Re: [PATCH v3 3/4] fbdev/deferred-io: Support contiguous kernel memory framebuffers

David Hildenbrand
2025-06-05T08:10:42Z

On 04.06.25 23:58, Michael Kelley wrote:
> From: Michael Kelley <mhklinux@outlook.com> Sent: Tuesday, June 3, 2025 10:25 AM
>>
>> From: David Hildenbrand <david@redhat.com> Sent: Tuesday, June 3, 2025 12:55 AM
>>>
>>> On 03.06.25 03:49, Michael Kelley wrote:
>>>> From: David Hildenbrand <david@redhat.com> Sent: Monday, June 2, 2025 2:48 AM
>>>>>
>
> [snip]
>
>>>>>> @@ -182,20 +221,34 @@ static vm_fault_t fb_deferred_io_track_page(struct fb_info *info, unsigned long
>>>>>> }
>>>>>>
>>>>>> /*
>>>>>> - * We want the page to remain locked from ->page_mkwrite until
>>>>>> - * the PTE is marked dirty to avoid mapping_wrprotect_range()
>>>>>> - * being called before the PTE is updated, which would leave
>>>>>> - * the page ignored by defio.
>>>>>> - * Do this by locking the page here and informing the caller
>>>>>> - * about it with VM_FAULT_LOCKED.
>>>>>> + * The PTE must be marked writable before the defio deferred work runs
>>>>>> + * again and potentially marks the PTE write-protected. If the order
>>>>>> + * should be switched, the PTE would become writable without defio
>>>>>> + * tracking the page, leaving the page forever ignored by defio.
>>>>>> + *
>>>>>> + * For vmalloc() framebuffers, the associated struct page is locked
>>>>>> + * before releasing the defio lock. mm will later mark the PTE writaable
>>>>>> + * and release the struct page lock. The struct page lock prevents
>>>>>> + * the page from being prematurely being marked write-protected.
>>>>>> + *
>>>>>> + * For FBINFO_KMEMFB framebuffers, mm assumes there is no struct page,
>>>>>> + * so the PTE must be marked writable while the defio lock is held.
>>>>>> */
>>>>>> - lock_page(pageref->page);
>>>>>> + if (info->flags & FBINFO_KMEMFB) {
>>>>>> + unsigned long pfn = page_to_pfn(pageref->page);
>>>>>> +
>>>>>> + ret = vmf_insert_mixed_mkwrite(vmf->vma, vmf->address,
>>>>>> + __pfn_to_pfn_t(pfn, PFN_SPECIAL));
>>>>>
>>>>> Will the VMA have VM_PFNMAP or VM_MIXEDMAP set? PFN_SPECIAL is a
>>>>> horrible hack.
>>>>>
>>>>> In another thread, you mention that you use PFN_SPECIAL to bypass the
>>>>> check in vm_mixed_ok(), so VM_MIXEDMAP is likely not set?
>>>>
>>>> The VMA has VM_PFNMAP set, not VM_MIXEDMAP. It seemed like
>>>> VM_MIXEDMAP is somewhat of a superset of VM_PFNMAP, but maybe that's
>>>> a wrong impression.
>>>
>>> VM_PFNMAP: nothing is refcounted except anon pages
>>>
>>> VM_MIXEDMAP: anything with a "struct page" (pfn_valid()) is refcounted
>>>
>>> pte_special() is a way for GUP-fast to distinguish these refcounted (can
>>> GUP) from non-refcounted (camnnot GUP) pages mapped by PTEs without any
>>> locks or the VMA being available.
>>>
>>> Setting pte_special() in VM_MIXEDMAP on ptes that have a "struct page"
>>> (pfn_valid()) is likely very bogus.
>>
>> OK, good to know.
>>
>>>
>>>> vm_mixed_ok() does a thorough job of validating the
>>>> use of __vm_insert_mixed(), and since what I did was allowed, I thought
>>>> perhaps it was OK. Your feedback has set me straight, and that's what I
>>>> needed. :-)
>>>
>>> What exactly are you trying to achieve? :)
>>>
>>> If it's mapping a page with a "struct page" and *not* refcounting it,
>>> then vmf_insert_pfn() is the current way to achieve that in a VM_PFNMAP
>>> mapping. It will set pte_special() automatically for you.
>>>
>>
>> Yes, that's what I'm using to initially create the special PTE in the
>> .fault callback.
>>
>>>>
>>>> But the whole approach is moot with Alistair Popple's patch set that
>>>> eliminates pfn_t. Is there an existing mm API that will do mkwrite on a
>>>> special PTE in a VM_PFNMAP VMA? I didn't see one, but maybe I missed
>>>> it. If there's not one, I'll take a crack at adding it in the next version of my
>>>> patch set.
>>>
>>> I assume you'd want vmf_insert_pfn_mkwrite(), correct? Probably
>>> vmf_insert_pfn_prot() can be used by adding PAGE_WRITE to pgprot. (maybe
>>> :) )
>>
>> Ok, I'll look at that more closely. The sequence is that the special
>> PTE gets created with vmf_insert_pfn(). Then when the page is first
>> written to, the .pfn_mkwrite callback is invoked by mm. The question
>> is the best way for that callback to mark the existing PTE as writable.
>>
>
> FWIW, vmf_insert_pfn_prot() won't work. It calls insert_pfn() with
> the "mkwrite" parameter set to 'false', in which case insert_pfn()
> does nothing if the PTE already exists.

Ah, you are worried about the "already exists but is R/O case".

>
> So I would need to create a new API that does appropriate validation
> for a VM_PFNMAP VMA, and then calls insert_pfn() with the "mkwrite"
> parameter set to 'true'.

IMHO, nothing would speak against vmf_insert_pfn_mkwrite().

Much better than using that "mixed" ... beauty of a function.

--
Cheers,

David / dhildenb