[PATCH v2 0/7] Improve zoned (SMR) HDD write throughput

[PATCH v2 0/7] Improve zoned (SMR) HDD write throughput

[Damien Le Moal]

Jens,

This patch series cleans up the zone write plugging code and introduces
the ability to issue all write BIOs from a single context (a kthread)
instead of allowing multiple zones to be written at the same time using
a per zone work. As shown in patch 6, raw block device tests and XFS
tests with an SMR HDD show that this can significantly increase write
throughput (up to 40% over the current zone write plugging).

Changes from v1:
 - Reworked patch 1 to remove the fragile use of refcount_read. Zone
   write plug removal is now more solid by being controlled with
   refcount_dec_and_test().
 - Changed patch 2 to keep the refcount increase before scheduling the
   BIO work but drop that reference if scheduling the work did nothing.
 - Dropped the patch "block: remove BLK_ZONE_WPLUG_UNHASHED" as the
   patch 1 changes make it unnecessary.
 - Modified patch 5 to have the zoned_qd1_writes attribute visible only
   for zoned block devices.
 - Added review tags

Damien Le Moal (7):
  block: fix zone write plug removal
  block: fix zone write plugs refcount handling in
    disk_zone_wplug_schedule_bio_work()
  block: remove disk_zone_is_full()
  block: rename struct gendisk zone_wplugs_lock field
  block: allow submitting all zone writes from a single context
  block: default to QD=1 writes for blk-mq rotational zoned devices
  Documentation: ABI: stable: document the zoned_qd1_writes attribute

 Documentation/ABI/stable/sysfs-block |  15 ++
 block/blk-mq-debugfs.c               |   1 +
 block/blk-sysfs.c                    |  46 +++-
 block/blk-zoned.c                    | 368 +++++++++++++++++----------
 include/linux/blkdev.h               |  10 +-
 5 files changed, 308 insertions(+), 132 deletions(-)

-- 
2.53.0

[PATCH v2 1/7] block: fix zone write plug removal

[Damien Le Moal]

Commit 7b295187287e ("block: Do not remove zone write plugs still in
use") modified disk_should_remove_zone_wplug() to add a check on the
reference count of a zone write plug to prevent removing zone write
plugs from a disk hash table when the plugs are still being referenced
by BIOs or requests in-flight. However, this check does not take into
account that a BIO completion may happen right after its submission by
a zone write plug BIO work, and before the zone write plug BIO work
releases the zone write plug reference count. This situation leads to
disk_should_remove_zone_wplug() returning false as in this case the zone
write plug reference count is at least equal to 3. If the BIO that
completes in such manner transitioned the zone to the FULL condition,
the zone write plug for the FULL zone will remain in the disk hash
table.

Furthermore, relying on a particular value of a zone write plug
reference count to set the BLK_ZONE_WPLUG_UNHASHED flag is fragile as
reading the atomic reference count and doing a comparison with some
value is not overall atomic at all.

Address these issues by reworking the reference counting of zone write
plugs so that removing plugs from a disk hash table can be done
directly from disk_put_zone_wplug() when the last reference on a plug
is dropped.

To do so, replace the function disk_remove_zone_wplug() with
disk_mark_zone_wplug_dead(). This new function sets the zone write plug
flag BLK_ZONE_WPLUG_DEAD (which replaces BLK_ZONE_WPLUG_UNHASHED) and
drops the initial reference on the zone write plug taken when the plug
was added to the disk hash table. This function is called either for
zones that are empty or full, or directly in the case of a forced plug
removal (e.g. when the disk hash table is being destroyed on disk
removal). With this change, disk_should_remove_zone_wplug() is also
removed.

disk_put_zone_wplug() is modified to call the function
disk_free_zone_wplug() to remove a zone write plug from a disk hash
table and free the plug structure (with a call_rcu()), when the last
reference on a zone write plug is dropped. disk_free_zone_wplug()
always checks that the BLK_ZONE_WPLUG_DEAD flag is set.

In order to avoid having multiple zone write plugs for the same zone in
the disk hash table, disk_get_and_lock_zone_wplug() is modified to
restore to a normal state a zone write plug that is flagged with
BLK_ZONE_WPLUG_DEAD. To do so, the BLK_ZONE_WPLUG_DEAD flag is cleared
and the reference count of the zone write plug increased to restore the
initial reference on the zone write plug taken when the plug was added
to the disk hash table. This restores the dead plug to a normal state,
similar to a newly allocated plug.

Fixes: 7b295187287e ("block: Do not remove zone write plugs still in use")
Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org
Signed-off-by: Damien Le Moal <dlemoal@kernel.org>
---
 block/blk-zoned.c | 143 +++++++++++++++++-----------------------------
 1 file changed, 52 insertions(+), 91 deletions(-)

diff --git a/block/blk-zoned.c b/block/blk-zoned.c
index 9d1dd6ccfad7..fd404bdd5fa2 100644
--- a/block/blk-zoned.c
+++ b/block/blk-zoned.c
@@ -99,17 +99,17 @@ static inline unsigned int disk_zone_wplugs_hash_size(struct gendisk *disk)
  *    being executed or the zone write plug bio list is not empty.
  *  - BLK_ZONE_WPLUG_NEED_WP_UPDATE: Indicates that we lost track of a zone
  *    write pointer offset and need to update it.
- *  - BLK_ZONE_WPLUG_UNHASHED: Indicates that the zone write plug was removed
- *    from the disk hash table and that the initial reference to the zone
- *    write plug set when the plug was first added to the hash table has been
- *    dropped. This flag is set when a zone is reset, finished or become full,
- *    to prevent new references to the zone write plug to be taken for
- *    newly incoming BIOs. A zone write plug flagged with this flag will be
- *    freed once all remaining references from BIOs or functions are dropped.
+ *  - BLK_ZONE_WPLUG_DEAD: Indicates that the zone write plug will be
+ *    removed from the disk hash table of zone write plugs when the last
+ *    reference on the zone write plug is dropped. If set, this flag also
+ *    indicates that the initial extra reference on the zone write plug was
+ *    dropped, meaning that the reference count indicates the current number of
+ *    active users (code context or BIOs and requests in flight). This flag is
+ *    set when a zone is reset, finished or becomes full.
  */
 #define BLK_ZONE_WPLUG_PLUGGED		(1U << 0)
 #define BLK_ZONE_WPLUG_NEED_WP_UPDATE	(1U << 1)
-#define BLK_ZONE_WPLUG_UNHASHED		(1U << 2)
+#define BLK_ZONE_WPLUG_DEAD		(1U << 2)
 
 /**
  * blk_zone_cond_str - Return a zone condition name string
@@ -587,64 +587,15 @@ static void disk_free_zone_wplug_rcu(struct rcu_head *rcu_head)
 	mempool_free(zwplug, zwplug->disk->zone_wplugs_pool);
 }
 
-static inline void disk_put_zone_wplug(struct blk_zone_wplug *zwplug)
-{
-	if (refcount_dec_and_test(&zwplug->ref)) {
-		WARN_ON_ONCE(!bio_list_empty(&zwplug->bio_list));
-		WARN_ON_ONCE(zwplug->flags & BLK_ZONE_WPLUG_PLUGGED);
-		WARN_ON_ONCE(!(zwplug->flags & BLK_ZONE_WPLUG_UNHASHED));
-
-		call_rcu(&zwplug->rcu_head, disk_free_zone_wplug_rcu);
-	}
-}
-
-static inline bool disk_should_remove_zone_wplug(struct gendisk *disk,
-						 struct blk_zone_wplug *zwplug)
-{
-	lockdep_assert_held(&zwplug->lock);
-
-	/* If the zone write plug was already removed, we are done. */
-	if (zwplug->flags & BLK_ZONE_WPLUG_UNHASHED)
-		return false;
-
-	/* If the zone write plug is still plugged, it cannot be removed. */
-	if (zwplug->flags & BLK_ZONE_WPLUG_PLUGGED)
-		return false;
-
-	/*
-	 * Completions of BIOs with blk_zone_write_plug_bio_endio() may
-	 * happen after handling a request completion with
-	 * blk_zone_write_plug_finish_request() (e.g. with split BIOs
-	 * that are chained). In such case, disk_zone_wplug_unplug_bio()
-	 * should not attempt to remove the zone write plug until all BIO
-	 * completions are seen. Check by looking at the zone write plug
-	 * reference count, which is 2 when the plug is unused (one reference
-	 * taken when the plug was allocated and another reference taken by the
-	 * caller context).
-	 */
-	if (refcount_read(&zwplug->ref) > 2)
-		return false;
-
-	/* We can remove zone write plugs for zones that are empty or full. */
-	return !zwplug->wp_offset || disk_zone_wplug_is_full(disk, zwplug);
-}
-
-static void disk_remove_zone_wplug(struct gendisk *disk,
-				   struct blk_zone_wplug *zwplug)
+static void disk_free_zone_wplug(struct blk_zone_wplug *zwplug)
 {
+	struct gendisk *disk = zwplug->disk;
 	unsigned long flags;
 
-	/* If the zone write plug was already removed, we have nothing to do. */
-	if (zwplug->flags & BLK_ZONE_WPLUG_UNHASHED)
-		return;
+	WARN_ON_ONCE(!(zwplug->flags & BLK_ZONE_WPLUG_DEAD));
+	WARN_ON_ONCE(zwplug->flags & BLK_ZONE_WPLUG_PLUGGED);
+	WARN_ON_ONCE(!bio_list_empty(&zwplug->bio_list));
 
-	/*
-	 * Mark the zone write plug as unhashed and drop the extra reference we
-	 * took when the plug was inserted in the hash table. Also update the
-	 * disk zone condition array with the current condition of the zone
-	 * write plug.
-	 */
-	zwplug->flags |= BLK_ZONE_WPLUG_UNHASHED;
 	spin_lock_irqsave(&disk->zone_wplugs_lock, flags);
 	blk_zone_set_cond(rcu_dereference_check(disk->zones_cond,
 				lockdep_is_held(&disk->zone_wplugs_lock)),
@@ -652,7 +603,29 @@ static void disk_remove_zone_wplug(struct gendisk *disk,
 	hlist_del_init_rcu(&zwplug->node);
 	atomic_dec(&disk->nr_zone_wplugs);
 	spin_unlock_irqrestore(&disk->zone_wplugs_lock, flags);
-	disk_put_zone_wplug(zwplug);
+
+	call_rcu(&zwplug->rcu_head, disk_free_zone_wplug_rcu);
+}
+
+static inline void disk_put_zone_wplug(struct blk_zone_wplug *zwplug)
+{
+	if (refcount_dec_and_test(&zwplug->ref))
+		disk_free_zone_wplug(zwplug);
+}
+
+/*
+ * Flag the zone write plug as dead and drop the initial reference we got when
+ * the zone write plug was added to the hash table. The zone write plug will be
+ * unhashed when its last reference is dropped.
+ */
+static void disk_mark_zone_wplug_dead(struct blk_zone_wplug *zwplug)
+{
+	lockdep_assert_held(&zwplug->lock);
+
+	if (!(zwplug->flags & BLK_ZONE_WPLUG_DEAD)) {
+		zwplug->flags |= BLK_ZONE_WPLUG_DEAD;
+		disk_put_zone_wplug(zwplug);
+	}
 }
 
 static void blk_zone_wplug_bio_work(struct work_struct *work);
@@ -673,16 +646,16 @@ static struct blk_zone_wplug *disk_get_and_lock_zone_wplug(struct gendisk *disk,
 	zwplug = disk_get_zone_wplug(disk, sector);
 	if (zwplug) {
 		/*
-		 * Check that a BIO completion or a zone reset or finish
-		 * operation has not already removed the zone write plug from
-		 * the hash table and dropped its reference count. In such case,
-		 * we need to get a new plug so start over from the beginning.
+		 * We already have a zone write plug. If it is flagged as dead,
+		 * its initial reference count was already dropped. In
+		 * this case, increment the reference count and clear the dead
+		 * flag to restore the plug to a state similar to a newly
+		 * allocated zone write plug.
 		 */
 		spin_lock_irqsave(&zwplug->lock, *flags);
-		if (zwplug->flags & BLK_ZONE_WPLUG_UNHASHED) {
-			spin_unlock_irqrestore(&zwplug->lock, *flags);
-			disk_put_zone_wplug(zwplug);
-			goto again;
+		if (zwplug->flags & BLK_ZONE_WPLUG_DEAD) {
+			refcount_inc(&zwplug->ref);
+			zwplug->flags &= ~BLK_ZONE_WPLUG_DEAD;
 		}
 		return zwplug;
 	}
@@ -788,14 +761,8 @@ static void disk_zone_wplug_set_wp_offset(struct gendisk *disk,
 	disk_zone_wplug_update_cond(disk, zwplug);
 
 	disk_zone_wplug_abort(zwplug);
-
-	/*
-	 * The zone write plug now has no BIO plugged: remove it from the
-	 * hash table so that it cannot be seen. The plug will be freed
-	 * when the last reference is dropped.
-	 */
-	if (disk_should_remove_zone_wplug(disk, zwplug))
-		disk_remove_zone_wplug(disk, zwplug);
+	if (!zwplug->wp_offset || disk_zone_wplug_is_full(disk, zwplug))
+		disk_mark_zone_wplug_dead(zwplug);
 }
 
 static unsigned int blk_zone_wp_offset(struct blk_zone *zone)
@@ -1527,7 +1494,7 @@ static void blk_zone_wplug_handle_native_zone_append(struct bio *bio)
 				    disk->disk_name, zwplug->zone_no);
 		disk_zone_wplug_abort(zwplug);
 	}
-	disk_remove_zone_wplug(disk, zwplug);
+	disk_mark_zone_wplug_dead(zwplug);
 	spin_unlock_irqrestore(&zwplug->lock, flags);
 
 	disk_put_zone_wplug(zwplug);
@@ -1630,14 +1597,8 @@ static void disk_zone_wplug_unplug_bio(struct gendisk *disk,
 	}
 
 	zwplug->flags &= ~BLK_ZONE_WPLUG_PLUGGED;
-
-	/*
-	 * If the zone is full (it was fully written or finished, or empty
-	 * (it was reset), remove its zone write plug from the hash table.
-	 */
-	if (disk_should_remove_zone_wplug(disk, zwplug))
-		disk_remove_zone_wplug(disk, zwplug);
-
+	if (!zwplug->wp_offset || disk_zone_wplug_is_full(disk, zwplug))
+		disk_mark_zone_wplug_dead(zwplug);
 	spin_unlock_irqrestore(&zwplug->lock, flags);
 }
 
@@ -1848,9 +1809,9 @@ static void disk_destroy_zone_wplugs_hash_table(struct gendisk *disk)
 		while (!hlist_empty(&disk->zone_wplugs_hash[i])) {
 			zwplug = hlist_entry(disk->zone_wplugs_hash[i].first,
 					     struct blk_zone_wplug, node);
-			refcount_inc(&zwplug->ref);
-			disk_remove_zone_wplug(disk, zwplug);
-			disk_put_zone_wplug(zwplug);
+			spin_lock_irq(&zwplug->lock);
+			disk_mark_zone_wplug_dead(zwplug);
+			spin_unlock_irq(&zwplug->lock);
 		}
 	}
 
-- 
2.53.0

Re: [PATCH v2 1/7] block: fix zone write plug removal

[Christoph Hellwig]

On Thu, Feb 26, 2026 at 01:10:18PM +0900, Damien Le Moal wrote:
>  		/*
> -		 * Check that a BIO completion or a zone reset or finish
> -		 * operation has not already removed the zone write plug from
> -		 * the hash table and dropped its reference count. In such case,
> -		 * we need to get a new plug so start over from the beginning.
> +		 * We already have a zone write plug. If it is flagged as dead,
> +		 * its initial reference count was already dropped. In
> +		 * this case, increment the reference count and clear the dead
> +		 * flag to restore the plug to a state similar to a newly
> +		 * allocated zone write plug.

This comment, both in the old and new version describes what happens
here, but it really fails to explain why.  The plug is scheduled
for removal if we either filled up the zone or reset it, so any new
bio coming in would result in an I/O error anyway.  So why do we try
to resurrect the plug instead of just failing the I/O?

Or am I missing something?

Otherwise this looks good.

Re: [PATCH v2 1/7] block: fix zone write plug removal

[Damien Le Moal]

On 2/27/26 01:10, Christoph Hellwig wrote:
> On Thu, Feb 26, 2026 at 01:10:18PM +0900, Damien Le Moal wrote:
>>  		/*
>> -		 * Check that a BIO completion or a zone reset or finish
>> -		 * operation has not already removed the zone write plug from
>> -		 * the hash table and dropped its reference count. In such case,
>> -		 * we need to get a new plug so start over from the beginning.
>> +		 * We already have a zone write plug. If it is flagged as dead,
>> +		 * its initial reference count was already dropped. In
>> +		 * this case, increment the reference count and clear the dead
>> +		 * flag to restore the plug to a state similar to a newly
>> +		 * allocated zone write plug.
> 
> This comment, both in the old and new version describes what happens
> here, but it really fails to explain why.  The plug is scheduled
> for removal if we either filled up the zone or reset it, so any new
> bio coming in would result in an I/O error anyway.  So why do we try
> to resurrect the plug instead of just failing the I/O?

Hmm, yes, I guess we could do that indeed.

This case can happen only if the user starts doing stupid things like issuing a
zone reset and writes from the beginning of the zone without waiting for the
reset first. So yes, I guess we can fail the BIO if it hits a dead zone, since
that necessarily mean that the user did not synchronize something that should be.

I will drop that bit and instead print a rate limited error message signaling
the bad usage.


-- 
Damien Le Moal
Western Digital Research

[PATCH v2 2/7] block: fix zone write plugs refcount handling in disk_zone_wplug_schedule_bio_work()

[Damien Le Moal]

The function disk_zone_wplug_schedule_bio_work() always takes a
reference on the zone write plug of the BIO work being scheduled. This
ensures that the zone write plug cannot be freed while the BIO work is
being scheduled but has not run yet. However, this unconditional
reference taking is fragile since the reference taken is released by the
BIO work blk_zone_wplug_bio_work() function, which implies that there
always must be a 1:1 relation between the work being scheduled and the
work running.

Make sure to drop the reference taken when scheduling the BIO work if
the work is already scheduled, that is, when queue_work() returns false.

Fixes: 9e78c38ab30b ("block: Hold a reference on zone write plugs to schedule submission")
Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org
Signed-off-by: Damien Le Moal <dlemoal@kernel.org>
---
 block/blk-zoned.c | 12 ++++++++----
 1 file changed, 8 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

diff --git a/block/blk-zoned.c b/block/blk-zoned.c
index fd404bdd5fa2..3f66e7ae699c 100644
--- a/block/blk-zoned.c
+++ b/block/blk-zoned.c
@@ -1165,13 +1165,17 @@ static void disk_zone_wplug_schedule_bio_work(struct gendisk *disk,
 	lockdep_assert_held(&zwplug->lock);
 
 	/*
-	 * Take a reference on the zone write plug and schedule the submission
-	 * of the next plugged BIO. blk_zone_wplug_bio_work() will release the
-	 * reference we take here.
+	 * Schedule the submission of the next plugged BIO. Taking a reference
+	 * to the zone write plug is required as the bio_work belongs to the
+	 * plug, and thus we must ensure that the write plug does not go away
+	 * while the work is being scheduled but has not run yet.
+	 * blk_zone_wplug_bio_work() will release the reference we take here,
+	 * and we also drop this reference if the work is already scheduled.
 	 */
 	WARN_ON_ONCE(!(zwplug->flags & BLK_ZONE_WPLUG_PLUGGED));
 	refcount_inc(&zwplug->ref);
-	queue_work(disk->zone_wplugs_wq, &zwplug->bio_work);
+	if (!queue_work(disk->zone_wplugs_wq, &zwplug->bio_work))
+		disk_put_zone_wplug(zwplug);
 }
 
 static inline void disk_zone_wplug_add_bio(struct gendisk *disk,
-- 
2.53.0

Re: [PATCH v2 2/7] block: fix zone write plugs refcount handling in disk_zone_wplug_schedule_bio_work()

[Christoph Hellwig]

Looks good.  And while this is a bit more ineffient than just
incrementing the counter after the queue_work for the relatively
rare case of an already running work item, I think it is much
easier to follow and thus better.

Reviewed-by: Christoph Hellwig <hch@lst.de>

Re: [PATCH v2 2/7] block: fix zone write plugs refcount handling in disk_zone_wplug_schedule_bio_work()

[Johannes Thumshirn]

Looks good,

Reviewed-by: Johannes Thumshirn <johannes.thumshirn@wdc.com>

[PATCH v2 3/7] block: remove disk_zone_is_full()

[Damien Le Moal]

The helper function disk_zone_is_full() is only used in
disk_zone_wplug_is_full(). So remove it and open code it directly in
this single caller.

Signed-off-by: Damien Le Moal <dlemoal@kernel.org>
Reviewed-by: Hannes Reinecke <hare@suse.de>
Reviewed-by: Johannes Thumshirn <johannes.thumshirn@wdc.com>
---
 block/blk-zoned.c | 12 +++---------
 1 file changed, 3 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-)

diff --git a/block/blk-zoned.c b/block/blk-zoned.c
index 3f66e7ae699c..12829e14fcda 100644
--- a/block/blk-zoned.c
+++ b/block/blk-zoned.c
@@ -492,18 +492,12 @@ static bool disk_zone_is_last(struct gendisk *disk, struct blk_zone *zone)
 	return zone->start + zone->len >= get_capacity(disk);
 }
 
-static bool disk_zone_is_full(struct gendisk *disk,
-			      unsigned int zno, unsigned int offset_in_zone)
-{
-	if (zno < disk->nr_zones - 1)
-		return offset_in_zone >= disk->zone_capacity;
-	return offset_in_zone >= disk->last_zone_capacity;
-}
-
 static bool disk_zone_wplug_is_full(struct gendisk *disk,
 				    struct blk_zone_wplug *zwplug)
 {
-	return disk_zone_is_full(disk, zwplug->zone_no, zwplug->wp_offset);
+	if (zwplug->zone_no < disk->nr_zones - 1)
+		return zwplug->wp_offset >= disk->zone_capacity;
+	return zwplug->wp_offset >= disk->last_zone_capacity;
 }
 
 static bool disk_insert_zone_wplug(struct gendisk *disk,
-- 
2.53.0

Re: [PATCH v2 3/7] block: remove disk_zone_is_full()

[Christoph Hellwig]

Looks good:

Reviewed-by: Christoph Hellwig <hch@lst.de>

[PATCH v2 4/7] block: rename struct gendisk zone_wplugs_lock field

[Damien Le Moal]

Rename struct gendisk zone_wplugs_lock field to zone_wplugs_hash_lock to
clearly indicates that this is the spinlock used for manipulating the
hash table of zone write plugs.

Signed-off-by: Damien Le Moal <dlemoal@kernel.org>
Reviewed-by: Hannes Reinecke <hare@suse.de>
Reviewed-by: Johannes Thumshirn <johannes.thumshirn@wdc.com>
---
 block/blk-zoned.c      | 23 ++++++++++++-----------
 include/linux/blkdev.h |  2 +-
 2 files changed, 13 insertions(+), 12 deletions(-)

diff --git a/block/blk-zoned.c b/block/blk-zoned.c
index 12829e14fcda..7577dd997b29 100644
--- a/block/blk-zoned.c
+++ b/block/blk-zoned.c
@@ -514,10 +514,11 @@ static bool disk_insert_zone_wplug(struct gendisk *disk,
 	 * are racing with other submission context, so we may already have a
 	 * zone write plug for the same zone.
 	 */
-	spin_lock_irqsave(&disk->zone_wplugs_lock, flags);
+	spin_lock_irqsave(&disk->zone_wplugs_hash_lock, flags);
 	hlist_for_each_entry_rcu(zwplg, &disk->zone_wplugs_hash[idx], node) {
 		if (zwplg->zone_no == zwplug->zone_no) {
-			spin_unlock_irqrestore(&disk->zone_wplugs_lock, flags);
+			spin_unlock_irqrestore(&disk->zone_wplugs_hash_lock,
+					       flags);
 			return false;
 		}
 	}
@@ -529,7 +530,7 @@ static bool disk_insert_zone_wplug(struct gendisk *disk,
 	 * necessarilly in the active condition.
 	 */
 	zones_cond = rcu_dereference_check(disk->zones_cond,
-				lockdep_is_held(&disk->zone_wplugs_lock));
+				lockdep_is_held(&disk->zone_wplugs_hash_lock));
 	if (zones_cond)
 		zwplug->cond = zones_cond[zwplug->zone_no];
 	else
@@ -537,7 +538,7 @@ static bool disk_insert_zone_wplug(struct gendisk *disk,
 
 	hlist_add_head_rcu(&zwplug->node, &disk->zone_wplugs_hash[idx]);
 	atomic_inc(&disk->nr_zone_wplugs);
-	spin_unlock_irqrestore(&disk->zone_wplugs_lock, flags);
+	spin_unlock_irqrestore(&disk->zone_wplugs_hash_lock, flags);
 
 	return true;
 }
@@ -590,13 +591,13 @@ static void disk_free_zone_wplug(struct blk_zone_wplug *zwplug)
 	WARN_ON_ONCE(zwplug->flags & BLK_ZONE_WPLUG_PLUGGED);
 	WARN_ON_ONCE(!bio_list_empty(&zwplug->bio_list));
 
-	spin_lock_irqsave(&disk->zone_wplugs_lock, flags);
+	spin_lock_irqsave(&disk->zone_wplugs_hash_lock, flags);
 	blk_zone_set_cond(rcu_dereference_check(disk->zones_cond,
-				lockdep_is_held(&disk->zone_wplugs_lock)),
+				lockdep_is_held(&disk->zone_wplugs_hash_lock)),
 			  zwplug->zone_no, zwplug->cond);
 	hlist_del_init_rcu(&zwplug->node);
 	atomic_dec(&disk->nr_zone_wplugs);
-	spin_unlock_irqrestore(&disk->zone_wplugs_lock, flags);
+	spin_unlock_irqrestore(&disk->zone_wplugs_hash_lock, flags);
 
 	call_rcu(&zwplug->rcu_head, disk_free_zone_wplug_rcu);
 }
@@ -1741,7 +1742,7 @@ static void blk_zone_wplug_bio_work(struct work_struct *work)
 
 void disk_init_zone_resources(struct gendisk *disk)
 {
-	spin_lock_init(&disk->zone_wplugs_lock);
+	spin_lock_init(&disk->zone_wplugs_hash_lock);
 }
 
 /*
@@ -1831,10 +1832,10 @@ static void disk_set_zones_cond_array(struct gendisk *disk, u8 *zones_cond)
 {
 	unsigned long flags;
 
-	spin_lock_irqsave(&disk->zone_wplugs_lock, flags);
+	spin_lock_irqsave(&disk->zone_wplugs_hash_lock, flags);
 	zones_cond = rcu_replace_pointer(disk->zones_cond, zones_cond,
-				lockdep_is_held(&disk->zone_wplugs_lock));
-	spin_unlock_irqrestore(&disk->zone_wplugs_lock, flags);
+				lockdep_is_held(&disk->zone_wplugs_hash_lock));
+	spin_unlock_irqrestore(&disk->zone_wplugs_hash_lock, flags);
 
 	kfree_rcu_mightsleep(zones_cond);
 }
diff --git a/include/linux/blkdev.h b/include/linux/blkdev.h
index d463b9b5a0a5..689090023770 100644
--- a/include/linux/blkdev.h
+++ b/include/linux/blkdev.h
@@ -200,7 +200,7 @@ struct gendisk {
 	u8 __rcu		*zones_cond;
 	unsigned int		zone_wplugs_hash_bits;
 	atomic_t		nr_zone_wplugs;
-	spinlock_t		zone_wplugs_lock;
+	spinlock_t		zone_wplugs_hash_lock;
 	struct mempool		*zone_wplugs_pool;
 	struct hlist_head	*zone_wplugs_hash;
 	struct workqueue_struct *zone_wplugs_wq;
-- 
2.53.0

Re: [PATCH v2 4/7] block: rename struct gendisk zone_wplugs_lock field

[Christoph Hellwig]

Looks good:

Reviewed-by: Christoph Hellwig <hch@lst.de>

[PATCH v2 5/7] block: allow submitting all zone writes from a single context

[Damien Le Moal]

In order to maintain sequential write patterns per zone with zoned block
devices, zone write plugging issues only a single write BIO per zone at
any time. This works well but has the side effect that when large
sequential write streams are issued by the user and these streams cross
zone boundaries, the device ends up receiving a discontiguous set of
write commands for different zones. The same also happens when a user
writes simultaneously at high queue depth multiple zones: the device
does not see all sequential writes per zone and receives discontiguous
writes to different zones. While this does not affect the performance of
solid state zoned block devices, when using an SMR HDD, this pattern
change from sequential writes to discontiguous writes to different zones
significantly increases head seek which results in degraded write
throughput.

In order to reduce this seek overhead for rotational media devices,
introduce a per disk zone write plugs kernel thread to issue all write
BIOs to zones. This single zone write issuing context is enabled for
any zoned block device that has a request queue flagged with the new
QUEUE_ZONED_QD1_WRITES flag.

The flag QUEUE_ZONED_QD1_WRITES is visible as the sysfs queue attribute
zoned_qd1_writes. For a regular block device, this attribute cannot be
changed and is always 0. For zoned block devices, a user can override
the default value set to force the global write maximum queue depth of
1 for a zoned block device, or clear this attribute to fallback to the
default behavior of zone write plugging which limits writes to QD=1 per
sequential zone.

Writing to a zoned block device flagged with QUEUE_ZONED_QD1_WRITES is
implemented using a list of zone write plugs that have a non-empty BIO
list. Listed zone write plugs are processed by the disk zone write plugs
worker kthread in FIFO order, and all BIOs of a zone write plug are all
processed before switching to the next listed zone write plug. A newly
submitted BIO for a non-FULL zone write plug that is not yet listed
causes the addition of the zone write plug at the end of the disk list
of zone write plugs.

Since the write BIOs queued in a zone write plug BIO list are
necessarilly sequential, for rotational media, using the single zone
write plugs kthread to issue all BIOs maintains a sequential write
pattern and thus reduces seek overhead and improves write throughput.
This processing essentially result in always writing to HDDs at QD=1,
which is not an issue for HDDs operating with write caching enabled.
Performance with write cache disabled is also not degraded thanks to
the efficient write handling of modern SMR HDDs.

A disk list of zone write plugs is defined using the new struct gendisk
zone_wplugs_list, and accesses to this list is protected using the
zone_wplugs_list_lock spinlock.  The per disk kthread
(zone_wplugs_worker) code is implemented by the function
disk_zone_wplugs_worker(). A reference on listed zone write plugs is
always held until all BIOs of the zone write plug are processed by the
worker kthread. BIO issuing at QD=1 is driven using a completion
structure (zone_wplugs_worker_bio_done) and calls to blk_io_wait().

With this change, performance when sequentially writing the zones of a
30 TB SMR SATA HDD connected to an AHCI adapter changes as follows
(1MiB direct I/Os, results in MB/s unit):

                    +--------------------+
		    |   Write BW (MB/s)  |
 +------------------+----------+---------+
 | Sequential write | Baseline | Patched |
 |  Queue Depth     | 6.19-rc8 |         |
 +------------------+----------+---------+
 | 1                | 244      | 245     |
 | 2                | 244      | 245     |
 | 4                | 245      | 245     |
 | 8                | 242      | 245     |
 | 16               | 222      | 246     |
 | 32               | 211      | 245     |
 | 64               | 193      | 244     |
 | 128              | 112      | 246     |
 +------------------+----------+---------+

With the current code (baseline), as the sequential write stream crosses
a zone boundary, higher queue depth creates a gap between the
last IO to the previous zone and the first IOs to the following zones,
causing head seeks and degrading performance. Using the disk zone
write plugs worker thread, this pattern disappears and the maximum
throughput of the drive is maintained, leading to over 100%
improvements in throughput for high queue depth write.

Using 16 fio jobs all writing to randomly chosen zones at QD=32 with 1
MiB direct IOs, write throughput also increases significantly.

                    +--------------------+
		    |   Write BW (MB/s)  |
 +------------------+----------+---------+
 |   Random write   | Baseline | Patched |
 |  Number of zones | 6.19-rc7 |         |
 +------------------+----------+---------+
 | 1                | 191      | 192     |
 | 2                | 101      | 128     |
 | 4                | 115      | 123     |
 | 8                | 90       | 120     |
 | 16               | 64       | 115     |
 | 32               | 58       | 105     |
 | 64               | 56       | 101     |
 | 128              | 55       | 99      |
 +------------------+----------+---------+

Tests using XFS shows that buffered write speed with 8 jobs writing
files increases by 12% to 35% depending on the workload.

                    +--------------------+
		    |   Write BW (MB/s)  |
 +------------------+----------+---------+
 |     Workload     | Baseline | Patched |
 |                  | 6.19-rc7 |         |
 +------------------+----------+---------+
 | 256MiB file size | 212      | 238     |
 +------------------+----------+---------+
 | 4MiB .. 128 MiB  | 213      | 243     |
 | random file size |          |         |
 +------------------+----------+---------+
 | 2MiB .. 8 MiB    | 179      | 242     |
 | random file size |          |         |
 +------------------+----------+---------+

Performance gains are even more significant when using an HBA that
limits the maximum size of commands to a small value, e.g. HBAs
controlled with the mpi3mr driver limit commands to a maximum of 1 MiB.
In such case, the write throughput gains are over 40%.

                    +--------------------+
		    |   Write BW (MB/s)  |
 +------------------+----------+---------+
 |     Workload     | Baseline | Patched |
 |                  | 6.19-rc7 |         |
 +------------------+----------+---------+
 | 256MiB file size | 175      | 245     |
 +------------------+----------+---------+
 | 4MiB .. 128 MiB  | 174      | 244     |
 | random file size |          |         |
 +------------------+----------+---------+
 | 2MiB .. 8 MiB    | 171      | 243     |
 | random file size |          |         |
 +------------------+----------+---------+

Signed-off-by: Damien Le Moal <dlemoal@kernel.org>
---
 block/blk-mq-debugfs.c |   1 +
 block/blk-sysfs.c      |  38 ++++++++-
 block/blk-zoned.c      | 190 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-----
 include/linux/blkdev.h |   8 ++
 4 files changed, 215 insertions(+), 22 deletions(-)

diff --git a/block/blk-mq-debugfs.c b/block/blk-mq-debugfs.c
index 28167c9baa55..047ec887456b 100644
--- a/block/blk-mq-debugfs.c
+++ b/block/blk-mq-debugfs.c
@@ -97,6 +97,7 @@ static const char *const blk_queue_flag_name[] = {
 	QUEUE_FLAG_NAME(NO_ELV_SWITCH),
 	QUEUE_FLAG_NAME(QOS_ENABLED),
 	QUEUE_FLAG_NAME(BIO_ISSUE_TIME),
+	QUEUE_FLAG_NAME(ZONED_QD1_WRITES),
 };
 #undef QUEUE_FLAG_NAME
 
diff --git a/block/blk-sysfs.c b/block/blk-sysfs.c
index f3b1968c80ce..bfa2ab82cc55 100644
--- a/block/blk-sysfs.c
+++ b/block/blk-sysfs.c
@@ -384,6 +384,39 @@ static ssize_t queue_nr_zones_show(struct gendisk *disk, char *page)
 	return queue_var_show(disk_nr_zones(disk), page);
 }
 
+static ssize_t queue_zoned_qd1_writes_show(struct gendisk *disk, char *page)
+{
+	return queue_var_show(!!blk_queue_zoned_qd1_writes(disk->queue),
+			      page);
+}
+
+static ssize_t queue_zoned_qd1_writes_store(struct gendisk *disk,
+					    const char *page, size_t count)
+{
+	struct request_queue *q = disk->queue;
+	unsigned long qd1_writes;
+	unsigned int memflags;
+	ssize_t ret;
+
+	if (!blk_queue_is_zoned(q))
+		return -EOPNOTSUPP;
+
+	ret = queue_var_store(&qd1_writes, page, count);
+	if (ret < 0)
+		return ret;
+
+	memflags = blk_mq_freeze_queue(q);
+	blk_mq_quiesce_queue(q);
+	if (qd1_writes)
+		blk_queue_flag_set(QUEUE_FLAG_ZONED_QD1_WRITES, q);
+	else
+		blk_queue_flag_clear(QUEUE_FLAG_ZONED_QD1_WRITES, q);
+	blk_mq_unquiesce_queue(q);
+	blk_mq_unfreeze_queue(q, memflags);
+
+	return count;
+}
+
 static ssize_t queue_iostats_passthrough_show(struct gendisk *disk, char *page)
 {
 	return queue_var_show(!!blk_queue_passthrough_stat(disk->queue), page);
@@ -611,6 +644,7 @@ QUEUE_LIM_RO_ENTRY(queue_max_zone_append_sectors, "zone_append_max_bytes");
 QUEUE_LIM_RO_ENTRY(queue_zone_write_granularity, "zone_write_granularity");
 
 QUEUE_LIM_RO_ENTRY(queue_zoned, "zoned");
+QUEUE_RW_ENTRY(queue_zoned_qd1_writes, "zoned_qd1_writes");
 QUEUE_RO_ENTRY(queue_nr_zones, "nr_zones");
 QUEUE_LIM_RO_ENTRY(queue_max_open_zones, "max_open_zones");
 QUEUE_LIM_RO_ENTRY(queue_max_active_zones, "max_active_zones");
@@ -748,6 +782,7 @@ static struct attribute *queue_attrs[] = {
 	&queue_nomerges_entry.attr,
 	&queue_poll_entry.attr,
 	&queue_poll_delay_entry.attr,
+	&queue_zoned_qd1_writes_entry.attr,
 
 	NULL,
 };
@@ -780,7 +815,8 @@ static umode_t queue_attr_visible(struct kobject *kobj, struct attribute *attr,
 	struct request_queue *q = disk->queue;
 
 	if ((attr == &queue_max_open_zones_entry.attr ||
-	     attr == &queue_max_active_zones_entry.attr) &&
+	     attr == &queue_max_active_zones_entry.attr ||
+	     attr == &queue_zoned_qd1_writes_entry.attr) &&
 	    !blk_queue_is_zoned(q))
 		return 0;
 
diff --git a/block/blk-zoned.c b/block/blk-zoned.c
index 7577dd997b29..bacfb9da803c 100644
--- a/block/blk-zoned.c
+++ b/block/blk-zoned.c
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@
 #include <linux/spinlock.h>
 #include <linux/refcount.h>
 #include <linux/mempool.h>
+#include <linux/kthread.h>
+#include <linux/freezer.h>
 
 #include <trace/events/block.h>
 
@@ -40,6 +42,8 @@ static const char *const zone_cond_name[] = {
 /*
  * Per-zone write plug.
  * @node: hlist_node structure for managing the plug using a hash table.
+ * @entry: list_head structure for listing the plug in the disk list of active
+ *         zone write plugs.
  * @bio_list: The list of BIOs that are currently plugged.
  * @bio_work: Work struct to handle issuing of plugged BIOs
  * @rcu_head: RCU head to free zone write plugs with an RCU grace period.
@@ -62,6 +66,7 @@ static const char *const zone_cond_name[] = {
  */
 struct blk_zone_wplug {
 	struct hlist_node	node;
+	struct list_head	entry;
 	struct bio_list		bio_list;
 	struct work_struct	bio_work;
 	struct rcu_head		rcu_head;
@@ -623,7 +628,19 @@ static void disk_mark_zone_wplug_dead(struct blk_zone_wplug *zwplug)
 	}
 }
 
-static void blk_zone_wplug_bio_work(struct work_struct *work);
+static bool disk_zone_wplug_submit_bio(struct gendisk *disk,
+				       struct blk_zone_wplug *zwplug);
+
+static void blk_zone_wplug_bio_work(struct work_struct *work)
+{
+	struct blk_zone_wplug *zwplug =
+		container_of(work, struct blk_zone_wplug, bio_work);
+
+	disk_zone_wplug_submit_bio(zwplug->disk, zwplug);
+
+	/* Drop the reference we took in disk_zone_wplug_schedule_work(). */
+	disk_put_zone_wplug(zwplug);
+}
 
 /*
  * Get a reference on the write plug for the zone containing @sector.
@@ -672,6 +689,7 @@ static struct blk_zone_wplug *disk_get_and_lock_zone_wplug(struct gendisk *disk,
 	zwplug->wp_offset = bdev_offset_from_zone_start(disk->part0, sector);
 	bio_list_init(&zwplug->bio_list);
 	INIT_WORK(&zwplug->bio_work, blk_zone_wplug_bio_work);
+	INIT_LIST_HEAD(&zwplug->entry);
 	zwplug->disk = disk;
 
 	spin_lock_irqsave(&zwplug->lock, *flags);
@@ -707,6 +725,7 @@ static inline void blk_zone_wplug_bio_io_error(struct blk_zone_wplug *zwplug,
  */
 static void disk_zone_wplug_abort(struct blk_zone_wplug *zwplug)
 {
+	struct gendisk *disk = zwplug->disk;
 	struct bio *bio;
 
 	lockdep_assert_held(&zwplug->lock);
@@ -720,6 +739,20 @@ static void disk_zone_wplug_abort(struct blk_zone_wplug *zwplug)
 		blk_zone_wplug_bio_io_error(zwplug, bio);
 
 	zwplug->flags &= ~BLK_ZONE_WPLUG_PLUGGED;
+
+	/*
+	 * If we are using the per disk zone write plugs worker thread, remove
+	 * the zone write plug from the work list and drop the reference we
+	 * took when the zone write plug was added to that list.
+	 */
+	if (blk_queue_zoned_qd1_writes(disk->queue)) {
+		spin_lock(&disk->zone_wplugs_list_lock);
+		if (!list_empty(&zwplug->entry)) {
+			list_del_init(&zwplug->entry);
+			disk_put_zone_wplug(zwplug);
+		}
+		spin_unlock(&disk->zone_wplugs_list_lock);
+	}
 }
 
 /*
@@ -1154,8 +1187,8 @@ void blk_zone_mgmt_bio_endio(struct bio *bio)
 	}
 }
 
-static void disk_zone_wplug_schedule_bio_work(struct gendisk *disk,
-					      struct blk_zone_wplug *zwplug)
+static void disk_zone_wplug_schedule_work(struct gendisk *disk,
+					  struct blk_zone_wplug *zwplug)
 {
 	lockdep_assert_held(&zwplug->lock);
 
@@ -1168,6 +1201,7 @@ static void disk_zone_wplug_schedule_bio_work(struct gendisk *disk,
 	 * and we also drop this reference if the work is already scheduled.
 	 */
 	WARN_ON_ONCE(!(zwplug->flags & BLK_ZONE_WPLUG_PLUGGED));
+	WARN_ON_ONCE(blk_queue_zoned_qd1_writes(disk->queue));
 	refcount_inc(&zwplug->ref);
 	if (!queue_work(disk->zone_wplugs_wq, &zwplug->bio_work))
 		disk_put_zone_wplug(zwplug);
@@ -1207,6 +1241,22 @@ static inline void disk_zone_wplug_add_bio(struct gendisk *disk,
 	bio_list_add(&zwplug->bio_list, bio);
 	trace_disk_zone_wplug_add_bio(zwplug->disk->queue, zwplug->zone_no,
 				      bio->bi_iter.bi_sector, bio_sectors(bio));
+
+	/*
+	 * If we are using the disk zone write plugs worker instead of the per
+	 * zone write plug BIO work, add the zone write plug to the work list
+	 * if it is not already there. Make sure to also get an extra reference
+	 * on the zone write plug so that it does not go away until it is
+	 * removed from the work list.
+	 */
+	if (blk_queue_zoned_qd1_writes(disk->queue)) {
+		spin_lock(&disk->zone_wplugs_list_lock);
+		if (list_empty(&zwplug->entry)) {
+			list_add_tail(&zwplug->entry, &disk->zone_wplugs_list);
+			refcount_inc(&zwplug->ref);
+		}
+		spin_unlock(&disk->zone_wplugs_list_lock);
+	}
 }
 
 /*
@@ -1425,6 +1475,13 @@ static bool blk_zone_wplug_handle_write(struct bio *bio, unsigned int nr_segs)
 		goto queue_bio;
 	}
 
+	/*
+	 * For rotational devices, we will use the gendisk zone write plugs
+	 * work instead of the per zone write plug BIO work, so queue the BIO.
+	 */
+	if (blk_queue_zoned_qd1_writes(disk->queue))
+		goto queue_bio;
+
 	/* If the zone is already plugged, add the BIO to the BIO plug list. */
 	if (zwplug->flags & BLK_ZONE_WPLUG_PLUGGED)
 		goto queue_bio;
@@ -1447,7 +1504,10 @@ static bool blk_zone_wplug_handle_write(struct bio *bio, unsigned int nr_segs)
 
 	if (!(zwplug->flags & BLK_ZONE_WPLUG_PLUGGED)) {
 		zwplug->flags |= BLK_ZONE_WPLUG_PLUGGED;
-		disk_zone_wplug_schedule_bio_work(disk, zwplug);
+		if (blk_queue_zoned_qd1_writes(disk->queue))
+			wake_up_process(disk->zone_wplugs_worker);
+		else
+			disk_zone_wplug_schedule_work(disk, zwplug);
 	}
 
 	spin_unlock_irqrestore(&zwplug->lock, flags);
@@ -1588,16 +1648,22 @@ static void disk_zone_wplug_unplug_bio(struct gendisk *disk,
 
 	spin_lock_irqsave(&zwplug->lock, flags);
 
-	/* Schedule submission of the next plugged BIO if we have one. */
-	if (!bio_list_empty(&zwplug->bio_list)) {
-		disk_zone_wplug_schedule_bio_work(disk, zwplug);
-		spin_unlock_irqrestore(&zwplug->lock, flags);
-		return;
-	}
+	/*
+	 * For rotational devices, signal the BIO completion to the zone write
+	 * plug work. Otherwise, schedule submission of the next plugged BIO
+	 * if we have one.
+	 */
+	if (bio_list_empty(&zwplug->bio_list))
+		zwplug->flags &= ~BLK_ZONE_WPLUG_PLUGGED;
+
+	if (blk_queue_zoned_qd1_writes(disk->queue))
+		complete(&disk->zone_wplugs_worker_bio_done);
+	else if (!bio_list_empty(&zwplug->bio_list))
+		disk_zone_wplug_schedule_work(disk, zwplug);
 
-	zwplug->flags &= ~BLK_ZONE_WPLUG_PLUGGED;
 	if (!zwplug->wp_offset || disk_zone_wplug_is_full(disk, zwplug))
 		disk_mark_zone_wplug_dead(zwplug);
+
 	spin_unlock_irqrestore(&zwplug->lock, flags);
 }
 
@@ -1687,10 +1753,9 @@ void blk_zone_write_plug_finish_request(struct request *req)
 	disk_put_zone_wplug(zwplug);
 }
 
-static void blk_zone_wplug_bio_work(struct work_struct *work)
+static bool disk_zone_wplug_submit_bio(struct gendisk *disk,
+				       struct blk_zone_wplug *zwplug)
 {
-	struct blk_zone_wplug *zwplug =
-		container_of(work, struct blk_zone_wplug, bio_work);
 	struct block_device *bdev;
 	unsigned long flags;
 	struct bio *bio;
@@ -1706,7 +1771,7 @@ static void blk_zone_wplug_bio_work(struct work_struct *work)
 	if (!bio) {
 		zwplug->flags &= ~BLK_ZONE_WPLUG_PLUGGED;
 		spin_unlock_irqrestore(&zwplug->lock, flags);
-		goto put_zwplug;
+		return false;
 	}
 
 	trace_blk_zone_wplug_bio(zwplug->disk->queue, zwplug->zone_no,
@@ -1720,14 +1785,15 @@ static void blk_zone_wplug_bio_work(struct work_struct *work)
 		goto again;
 	}
 
-	bdev = bio->bi_bdev;
-
 	/*
 	 * blk-mq devices will reuse the extra reference on the request queue
 	 * usage counter we took when the BIO was plugged, but the submission
 	 * path for BIO-based devices will not do that. So drop this extra
 	 * reference here.
 	 */
+	if (blk_queue_zoned_qd1_writes(disk->queue))
+		reinit_completion(&disk->zone_wplugs_worker_bio_done);
+	bdev = bio->bi_bdev;
 	if (bdev_test_flag(bdev, BD_HAS_SUBMIT_BIO)) {
 		bdev->bd_disk->fops->submit_bio(bio);
 		blk_queue_exit(bdev->bd_disk->queue);
@@ -1735,14 +1801,78 @@ static void blk_zone_wplug_bio_work(struct work_struct *work)
 		blk_mq_submit_bio(bio);
 	}
 
-put_zwplug:
-	/* Drop the reference we took in disk_zone_wplug_schedule_bio_work(). */
-	disk_put_zone_wplug(zwplug);
+	return true;
+}
+
+static struct blk_zone_wplug *disk_get_zone_wplugs_work(struct gendisk *disk)
+{
+	struct blk_zone_wplug *zwplug;
+
+	spin_lock_irq(&disk->zone_wplugs_list_lock);
+	zwplug = list_first_entry_or_null(&disk->zone_wplugs_list,
+					  struct blk_zone_wplug, entry);
+	if (zwplug)
+		list_del_init(&zwplug->entry);
+	spin_unlock_irq(&disk->zone_wplugs_list_lock);
+
+	return zwplug;
+}
+
+static int disk_zone_wplugs_worker(void *data)
+{
+	struct gendisk *disk = data;
+	struct blk_zone_wplug *zwplug;
+	unsigned int noio_flag;
+
+	noio_flag = memalloc_noio_save();
+	set_user_nice(current, MIN_NICE);
+	set_freezable();
+
+	for (;;) {
+		set_current_state(TASK_INTERRUPTIBLE | TASK_FREEZABLE);
+
+		zwplug = disk_get_zone_wplugs_work(disk);
+		if (zwplug) {
+			/*
+			 * Process all BIOs of this zone write plug and then
+			 * drop the reference we took when adding the zone write
+			 * plug to the active list.
+			 */
+			set_current_state(TASK_RUNNING);
+			while (disk_zone_wplug_submit_bio(disk, zwplug))
+				blk_wait_io(&disk->zone_wplugs_worker_bio_done);
+			disk_put_zone_wplug(zwplug);
+			continue;
+		}
+
+		/*
+		 * Only sleep if nothing sets the state to running. Else check
+		 * for zone write plugs work again as a newly submitted BIO
+		 * might have added a zone write plug to the work list.
+		 */
+		if (get_current_state() == TASK_RUNNING) {
+			try_to_freeze();
+		} else {
+			if (kthread_should_stop()) {
+				set_current_state(TASK_RUNNING);
+				break;
+			}
+			schedule();
+		}
+	}
+
+	WARN_ON_ONCE(!list_empty(&disk->zone_wplugs_list));
+	memalloc_noio_restore(noio_flag);
+
+	return 0;
 }
 
 void disk_init_zone_resources(struct gendisk *disk)
 {
 	spin_lock_init(&disk->zone_wplugs_hash_lock);
+	spin_lock_init(&disk->zone_wplugs_list_lock);
+	INIT_LIST_HEAD(&disk->zone_wplugs_list);
+	init_completion(&disk->zone_wplugs_worker_bio_done);
 }
 
 /*
@@ -1758,6 +1888,7 @@ static int disk_alloc_zone_resources(struct gendisk *disk,
 				     unsigned int pool_size)
 {
 	unsigned int i;
+	int ret = -ENOMEM;
 
 	atomic_set(&disk->nr_zone_wplugs, 0);
 	disk->zone_wplugs_hash_bits =
@@ -1783,8 +1914,21 @@ static int disk_alloc_zone_resources(struct gendisk *disk,
 	if (!disk->zone_wplugs_wq)
 		goto destroy_pool;
 
+	disk->zone_wplugs_worker =
+		kthread_create(disk_zone_wplugs_worker, disk,
+			       "%s_zwplugs_worker", disk->disk_name);
+	if (IS_ERR(disk->zone_wplugs_worker)) {
+		ret = PTR_ERR(disk->zone_wplugs_worker);
+		disk->zone_wplugs_worker = NULL;
+		goto destroy_wq;
+	}
+	wake_up_process(disk->zone_wplugs_worker);
+
 	return 0;
 
+destroy_wq:
+	destroy_workqueue(disk->zone_wplugs_wq);
+	disk->zone_wplugs_wq = NULL;
 destroy_pool:
 	mempool_destroy(disk->zone_wplugs_pool);
 	disk->zone_wplugs_pool = NULL;
@@ -1792,7 +1936,7 @@ static int disk_alloc_zone_resources(struct gendisk *disk,
 	kfree(disk->zone_wplugs_hash);
 	disk->zone_wplugs_hash = NULL;
 	disk->zone_wplugs_hash_bits = 0;
-	return -ENOMEM;
+	return ret;
 }
 
 static void disk_destroy_zone_wplugs_hash_table(struct gendisk *disk)
@@ -1842,6 +1986,10 @@ static void disk_set_zones_cond_array(struct gendisk *disk, u8 *zones_cond)
 
 void disk_free_zone_resources(struct gendisk *disk)
 {
+	if (disk->zone_wplugs_worker)
+		kthread_stop(disk->zone_wplugs_worker);
+	WARN_ON_ONCE(!list_empty(&disk->zone_wplugs_list));
+
 	if (disk->zone_wplugs_wq) {
 		destroy_workqueue(disk->zone_wplugs_wq);
 		disk->zone_wplugs_wq = NULL;
diff --git a/include/linux/blkdev.h b/include/linux/blkdev.h
index 689090023770..ac899cd0cd70 100644
--- a/include/linux/blkdev.h
+++ b/include/linux/blkdev.h
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 #include <linux/minmax.h>
 #include <linux/timer.h>
 #include <linux/workqueue.h>
+#include <linux/completion.h>
 #include <linux/wait.h>
 #include <linux/bio.h>
 #include <linux/gfp.h>
@@ -204,6 +205,10 @@ struct gendisk {
 	struct mempool		*zone_wplugs_pool;
 	struct hlist_head	*zone_wplugs_hash;
 	struct workqueue_struct *zone_wplugs_wq;
+	spinlock_t		zone_wplugs_list_lock;
+	struct list_head	zone_wplugs_list;
+	struct task_struct	*zone_wplugs_worker;
+	struct completion	zone_wplugs_worker_bio_done;
 #endif /* CONFIG_BLK_DEV_ZONED */
 
 #if IS_ENABLED(CONFIG_CDROM)
@@ -668,6 +673,7 @@ enum {
 	QUEUE_FLAG_NO_ELV_SWITCH,	/* can't switch elevator any more */
 	QUEUE_FLAG_QOS_ENABLED,		/* qos is enabled */
 	QUEUE_FLAG_BIO_ISSUE_TIME,	/* record bio->issue_time_ns */
+	QUEUE_FLAG_ZONED_QD1_WRITES,	/* Limit zoned devices writes to QD=1 */
 	QUEUE_FLAG_MAX
 };
 
@@ -707,6 +713,8 @@ void blk_queue_flag_clear(unsigned int flag, struct request_queue *q);
 	test_bit(QUEUE_FLAG_DISABLE_WBT_DEF, &(q)->queue_flags)
 #define blk_queue_no_elv_switch(q)	\
 	test_bit(QUEUE_FLAG_NO_ELV_SWITCH, &(q)->queue_flags)
+#define blk_queue_zoned_qd1_writes(q)	\
+	test_bit(QUEUE_FLAG_ZONED_QD1_WRITES, &(q)->queue_flags)
 
 extern void blk_set_pm_only(struct request_queue *q);
 extern void blk_clear_pm_only(struct request_queue *q);
-- 
2.53.0

Re: [PATCH v2 5/7] block: allow submitting all zone writes from a single context

[Christoph Hellwig]

On Thu, Feb 26, 2026 at 01:10:22PM +0900, Damien Le Moal wrote:
> limits the maximum size of commands to a small value, e.g. HBAs
> controlled with the mpi3mr driver limit commands to a maximum of 1 MiB.
> In such case, the write throughput gains are over 40%.

Nice numbers!  Although it's a bit sad that HBA capabilities are
actually degrading with new products.

> +static ssize_t queue_zoned_qd1_writes_store(struct gendisk *disk,
> +					    const char *page, size_t count)
> +{
> +	struct request_queue *q = disk->queue;
> +	unsigned long qd1_writes;
> +	unsigned int memflags;
> +	ssize_t ret;
> +
> +	if (!blk_queue_is_zoned(q))
> +		return -EOPNOTSUPP;

I think with the attr visibility check the non-zoned case here can't
actually happen.

Otherwise this looks beautiful, thanks!

Reviewed-by: Christoph Hellwig <hch@lst.de>

[PATCH v2 6/7] block: default to QD=1 writes for blk-mq rotational zoned devices

[Damien Le Moal]

For blk-mq rotational zoned block devices (e.g. SMR HDDs), default to
having zone write plugging limit write operations to a maximum queue
depth of 1 for all zones. This significantly reduce write seek overhead
and improves SMR HDD write throughput.

For remotely connected disks with a very high network latency this
features might not be useful. However, remotely connected zoned devices
are rare at the moment, and we cannot know the round trip latency to
pick a good default for network attached devices. System administrators
can however disable this feature in that case.

For BIO based (non blk-mq) rotational zoned block devices, the device
driver (e.g. a DM target driver) can directly set an appropriate
default.

Signed-off-by: Damien Le Moal <dlemoal@kernel.org>
Reviewed-by: Hannes Reinecke <hare@suse.de>
---
 block/blk-sysfs.c | 8 ++++++++
 1 file changed, 8 insertions(+)

diff --git a/block/blk-sysfs.c b/block/blk-sysfs.c
index bfa2ab82cc55..a92513bfbdfc 100644
--- a/block/blk-sysfs.c
+++ b/block/blk-sysfs.c
@@ -964,6 +964,14 @@ int blk_register_queue(struct gendisk *disk)
 		blk_mq_debugfs_register(q);
 	blk_debugfs_unlock(q, memflags);
 
+	/*
+	 * For blk-mq rotational zoned devices, default to using QD=1
+	 * writes. For non-mq rotational zoned devices, the device driver can
+	 * set an appropriate default.
+	 */
+	if (queue_is_mq(q) && blk_queue_rot(q) && blk_queue_is_zoned(q))
+		blk_queue_flag_set(QUEUE_FLAG_ZONED_QD1_WRITES, q);
+
 	ret = disk_register_independent_access_ranges(disk);
 	if (ret)
 		goto out_debugfs_remove;
-- 
2.53.0

Re: [PATCH v2 6/7] block: default to QD=1 writes for blk-mq rotational zoned devices

[Christoph Hellwig]

Looks good:

Reviewed-by: Christoph Hellwig <hch@lst.de>

[PATCH v2 7/7] Documentation: ABI: stable: document the zoned_qd1_writes attribute

[Damien Le Moal]

Update the documentation file Documentation/ABI/stable/sysfs-block to
describe the zoned_qd1_writes sysfs queue attribute file.

Signed-off-by: Damien Le Moal <dlemoal@kernel.org>
Reviewed-by: Hannes Reinecke <hare@suse.de>
---
 Documentation/ABI/stable/sysfs-block | 15 +++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 15 insertions(+)

diff --git a/Documentation/ABI/stable/sysfs-block b/Documentation/ABI/stable/sysfs-block
index 09a9d4aca0fd..bc3056af5eb2 100644
--- a/Documentation/ABI/stable/sysfs-block
+++ b/Documentation/ABI/stable/sysfs-block
@@ -886,6 +886,21 @@ Description:
 		zone commands, they will be treated as regular block devices and
 		zoned will report "none".
 
+What:		/sys/block/<disk>/queue/zoned_qd1_writes
+Date:		January 2026
+Contact:	Damien Le Moal <dlemoal@kernel.org>
+Description:
+		[RW] zoned_qd1_writes indicates if write operations to a zoned
+		block device are being handled using a single issuer context (a
+		kernel thread) operating at a maximum queue depth of 1. A value
+		of 0 is always reported for regular block devices and for zoned
+		block devices that are not rotational devices (e.g. ZNS SSDs or
+		zoned UFS devices). For rotational zoned block devices (e.g. SMR
+		HDDs) the default value is 1. Since this default may not be
+		appropriate for some devices, e.g. remotely connected devices
+		over high latency networks, the user can disable this feature by
+		setting this attribute to 0.
+
 
 What:		/sys/block/<disk>/hidden
 Date:		March 2023
-- 
2.53.0

Re: [PATCH v2 7/7] Documentation: ABI: stable: document the zoned_qd1_writes attribute

[Christoph Hellwig]

Looks good:

Reviewed-by: Christoph Hellwig <hch@lst.de>

Re: [PATCH v2 0/7] Improve zoned (SMR) HDD write throughput

[Bart Van Assche]

On 2/25/26 8:10 PM, Damien Le Moal wrote:
> This patch series cleans up the zone write plugging code and introduces
> the ability to issue all write BIOs from a single context (a kthread)
> instead of allowing multiple zones to be written at the same time using
> a per zone work. As shown in patch 6, raw block device tests and XFS
> tests with an SMR HDD show that this can significantly increase write
> throughput (up to 40% over the current zone write plugging).
For the entire series:

Reviewed-by: Bart Van Assche <bvanassche@acm.org>