diff mbox series

[v8,02/16] kbuild: add support for Clang LTO

Message ID 20201201213707.541432-3-samitolvanen@google.com (mailing list archive)
State Superseded
Headers show
Series Add support for Clang LTO | expand

Commit Message

Sami Tolvanen Dec. 1, 2020, 9:36 p.m. UTC
This change adds build system support for Clang's Link Time
Optimization (LTO). With -flto, instead of ELF object files, Clang
produces LLVM bitcode, which is compiled into native code at link
time, allowing the final binary to be optimized globally. For more
details, see:

  https://llvm.org/docs/LinkTimeOptimization.html

The Kconfig option CONFIG_LTO_CLANG is implemented as a choice,
which defaults to LTO being disabled. To use LTO, the architecture
must select ARCH_SUPPORTS_LTO_CLANG and support:

  - compiling with Clang,
  - compiling inline assembly with Clang's integrated assembler,
  - and linking with LLD.

While using full LTO results in the best runtime performance, the
compilation is not scalable in time or memory. CONFIG_THINLTO
enables ThinLTO, which allows parallel optimization and faster
incremental builds. ThinLTO is used by default if the architecture
also selects ARCH_SUPPORTS_THINLTO:

  https://clang.llvm.org/docs/ThinLTO.html

To enable LTO, LLVM tools must be used to handle bitcode files. The
easiest way is to pass the LLVM=1 option to make:

  $ make LLVM=1 defconfig
  $ scripts/config -e LTO_CLANG
  $ make LLVM=1

Alternatively, at least the following LLVM tools must be used:

  CC=clang LD=ld.lld AR=llvm-ar NM=llvm-nm

To prepare for LTO support with other compilers, common parts are
gated behind the CONFIG_LTO option, and LTO can be disabled for
specific files by filtering out CC_FLAGS_LTO.

Signed-off-by: Sami Tolvanen <samitolvanen@google.com>
Reviewed-by: Kees Cook <keescook@chromium.org>
---
 Makefile                          | 19 ++++++-
 arch/Kconfig                      | 88 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 include/asm-generic/vmlinux.lds.h | 11 ++--
 scripts/Makefile.build            |  9 +++-
 scripts/Makefile.modfinal         |  9 +++-
 scripts/Makefile.modpost          | 21 +++++++-
 scripts/link-vmlinux.sh           | 32 ++++++++---
 7 files changed, 171 insertions(+), 18 deletions(-)

Comments

Masahiro Yamada Dec. 2, 2020, 2:59 a.m. UTC | #1
On Wed, Dec 2, 2020 at 6:37 AM 'Sami Tolvanen' via Clang Built Linux
<clang-built-linux@googlegroups.com> wrote:
>
> This change adds build system support for Clang's Link Time
> Optimization (LTO). With -flto, instead of ELF object files, Clang
> produces LLVM bitcode, which is compiled into native code at link
> time, allowing the final binary to be optimized globally. For more
> details, see:
>
>   https://llvm.org/docs/LinkTimeOptimization.html
>
> The Kconfig option CONFIG_LTO_CLANG is implemented as a choice,
> which defaults to LTO being disabled. To use LTO, the architecture
> must select ARCH_SUPPORTS_LTO_CLANG and support:
>
>   - compiling with Clang,
>   - compiling inline assembly with Clang's integrated assembler,
>   - and linking with LLD.
>
> While using full LTO results in the best runtime performance, the
> compilation is not scalable in time or memory. CONFIG_THINLTO
> enables ThinLTO, which allows parallel optimization and faster
> incremental builds. ThinLTO is used by default if the architecture
> also selects ARCH_SUPPORTS_THINLTO:
>
>   https://clang.llvm.org/docs/ThinLTO.html
>
> To enable LTO, LLVM tools must be used to handle bitcode files. The
> easiest way is to pass the LLVM=1 option to make:
>
>   $ make LLVM=1 defconfig
>   $ scripts/config -e LTO_CLANG
>   $ make LLVM=1
>
> Alternatively, at least the following LLVM tools must be used:
>
>   CC=clang LD=ld.lld AR=llvm-ar NM=llvm-nm
>
> To prepare for LTO support with other compilers, common parts are
> gated behind the CONFIG_LTO option, and LTO can be disabled for
> specific files by filtering out CC_FLAGS_LTO.
>
> Signed-off-by: Sami Tolvanen <samitolvanen@google.com>
> Reviewed-by: Kees Cook <keescook@chromium.org>
> ---
>  Makefile                          | 19 ++++++-
>  arch/Kconfig                      | 88 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>  include/asm-generic/vmlinux.lds.h | 11 ++--
>  scripts/Makefile.build            |  9 +++-
>  scripts/Makefile.modfinal         |  9 +++-
>  scripts/Makefile.modpost          | 21 +++++++-
>  scripts/link-vmlinux.sh           | 32 ++++++++---
>  7 files changed, 171 insertions(+), 18 deletions(-)
>
> diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
> index 16b7f0890e75..f5cac2428efc 100644
> --- a/Makefile
> +++ b/Makefile
> @@ -891,6 +891,21 @@ KBUILD_CFLAGS      += $(CC_FLAGS_SCS)
>  export CC_FLAGS_SCS
>  endif
>
> +ifdef CONFIG_LTO_CLANG
> +ifdef CONFIG_LTO_CLANG_THIN
> +CC_FLAGS_LTO   += -flto=thin -fsplit-lto-unit
> +KBUILD_LDFLAGS += --thinlto-cache-dir=$(extmod-prefix).thinlto-cache
> +else
> +CC_FLAGS_LTO   += -flto
> +endif
> +CC_FLAGS_LTO   += -fvisibility=default
> +endif
> +
> +ifdef CONFIG_LTO
> +KBUILD_CFLAGS  += $(CC_FLAGS_LTO)
> +export CC_FLAGS_LTO
> +endif
> +
>  ifdef CONFIG_DEBUG_FORCE_FUNCTION_ALIGN_32B
>  KBUILD_CFLAGS += -falign-functions=32
>  endif
> @@ -1471,7 +1486,7 @@ MRPROPER_FILES += include/config include/generated          \
>                   *.spec
>
>  # Directories & files removed with 'make distclean'
> -DISTCLEAN_FILES += tags TAGS cscope* GPATH GTAGS GRTAGS GSYMS
> +DISTCLEAN_FILES += tags TAGS cscope* GPATH GTAGS GRTAGS GSYMS .thinlto-cache
>
>  # clean - Delete most, but leave enough to build external modules
>  #
> @@ -1717,7 +1732,7 @@ PHONY += compile_commands.json
>
>  clean-dirs := $(KBUILD_EXTMOD)
>  clean: rm-files := $(KBUILD_EXTMOD)/Module.symvers $(KBUILD_EXTMOD)/modules.nsdeps \
> -       $(KBUILD_EXTMOD)/compile_commands.json
> +       $(KBUILD_EXTMOD)/compile_commands.json $(KBUILD_EXTMOD)/.thinlto-cache
>
>  PHONY += help
>  help:
> diff --git a/arch/Kconfig b/arch/Kconfig
> index 56b6ccc0e32d..30907b554451 100644
> --- a/arch/Kconfig
> +++ b/arch/Kconfig
> @@ -598,6 +598,94 @@ config SHADOW_CALL_STACK
>           reading and writing arbitrary memory may be able to locate them
>           and hijack control flow by modifying the stacks.
>
> +config LTO
> +       bool
> +       help
> +         Selected if the kernel will be built using the compiler's LTO feature.
> +
> +config LTO_CLANG
> +       bool
> +       select LTO
> +       help
> +         Selected if the kernel will be built using Clang's LTO feature.
> +
> +config ARCH_SUPPORTS_LTO_CLANG
> +       bool
> +       help
> +         An architecture should select this option if it supports:
> +         - compiling with Clang,
> +         - compiling inline assembly with Clang's integrated assembler,
> +         - and linking with LLD.
> +
> +config ARCH_SUPPORTS_LTO_CLANG_THIN
> +       bool
> +       help
> +         An architecture should select this option if it can support Clang's
> +         ThinLTO mode.
> +
> +config HAS_LTO_CLANG
> +       def_bool y
> +       # Clang >= 11: https://github.com/ClangBuiltLinux/linux/issues/510
> +       depends on CC_IS_CLANG && CLANG_VERSION >= 110000 && LD_IS_LLD
> +       depends on $(success,$(NM) --help | head -n 1 | grep -qi llvm)
> +       depends on $(success,$(AR) --help | head -n 1 | grep -qi llvm)
> +       depends on ARCH_SUPPORTS_LTO_CLANG
> +       depends on !FTRACE_MCOUNT_USE_RECORDMCOUNT
> +       depends on !KASAN
> +       depends on !GCOV_KERNEL
> +       depends on !MODVERSIONS
> +       help
> +         The compiler and Kconfig options support building with Clang's
> +         LTO.
> +
> +choice
> +       prompt "Link Time Optimization (LTO)"
> +       default LTO_NONE
> +       help
> +         This option enables Link Time Optimization (LTO), which allows the
> +         compiler to optimize binaries globally.
> +
> +         If unsure, select LTO_NONE. Note that LTO is very resource-intensive
> +         so it's disabled by default.
> +
> +config LTO_NONE
> +       bool "None"
> +       help
> +         Build the kernel normally, without Link Time Optimization (LTO).
> +
> +config LTO_CLANG_FULL
> +       bool "Clang Full LTO (EXPERIMENTAL)"
> +       depends on HAS_LTO_CLANG
> +       select LTO_CLANG
> +       help
> +          This option enables Clang's full Link Time Optimization (LTO), which
> +          allows the compiler to optimize the kernel globally. If you enable
> +          this option, the compiler generates LLVM bitcode instead of ELF
> +          object files, and the actual compilation from bitcode happens at
> +          the LTO link step, which may take several minutes depending on the
> +          kernel configuration. More information can be found from LLVM's
> +          documentation:
> +
> +           https://llvm.org/docs/LinkTimeOptimization.html
> +

This help document is misleading.
People who read the document would misunderstand how great this feature would.

This should be added in the commit log and Kconfig help:

            In contrast to the example in the documentation, Clang LTO
            for the kernel cannot remove any unreachable function or data.
            In fact, this results in even bigger vmlinux and modules.
Nick Desaulniers Dec. 3, 2020, 12:07 a.m. UTC | #2
On Tue, Dec 1, 2020 at 1:37 PM Sami Tolvanen <samitolvanen@google.com> wrote:
>
> This change adds build system support for Clang's Link Time
> Optimization (LTO). With -flto, instead of ELF object files, Clang
> produces LLVM bitcode, which is compiled into native code at link
> time, allowing the final binary to be optimized globally. For more
> details, see:
>
>   https://llvm.org/docs/LinkTimeOptimization.html
>
> The Kconfig option CONFIG_LTO_CLANG is implemented as a choice,
> which defaults to LTO being disabled. To use LTO, the architecture
> must select ARCH_SUPPORTS_LTO_CLANG and support:
>
>   - compiling with Clang,
>   - compiling inline assembly with Clang's integrated assembler,
>   - and linking with LLD.
>
> While using full LTO results in the best runtime performance, the
> compilation is not scalable in time or memory. CONFIG_THINLTO
> enables ThinLTO, which allows parallel optimization and faster
> incremental builds. ThinLTO is used by default if the architecture
> also selects ARCH_SUPPORTS_THINLTO:
>
>   https://clang.llvm.org/docs/ThinLTO.html
>
> To enable LTO, LLVM tools must be used to handle bitcode files. The
> easiest way is to pass the LLVM=1 option to make:
>
>   $ make LLVM=1 defconfig
>   $ scripts/config -e LTO_CLANG
>   $ make LLVM=1
>
> Alternatively, at least the following LLVM tools must be used:
>
>   CC=clang LD=ld.lld AR=llvm-ar NM=llvm-nm
>
> To prepare for LTO support with other compilers, common parts are
> gated behind the CONFIG_LTO option, and LTO can be disabled for
> specific files by filtering out CC_FLAGS_LTO.
>
> Signed-off-by: Sami Tolvanen <samitolvanen@google.com>
> Reviewed-by: Kees Cook <keescook@chromium.org>

Reviewed-by: Nick Desaulniers <ndesaulniers@google.com>
diff mbox series

Patch

diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 16b7f0890e75..f5cac2428efc 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -891,6 +891,21 @@  KBUILD_CFLAGS	+= $(CC_FLAGS_SCS)
 export CC_FLAGS_SCS
 endif
 
+ifdef CONFIG_LTO_CLANG
+ifdef CONFIG_LTO_CLANG_THIN
+CC_FLAGS_LTO	+= -flto=thin -fsplit-lto-unit
+KBUILD_LDFLAGS	+= --thinlto-cache-dir=$(extmod-prefix).thinlto-cache
+else
+CC_FLAGS_LTO	+= -flto
+endif
+CC_FLAGS_LTO	+= -fvisibility=default
+endif
+
+ifdef CONFIG_LTO
+KBUILD_CFLAGS	+= $(CC_FLAGS_LTO)
+export CC_FLAGS_LTO
+endif
+
 ifdef CONFIG_DEBUG_FORCE_FUNCTION_ALIGN_32B
 KBUILD_CFLAGS += -falign-functions=32
 endif
@@ -1471,7 +1486,7 @@  MRPROPER_FILES += include/config include/generated          \
 		  *.spec
 
 # Directories & files removed with 'make distclean'
-DISTCLEAN_FILES += tags TAGS cscope* GPATH GTAGS GRTAGS GSYMS
+DISTCLEAN_FILES += tags TAGS cscope* GPATH GTAGS GRTAGS GSYMS .thinlto-cache
 
 # clean - Delete most, but leave enough to build external modules
 #
@@ -1717,7 +1732,7 @@  PHONY += compile_commands.json
 
 clean-dirs := $(KBUILD_EXTMOD)
 clean: rm-files := $(KBUILD_EXTMOD)/Module.symvers $(KBUILD_EXTMOD)/modules.nsdeps \
-	$(KBUILD_EXTMOD)/compile_commands.json
+	$(KBUILD_EXTMOD)/compile_commands.json $(KBUILD_EXTMOD)/.thinlto-cache
 
 PHONY += help
 help:
diff --git a/arch/Kconfig b/arch/Kconfig
index 56b6ccc0e32d..30907b554451 100644
--- a/arch/Kconfig
+++ b/arch/Kconfig
@@ -598,6 +598,94 @@  config SHADOW_CALL_STACK
 	  reading and writing arbitrary memory may be able to locate them
 	  and hijack control flow by modifying the stacks.
 
+config LTO
+	bool
+	help
+	  Selected if the kernel will be built using the compiler's LTO feature.
+
+config LTO_CLANG
+	bool
+	select LTO
+	help
+	  Selected if the kernel will be built using Clang's LTO feature.
+
+config ARCH_SUPPORTS_LTO_CLANG
+	bool
+	help
+	  An architecture should select this option if it supports:
+	  - compiling with Clang,
+	  - compiling inline assembly with Clang's integrated assembler,
+	  - and linking with LLD.
+
+config ARCH_SUPPORTS_LTO_CLANG_THIN
+	bool
+	help
+	  An architecture should select this option if it can support Clang's
+	  ThinLTO mode.
+
+config HAS_LTO_CLANG
+	def_bool y
+	# Clang >= 11: https://github.com/ClangBuiltLinux/linux/issues/510
+	depends on CC_IS_CLANG && CLANG_VERSION >= 110000 && LD_IS_LLD
+	depends on $(success,$(NM) --help | head -n 1 | grep -qi llvm)
+	depends on $(success,$(AR) --help | head -n 1 | grep -qi llvm)
+	depends on ARCH_SUPPORTS_LTO_CLANG
+	depends on !FTRACE_MCOUNT_USE_RECORDMCOUNT
+	depends on !KASAN
+	depends on !GCOV_KERNEL
+	depends on !MODVERSIONS
+	help
+	  The compiler and Kconfig options support building with Clang's
+	  LTO.
+
+choice
+	prompt "Link Time Optimization (LTO)"
+	default LTO_NONE
+	help
+	  This option enables Link Time Optimization (LTO), which allows the
+	  compiler to optimize binaries globally.
+
+	  If unsure, select LTO_NONE. Note that LTO is very resource-intensive
+	  so it's disabled by default.
+
+config LTO_NONE
+	bool "None"
+	help
+	  Build the kernel normally, without Link Time Optimization (LTO).
+
+config LTO_CLANG_FULL
+	bool "Clang Full LTO (EXPERIMENTAL)"
+	depends on HAS_LTO_CLANG
+	select LTO_CLANG
+	help
+          This option enables Clang's full Link Time Optimization (LTO), which
+          allows the compiler to optimize the kernel globally. If you enable
+          this option, the compiler generates LLVM bitcode instead of ELF
+          object files, and the actual compilation from bitcode happens at
+          the LTO link step, which may take several minutes depending on the
+          kernel configuration. More information can be found from LLVM's
+          documentation:
+
+	    https://llvm.org/docs/LinkTimeOptimization.html
+
+	  During link time, this option can use a large amount of RAM, and
+	  may take much longer than the ThinLTO option.
+
+config LTO_CLANG_THIN
+	bool "Clang ThinLTO (EXPERIMENTAL)"
+	depends on HAS_LTO_CLANG && ARCH_SUPPORTS_LTO_CLANG_THIN
+	select LTO_CLANG
+	help
+	  This option enables Clang's ThinLTO, which allows for parallel
+	  optimization and faster incremental compiles compared to the
+	  CONFIG_LTO_CLANG_FULL option. More information can be found
+	  from Clang's documentation:
+
+	    https://clang.llvm.org/docs/ThinLTO.html
+
+	  If unsure, say Y.
+endchoice
+
 config HAVE_ARCH_WITHIN_STACK_FRAMES
 	bool
 	help
diff --git a/include/asm-generic/vmlinux.lds.h b/include/asm-generic/vmlinux.lds.h
index b2b3d81b1535..8988a2e445d8 100644
--- a/include/asm-generic/vmlinux.lds.h
+++ b/include/asm-generic/vmlinux.lds.h
@@ -90,15 +90,18 @@ 
  * .data. We don't want to pull in .data..other sections, which Linux
  * has defined. Same for text and bss.
  *
+ * With LTO_CLANG, the linker also splits sections by default, so we need
+ * these macros to combine the sections during the final link.
+ *
  * RODATA_MAIN is not used because existing code already defines .rodata.x
  * sections to be brought in with rodata.
  */
-#ifdef CONFIG_LD_DEAD_CODE_DATA_ELIMINATION
+#if defined(CONFIG_LD_DEAD_CODE_DATA_ELIMINATION) || defined(CONFIG_LTO_CLANG)
 #define TEXT_MAIN .text .text.[0-9a-zA-Z_]*
-#define DATA_MAIN .data .data.[0-9a-zA-Z_]* .data..LPBX*
+#define DATA_MAIN .data .data.[0-9a-zA-Z_]* .data..L* .data..compoundliteral*
 #define SDATA_MAIN .sdata .sdata.[0-9a-zA-Z_]*
-#define RODATA_MAIN .rodata .rodata.[0-9a-zA-Z_]*
-#define BSS_MAIN .bss .bss.[0-9a-zA-Z_]*
+#define RODATA_MAIN .rodata .rodata.[0-9a-zA-Z_]* .rodata..L*
+#define BSS_MAIN .bss .bss.[0-9a-zA-Z_]* .bss..compoundliteral*
 #define SBSS_MAIN .sbss .sbss.[0-9a-zA-Z_]*
 #else
 #define TEXT_MAIN .text
diff --git a/scripts/Makefile.build b/scripts/Makefile.build
index 2175ddb1ee0c..ed74b2f986f7 100644
--- a/scripts/Makefile.build
+++ b/scripts/Makefile.build
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@  endif
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 quiet_cmd_cc_s_c = CC $(quiet_modtag)  $@
-      cmd_cc_s_c = $(CC) $(filter-out $(DEBUG_CFLAGS), $(c_flags)) -fverbose-asm -S -o $@ $<
+      cmd_cc_s_c = $(CC) $(filter-out $(DEBUG_CFLAGS) $(CC_FLAGS_LTO), $(c_flags)) -fverbose-asm -S -o $@ $<
 
 $(obj)/%.s: $(src)/%.c FORCE
 	$(call if_changed_dep,cc_s_c)
@@ -425,8 +425,15 @@  $(obj)/lib.a: $(lib-y) FORCE
 # Do not replace $(filter %.o,^) with $(real-prereqs). When a single object
 # module is turned into a multi object module, $^ will contain header file
 # dependencies recorded in the .*.cmd file.
+ifdef CONFIG_LTO_CLANG
+quiet_cmd_link_multi-m = AR [M]  $@
+cmd_link_multi-m =						\
+	rm -f $@; 						\
+	$(AR) cDPrsT $@ $(filter %.o,$^)
+else
 quiet_cmd_link_multi-m = LD [M]  $@
       cmd_link_multi-m = $(LD) $(ld_flags) -r -o $@ $(filter %.o,$^)
+endif
 
 $(multi-used-m): FORCE
 	$(call if_changed,link_multi-m)
diff --git a/scripts/Makefile.modfinal b/scripts/Makefile.modfinal
index ae01baf96f4e..2cb9a1d88434 100644
--- a/scripts/Makefile.modfinal
+++ b/scripts/Makefile.modfinal
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ 
 PHONY := __modfinal
 __modfinal:
 
+include $(objtree)/include/config/auto.conf
 include $(srctree)/scripts/Kbuild.include
 
 # for c_flags
@@ -29,6 +30,12 @@  quiet_cmd_cc_o_c = CC [M]  $@
 
 ARCH_POSTLINK := $(wildcard $(srctree)/arch/$(SRCARCH)/Makefile.postlink)
 
+ifdef CONFIG_LTO_CLANG
+# With CONFIG_LTO_CLANG, reuse the object file we compiled for modpost to
+# avoid a second slow LTO link
+prelink-ext := .lto
+endif
+
 quiet_cmd_ld_ko_o = LD [M]  $@
       cmd_ld_ko_o =                                                     \
 	$(LD) -r $(KBUILD_LDFLAGS)					\
@@ -36,7 +43,7 @@  quiet_cmd_ld_ko_o = LD [M]  $@
 		-T scripts/module.lds -o $@ $(filter %.o, $^);		\
 	$(if $(ARCH_POSTLINK), $(MAKE) -f $(ARCH_POSTLINK) $@, true)
 
-$(modules): %.ko: %.o %.mod.o scripts/module.lds FORCE
+$(modules): %.ko: %$(prelink-ext).o %.mod.o scripts/module.lds FORCE
 	+$(call if_changed,ld_ko_o)
 
 targets += $(modules) $(modules:.ko=.mod.o)
diff --git a/scripts/Makefile.modpost b/scripts/Makefile.modpost
index f54b6ac37ac2..9ff8bfdb574d 100644
--- a/scripts/Makefile.modpost
+++ b/scripts/Makefile.modpost
@@ -43,6 +43,9 @@  __modpost:
 include include/config/auto.conf
 include scripts/Kbuild.include
 
+# for ld_flags
+include scripts/Makefile.lib
+
 MODPOST = scripts/mod/modpost								\
 	$(if $(CONFIG_MODVERSIONS),-m)							\
 	$(if $(CONFIG_MODULE_SRCVERSION_ALL),-a)					\
@@ -102,12 +105,26 @@  $(input-symdump):
 	@echo >&2 'WARNING: Symbol version dump "$@" is missing.'
 	@echo >&2 '         Modules may not have dependencies or modversions.'
 
+ifdef CONFIG_LTO_CLANG
+# With CONFIG_LTO_CLANG, .o files might be LLVM bitcode, so we need to run
+# LTO to compile them into native code before running modpost
+prelink-ext := .lto
+
+quiet_cmd_cc_lto_link_modules = LTO [M] $@
+cmd_cc_lto_link_modules = $(LD) $(ld_flags) -r -o $@ --whole-archive $^
+
+%.lto.o: %.o
+	$(call if_changed,cc_lto_link_modules)
+endif
+
+modules := $(sort $(shell cat $(MODORDER)))
+
 # Read out modules.order to pass in modpost.
 # Otherwise, allmodconfig would fail with "Argument list too long".
 quiet_cmd_modpost = MODPOST $@
-      cmd_modpost = sed 's/ko$$/o/' $< | $(MODPOST) -T -
+      cmd_modpost = sed 's/\.ko$$/$(prelink-ext)\.o/' $< | $(MODPOST) -T -
 
-$(output-symdump): $(MODORDER) $(input-symdump) FORCE
+$(output-symdump): $(MODORDER) $(input-symdump) $(modules:.ko=$(prelink-ext).o) FORCE
 	$(call if_changed,modpost)
 
 targets += $(output-symdump)
diff --git a/scripts/link-vmlinux.sh b/scripts/link-vmlinux.sh
index 6eded325c837..596507573a48 100755
--- a/scripts/link-vmlinux.sh
+++ b/scripts/link-vmlinux.sh
@@ -56,6 +56,14 @@  modpost_link()
 		${KBUILD_VMLINUX_LIBS}				\
 		--end-group"
 
+	if [ -n "${CONFIG_LTO_CLANG}" ]; then
+		# This might take a while, so indicate that we're doing
+		# an LTO link
+		info LTO ${1}
+	else
+		info LD ${1}
+	fi
+
 	${LD} ${KBUILD_LDFLAGS} -r -o ${1} ${objects}
 }
 
@@ -103,13 +111,22 @@  vmlinux_link()
 	fi
 
 	if [ "${SRCARCH}" != "um" ]; then
-		objects="--whole-archive			\
-			${KBUILD_VMLINUX_OBJS}			\
-			--no-whole-archive			\
-			--start-group				\
-			${KBUILD_VMLINUX_LIBS}			\
-			--end-group				\
-			${@}"
+		if [ -n "${CONFIG_LTO_CLANG}" ]; then
+			# Use vmlinux.o instead of performing the slow LTO
+			# link again.
+			objects="--whole-archive		\
+				vmlinux.o 			\
+				--no-whole-archive		\
+				${@}"
+		else
+			objects="--whole-archive		\
+				${KBUILD_VMLINUX_OBJS}		\
+				--no-whole-archive		\
+				--start-group			\
+				${KBUILD_VMLINUX_LIBS}		\
+				--end-group			\
+				${@}"
+		fi
 
 		${LD} ${KBUILD_LDFLAGS} ${LDFLAGS_vmlinux}	\
 			${strip_debug#-Wl,}			\
@@ -274,7 +291,6 @@  fi;
 ${MAKE} -f "${srctree}/scripts/Makefile.build" obj=init need-builtin=1
 
 #link vmlinux.o
-info LD vmlinux.o
 modpost_link vmlinux.o
 objtool_link vmlinux.o