[PATCH v5 0/2] add FALLOC_FL_WRITE_ZEROES support to xfs

[PATCH v5 0/2] add FALLOC_FL_WRITE_ZEROES support to xfs

[Pankaj Raghav]

The benefits of FALLOC_FL_WRITE_ZEROES was already discussed as a part
of Zhang Yi's initial patches[1]. Postgres developer Andres also
mentioned they would like to use this feature in Postgres [2].

I tested the changes with fsstress and fsx based on the xfstests patch I
sent recently to test this flag[4]. generic/363 helped me debug the
crash I noticed when I did the initial implementation[3].

Dave initially suggested to create a common helper based on
xfs_iomap_convert_unwritten() but as it can be seen in the previous
version, a lot of the code had to be rewritten. The changes had more in
common with xfs_alloc_file_space(). This version reuses
xfs_alloc_file_space() for write zeroes.

Thanks to Christoph for all the review comments and design suggestions
that were made both offline and online for this series.

Stress test generic/363 generic/127 xfs/131 are passing. I have started
the full xfstest suite for this series.

Changes since v4:
- Introduce an enum for allocation mode in xfs_alloc_file_space (Christoph)
- Use xfs_set_filesize instead of updating the on-disk size in the
  function.

Changes since v3:
- Introduce xfs_bmap_alloc_or_convert_range() in xfs_iomap.c for easy
  review experience (christoph)
- Add extsz hint and rt support in xfs_bmap_alloc_or_convert_range()

Changes since v2:
- Add allow_write_zeroes to xfs_global so that we can enable this
  feature independent of the HW underneath.

Changes since v1 [5.1 5.2]:
- Added a new function xfs_bmap_alloc_or_convert_range() based on Dave's
  feedback.
- Changed the xfs_falloc_write_zeroes to use
  xfs_bmap_alloc_or_convert_range() instead of doing prealloc and
  convert approach.

[1] https://lore.kernel.org/linux-fsdevel/20250619111806.3546162-1-yi.zhang@huaweicloud.com/
[2] https://lore.kernel.org/linux-fsdevel/20260217055103.GA6174@lst.de/T/#m7935b9bab32bb5ff372507f84803b8753ad1c814
[3] https://lore.kernel.org/linux-xfs/6i2jvzn3lyugjlbgmjzpped3gogzyqv5mpe2uqaifz4vjpaega@pomzoq7ley77/
[4] https://lore.kernel.org/linux-xfs/20260312195308.738189-1-p.raghav@samsung.com/
[5.1] https://lore.kernel.org/linux-xfs/20260309180708.427553-2-lukas@herbolt.com/
[5.2] https://lore.kernel.org/linux-xfs/abC1LvRElctaHPe5@dread/

Pankaj Raghav (2):
  xfs: add an allocation mode to xfs_alloc_file_space()
  xfs: add support for FALLOC_FL_WRITE_ZEROES

 fs/xfs/xfs_bmap_util.c | 42 +++++++++++++++++++----
 fs/xfs/xfs_bmap_util.h |  7 +++-
 fs/xfs/xfs_file.c      | 75 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++---
 3 files changed, 113 insertions(+), 11 deletions(-)


base-commit: 184888e159ef82423987f348202d74a0b0dc4138
-- 
2.51.2

[PATCH v5 1/2] xfs: add an allocation mode to xfs_alloc_file_space()

[Pankaj Raghav]

xfs_alloc_file_space() hardcodes XFS_BMAPI_PREALLOC to preallocate
unwritten extents across a range.

In preparation for FALLOC_FL_WRITE_ZEROES, add an explicit allocation
mode argument, enum xfs_alloc_file_space_mode, and derive the xfs_bmapi
flags from it. The only mode for now is XFS_ALLOC_FILE_SPACE_PREALLOC,
which preallocates unwritten extents and marks the inode as preallocated
exactly as before, so there is no functional change.

Signed-off-by: Pankaj Raghav <p.raghav@samsung.com>
---
 fs/xfs/xfs_bmap_util.c | 25 +++++++++++++++++++++----
 fs/xfs/xfs_bmap_util.h |  6 +++++-
 fs/xfs/xfs_file.c      |  9 ++++++---
 3 files changed, 32 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-)

diff --git a/fs/xfs/xfs_bmap_util.c b/fs/xfs/xfs_bmap_util.c
index 0ab00615f1ad..7466267f6c60 100644
--- a/fs/xfs/xfs_bmap_util.c
+++ b/fs/xfs/xfs_bmap_util.c
@@ -642,11 +642,19 @@ xfs_free_eofblocks(
 	return error;
 }
 
+/*
+ * Allocate space for a file according to @mode:
+ *
+ * XFS_ALLOC_FILE_SPACE_PREALLOC:
+ * Preallocate unwritten extents across the range and mark the inode as
+ * preallocated.
+ */
 int
 xfs_alloc_file_space(
 	struct xfs_inode	*ip,
 	xfs_off_t		offset,
-	xfs_off_t		len)
+	xfs_off_t		len,
+	enum xfs_alloc_file_space_mode mode)
 {
 	xfs_mount_t		*mp = ip->i_mount;
 	xfs_off_t		count;
@@ -657,6 +665,7 @@ xfs_alloc_file_space(
 	int			rt;
 	xfs_trans_t		*tp;
 	xfs_bmbt_irec_t		imaps[1], *imapp;
+	uint32_t		bmapi_flags, nr_exts;
 	int			error;
 
 	if (xfs_is_always_cow_inode(ip))
@@ -674,6 +683,15 @@ xfs_alloc_file_space(
 	if (len <= 0)
 		return -EINVAL;
 
+	switch (mode) {
+	case XFS_ALLOC_FILE_SPACE_PREALLOC:
+		bmapi_flags = XFS_BMAPI_PREALLOC;
+		nr_exts = XFS_IEXT_ADD_NOSPLIT_CNT;
+		break;
+	default:
+		return -EINVAL;
+	}
+
 	rt = XFS_IS_REALTIME_INODE(ip);
 	extsz = xfs_get_extsz_hint(ip);
 
@@ -733,8 +751,7 @@ xfs_alloc_file_space(
 		if (error)
 			break;
 
-		error = xfs_iext_count_extend(tp, ip, XFS_DATA_FORK,
-				XFS_IEXT_ADD_NOSPLIT_CNT);
+		error = xfs_iext_count_extend(tp, ip, XFS_DATA_FORK, nr_exts);
 		if (error)
 			goto error;
 
@@ -748,7 +765,7 @@ xfs_alloc_file_space(
 		 * will eventually reach the requested range.
 		 */
 		error = xfs_bmapi_write(tp, ip, startoffset_fsb,
-				allocatesize_fsb, XFS_BMAPI_PREALLOC, 0, imapp,
+				allocatesize_fsb, bmapi_flags, 0, imapp,
 				&nimaps);
 		if (error) {
 			if (error != -ENOSR)
diff --git a/fs/xfs/xfs_bmap_util.h b/fs/xfs/xfs_bmap_util.h
index c477b3361630..232b4c48247e 100644
--- a/fs/xfs/xfs_bmap_util.h
+++ b/fs/xfs/xfs_bmap_util.h
@@ -55,8 +55,12 @@ int	xfs_bmap_last_extent(struct xfs_trans *tp, struct xfs_inode *ip,
 			     int *is_empty);
 
 /* preallocation and hole punch interface */
+enum xfs_alloc_file_space_mode {
+	XFS_ALLOC_FILE_SPACE_PREALLOC,
+};
+
 int	xfs_alloc_file_space(struct xfs_inode *ip, xfs_off_t offset,
-		xfs_off_t len);
+		xfs_off_t len, enum xfs_alloc_file_space_mode mode);
 int	xfs_free_file_space(struct xfs_inode *ip, xfs_off_t offset,
 		xfs_off_t len, struct xfs_zone_alloc_ctx *ac);
 int	xfs_collapse_file_space(struct xfs_inode *, xfs_off_t offset,
diff --git a/fs/xfs/xfs_file.c b/fs/xfs/xfs_file.c
index 845a97c9b063..e90ea6ebdc8e 100644
--- a/fs/xfs/xfs_file.c
+++ b/fs/xfs/xfs_file.c
@@ -1406,7 +1406,8 @@ xfs_falloc_zero_range(
 		len = round_up(offset + len, blksize) -
 			round_down(offset, blksize);
 		offset = round_down(offset, blksize);
-		error = xfs_alloc_file_space(ip, offset, len);
+		error = xfs_alloc_file_space(ip, offset, len,
+				XFS_ALLOC_FILE_SPACE_PREALLOC);
 	}
 	if (error)
 		return error;
@@ -1432,7 +1433,8 @@ xfs_falloc_unshare_range(
 	if (error)
 		return error;
 
-	error = xfs_alloc_file_space(XFS_I(inode), offset, len);
+	error = xfs_alloc_file_space(XFS_I(inode), offset, len,
+			XFS_ALLOC_FILE_SPACE_PREALLOC);
 	if (error)
 		return error;
 	return xfs_falloc_setsize(file, new_size);
@@ -1460,7 +1462,8 @@ xfs_falloc_allocate_range(
 	if (error)
 		return error;
 
-	error = xfs_alloc_file_space(XFS_I(inode), offset, len);
+	error = xfs_alloc_file_space(XFS_I(inode), offset, len,
+			XFS_ALLOC_FILE_SPACE_PREALLOC);
 	if (error)
 		return error;
 	return xfs_falloc_setsize(file, new_size);
-- 
2.51.2

[PATCH v5 2/2] xfs: add support for FALLOC_FL_WRITE_ZEROES

[Pankaj Raghav]

If the underlying block device supports the unmap write zeroes
operation, this flag allows users to quickly preallocate a file with
written extents that contain zeroes. This is beneficial for subsequent
overwrites as it prevents the need for unwritten-to-written extent
conversions, thereby significantly reducing metadata updates and journal
I/O overhead, improving overwrite performance.

Co-developed-by: Lukas Herbolt <lukas@herbolt.com>
Signed-off-by: Lukas Herbolt <lukas@herbolt.com>
Signed-off-by: Pankaj Raghav <p.raghav@samsung.com>
---
 fs/xfs/xfs_bmap_util.c | 19 ++++++++++--
 fs/xfs/xfs_bmap_util.h |  1 +
 fs/xfs/xfs_file.c      | 66 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-
 3 files changed, 82 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

diff --git a/fs/xfs/xfs_bmap_util.c b/fs/xfs/xfs_bmap_util.c
index 7466267f6c60..d175a1057f13 100644
--- a/fs/xfs/xfs_bmap_util.c
+++ b/fs/xfs/xfs_bmap_util.c
@@ -643,11 +643,18 @@ xfs_free_eofblocks(
 }
 
 /*
- * Allocate space for a file according to @mode:
+ * Allocate space or convert extents for a file according to @mode:
  *
  * XFS_ALLOC_FILE_SPACE_PREALLOC:
  * Preallocate unwritten extents across the range and mark the inode as
  * preallocated.
+ *
+ * XFS_ALLOC_FILE_SPACE_WRITE_ZEROES:
+ * Allocate written extents over holes and convert unwritten extents in the
+ * range to written extents, initialising both to contain zeroes.
+ *
+ * This function does not update the file size; callers that extend the file
+ * are responsible for updating it once the extents are allocated.
  */
 int
 xfs_alloc_file_space(
@@ -688,6 +695,10 @@ xfs_alloc_file_space(
 		bmapi_flags = XFS_BMAPI_PREALLOC;
 		nr_exts = XFS_IEXT_ADD_NOSPLIT_CNT;
 		break;
+	case XFS_ALLOC_FILE_SPACE_WRITE_ZEROES:
+		bmapi_flags = XFS_BMAPI_CONVERT | XFS_BMAPI_ZERO;
+		nr_exts = XFS_IEXT_WRITE_UNWRITTEN_CNT;
+		break;
 	default:
 		return -EINVAL;
 	}
@@ -776,8 +787,10 @@ xfs_alloc_file_space(
 			allocatesize_fsb -= imapp->br_blockcount;
 		}
 
-		ip->i_diflags |= XFS_DIFLAG_PREALLOC;
-		xfs_trans_log_inode(tp, ip, XFS_ILOG_CORE);
+		if (mode == XFS_ALLOC_FILE_SPACE_PREALLOC) {
+			ip->i_diflags |= XFS_DIFLAG_PREALLOC;
+			xfs_trans_log_inode(tp, ip, XFS_ILOG_CORE);
+		}
 
 		error = xfs_trans_commit(tp);
 		xfs_iunlock(ip, XFS_ILOCK_EXCL);
diff --git a/fs/xfs/xfs_bmap_util.h b/fs/xfs/xfs_bmap_util.h
index 232b4c48247e..e3d506ca9610 100644
--- a/fs/xfs/xfs_bmap_util.h
+++ b/fs/xfs/xfs_bmap_util.h
@@ -57,6 +57,7 @@ int	xfs_bmap_last_extent(struct xfs_trans *tp, struct xfs_inode *ip,
 /* preallocation and hole punch interface */
 enum xfs_alloc_file_space_mode {
 	XFS_ALLOC_FILE_SPACE_PREALLOC,
+	XFS_ALLOC_FILE_SPACE_WRITE_ZEROES,
 };
 
 int	xfs_alloc_file_space(struct xfs_inode *ip, xfs_off_t offset,
diff --git a/fs/xfs/xfs_file.c b/fs/xfs/xfs_file.c
index e90ea6ebdc8e..37623baaaed6 100644
--- a/fs/xfs/xfs_file.c
+++ b/fs/xfs/xfs_file.c
@@ -1368,6 +1368,67 @@ xfs_falloc_force_zero(
 	return XFS_TEST_ERROR(ip->i_mount, XFS_ERRTAG_FORCE_ZERO_RANGE);
 }
 
+static int
+xfs_falloc_write_zeroes(
+	struct file		*file,
+	int			mode,
+	loff_t			offset,
+	loff_t			len,
+	struct xfs_zone_alloc_ctx *ac)
+{
+	struct inode		*inode = file_inode(file);
+	struct xfs_inode	*ip = XFS_I(inode);
+	loff_t			new_size = 0;
+	loff_t			old_size = XFS_ISIZE(ip);
+	int			error;
+	unsigned int		blksize = i_blocksize(inode);
+	loff_t			offset_aligned = round_down(offset, blksize);
+	bool			did_zero;
+
+	if (xfs_is_always_cow_inode(ip) ||
+	    !bdev_write_zeroes_unmap_sectors(xfs_inode_buftarg(ip)->bt_bdev))
+		return -EOPNOTSUPP;
+
+	error = xfs_falloc_newsize(file, mode, offset, len, &new_size);
+	if (error)
+		return error;
+
+	error = xfs_free_file_space(ip, offset, len, ac);
+	if (error)
+		return error;
+
+	/*
+	 * Zero the tail of the old EOF block and any space up to the new
+	 * offset.
+	 * In the usual truncate path, xfs_falloc_setsize takes care of
+	 * zeroing those blocks.
+	 */
+	if (offset_aligned > old_size) {
+		trace_xfs_zero_eof(ip, old_size, offset_aligned - old_size);
+		error = xfs_zero_range(ip, old_size, offset_aligned - old_size,
+				NULL, &did_zero);
+		if (error)
+			return error;
+
+	}
+
+	error = xfs_alloc_file_space(ip, offset, len,
+			XFS_ALLOC_FILE_SPACE_WRITE_ZEROES);
+	if (error)
+		return error;
+
+	/*
+	 * xfs_falloc_setsize() would re-zero the written extents via
+	 * iomap_zero_range(). Use xfs_setfilesize() instead.
+	 * Update in-core i_size first as xfs_setfilesize() clamps the on-disk
+	 * size to it.
+	 */
+	if (new_size > i_size_read(inode))
+		i_size_write(inode, new_size);
+
+	return xfs_setfilesize(ip, offset, len);
+}
+
 /*
  * Punch a hole and prealloc the range.  We use a hole punch rather than
  * unwritten extent conversion for two reasons:
@@ -1473,7 +1534,7 @@ xfs_falloc_allocate_range(
 		(FALLOC_FL_ALLOCATE_RANGE | FALLOC_FL_KEEP_SIZE |	\
 		 FALLOC_FL_PUNCH_HOLE |	FALLOC_FL_COLLAPSE_RANGE |	\
 		 FALLOC_FL_ZERO_RANGE |	FALLOC_FL_INSERT_RANGE |	\
-		 FALLOC_FL_UNSHARE_RANGE)
+		 FALLOC_FL_UNSHARE_RANGE | FALLOC_FL_WRITE_ZEROES)
 
 STATIC long
 __xfs_file_fallocate(
@@ -1525,6 +1586,9 @@ __xfs_file_fallocate(
 	case FALLOC_FL_ALLOCATE_RANGE:
 		error = xfs_falloc_allocate_range(file, mode, offset, len);
 		break;
+	case FALLOC_FL_WRITE_ZEROES:
+		error = xfs_falloc_write_zeroes(file, mode, offset, len, ac);
+		break;
 	default:
 		error = -EOPNOTSUPP;
 		break;
-- 
2.51.2

Re: [PATCH v5 2/2] xfs: add support for FALLOC_FL_WRITE_ZEROES

[Pankaj Raghav]

> +
> +	error = xfs_alloc_file_space(ip, offset, len,
> +			XFS_ALLOC_FILE_SPACE_WRITE_ZEROES);
> +	if (error)
> +		return error;
> +
> +	/*
> +	 * xfs_falloc_setsize() would re-zero the written extents via
> +	 * iomap_zero_range(). Use xfs_setfilesize() instead.
> +	 * Update in-core i_size first as xfs_setfilesize() clamps the on-disk
> +	 * size to it.
> +	 */
> +	if (new_size > i_size_read(inode))
> +		i_size_write(inode, new_size);
> +
> +	return xfs_setfilesize(ip, offset, len);

Sashiko reported:
On 32-bit systems where size_t is 32 bits, lengths exceeding 4GB will be
truncated, which might cause the on-disk inode size to be permanently updated
to a severely incorrect smaller size.

So a simple fix would be the following as we already store the value of offset + len locally:

diff --git a/fs/xfs/xfs_file.c b/fs/xfs/xfs_file.c
index 37623baaaed6..86fae2190c24 100644
--- a/fs/xfs/xfs_file.c
+++ b/fs/xfs/xfs_file.c
@@ -1426,7 +1426,7 @@ xfs_falloc_write_zeroes(
        if (new_size > i_size_read(inode))
                i_size_write(inode, new_size);

-       return xfs_setfilesize(ip, offset, len);
+       return xfs_setfilesize(ip, new_size, 0);
 }

Probably I will update setfilesize to take 64bit values for len in a separate series.

I will also wait if others have any comments before sending the next version.

@Dave: You were against the initial design[1]. Let me know your thoughts on the current version.

[1] https://lore.kernel.org/linux-xfs/abCzhDSVmFx4PtWI@dread/

--
Pankaj