struct vm_area_struct *vma, unsigned long address,
#define FOLL_ANON 0x8000 /* don't do file mappings */
#define FOLL_LONGTERM 0x10000 /* mapping lifetime is indefinite: see below */
#define FOLL_SPLIT_PMD 0x20000 /* split huge pmd before returning */
+#define FOLL_PIN 0x40000 /* pages must be released via put_user_page() */
/*
- * NOTE on FOLL_LONGTERM:
+ * FOLL_PIN and FOLL_LONGTERM may be used in various combinations with each
+ * other. Here is what they mean, and how to use them:
*
* FOLL_LONGTERM indicates that the page will be held for an indefinite time
- * period _often_ under userspace control. This is contrasted with
- * iov_iter_get_pages() where usages which are transient.
+ * period _often_ under userspace control. This is in contrast to
+ * iov_iter_get_pages(), whose usages are transient.
*
* FIXME: For pages which are part of a filesystem, mappings are subject to the
* lifetime enforced by the filesystem and we need guarantees that longterm
@@ -2631,11 +2640,39 @@ struct page *follow_page(struct vm_area_struct *vma, unsigned long address,
* Currently only get_user_pages() and get_user_pages_fast() support this flag
* and calls to get_user_pages_[un]locked are specifically not allowed. This
* is due to an incompatibility with the FS DAX check and
- * FAULT_FLAG_ALLOW_RETRY
+ * FAULT_FLAG_ALLOW_RETRY.
*
- * In the CMA case: longterm pins in a CMA region would unnecessarily fragment
- * that region. And so CMA attempts to migrate the page before pinning when
+ * In the CMA case: long term pins in a CMA region would unnecessarily fragment
+ * that region. And so, CMA attempts to migrate the page before pinning, when
* FOLL_LONGTERM is specified.
+ *
+ * FOLL_PIN indicates that a special kind of tracking (not just page->_refcount,
+ * but an additional pin counting system) will be invoked. This is intended for
+ * anything that gets a page reference and then touches page data (for example,
+ * Direct IO). This lets the filesystem know that some non-file-system entity is
+ * potentially changing the pages' data. In contrast to FOLL_GET (whose pages
+ * are released via put_page()), FOLL_PIN pages must be released, ultimately, by
+ * a call to put_user_page().
+ *
+ * FOLL_PIN is similar to FOLL_GET: both of these pin pages. They use different
+ * and separate refcounting mechanisms, however, and that means that each has
+ * its own acquire and release mechanisms:
+ *
+ * FOLL_GET: get_user_pages*() to acquire, and put_page() to release.
+ *
+ * FOLL_PIN: pin_user_pages*() to acquire, and put_user_pages to release.
+ *
+ * FOLL_PIN and FOLL_GET are mutually exclusive for a given function call.
+ * (The underlying pages may experience both FOLL_GET-based and FOLL_PIN-based
+ * calls applied to them, and that's perfectly OK. This is a constraint on the
+ * callers, not on the pages.)
+ *
+ * FOLL_PIN should be set internally by the pin_user_pages*() APIs, never
+ * directly by the caller. That's in order to help avoid mismatches when
+ * releasing pages: get_user_pages*() pages must be released via put_page(),
+ * while pin_user_pages*() pages must be released via put_user_page().
+ *
+ * Please see Documentation/vm/pin_user_pages.rst for more information.
*/
static inline int vm_fault_to_errno(vm_fault_t vm_fault, int foll_flags)
@@ -201,6 +201,10 @@ static struct page *follow_page_pte(struct vm_area_struct *vma,
spinlock_t *ptl;
pte_t *ptep, pte;
+ /* FOLL_GET and FOLL_PIN are mutually exclusive. */
+ if (WARN_ON_ONCE((flags & (FOLL_PIN | FOLL_GET)) ==
+ (FOLL_PIN | FOLL_GET)))
+ return ERR_PTR(-EINVAL);
retry:
if (unlikely(pmd_bad(*pmd)))
return no_page_table(vma, flags);
@@ -812,7 +816,7 @@ static long __get_user_pages(struct task_struct *tsk, struct mm_struct *mm,
start = untagged_addr(start);
- VM_BUG_ON(!!pages != !!(gup_flags & FOLL_GET));
+ VM_BUG_ON(!!pages != !!(gup_flags & (FOLL_GET | FOLL_PIN)));
/*
* If FOLL_FORCE is set then do not force a full fault as the hinting
@@ -1036,7 +1040,16 @@ static __always_inline long __get_user_pages_locked(struct task_struct *tsk,
BUG_ON(*locked != 1);
}
- if (pages)
+ /*
+ * FOLL_PIN and FOLL_GET are mutually exclusive. Traditional behavior
+ * is to set FOLL_GET if the caller wants pages[] filled in (but has
+ * carelessly failed to specify FOLL_GET), so keep doing that, but only
+ * for FOLL_GET, not for the newer FOLL_PIN.
+ *
+ * FOLL_PIN always expects pages to be non-null, but no need to assert
+ * that here, as any failures will be obvious enough.
+ */
+ if (pages && !(flags & FOLL_PIN))
flags |= FOLL_GET;
pages_done = 0;
@@ -1173,6 +1186,13 @@ long get_user_pages_remote(struct task_struct *tsk, struct mm_struct *mm,
unsigned int gup_flags, struct page **pages,
struct vm_area_struct **vmas, int *locked)
{
+ /*
+ * FOLL_PIN must only be set internally by the pin_user_pages*() APIs,
+ * never directly by the caller, so enforce that with an assertion:
+ */
+ if (WARN_ON_ONCE(gup_flags & FOLL_PIN))
+ return -EINVAL;
+
/*
* Parts of FOLL_LONGTERM behavior are incompatible with
* FAULT_FLAG_ALLOW_RETRY because of the FS DAX check requirement on
@@ -1640,6 +1660,13 @@ long get_user_pages(unsigned long start, unsigned long nr_pages,
unsigned int gup_flags, struct page **pages,
struct vm_area_struct **vmas)
{
+ /*
+ * FOLL_PIN must only be set internally by the pin_user_pages*() APIs,
+ * never directly by the caller, so enforce that with an assertion:
+ */
+ if (WARN_ON_ONCE(gup_flags & FOLL_PIN))
+ return -EINVAL;
+
return __gup_longterm_locked(current, current->mm, start, nr_pages,
pages, vmas, gup_flags | FOLL_TOUCH);
}
@@ -2386,29 +2413,14 @@ static int __gup_longterm_unlocked(unsigned long start, int nr_pages,
return ret;
}
-/**
- * get_user_pages_fast() - pin user pages in memory
- * @start: starting user address
- * @nr_pages: number of pages from start to pin
- * @gup_flags: flags modifying pin behaviour
- * @pages: array that receives pointers to the pages pinned.
- * Should be at least nr_pages long.
- *
- * Attempt to pin user pages in memory without taking mm->mmap_sem.
- * If not successful, it will fall back to taking the lock and
- * calling get_user_pages().
- *
- * Returns number of pages pinned. This may be fewer than the number
- * requested. If nr_pages is 0 or negative, returns 0. If no pages
- * were pinned, returns -errno.
- */
-int get_user_pages_fast(unsigned long start, int nr_pages,
- unsigned int gup_flags, struct page **pages)
+static int internal_get_user_pages_fast(unsigned long start, int nr_pages,
+ unsigned int gup_flags,
+ struct page **pages)
{
unsigned long addr, len, end;
int nr = 0, ret = 0;
- if (WARN_ON_ONCE(gup_flags & ~(FOLL_WRITE | FOLL_LONGTERM)))
+ if (WARN_ON_ONCE(gup_flags & ~(FOLL_WRITE | FOLL_LONGTERM | FOLL_PIN)))
return -EINVAL;
start = untagged_addr(start) & PAGE_MASK;
@@ -2448,4 +2460,103 @@ int get_user_pages_fast(unsigned long start, int nr_pages,
return ret;
}
+
+/**
+ * get_user_pages_fast() - pin user pages in memory
+ * @start: starting user address
+ * @nr_pages: number of pages from start to pin
+ * @gup_flags: flags modifying pin behaviour
+ * @pages: array that receives pointers to the pages pinned.
+ * Should be at least nr_pages long.
+ *
+ * Attempt to pin user pages in memory without taking mm->mmap_sem.
+ * If not successful, it will fall back to taking the lock and
+ * calling get_user_pages().
+ *
+ * Returns number of pages pinned. This may be fewer than the number requested.
+ * If nr_pages is 0 or negative, returns 0. If no pages were pinned, returns
+ * -errno.
+ */
+int get_user_pages_fast(unsigned long start, int nr_pages,
+ unsigned int gup_flags, struct page **pages)
+{
+ /*
+ * FOLL_PIN must only be set internally by the pin_user_pages*() APIs,
+ * never directly by the caller, so enforce that:
+ */
+ if (WARN_ON_ONCE(gup_flags & FOLL_PIN))
+ return -EINVAL;
+
+ return internal_get_user_pages_fast(start, nr_pages, gup_flags, pages);
+}
EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(get_user_pages_fast);
+
+/**
+ * pin_user_pages_fast() - pin user pages in memory without taking locks
+ *
+ * For now, this is a placeholder function, until various call sites are
+ * converted to use the correct get_user_pages*() or pin_user_pages*() API. So,
+ * this is identical to get_user_pages_fast().
+ *
+ * This is intended for Case 1 (DIO) in Documentation/vm/pin_user_pages.rst. It
+ * is NOT intended for Case 2 (RDMA: long-term pins).
+ */
+int pin_user_pages_fast(unsigned long start, int nr_pages,
+ unsigned int gup_flags, struct page **pages)
+{
+ /*
+ * This is a placeholder, until the pin functionality is activated.
+ * Until then, just behave like the corresponding get_user_pages*()
+ * routine.
+ */
+ return get_user_pages_fast(start, nr_pages, gup_flags, pages);
+}
+EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(pin_user_pages_fast);
+
+/**
+ * pin_user_pages_remote() - pin pages of a remote process (task != current)
+ *
+ * For now, this is a placeholder function, until various call sites are
+ * converted to use the correct get_user_pages*() or pin_user_pages*() API. So,
+ * this is identical to get_user_pages_remote().
+ *
+ * This is intended for Case 1 (DIO) in Documentation/vm/pin_user_pages.rst. It
+ * is NOT intended for Case 2 (RDMA: long-term pins).
+ */
+long pin_user_pages_remote(struct task_struct *tsk, struct mm_struct *mm,
+ unsigned long start, unsigned long nr_pages,
+ unsigned int gup_flags, struct page **pages,
+ struct vm_area_struct **vmas, int *locked)
+{
+ /*
+ * This is a placeholder, until the pin functionality is activated.
+ * Until then, just behave like the corresponding get_user_pages*()
+ * routine.
+ */
+ return get_user_pages_remote(tsk, mm, start, nr_pages, gup_flags, pages,
+ vmas, locked);
+}
+EXPORT_SYMBOL(pin_user_pages_remote);
+
+/**
+ * pin_user_pages() - pin user pages in memory for use by other devices
+ *
+ * For now, this is a placeholder function, until various call sites are
+ * converted to use the correct get_user_pages*() or pin_user_pages*() API. So,
+ * this is identical to get_user_pages().
+ *
+ * This is intended for Case 1 (DIO) in Documentation/vm/pin_user_pages.rst. It
+ * is NOT intended for Case 2 (RDMA: long-term pins).
+ */
+long pin_user_pages(unsigned long start, unsigned long nr_pages,
+ unsigned int gup_flags, struct page **pages,
+ struct vm_area_struct **vmas)
+{
+ /*
+ * This is a placeholder, until the pin functionality is activated.
+ * Until then, just behave like the corresponding get_user_pages*()
+ * routine.
+ */
+ return get_user_pages(start, nr_pages, gup_flags, pages, vmas);
+}
+EXPORT_SYMBOL(pin_user_pages);
Introduce pin_user_pages*() variations of get_user_pages*() calls, and also pin_longterm_pages*() variations. For now, these are placeholder calls, until the various call sites are converted to use the correct get_user_pages*() or pin_user_pages*() API. These variants will eventually all set FOLL_PIN, which is also introduced, and thoroughly documented. pin_user_pages() pin_user_pages_remote() pin_user_pages_fast() All pages that are pinned via the above calls, must be unpinned via put_user_page(). The underlying rules are: * FOLL_PIN is a gup-internal flag, so the call sites should not directly set it. That behavior is enforced with assertions. * Call sites that want to indicate that they are going to do DirectIO ("DIO") or something with similar characteristics, should call a get_user_pages()-like wrapper call that sets FOLL_PIN. These wrappers will: * Start with "pin_user_pages" instead of "get_user_pages". That makes it easy to find and audit the call sites. * Set FOLL_PIN * For pages that are received via FOLL_PIN, those pages must be returned via put_user_page(). Thanks to Jan Kara and Vlastimil Babka for explaining the 4 cases in this documentation. (I've reworded it and expanded upon it.) Reviewed-by: Jan Kara <jack@suse.cz> Reviewed-by: Mike Rapoport <rppt@linux.ibm.com> # Documentation Reviewed-by: Jérôme Glisse <jglisse@redhat.com> Cc: Jonathan Corbet <corbet@lwn.net> Cc: Ira Weiny <ira.weiny@intel.com> Signed-off-by: John Hubbard <jhubbard@nvidia.com> --- Documentation/core-api/index.rst | 1 + Documentation/core-api/pin_user_pages.rst | 233 ++++++++++++++++++++++ include/linux/mm.h | 63 ++++-- mm/gup.c | 153 ++++++++++++-- 4 files changed, 416 insertions(+), 34 deletions(-) create mode 100644 Documentation/core-api/pin_user_pages.rst