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From: Kunwu Chan <kunwu.chan@gmail.com>
To: corbet@lwn.net, skhan@linuxfoundation.org, peterz@infradead.org,
	mingo@redhat.com, acme@kernel.org, namhyung@kernel.org,
	mark.rutland@arm.com, alexander.shishkin@linux.intel.com,
	jolsa@kernel.org, irogers@google.com, adrian.hunter@intel.com,
	james.clark@linaro.org, kunwu.chan@gmail.com,
	lianux.mm@gmail.com
Cc: linux-doc@vger.kernel.org, linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org,
	linux-perf-users@vger.kernel.org,
	linux-kselftest@vger.kernel.org, sj@kernel.org
Subject: [RFC PATCH 1/5] perf/core: add AUX buffer ownership for kernel events
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 2026 22:49:17 +0800	[thread overview]
Message-ID: <20260814144927.489172-2-kunwu.chan@linux.dev> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <20260814144927.489172-1-kunwu.chan@linux.dev>

From: Kunwu Chan <kunwu.chan@gmail.com>

Add an in-kernel AUX owner reference and setup/release helpers for
kernel-created perf events that need an AUX buffer without a userspace
mmap.  The setup path validates that the event is a kernel event with
no parent, rejects non-power-of-two page counts and negative watermark
values, allocates the perf buffer and AUX pages, records the kernel
owner, and attaches the buffer through the existing mmap-serialized
helper.  The release path stops AUX writers, frees AUX storage, drops
the event->rb reference via ring_buffer_put(), and detaches only buffers
owned by this API.

Keep aux_mmap_count dedicated to userspace mappings.
perf_aux_output_begin() accepts a writer while either a userspace or kernel
owner remains, preserving the existing teardown ordering.

Co-developed-by: Lian Wang (Processmission) <lianux.mm@gmail.com>
Signed-off-by: Lian Wang (Processmission) <lianux.mm@gmail.com>
Signed-off-by: Kunwu Chan <kunwu.chan@gmail.com>
---
 include/linux/perf_event.h  |  11 +++
 kernel/events/core.c        | 139 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 kernel/events/internal.h    |   1 +
 kernel/events/ring_buffer.c |  11 +--
 4 files changed, 158 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

diff --git a/include/linux/perf_event.h b/include/linux/perf_event.h
index 48d851fbd8ea..4070a725d21f 100644
--- a/include/linux/perf_event.h
+++ b/include/linux/perf_event.h
@@ -1254,6 +1254,17 @@ perf_event_create_kernel_counter(struct perf_event_attr *attr,
 				 perf_overflow_handler_t callback,
 				 void *context);
 
+/*
+ * AUX ring-buffer support for kernel-created events (no user mmap).
+ * perf_event_setup_aux() allocates the buffer the PMU writes into via
+ * perf_aux_output_begin()/perf_aux_output_end(); the paired
+ * perf_event_release_aux() must be called before
+ * perf_event_release_kernel().
+ */
+extern int perf_event_setup_aux(struct perf_event *event, int nr_pages,
+				long watermark);
+extern void perf_event_release_aux(struct perf_event *event);
+
 extern void perf_pmu_migrate_context(struct pmu *pmu,
 				     int src_cpu, int dst_cpu);
 extern int perf_event_read_local(struct perf_event *event, u64 *value,
diff --git a/kernel/events/core.c b/kernel/events/core.c
index 4638544205f2..da6225ca144a 100644
--- a/kernel/events/core.c
+++ b/kernel/events/core.c
@@ -7122,6 +7122,145 @@ static void perf_mmap_close(struct vm_area_struct *vma)
 	ring_buffer_put(rb); /* could be last */
 }
 
+/*
+ * perf_event_setup_aux()/perf_event_release_aux() - AUX buffer support for
+ * kernel-created perf events (perf_event_create_kernel_counter()).
+ *
+ * perf_mmap()/perf_mmap_close() build and tear down AUX buffers for
+ * user-space events; kernel consumers (e.g. DAMON's ARM SPE backend) have no
+ * mmap, so they need this symmetric pair to get a buffer the PMU can write
+ * into via perf_aux_output_begin()/perf_aux_output_end().
+ *
+ * The buffer holds an AUX owner reference (aux_kernel_count = 1) so
+ * perf_aux_output_begin() admits writers and so it is torn down here
+ * rather than by perf_mmap_close().  perf_event_release_aux() also detaches
+ * the event's normal ring-buffer reference before the event is released.
+ */
+
+/**
+ * perf_event_setup_aux() - Allocate an AUX ring buffer for an event.
+ * @event:	Kernel-created perf event (must not have an rb yet).
+ * @nr_pages:	AUX buffer size in pages; power of two, >= 1.
+ * @watermark:	AUX watermark; 0 selects the perf default (half the buffer).
+ *
+ * The buffer is non-overwrite streaming (RING_BUFFER_WRITABLE): the PMU
+ * pauses when the buffer is full until the consumer advances the tail.
+ * Must be called before the event is enabled.  The PMU's ->setup_aux()
+ * callback (e.g. arm_spe_pmu_setup_aux) validates the size and maps the
+ * pages for hardware writes.  The ring buffer is allocated with zero
+ * data pages, so PERF_RECORD_AUX events are not recorded; this is
+ * intentional for kernel consumers that drain trace data directly.
+ * Returns 0 on success, -errno otherwise.
+ */
+int perf_event_setup_aux(struct perf_event *event, int nr_pages,
+			 long watermark)
+{
+	struct perf_buffer *rb;
+	int ret;
+
+	if (!is_kernel_event(event) || event->parent ||
+	    !is_power_of_2(nr_pages) || watermark < 0)
+		return -EINVAL;
+
+	mutex_lock(&event->mmap_mutex);
+	if (event->rb) {
+		ret = -EBUSY;
+		goto out_unlock;
+	}
+
+	rb = rb_alloc(0, 0, event->cpu, 0);
+	if (!rb) {
+		ret = -ENOMEM;
+		goto out_unlock;
+	}
+
+	/* AUX area sits right after the user (control) page. */
+	ret = rb_alloc_aux(rb, event, 1, nr_pages, watermark,
+			   RING_BUFFER_WRITABLE);
+	if (ret)
+		goto err_put;
+
+	/*
+	 * No user-space mmap exists for this buffer; record an in-kernel
+	 * AUX owner (aux_kernel_count) instead so perf_aux_output_begin()
+	 * admits writers and perf_event_release_aux() performs the teardown
+	 * that perf_mmap_close() would otherwise do.
+	 */
+	refcount_set(&rb->aux_kernel_count, 1);
+
+	/* Transfer the allocation reference to the event. */
+	ring_buffer_attach(event, rb);
+	mutex_unlock(&event->mmap_mutex);
+
+	return 0;
+
+err_put:
+	ring_buffer_put(rb);
+out_unlock:
+	mutex_unlock(&event->mmap_mutex);
+	return ret;
+}
+EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(perf_event_setup_aux);
+
+/**
+ * perf_event_release_aux() - Tear down an AUX buffer for an event.
+ * @event:	Event with an AUX buffer allocated by perf_event_setup_aux().
+ *
+ * Stops any active AUX writers, frees the AUX pages, and detaches the ring
+ * buffer from the event.  Must be called before perf_event_release_kernel().
+ * Safe to call with a missing rb (no-op).  A ring buffer not allocated by
+ * perf_event_setup_aux() is left attached.
+ *
+ * The caller must quiesce AUX consumers before releasing the buffer;
+ * active AUX references at release time indicate a violated lifetime
+ * contract (see the aux_refcount WARN below).
+ */
+void perf_event_release_aux(struct perf_event *event)
+{
+	struct perf_buffer *rb;
+
+	if (!is_kernel_event(event) || event->parent)
+		return;
+
+	rb = ring_buffer_get(event);
+	if (!rb)
+		return;
+
+	/* Do not detach a ring buffer that this API does not own. */
+	if (!rb_has_aux(rb) || !refcount_read(&rb->aux_kernel_count))
+		goto out_put;
+
+	if (refcount_dec_and_mutex_lock(&rb->aux_kernel_count, &rb->aux_mutex)) {
+		/*
+		 * Stop all AUX events writing to this buffer so the pages
+		 * can be freed; after aux_kernel_count drops to zero they
+		 * won't start any more (see perf_aux_output_begin()).
+		 */
+		perf_pmu_output_stop(event);
+
+		rb_free_aux(rb);
+		WARN_ON_ONCE(refcount_read(&rb->aux_refcount));
+		mutex_unlock(&rb->aux_mutex);
+	}
+
+	/*
+	 * Detach the ring buffer from the event.  This runs even if the
+	 * refcount_dec_and_mutex_lock above lost the race to another
+	 * concurrent release caller; the mmap_mutex serialisation and the
+	 * event->rb == rb check ensure only one caller performs the detach.
+	 */
+	mutex_lock(&event->mmap_mutex);
+	if (event->rb == rb) {
+		ring_buffer_attach(event, NULL);
+		ring_buffer_put(rb); /* drop the event->rb reference */
+	}
+	mutex_unlock(&event->mmap_mutex);
+
+out_put:
+	ring_buffer_put(rb); /* the temporary reference from ring_buffer_get() */
+}
+EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(perf_event_release_aux);
+
 static vm_fault_t perf_mmap_pfn_mkwrite(struct vm_fault *vmf)
 {
 	/* The first page is the user control page, others are read-only. */
diff --git a/kernel/events/internal.h b/kernel/events/internal.h
index c03c4f2eea57..7bcb60827514 100644
--- a/kernel/events/internal.h
+++ b/kernel/events/internal.h
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ struct perf_buffer {
 	int				aux_nr_pages;
 	int				aux_overwrite;
 	refcount_t			aux_mmap_count;
+	refcount_t			aux_kernel_count; /* in-kernel AUX owner */
 	unsigned long			aux_mmap_locked;
 	void				(*free_aux)(void *);
 	refcount_t			aux_refcount;
diff --git a/kernel/events/ring_buffer.c b/kernel/events/ring_buffer.c
index 9fe92161715e..be57007a1b79 100644
--- a/kernel/events/ring_buffer.c
+++ b/kernel/events/ring_buffer.c
@@ -395,14 +395,17 @@ void *perf_aux_output_begin(struct perf_output_handle *handle,
 		goto err;
 
 	/*
-	 * If aux_mmap_count is zero, the aux buffer is in perf_mmap_close(),
-	 * about to get freed, so we leave immediately.
+	 * If no AUX owner remains, the buffer is in perf_mmap_close() or
+	 * perf_event_release_aux(), about to get freed, so we leave
+	 * immediately.  aux_mmap_count tracks user-space mmap owners;
+	 * aux_kernel_count tracks in-kernel owners (perf_event_setup_aux()).
 	 *
-	 * Checking rb::aux_mmap_count and rb::refcount has to be done in
+	 * Checking the AUX owner counts and rb::refcount has to be done in
 	 * the same order, see perf_mmap_close. Otherwise we end up freeing
 	 * aux pages in this path, which is a bug, because in_atomic().
 	 */
-	if (!refcount_read(&rb->aux_mmap_count))
+	if (!refcount_read(&rb->aux_mmap_count) &&
+	    !refcount_read(&rb->aux_kernel_count))
 		goto err;
 
 	if (!refcount_inc_not_zero(&rb->aux_refcount))
-- 
2.43.0


  reply	other threads:[~2026-08-14 14:49 UTC|newest]

Thread overview: 6+ messages / expand[flat|nested]  mbox.gz  Atom feed  top
2026-08-14 14:49 [RFC PATCH 0/5] perf/core: add AUX buffer kernel-consumer API Kunwu Chan
2026-08-14 14:49 ` Kunwu Chan [this message]
2026-08-14 14:49 ` [RFC PATCH 2/5] perf/core: add AUX ring accessors for kernel consumers Kunwu Chan
2026-08-14 14:49 ` [RFC PATCH 3/5] perf/core: add KUnit tests for AUX kernel-consumer API Kunwu Chan
2026-08-14 14:49 ` [RFC PATCH 4/5] selftests/perf_events: add userspace AUX regression test Kunwu Chan
2026-08-14 14:49 ` [RFC PATCH 5/5] selftests/perf_events: add AUX kernel API selftest script Kunwu Chan

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