[PATCH] erofs: reuse superblock for file-backed mounts

[PATCH] erofs: reuse superblock for file-backed mounts

[Giuseppe Scrivano]

When the same file is mounted multiple times (via path or fd), reuse
the existing superblock instead of creating a new one.  This allows
multiple mounts of the same image to share in-kernel data structures
more efficiently.

The backing file is identified by its inode and fsoffset.  If mount
options conflict, a separate superblock is created transparently as
a fallback.

Tested by mounting a 177M Fedora EROFS image 20 times with full
traversal:

```
\#!/bin/sh
IMG=${1:-/root/fedora.erofs}
N=20
DIR=$(mktemp -d)
trap "umount $DIR/m* 2>/dev/null; rm -rf $DIR" EXIT

sync; echo 3 > /proc/sys/vm/drop_caches
INODES_BEFORE=$(grep erofs_inode /proc/slabinfo | awk '{print $2}')
MEM_BEFORE=$(grep ^Slab: /proc/meminfo | awk '{print $2}')

for i in $(seq 1 $N); do mkdir $DIR/m$i && mount -t erofs "$IMG" $DIR/m$i && find $DIR/m$i > /dev/null; done

echo "Superblocks: $(grep $DIR /proc/self/mountinfo | awk '{print $3}' | sort -u | wc -l)"
echo "erofs_inode delta: +$(( $(grep erofs_inode /proc/slabinfo | awk '{print $2}') - INODES_BEFORE ))"
echo "Slab delta: +$(( $(grep ^Slab: /proc/meminfo | awk '{print $2}') - MEM_BEFORE )) kB"
```

unpatched kernel:

Superblocks: 20
erofs_inode delta: +46368
Slab delta: +39952 kB
0.08user 0.82system 0:00.98elapsed 93%CPU (0avgtext+0avgdata 4796maxresident)k
19168inputs+10304outputs (24major+16672minor)pagefaults 0swaps

patched kernel:

Superblocks: 1
erofs_inode delta: +2044
Slab delta: +1088 kB
0.07user 0.21system 0:00.31elapsed 91%CPU (0avgtext+0avgdata 4848maxresident)k
19024inputs+6784outputs (25major+16810minor)pagefaults 0swaps

The time difference shows that sharing the superblock also benefits
the page cache and inode cache, as subsequent mounts of the same image
avoid re-reading the backing file.  This is particularly useful for
container hosts running multiple containers from the same base image.

Signed-off-by: Giuseppe Scrivano <gscrivan@redhat.com>
---
 Documentation/filesystems/erofs.rst |  4 +++
 fs/erofs/super.c                    | 44 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++--
 2 files changed, 46 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/filesystems/erofs.rst b/Documentation/filesystems/erofs.rst
index 774e8b236d09..ef6785035b26 100644
--- a/Documentation/filesystems/erofs.rst
+++ b/Documentation/filesystems/erofs.rst
@@ -154,6 +154,10 @@ Only regular files are accepted as backing files; to mount an image that
 resides on a block device, use the traditional block device mount path
 instead.
 
+When the same backing file is mounted more than once with compatible
+mount options, the kernel reuses the existing superblock.  If mount
+options conflict, a separate superblock is created transparently.
+
 Sysfs Entries
 =============
 
diff --git a/fs/erofs/super.c b/fs/erofs/super.c
index 558041011398..cbd76727f0d3 100644
--- a/fs/erofs/super.c
+++ b/fs/erofs/super.c
@@ -788,6 +788,46 @@ static int erofs_fc_fill_super(struct super_block *sb, struct fs_context *fc)
 	return 0;
 }
 
+static int erofs_fc_test_file_super(struct super_block *sb,
+				    struct fs_context *fc)
+{
+	struct erofs_sb_info *sbi = EROFS_SB(sb);
+	struct erofs_sb_info *new_sbi = fc->s_fs_info;
+
+	if (sb->s_iflags & SB_I_RETIRED)
+		return 0;
+	if (!sbi->dif0.file || !new_sbi->dif0.file)
+		return 0;
+	return file_inode(sbi->dif0.file) == file_inode(new_sbi->dif0.file) &&
+	       sbi->dif0.fsoff == new_sbi->dif0.fsoff &&
+	       sbi->opt.mount_opt == new_sbi->opt.mount_opt &&
+	       sbi->opt.cache_strategy == new_sbi->opt.cache_strategy;
+}
+
+static int erofs_fc_get_tree_file(struct fs_context *fc)
+{
+	struct super_block *sb;
+	int err;
+
+	sb = sget_fc(fc, erofs_fc_test_file_super, set_anon_super_fc);
+	if (IS_ERR(sb))
+		return PTR_ERR(sb);
+
+	if (!sb->s_root) {
+		err = erofs_fc_fill_super(sb, fc);
+		if (err) {
+			deactivate_locked_super(sb);
+			return err;
+		}
+		sb->s_flags |= SB_ACTIVE;
+	} else {
+		erofs_info(sb, "sharing superblock for the same backing file");
+	}
+
+	fc->root = dget(sb->s_root);
+	return 0;
+}
+
 static int erofs_fc_get_tree(struct fs_context *fc)
 {
 	struct erofs_sb_info *sbi = fc->s_fs_info;
@@ -803,7 +843,7 @@ static int erofs_fc_get_tree(struct fs_context *fc)
 			errorfc(fc, "source is unsupported");
 			return -EINVAL;
 		}
-		return get_tree_nodev(fc, erofs_fc_fill_super);
+		return erofs_fc_get_tree_file(fc);
 	}
 
 	ret = get_tree_bdev_flags(fc, erofs_fc_fill_super,
@@ -821,7 +861,7 @@ static int erofs_fc_get_tree(struct fs_context *fc)
 
 		if (S_ISREG(file_inode(sbi->dif0.file)->i_mode) &&
 		    sbi->dif0.file->f_mapping->a_ops->read_folio)
-			return get_tree_nodev(fc, erofs_fc_fill_super);
+			return erofs_fc_get_tree_file(fc);
 	}
 	return ret;
 }
-- 
2.55.0

Re: [PATCH] erofs: reuse superblock for file-backed mounts

[Pedro Falcato]

On Thu, Jul 30, 2026 at 02:41:20PM +0200, Giuseppe Scrivano wrote:
> When the same file is mounted multiple times (via path or fd), reuse
> the existing superblock instead of creating a new one.  This allows
> multiple mounts of the same image to share in-kernel data structures
> more efficiently.
> 
> The backing file is identified by its inode and fsoffset.  If mount
> options conflict, a separate superblock is created transparently as
> a fallback.
> 
> Tested by mounting a 177M Fedora EROFS image 20 times with full
> traversal:
> 
> ```
> \#!/bin/sh
> IMG=${1:-/root/fedora.erofs}
> N=20
> DIR=$(mktemp -d)
> trap "umount $DIR/m* 2>/dev/null; rm -rf $DIR" EXIT
> 
> sync; echo 3 > /proc/sys/vm/drop_caches
> INODES_BEFORE=$(grep erofs_inode /proc/slabinfo | awk '{print $2}')
> MEM_BEFORE=$(grep ^Slab: /proc/meminfo | awk '{print $2}')
> 
> for i in $(seq 1 $N); do mkdir $DIR/m$i && mount -t erofs "$IMG" $DIR/m$i && find $DIR/m$i > /dev/null; done
> 
> echo "Superblocks: $(grep $DIR /proc/self/mountinfo | awk '{print $3}' | sort -u | wc -l)"
> echo "erofs_inode delta: +$(( $(grep erofs_inode /proc/slabinfo | awk '{print $2}') - INODES_BEFORE ))"
> echo "Slab delta: +$(( $(grep ^Slab: /proc/meminfo | awk '{print $2}') - MEM_BEFORE )) kB"
> ```
> 
> unpatched kernel:
> 
> Superblocks: 20
> erofs_inode delta: +46368
> Slab delta: +39952 kB
> 0.08user 0.82system 0:00.98elapsed 93%CPU (0avgtext+0avgdata 4796maxresident)k
> 19168inputs+10304outputs (24major+16672minor)pagefaults 0swaps
> 
> patched kernel:
> 
> Superblocks: 1
> erofs_inode delta: +2044
> Slab delta: +1088 kB
> 0.07user 0.21system 0:00.31elapsed 91%CPU (0avgtext+0avgdata 4848maxresident)k
> 19024inputs+6784outputs (25major+16810minor)pagefaults 0swaps
> 
> The time difference shows that sharing the superblock also benefits
> the page cache and inode cache, as subsequent mounts of the same image
> avoid re-reading the backing file.  This is particularly useful for
> container hosts running multiple containers from the same base image.

Doesn't this approach break-down as soon as you get to change SB flags (through
e.g mount -o remount)? It will change superblock flags for all of them, right?

(I don't think you can switch off the superblock transparently on a
reconfigure?)


-- 
Pedro

Re: [PATCH] erofs: reuse superblock for file-backed mounts

[Giuseppe Scrivano]

Pedro Falcato <pfalcato@suse.de> writes:

> On Thu, Jul 30, 2026 at 02:41:20PM +0200, Giuseppe Scrivano wrote:
>> When the same file is mounted multiple times (via path or fd), reuse
>> the existing superblock instead of creating a new one.  This allows
>> multiple mounts of the same image to share in-kernel data structures
>> more efficiently.
>> 
>> The backing file is identified by its inode and fsoffset.  If mount
>> options conflict, a separate superblock is created transparently as
>> a fallback.
>> 
>> Tested by mounting a 177M Fedora EROFS image 20 times with full
>> traversal:
>> 
>> ```
>> \#!/bin/sh
>> IMG=${1:-/root/fedora.erofs}
>> N=20
>> DIR=$(mktemp -d)
>> trap "umount $DIR/m* 2>/dev/null; rm -rf $DIR" EXIT
>> 
>> sync; echo 3 > /proc/sys/vm/drop_caches
>> INODES_BEFORE=$(grep erofs_inode /proc/slabinfo | awk '{print $2}')
>> MEM_BEFORE=$(grep ^Slab: /proc/meminfo | awk '{print $2}')
>> 
>> for i in $(seq 1 $N); do mkdir $DIR/m$i && mount -t erofs "$IMG"
>> $DIR/m$i && find $DIR/m$i > /dev/null; done
>> 
>> echo "Superblocks: $(grep $DIR /proc/self/mountinfo | awk '{print $3}' | sort -u | wc -l)"
>> echo "erofs_inode delta: +$(( $(grep erofs_inode /proc/slabinfo | awk '{print $2}') - INODES_BEFORE ))"
>> echo "Slab delta: +$(( $(grep ^Slab: /proc/meminfo | awk '{print $2}') - MEM_BEFORE )) kB"
>> ```
>> 
>> unpatched kernel:
>> 
>> Superblocks: 20
>> erofs_inode delta: +46368
>> Slab delta: +39952 kB
>> 0.08user 0.82system 0:00.98elapsed 93%CPU (0avgtext+0avgdata 4796maxresident)k
>> 19168inputs+10304outputs (24major+16672minor)pagefaults 0swaps
>> 
>> patched kernel:
>> 
>> Superblocks: 1
>> erofs_inode delta: +2044
>> Slab delta: +1088 kB
>> 0.07user 0.21system 0:00.31elapsed 91%CPU (0avgtext+0avgdata 4848maxresident)k
>> 19024inputs+6784outputs (25major+16810minor)pagefaults 0swaps
>> 
>> The time difference shows that sharing the superblock also benefits
>> the page cache and inode cache, as subsequent mounts of the same image
>> avoid re-reading the backing file.  This is particularly useful for
>> container hosts running multiple containers from the same base image.
>
> Doesn't this approach break-down as soon as you get to change SB flags (through
> e.g mount -o remount)? It will change superblock flags for all of them, right?
>
> (I don't think you can switch off the superblock transparently on a
> reconfigure?)

This is the same preexisting behavior for block device mounts.  That
said, I realize this can feel confusing since EROFS is not a block
device and allowed this so far.

One way to solve this could be an explicit mount option "share_sb" that
is opt-in and, once set, blocks any remount operations.  Would that
work?

Regards,
Giuseppe

Re: [PATCH] erofs: reuse superblock for file-backed mounts

[Giuseppe Scrivano]

Giuseppe Scrivano <gscrivan@redhat.com> writes:

> Pedro Falcato <pfalcato@suse.de> writes:
>
>> On Thu, Jul 30, 2026 at 02:41:20PM +0200, Giuseppe Scrivano wrote:
>>> When the same file is mounted multiple times (via path or fd), reuse
>>> the existing superblock instead of creating a new one.  This allows
>>> multiple mounts of the same image to share in-kernel data structures
>>> more efficiently.
>>> 
>>> The backing file is identified by its inode and fsoffset.  If mount
>>> options conflict, a separate superblock is created transparently as
>>> a fallback.
>>> 
>>> Tested by mounting a 177M Fedora EROFS image 20 times with full
>>> traversal:
>>> 
>>> ```
>>> \#!/bin/sh
>>> IMG=${1:-/root/fedora.erofs}
>>> N=20
>>> DIR=$(mktemp -d)
>>> trap "umount $DIR/m* 2>/dev/null; rm -rf $DIR" EXIT
>>> 
>>> sync; echo 3 > /proc/sys/vm/drop_caches
>>> INODES_BEFORE=$(grep erofs_inode /proc/slabinfo | awk '{print $2}')
>>> MEM_BEFORE=$(grep ^Slab: /proc/meminfo | awk '{print $2}')
>>> 
>>> for i in $(seq 1 $N); do mkdir $DIR/m$i && mount -t erofs "$IMG"
>>> $DIR/m$i && find $DIR/m$i > /dev/null; done
>>> 
>>> echo "Superblocks: $(grep $DIR /proc/self/mountinfo | awk '{print $3}' | sort -u | wc -l)"
>>> echo "erofs_inode delta: +$(( $(grep erofs_inode /proc/slabinfo | awk '{print $2}') - INODES_BEFORE ))"
>>> echo "Slab delta: +$(( $(grep ^Slab: /proc/meminfo | awk '{print $2}') - MEM_BEFORE )) kB"
>>> ```
>>> 
>>> unpatched kernel:
>>> 
>>> Superblocks: 20
>>> erofs_inode delta: +46368
>>> Slab delta: +39952 kB
>>> 0.08user 0.82system 0:00.98elapsed 93%CPU (0avgtext+0avgdata 4796maxresident)k
>>> 19168inputs+10304outputs (24major+16672minor)pagefaults 0swaps
>>> 
>>> patched kernel:
>>> 
>>> Superblocks: 1
>>> erofs_inode delta: +2044
>>> Slab delta: +1088 kB
>>> 0.07user 0.21system 0:00.31elapsed 91%CPU (0avgtext+0avgdata 4848maxresident)k
>>> 19024inputs+6784outputs (25major+16810minor)pagefaults 0swaps
>>> 
>>> The time difference shows that sharing the superblock also benefits
>>> the page cache and inode cache, as subsequent mounts of the same image
>>> avoid re-reading the backing file.  This is particularly useful for
>>> container hosts running multiple containers from the same base image.
>>
>> Doesn't this approach break-down as soon as you get to change SB flags (through
>> e.g mount -o remount)? It will change superblock flags for all of them, right?
>>
>> (I don't think you can switch off the superblock transparently on a
>> reconfigure?)
>
> This is the same preexisting behavior for block device mounts.  That
> said, I realize this can feel confusing since EROFS is not a block
> device and allowed this so far.
>
> One way to solve this could be an explicit mount option "share_sb" that
> is opt-in and, once set, blocks any remount operations.  Would that
> work?

Would something like the following fixup on top of the previous patch be
acceptable (suggestions for better names are welcome)?

Thanks,
Giuseppe

diff --git a/fs/erofs/internal.h b/fs/erofs/internal.h
index 580f8d9f14e7..ac26daf4f78a 100644
--- a/fs/erofs/internal.h
+++ b/fs/erofs/internal.h
@@ -156,6 +156,7 @@ struct erofs_sb_info {
 #define EROFS_MOUNT_DAX_NEVER		0x00000080
 #define EROFS_MOUNT_DIRECT_IO		0x00000100
 #define EROFS_MOUNT_INODE_SHARE		0x00000200
+#define EROFS_MOUNT_SHARE_SB		0x00000400
 
 #define clear_opt(opt, option)	((opt)->mount_opt &= ~EROFS_MOUNT_##option)
 #define set_opt(opt, option)	((opt)->mount_opt |= EROFS_MOUNT_##option)
diff --git a/fs/erofs/super.c b/fs/erofs/super.c
index cbd76727f0d3..dd2a351811c8 100644
--- a/fs/erofs/super.c
+++ b/fs/erofs/super.c
@@ -386,7 +386,7 @@ static void erofs_default_options(struct erofs_sb_info *sbi)
 enum {
 	Opt_user_xattr, Opt_acl, Opt_cache_strategy, Opt_dax, Opt_dax_enum,
 	Opt_device, Opt_domain_id, Opt_directio, Opt_fsoffset, Opt_inode_share,
-	Opt_source,
+	Opt_source, Opt_share_sb,
 };
 
 static const struct constant_table erofs_param_cache_strategy[] = {
@@ -414,6 +414,7 @@ static const struct fs_parameter_spec erofs_fs_parameters[] = {
 	fsparam_flag_no("directio",		Opt_directio),
 	fsparam_u64("fsoffset",			Opt_fsoffset),
 	fsparam_flag("inode_share",		Opt_inode_share),
+	fsparam_flag("share_sb",		Opt_share_sb),
 	fsparam_file_or_string("source",	Opt_source),
 	{}
 };
@@ -560,6 +561,12 @@ static int erofs_fc_parse_param(struct fs_context *fc,
 		else
 			set_opt(&sbi->opt, INODE_SHARE);
 		break;
+	case Opt_share_sb:
+		if (!IS_ENABLED(CONFIG_EROFS_FS_BACKED_BY_FILE))
+			errorfc(fc, "%s option not supported", erofs_fs_parameters[opt].name);
+		else
+			set_opt(&sbi->opt, SHARE_SB);
+		break;
 	case Opt_source:
 		return erofs_fc_parse_source(fc, param);
 	}
@@ -798,6 +805,8 @@ static int erofs_fc_test_file_super(struct super_block *sb,
 		return 0;
 	if (!sbi->dif0.file || !new_sbi->dif0.file)
 		return 0;
+	if (!test_opt(&new_sbi->opt, SHARE_SB))
+		return 0;
 	return file_inode(sbi->dif0.file) == file_inode(new_sbi->dif0.file) &&
 	       sbi->dif0.fsoff == new_sbi->dif0.fsoff &&
 	       sbi->opt.mount_opt == new_sbi->opt.mount_opt &&
@@ -874,6 +883,9 @@ static int erofs_fc_reconfigure(struct fs_context *fc)
 
 	DBG_BUGON(!sb_rdonly(sb));
 
+	if (test_opt(&sbi->opt, SHARE_SB))
+		return -EBUSY;
+
 	if (new_sbi->domain_id)
 		erofs_info(sb, "ignoring reconfiguration for domain_id.");