[PATCH bpf-next v2 0/2] bpf: BPF-driven proactive memcg reclaim

[PATCH bpf-next v2 0/2] bpf: BPF-driven proactive memcg reclaim

[Hui Zhu]

From: Hui Zhu <zhuhui@kylinos.cn>

This series lets a BPF program decide when to trigger memcg reclaim
and how aggressively to do it, based on whatever runtime signal it
chooses to observe -- rather than reclaim only being triggered once a
cgroup's usage crosses a fixed threshold. The core idea is a pair of
new kfuncs, bpf_proactive_reclaim() and
bpf_proactive_reclaim_swappiness(), which give BPF direct access to
the proactive reclaim path so this decision can be made in BPF policy
rather than hard-coded threshold logic.

This was originally part of a larger series posted here [1].
That series also adds a memcg BPF struct_ops (memcg_charged,
memcg_uncharged, below_low, below_min) for synchronous, in-line memory
protection decisions. That mechanism and this one solve different
problems -- struct_ops hooks run inline on the charge/reclaim path,
while the kfuncs here are for asynchronous, out-of-band reclaim
decided independently by a BPF program -- so they are reviewed as
separate series. This series carries only the async reclaim piece.

Compared to v1, the kfunc interface has been reworked based on review
feedback: instead of a thin wrapper around
try_to_free_mem_cgroup_pages() exposing raw gfp/reclaim-option knobs,
the series now provides use-case-driven kfuncs that perform one
proactive reclaim pass with the same parameters memory.reclaim uses.
The bpf_thread_wq patches from v1 (old patches 2-3) are dropped from
this series: following the discussion in [2], the cgroup-aware
workqueue is being superseded by a disaggregated set of async
primitives (bpf_kthread/bpf_waitq) that will be developed separately
(discussion in [3]), and the selftest now queues its reclaim work
through bpf_wq.

Patch 1 adds bpf_proactive_reclaim() and
bpf_proactive_reclaim_swappiness(), sleepable kfuncs that perform one
reclaim pass on a target memcg, like a write to memory.reclaim: swap
is allowed, and the anon/file balance follows the cgroup's swappiness
or an explicit override in [MIN_SWAPPINESS, MAX_SWAPPINESS] plus
SWAPPINESS_ANON_ONLY. Both delegate to try_to_free_mem_cgroup_pages()
with GFP_KERNEL and MEMCG_RECLAIM_MAY_SWAP | MEMCG_RECLAIM_PROACTIVE,
the same parameters user_proactive_reclaim() uses, and unlike
memory.reclaim they do not retry until the requested size is reached.
Both refuse to run when the caller already holds PF_MEMALLOC, since a
nested try_to_free_mem_cgroup_pages() would clobber the outer
reclaim's current->reclaim_state (e.g. MGLRU dereferences
current->reclaim_state->mm_walk).

Patch 2 (selftests/bpf: add memcg async reclaim test) ties the kfuncs
into a worked example: it watches the WORKINGSET_REFAULT_FILE counter
of a high-priority cgroup as a proxy for memory-pressure impact, and
once it starts climbing, proactively reclaims pages from a
low-priority cgroup via bpf_proactive_reclaim(), with the reclaim
work queued asynchronously through bpf_wq. The test asserts that the
monitored cgroup's workload finishes faster once async reclaim kicks
in. This demonstrates the end-to-end use case: BPF observes pressure
on the cgroup it wants to protect, and reclaims from the cgroup it
wants to reclaim from, in one self-contained mechanism. Note that,
without bpf_thread_wq, the CPU cost of the reclaim work is not yet
attributed to a chosen cgroup; that part waits for the async
primitives work mentioned above.

Changelog:
v2:
According to the comments of Shakeel Butt, replace
bpf_try_to_free_mem_cgroup_pages() with
bpf_proactive_reclaim(memcg, size) and
bpf_proactive_reclaim_swappiness(memcg, size, swappiness).
According to the comments of Kumar Kartikeya Dwivedi, drop patch 2
and patch 3.
Remove bpf_thread_wq code in patch 4.
According to the comments of sashiko-bot, fix the issues of selftests.

[1] https://sashiko.dev/#/message/cover.1779760876.git.zhuhui%40kylinos.cn
[2] https://sashiko.dev/#/message/1b58d56976202f26818d31dbd0da2ecb2e2460f5%40linux.dev
[3] https://sashiko.dev/#/message/DKNHV09PBQZP.IRQL20BY574I%40gmail.com

Hui Zhu (2):
  mm/bpf: Add bpf_proactive_reclaim kfuncs
  selftests/bpf: add memcg async reclaim test

 mm/bpf_memcontrol.c                           |  95 +++++
 .../bpf/prog_tests/memcg_async_reclaim.c      | 382 ++++++++++++++++++
 .../selftests/bpf/progs/memcg_async_reclaim.c | 167 ++++++++
 3 files changed, 644 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 tools/testing/selftests/bpf/prog_tests/memcg_async_reclaim.c
 create mode 100644 tools/testing/selftests/bpf/progs/memcg_async_reclaim.c

-- 
2.53.0

[PATCH bpf-next v2 1/2] mm/bpf: Add bpf_proactive_reclaim kfuncs

[Hui Zhu]

From: Hui Zhu <zhuhui@kylinos.cn>

Expose memcg proactive reclaim to sleepable BPF programs:
unsigned long bpf_proactive_reclaim(memcg, size);
unsigned long bpf_proactive_reclaim_swappiness(memcg, size, swappiness);

They perform one reclaim pass on @memcg, like a write to memory.reclaim:
swap is allowed, and the anon/file balance follows the cgroup's
swappiness or an explicit override in [MIN_SWAPPINESS, MAX_SWAPPINESS]
plus SWAPPINESS_ANON_ONLY. Both delegate to
try_to_free_mem_cgroup_pages() with GFP_KERNEL and
MEMCG_RECLAIM_MAY_SWAP | MEMCG_RECLAIM_PROACTIVE, the same parameters
user_proactive_reclaim() uses, and unlike memory.reclaim they do not
retry until @size is reached.

Reclaim must not recurse: try_to_free_mem_cgroup_pages() overwrites
current->reclaim_state on entry and NULLs it on exit, so a nested call
from an in-flight reclaim would corrupt the outer reclaim state (e.g.
MGLRU dereferences current->reclaim_state->mm_walk). Both kfuncs
therefore refuse to reclaim when PF_MEMALLOC is set, mirroring the
guards in the memcg charging path and node_reclaim().

Signed-off-by: Hui Zhu <zhuhui@kylinos.cn>
---
 mm/bpf_memcontrol.c | 95 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 95 insertions(+)

diff --git a/mm/bpf_memcontrol.c b/mm/bpf_memcontrol.c
index 716df49d7647..92272f9a5825 100644
--- a/mm/bpf_memcontrol.c
+++ b/mm/bpf_memcontrol.c
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
  */
 
 #include <linux/memcontrol.h>
+#include <linux/swap.h>
 #include <linux/bpf.h>
 
 __bpf_kfunc_start_defs();
@@ -159,6 +160,97 @@ __bpf_kfunc void bpf_mem_cgroup_flush_stats(struct mem_cgroup *memcg)
 	mem_cgroup_flush_stats(memcg);
 }
 
+/*
+ * Reclaim must not recurse. try_to_free_mem_cgroup_pages() unconditionally
+ * overwrites current->reclaim_state on entry and resets it to NULL on exit.
+ * So invoking it from an in-flight reclaim would clobber the outer reclaim
+ * state and corrupt its accounting.
+ *
+ * The guard is PF_MEMALLOC. Every reclaim entry point marks the current
+ * task with it for the whole reclaim window: try_to_free_mem_cgroup_pages()
+ * and __perform_reclaim() do so via memalloc_noreclaim_save(), and kswapd
+ * keeps it set for its entire lifetime. A hook inside the reclaim path
+ * (shrink_node, shrink_slab, ...) executes in the context of the
+ * reclaiming task, where current->flags already carries the flag. The page
+ * allocator, the memcg charging path and node_reclaim() rely on the same
+ * flag to avoid reclaim recursion.
+ *
+ * In try_to_free_mem_cgroup_pages(), reclaim_state is set slightly before
+ * PF_MEMALLOC, with only a tracepoint in between, which a sleepable BPF
+ * program cannot attach to.
+ * Also, PF_MEMALLOC is set in some non-reclaim contexts (e.g. direct compaction
+ * and vmalloc), where the kfunc conservatively refuses to reclaim as well.
+ */
+static bool bpf_in_reclaim_context(void)
+{
+	return current->flags & PF_MEMALLOC;
+}
+
+/**
+ * bpf_proactive_reclaim - proactively reclaim memory from a memory
+ *                         cgroup
+ * @memcg: the target memory cgroup to reclaim from
+ * @size:  the amount of memory to reclaim, in bytes
+ *
+ * Trigger one proactive reclaim pass on @memcg, similar to a write to
+ * the memory.reclaim cgroup file: pages are reclaimed according to the
+ * cgroup's own swappiness setting and swap is allowed. Note that,
+ * unlike memory.reclaim, this does not retry until @size is reached;
+ * callers can invoke it again if needed.
+ *
+ * Return:
+ *   The number of pages actually reclaimed, or 0 if @size is smaller
+ *   than a page or the calling task is already in a reclaim/freeing
+ *   context (PF_MEMALLOC).
+ */
+__bpf_kfunc unsigned long bpf_proactive_reclaim(struct mem_cgroup *memcg,
+						unsigned long size)
+{
+	unsigned long nr_pages = size / PAGE_SIZE;
+
+	if (!nr_pages || unlikely(bpf_in_reclaim_context()))
+		return 0;
+
+	return try_to_free_mem_cgroup_pages(memcg, nr_pages, GFP_KERNEL,
+					    MEMCG_RECLAIM_MAY_SWAP |
+					    MEMCG_RECLAIM_PROACTIVE, NULL);
+}
+
+/**
+ * bpf_proactive_reclaim_swappiness - proactively reclaim memory from a
+ *                                    memory cgroup with an explicit
+ *                                    swappiness
+ * @memcg:      the target memory cgroup to reclaim from
+ * @size:       the amount of memory to reclaim, in bytes
+ * @swappiness: swappiness override for this reclaim pass
+ *
+ * Same as bpf_proactive_reclaim(), except that the anon/file reclaim
+ * balance is controlled by @swappiness instead of the cgroup's
+ * swappiness setting. Valid values are [MIN_SWAPPINESS, MAX_SWAPPINESS]
+ * and SWAPPINESS_ANON_ONLY, which restricts reclaim to anon folios.
+ *
+ * Return:
+ *   The number of pages actually reclaimed, or 0 if @size is smaller
+ *   than a page, @swappiness is out of range, or the calling task is
+ *   already in a reclaim/freeing context (PF_MEMALLOC).
+ */
+__bpf_kfunc unsigned long
+bpf_proactive_reclaim_swappiness(struct mem_cgroup *memcg, unsigned long size,
+				 int swappiness)
+{
+	unsigned long nr_pages = size / PAGE_SIZE;
+
+	if (!nr_pages || swappiness < MIN_SWAPPINESS ||
+	    swappiness > SWAPPINESS_ANON_ONLY ||
+	    unlikely(bpf_in_reclaim_context()))
+		return 0;
+
+	return try_to_free_mem_cgroup_pages(memcg, nr_pages, GFP_KERNEL,
+					    MEMCG_RECLAIM_MAY_SWAP |
+					    MEMCG_RECLAIM_PROACTIVE,
+					    &swappiness);
+}
+
 __bpf_kfunc_end_defs();
 
 BTF_KFUNCS_START(bpf_memcontrol_kfuncs)
@@ -172,6 +264,9 @@ BTF_ID_FLAGS(func, bpf_mem_cgroup_usage)
 BTF_ID_FLAGS(func, bpf_mem_cgroup_page_state)
 BTF_ID_FLAGS(func, bpf_mem_cgroup_flush_stats, KF_SLEEPABLE)
 
+BTF_ID_FLAGS(func, bpf_proactive_reclaim, KF_SLEEPABLE)
+BTF_ID_FLAGS(func, bpf_proactive_reclaim_swappiness, KF_SLEEPABLE)
+
 BTF_KFUNCS_END(bpf_memcontrol_kfuncs)
 
 static const struct btf_kfunc_id_set bpf_memcontrol_kfunc_set = {
-- 
2.53.0

Re: [PATCH bpf-next v2 1/2] mm/bpf: Add bpf_proactive_reclaim kfuncs

[bot+bpf-ci]

[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 3718 bytes --]

> diff --git a/mm/bpf_memcontrol.c b/mm/bpf_memcontrol.c
> index 716df49d7647..92272f9a5825 100644
> --- a/mm/bpf_memcontrol.c
> +++ b/mm/bpf_memcontrol.c

[ ... ]

> @@ -159,6 +160,97 @@ __bpf_kfunc void bpf_mem_cgroup_flush_stats(struct mem_cgroup *memcg)
>  	mem_cgroup_flush_stats(memcg);
>  }
>
> +/**
> + * bpf_proactive_reclaim - proactively reclaim memory from a memory
> + *                         cgroup
> + * @memcg: the target memory cgroup to reclaim from
> + * @size:  the amount of memory to reclaim, in bytes
> + *
> + * Trigger one proactive reclaim pass on @memcg, similar to a write to
> + * the memory.reclaim cgroup file: pages are reclaimed according to the
> + * cgroup's own swappiness setting and swap is allowed. Note that,
> + * unlike memory.reclaim, this does not retry until @size is reached;
> + * callers can invoke it again if needed.
> + *
> + * Return:
> + *   The number of pages actually reclaimed, or 0 if @size is smaller
> + *   than a page or the calling task is already in a reclaim/freeing
> + *   context (PF_MEMALLOC).
> + */
> +__bpf_kfunc unsigned long bpf_proactive_reclaim(struct mem_cgroup *memcg,
> +						unsigned long size)
> +{
> +	unsigned long nr_pages = size / PAGE_SIZE;
> +
> +	if (!nr_pages || unlikely(bpf_in_reclaim_context()))
> +		return 0;
> +
> +	return try_to_free_mem_cgroup_pages(memcg, nr_pages, GFP_KERNEL,
> +					    MEMCG_RECLAIM_MAY_SWAP |
> +					    MEMCG_RECLAIM_PROACTIVE, NULL);
> +}
> +
> +/**
> + * bpf_proactive_reclaim_swappiness - proactively reclaim memory from a
> + *                                    memory cgroup with an explicit
> + *                                    swappiness
> + * @memcg:      the target memory cgroup to reclaim from
> + * @size:       the amount of memory to reclaim, in bytes
> + * @swappiness: swappiness override for this reclaim pass
> + *
> + * Same as bpf_proactive_reclaim(), except that the anon/file reclaim
> + * balance is controlled by @swappiness instead of the cgroup's
> + * swappiness setting. Valid values are [MIN_SWAPPINESS, MAX_SWAPPINESS]
> + * and SWAPPINESS_ANON_ONLY, which restricts reclaim to anon folios.
> + *
> + * Return:
> + *   The number of pages actually reclaimed, or 0 if @size is smaller
> + *   than a page, @swappiness is out of range, or the calling task is
> + *   already in a reclaim/freeing context (PF_MEMALLOC).
> + */
> +__bpf_kfunc unsigned long
> +bpf_proactive_reclaim_swappiness(struct mem_cgroup *memcg, unsigned long size,
> +				 int swappiness)
> +{
> +	unsigned long nr_pages = size / PAGE_SIZE;
> +
> +	if (!nr_pages || swappiness < MIN_SWAPPINESS ||
> +	    swappiness > SWAPPINESS_ANON_ONLY ||
> +	    unlikely(bpf_in_reclaim_context()))
> +		return 0;
> +
> +	return try_to_free_mem_cgroup_pages(memcg, nr_pages, GFP_KERNEL,
> +					    MEMCG_RECLAIM_MAY_SWAP |
> +					    MEMCG_RECLAIM_PROACTIVE,
> +					    &swappiness);
> +}

This isn't a bug, but these two kfuncs are nearly identical apart from the
swappiness range check and passing '&swappiness' vs 'NULL' to
try_to_free_mem_cgroup_pages(). Both compute 'nr_pages = size /
PAGE_SIZE', both apply the same '!nr_pages ||
unlikely(bpf_in_reclaim_context())' guard, and both use identical
'GFP_KERNEL, MEMCG_RECLAIM_MAY_SWAP | MEMCG_RECLAIM_PROACTIVE' arguments.

Would a shared static helper taking an 'int *swappiness' parameter (the
shape try_to_free_mem_cgroup_pages() already accepts) keep the guard logic
and reclaim flags in one place?


---
AI reviewed your patch. Please fix the bug or email reply why it's not a bug.
See: https://github.com/kernel-patches/vmtest/blob/master/ci/claude/README.md

CI run summary: https://github.com/kernel-patches/bpf/actions/runs/32118218829

[PATCH bpf-next v2 2/2] selftests/bpf: add memcg async reclaim test

[Hui Zhu]

From: Hui Zhu <zhuhui@kylinos.cn>

Add memcg_async_reclaim selftest that verifies BPF-driven async
proactive reclaim can mitigate refault-induced slowdown under memory
pressure.

The test creates a parent cgroup with a fixed memory.max, and two
child cgroups (high/low) under it. Both children concurrently write
and repeatedly read-fault a file larger than the shared limit. A BPF
program monitors the "high" cgroup's WORKINGSET_REFAULT_FILE stat via
a periodic timer, and when it detects refault growth beyond a
threshold, triggers async reclaim on the "low" cgroup using
bpf_proactive_reclaim(), expecting the "high" cgroup's workload to
finish faster than without such reclaim. The reclaim work is queued
asynchronously via bpf_wq.

Signed-off-by: Hui Zhu <zhuhui@kylinos.cn>
---
 .../bpf/prog_tests/memcg_async_reclaim.c      | 382 ++++++++++++++++++
 .../selftests/bpf/progs/memcg_async_reclaim.c | 167 ++++++++
 2 files changed, 549 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 tools/testing/selftests/bpf/prog_tests/memcg_async_reclaim.c
 create mode 100644 tools/testing/selftests/bpf/progs/memcg_async_reclaim.c

diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/bpf/prog_tests/memcg_async_reclaim.c b/tools/testing/selftests/bpf/prog_tests/memcg_async_reclaim.c
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..6fab88203e7d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/bpf/prog_tests/memcg_async_reclaim.c
@@ -0,0 +1,382 @@
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+/*
+ * Memory controller eBPF async reclaim test
+ */
+
+#include <test_progs.h>
+#include <sys/mman.h>
+#include <sys/stat.h>
+#include <sys/time.h>
+#include <sys/wait.h>
+#include <fcntl.h>
+#include <signal.h>
+#include <unistd.h>
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <string.h>
+
+#include "cgroup_helpers.h"
+
+struct bpf_args_s {
+	u64 high_cgroup_id;
+	u64 low_cgroup_id;
+	u64 event_delta_threshold;
+	u64 check_ns;
+};
+
+#include "memcg_async_reclaim.skel.h"
+
+#define FILE_SIZE (32 * 1024 * 1024ul)
+#define BUFFER_SIZE (4096)
+#define CG_LIMIT (32 * 1024 * 1024ul)
+#define READ_TIMES 50
+
+#define CG_DIR "/memcg_async_reclaim"
+#define CG_HIGH_DIR CG_DIR "/high"
+#define CG_LOW_DIR CG_DIR "/low"
+
+#define CHECK_PERIOD_NS (2 * 1000 * 1000ull)
+#define EVENT_DELTA_THRESHOLD 1
+
+static int setup_high_low_cgroups(u64 *high_cgroup_id, u64 *low_cgroup_id)
+{
+	int ret;
+	char limit_buf[20];
+
+	ret = setup_cgroup_environment();
+	if (!ASSERT_OK(ret, "setup_cgroup_environment"))
+		goto cleanup;
+
+	ret = create_and_get_cgroup(CG_DIR);
+	if (!ASSERT_GE(ret, 0, "create_and_get_cgroup " CG_DIR))
+		goto cleanup;
+	close(ret);
+
+	ret = enable_controllers(CG_DIR, "memory");
+	if (!ASSERT_OK(ret, "enable_controllers"))
+		goto cleanup;
+
+	snprintf(limit_buf, sizeof(limit_buf), "%lu", CG_LIMIT);
+	ret = write_cgroup_file(CG_DIR, "memory.max", limit_buf);
+	if (!ASSERT_OK(ret, "write_cgroup_file memory.max"))
+		goto cleanup;
+
+	ret = write_cgroup_file(CG_DIR, "memory.swap.max", "0");
+	if (!ASSERT_OK(ret, "write_cgroup_file memory.swap.max"))
+		goto cleanup;
+
+	ret = create_and_get_cgroup(CG_HIGH_DIR);
+	if (!ASSERT_GE(ret, 0, "create_and_get_cgroup " CG_HIGH_DIR))
+		goto cleanup;
+	close(ret);
+
+	*high_cgroup_id = get_cgroup_id(CG_HIGH_DIR);
+	if (!ASSERT_GT(*high_cgroup_id, 0, "get_cgroup_id"))
+		goto cleanup;
+
+	ret = create_and_get_cgroup(CG_LOW_DIR);
+	if (!ASSERT_GE(ret, 0, "create_and_get_cgroup " CG_LOW_DIR))
+		goto cleanup;
+	close(ret);
+
+	*low_cgroup_id = get_cgroup_id(CG_LOW_DIR);
+	if (!ASSERT_GT(*low_cgroup_id, 0, "get_cgroup_id"))
+		goto cleanup;
+
+	return 0;
+
+cleanup:
+	cleanup_cgroup_environment();
+	return -1;
+}
+
+static int write_file(const char *filename)
+{
+	int ret = -1;
+	size_t written = 0;
+	char *buffer;
+	FILE *fp;
+
+	fp = fopen(filename, "wb");
+	if (!fp)
+		goto out;
+
+	buffer = malloc(BUFFER_SIZE);
+	if (!buffer)
+		goto cleanup_fp;
+
+	memset(buffer, 'A', BUFFER_SIZE);
+
+	while (written < FILE_SIZE) {
+		size_t to_write = FILE_SIZE - written < BUFFER_SIZE ?
+				  FILE_SIZE - written : BUFFER_SIZE;
+
+		if (fwrite(buffer, 1, to_write, fp) != to_write)
+			goto cleanup;
+		written += to_write;
+	}
+
+	ret = 0;
+cleanup:
+	free(buffer);
+cleanup_fp:
+	fclose(fp);
+out:
+	return ret;
+}
+
+static int read_file(const char *filename, int iterations)
+{
+	int ret = -1;
+	long page_size = sysconf(_SC_PAGESIZE);
+	char *map;
+	size_t i;
+	int fd;
+	struct stat sb;
+
+	fd = open(filename, O_RDONLY);
+	if (fd == -1)
+		goto out;
+
+	if (fstat(fd, &sb) == -1)
+		goto cleanup_fd;
+
+	if (sb.st_size != FILE_SIZE) {
+		fprintf(stderr, "File size mismatch: expected %lu, got %lu\n",
+			(unsigned long)FILE_SIZE, (unsigned long)sb.st_size);
+		goto cleanup_fd;
+	}
+
+	map = mmap(NULL, FILE_SIZE, PROT_READ, MAP_PRIVATE, fd, 0);
+	if (map == MAP_FAILED)
+		goto cleanup_fd;
+
+	for (int iter = 0; iter < iterations; iter++) {
+		for (i = 0; i < FILE_SIZE; i += page_size) {
+			/* access a byte to trigger page fault */
+			volatile char v = map[i];
+			(void)v;
+		}
+	}
+
+	if (munmap(map, FILE_SIZE) == -1)
+		goto cleanup_fd;
+
+	ret = 0;
+
+cleanup_fd:
+	close(fd);
+out:
+	return ret;
+}
+
+static int real_test_child_work(const char *cgroup_path, char *data_filename,
+				char *time_filename, int read_times)
+{
+	struct timeval start, end;
+	double elapsed;
+	FILE *fp;
+
+	if (!ASSERT_OK(join_parent_cgroup(cgroup_path), "join_parent_cgroup"))
+		return -1;
+
+	gettimeofday(&start, NULL);
+
+	if (!ASSERT_OK(write_file(data_filename), "write_file"))
+		return -1;
+
+	if (!ASSERT_OK(read_file(data_filename, read_times), "read_file"))
+		return -1;
+
+	gettimeofday(&end, NULL);
+
+	if (!time_filename)
+		return 0;
+
+	elapsed = (end.tv_sec - start.tv_sec) +
+		  (end.tv_usec - start.tv_usec) / 1000000.0;
+	printf("%.6f\n", elapsed);
+
+	fp = fopen(time_filename, "w");
+	if (!ASSERT_OK_PTR(fp, "fopen"))
+		return -1;
+	fprintf(fp, "%.6f", elapsed);
+	fclose(fp);
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static int get_time(char *time_filename, double *time)
+{
+	int ret = -1;
+	FILE *fp;
+	char buf[64];
+
+	fp = fopen(time_filename, "r");
+	if (!ASSERT_OK_PTR(fp, "fopen"))
+		goto out;
+
+	if (!ASSERT_OK_PTR(fgets(buf, sizeof(buf), fp), "fgets"))
+		goto cleanup;
+
+	if (sscanf(buf, "%lf", time) != 1) {
+		PRINT_FAIL("sscanf %s", buf);
+		goto cleanup;
+	}
+
+	ret = 0;
+cleanup:
+	fclose(fp);
+out:
+	return ret;
+}
+
+static int
+run_high_low_workload(double *high_elapsed, double *low_elapsed, int read_times)
+{
+	char high_data_file[] = "/tmp/memcg_async_high_data_XXXXXX";
+	char low_data_file[] = "/tmp/memcg_async_low_data_XXXXXX";
+	char high_time_file[] = "/tmp/memcg_async_high_time_XXXXXX";
+	char low_time_file[] = "/tmp/memcg_async_low_time_XXXXXX";
+	pid_t high_pid = -1, low_pid = -1;
+	int fd, status;
+	int ret = -1;
+
+	fd = mkstemp(high_data_file);
+	if (!ASSERT_GE(fd, 0, "mkstemp"))
+		goto cleanup;
+	close(fd);
+
+	fd = mkstemp(low_data_file);
+	if (!ASSERT_GE(fd, 0, "mkstemp"))
+		goto cleanup;
+	close(fd);
+
+	fd = mkstemp(high_time_file);
+	if (!ASSERT_GE(fd, 0, "mkstemp"))
+		goto cleanup;
+	close(fd);
+
+	fd = mkstemp(low_time_file);
+	if (!ASSERT_GE(fd, 0, "mkstemp"))
+		goto cleanup;
+	close(fd);
+
+	low_pid = fork();
+	if (!ASSERT_GE(low_pid, 0, "fork low"))
+		goto cleanup;
+	if (low_pid == 0)
+		exit(real_test_child_work(CG_LOW_DIR, low_data_file,
+					  low_time_file, read_times));
+
+	high_pid = fork();
+	if (!ASSERT_GE(high_pid, 0, "fork high"))
+		goto cleanup;
+	if (high_pid == 0)
+		exit(real_test_child_work(CG_HIGH_DIR, high_data_file,
+					  high_time_file, read_times));
+
+	if (!ASSERT_GT(waitpid(low_pid, &status, 0), 0, "low waitpid"))
+		goto cleanup;
+	if (!ASSERT_TRUE(WIFEXITED(status), "low exited"))
+		goto cleanup;
+	if (!ASSERT_EQ(WEXITSTATUS(status), 0, "low exit status"))
+		goto cleanup;
+
+	if (!ASSERT_GT(waitpid(high_pid, &status, 0), 0, "high waitpid"))
+		goto cleanup;
+	if (!ASSERT_TRUE(WIFEXITED(status), "high exited"))
+		goto cleanup;
+	if (!ASSERT_EQ(WEXITSTATUS(status), 0, "high exit status"))
+		goto cleanup;
+
+	if (get_time(high_time_file, high_elapsed))
+		goto cleanup;
+	if (get_time(low_time_file, low_elapsed))
+		goto cleanup;
+
+	ret = 0;
+
+cleanup:
+	/* On failure, make sure no child process is left behind */
+	if (ret) {
+		if (high_pid > 0) {
+			kill(high_pid, SIGKILL);
+			(void)waitpid(high_pid, NULL, 0);
+		}
+		if (low_pid > 0) {
+			kill(low_pid, SIGKILL);
+			(void)waitpid(low_pid, NULL, 0);
+		}
+	}
+	unlink(low_time_file);
+	unlink(high_time_file);
+	unlink(low_data_file);
+	unlink(high_data_file);
+	return ret;
+}
+
+static int
+setup_bpf(u64 high_cgroup_id, u64 low_cgroup_id,
+	  struct memcg_async_reclaim **skel_ptr)
+{
+	struct memcg_async_reclaim *skel;
+	struct bpf_args_s bpf_args = {
+		.high_cgroup_id = high_cgroup_id,
+		.low_cgroup_id = low_cgroup_id,
+		.event_delta_threshold = EVENT_DELTA_THRESHOLD,
+		.check_ns = CHECK_PERIOD_NS,
+	};
+	LIBBPF_OPTS(bpf_test_run_opts, run_opts,
+		.ctx_in = &bpf_args,
+		.ctx_size_in = sizeof(bpf_args));
+	int prog_init_fd, err;
+
+	skel = memcg_async_reclaim__open_and_load();
+	if (!ASSERT_OK_PTR(skel, "memcg_async_reclaim__open_and_load"))
+		return -1;
+
+	prog_init_fd = bpf_program__fd(skel->progs.wq_prog_init);
+
+	err = bpf_prog_test_run_opts(prog_init_fd, &run_opts);
+	if (!ASSERT_OK(err, "bpf_prog_test_run_opts"))
+		goto error_out;
+	if (!ASSERT_EQ(run_opts.retval, 0, "prog_init retval"))
+		goto error_out;
+
+	*skel_ptr = skel;
+	return 0;
+
+error_out:
+	memcg_async_reclaim__destroy(skel);
+	return -1;
+}
+
+void test_memcg_wq_async_reclaim(void)
+{
+	u64 high_cgroup_id, low_cgroup_id;
+	int err;
+	double high_time = 0.0, low_time = 0.0;
+	struct memcg_async_reclaim *skel = NULL;
+
+	err = setup_high_low_cgroups(&high_cgroup_id, &low_cgroup_id);
+	if (!ASSERT_OK(err, "setup_high_low_cgroups reclaim"))
+		return;
+
+	err = setup_bpf(high_cgroup_id, low_cgroup_id, &skel);
+	if (!ASSERT_OK(err, "setup_bpf"))
+		goto out;
+
+	err = run_high_low_workload(&high_time, &low_time, READ_TIMES);
+	if (!ASSERT_OK(err, "run_high_low_workload reclaim"))
+		goto out;
+
+	if (high_time >= low_time)
+		PRINT_FAIL("high cgroup not improved with async reclaim: high_time=%f low_time=%f",
+			   high_time, low_time);
+
+out:
+	if (skel)
+		memcg_async_reclaim__destroy(skel);
+	cleanup_cgroup_environment();
+}
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/bpf/progs/memcg_async_reclaim.c b/tools/testing/selftests/bpf/progs/memcg_async_reclaim.c
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..62c2bb7e037b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/bpf/progs/memcg_async_reclaim.c
@@ -0,0 +1,167 @@
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+
+#include "vmlinux.h"
+#include "bpf_experimental.h"
+#include <bpf/bpf_helpers.h>
+#include <bpf/bpf_tracing.h>
+
+#define CLOCK_MONOTONIC_ID	1
+#define PAGE_SIZE		4096UL
+#define RECLAIM_SIZE		(32 * PAGE_SIZE)
+#define RECLAIM_MAX_ITER	32
+
+struct bpf_args_s {
+	u64 high_cgroup_id;
+	u64 low_cgroup_id;
+	u64 event_delta_threshold;
+	u64 check_ns;
+};
+
+struct cgroup_memcg {
+	struct cgroup *cgrp;
+	struct mem_cgroup *memcg;
+};
+
+static u64 wq_high_cgroup_id;
+static u64 wq_low_cgroup_id;
+
+static int get_cgroup_memcg_from_id(u64 cgroup_id, struct cgroup_memcg *cm)
+{
+	cm->cgrp = bpf_cgroup_from_id(cgroup_id);
+	if (!cm->cgrp)
+		return -1;
+
+	cm->memcg = bpf_get_mem_cgroup(&cm->cgrp->self);
+	if (!cm->memcg) {
+		bpf_cgroup_release(cm->cgrp);
+		return -1;
+	}
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static void put_cgroup_memcg(struct cgroup_memcg *cm)
+{
+	bpf_put_mem_cgroup(cm->memcg);
+	bpf_cgroup_release(cm->cgrp);
+}
+
+static int get_cgroup_event(u64 cgroup_id, u64 *val)
+{
+	struct cgroup_memcg cm;
+
+	if (get_cgroup_memcg_from_id(cgroup_id, &cm))
+		return -1;
+	bpf_mem_cgroup_flush_stats(cm.memcg);
+	*val = bpf_mem_cgroup_page_state(cm.memcg, WORKINGSET_REFAULT_FILE);
+	put_cgroup_memcg(&cm);
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static bool
+should_reclaim_cgroup(u64 cgroup_id, u64 *prev_event, u64 event_delta_threshold)
+{
+	u64 cur, delta;
+
+	if (get_cgroup_event(cgroup_id, &cur))
+		return false;
+
+	delta = cur - *prev_event;
+	*prev_event = cur;
+
+	return delta >= event_delta_threshold;
+}
+
+static int reclaim_cgroup(u64 cgroup_id)
+{
+	struct cgroup_memcg cm;
+	int i;
+
+	if (get_cgroup_memcg_from_id(cgroup_id, &cm))
+		return 0;
+
+	for (i = 0; i < RECLAIM_MAX_ITER; i++) {
+		if (!bpf_proactive_reclaim(cm.memcg, RECLAIM_SIZE))
+			break;
+	}
+
+	put_cgroup_memcg(&cm);
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+struct wq_elem {
+	struct bpf_timer timer;
+	struct bpf_wq work;
+	u64 prev_event;
+	u64 event_delta_threshold;
+	u64 check_ns;
+};
+
+struct {
+	__uint(type, BPF_MAP_TYPE_ARRAY);
+	__uint(max_entries, 1);
+	__type(key, __u32);
+	__type(value, struct wq_elem);
+} wq_map SEC(".maps");
+
+static int async_free(void *map, int *key, void *value)
+{
+	struct wq_elem *elem = value;
+
+	if (should_reclaim_cgroup(wq_high_cgroup_id, &elem->prev_event,
+		elem->event_delta_threshold)) {
+		reclaim_cgroup(wq_low_cgroup_id);
+		bpf_wq_start(&elem->work, 0);
+	}
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static int wq_timer_cb(void *map, int *key, struct wq_elem *elem)
+{
+	bpf_wq_start(&elem->work, 0);
+	bpf_timer_start(&elem->timer, elem->check_ns, 0);
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+SEC("syscall")
+int wq_prog_init(struct bpf_args_s *ctx)
+{
+	struct wq_elem *elem;
+	__u32 key = 0;
+	int ret;
+
+	elem = bpf_map_lookup_elem(&wq_map, &key);
+	if (!elem)
+		return -1;
+
+	ret = bpf_wq_init(&elem->work, &wq_map, 0);
+	if (ret)
+		return ret;
+
+	ret = bpf_wq_set_callback(&elem->work, async_free, 0);
+	if (ret)
+		return ret;
+
+	ret = bpf_timer_init(&elem->timer, &wq_map, CLOCK_MONOTONIC_ID);
+	if (ret)
+		return ret;
+
+	ret = bpf_timer_set_callback(&elem->timer, wq_timer_cb);
+	if (ret)
+		return ret;
+
+	elem->prev_event = 0;
+	elem->event_delta_threshold = ctx->event_delta_threshold;
+	elem->check_ns = ctx->check_ns;
+
+	wq_high_cgroup_id = ctx->high_cgroup_id;
+	wq_low_cgroup_id = ctx->low_cgroup_id;
+
+	return bpf_timer_start(&elem->timer, elem->check_ns, 0);
+}
+
+char LICENSE[] SEC("license") = "GPL";
-- 
2.53.0

Re: [PATCH bpf-next v2 2/2] selftests/bpf: add memcg async reclaim test

[bot+bpf-ci]

[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 12907 bytes --]

> Add memcg_async_reclaim selftest that verifies BPF-driven async
> proactive reclaim can mitigate refault-induced slowdown under memory
> pressure.
>
> The test creates a parent cgroup with a fixed memory.max, and two
> child cgroups (high/low) under it. Both children concurrently write
> and repeatedly read-fault a file larger than the shared limit. A BPF
> program monitors the "high" cgroup's WORKINGSET_REFAULT_FILE stat via
> a periodic timer, and when it detects refault growth beyond a
> threshold, triggers async reclaim on the "low" cgroup using
> bpf_proactive_reclaim(), expecting the "high" cgroup's workload to
> finish faster than without such reclaim. The reclaim work is queued
> asynchronously via bpf_wq.

Two claims in the changelog do not match the code being added. First,
"expecting the high cgroup's workload to finish faster than without such
reclaim": the test never runs a no-reclaim baseline.

test_memcg_wq_async_reclaim() calls run_high_low_workload() exactly once,
with the BPF program already loaded and its timer armed. The verdict is:

> +	if (high_time >= low_time)
> +		PRINT_FAIL("high cgroup not improved with async reclaim: high_time=%f low_time=%f",
> +			   high_time, low_time);

This compares the high cgroup against the low cgroup in the same run (the
cgroup that is being reclaimed and is therefore expected to be slower), not
against a run without reclaim. As written the test cannot detect that
reclaim failed to help the high cgroup; it only detects that reclaim hurt
the low cgroup.

Second, "a file larger than the shared limit": FILE_SIZE is
(32 * 1024 * 1024ul) and CG_LIMIT is (32 * 1024 * 1024ul) - each file is
exactly equal to, not larger than, the limit (only the sum of the two
children exceeds it).

Should the changelog or the test structure be corrected?

> diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/bpf/prog_tests/memcg_async_reclaim.c b/tools/testing/selftests/bpf/prog_tests/memcg_async_reclaim.c
> new file mode 100644
> index 000000000000..6fab88203e7d
> --- /dev/null
> +++ b/tools/testing/selftests/bpf/prog_tests/memcg_async_reclaim.c

[ ... ]

> +static int setup_high_low_cgroups(u64 *high_cgroup_id, u64 *low_cgroup_id)
> +{
> +	int ret;
> +	char limit_buf[20];
> +
> +	ret = setup_cgroup_environment();
> +	if (!ASSERT_OK(ret, "setup_cgroup_environment"))
> +		goto cleanup;
> +
> +	ret = create_and_get_cgroup(CG_DIR);
> +	if (!ASSERT_GE(ret, 0, "create_and_get_cgroup " CG_DIR))
> +		goto cleanup;
> +	close(ret);
> +
> +	ret = enable_controllers(CG_DIR, "memory");
> +	if (!ASSERT_OK(ret, "enable_controllers"))
> +		goto cleanup;
> +
> +	snprintf(limit_buf, sizeof(limit_buf), "%lu", CG_LIMIT);
> +	ret = write_cgroup_file(CG_DIR, "memory.max", limit_buf);
> +	if (!ASSERT_OK(ret, "write_cgroup_file memory.max"))
> +		goto cleanup;
> +
> +	ret = write_cgroup_file(CG_DIR, "memory.swap.max", "0");
> +	if (!ASSERT_OK(ret, "write_cgroup_file memory.swap.max"))
> +		goto cleanup;

A subsystem pattern flags this as potentially concerning: missing
prerequisites are turned into hard test failures instead of skips.

The enable_controllers(CG_DIR, "memory") call fails when the memory
controller is unavailable - CONFIG_MEMCG has no `default y` in
init/Kconfig and is not added to tools/testing/selftests/bpf/config by
this patch.

The write_cgroup_file(CG_DIR, "memory.swap.max", "0") call fails with
ENOENT when the kernel is built without CONFIG_SWAP, because the swap.max
cftype in mm/memcontrol.c lives inside #ifdef CONFIG_SWAP.

cgroup_helpers' __enable_controllers()/__write_cgroup_file() return 1 in
both cases, so ASSERT_OK() marks the test FAILED where the correct outcome
might be a skip with a reason. test_progs provides test__skip() for this
pattern.

Should this test distinguish between "feature absent" and "setup failed"?

[ ... ]

> +static int real_test_child_work(const char *cgroup_path, char *data_filename,
> +				char *time_filename, int read_times)
> +{
> +	struct timeval start, end;
> +	double elapsed;
> +	FILE *fp;
> +
> +	if (!ASSERT_OK(join_parent_cgroup(cgroup_path), "join_parent_cgroup"))
> +		return -1;
> +
> +	gettimeofday(&start, NULL);
> +
> +	if (!ASSERT_OK(write_file(data_filename), "write_file"))
> +		return -1;
> +
> +	if (!ASSERT_OK(read_file(data_filename, read_times), "read_file"))
> +		return -1;
> +
> +	gettimeofday(&end, NULL);

The elapsed time that becomes the test's only pass/fail criterion is
measured with gettimeofday(), i.e. CLOCK_REALTIME. A settimeofday()/NTP
step or a slew during the multi-second workload directly shifts elapsed.

The verdict in test_memcg_wq_async_reclaim() is an unmargined comparison
of two such numbers:

> +	if (high_time >= low_time)
> +		PRINT_FAIL("high cgroup not improved with async reclaim: high_time=%f low_time=%f",
> +			   high_time, low_time);

So a clock adjustment on the test host can flip the result in either
direction. Wall-clock timing in kernel selftests should use
clock_gettime(CLOCK_MONOTONIC).

Also, the comparison has no tolerance and the run is not repeated, so when
async reclaim happens to have little effect the sign of (high_time -
low_time) is decided by scheduling noise.

Would a minimum-improvement margin or best-of-N approach make the criterion
more meaningful?

> +
> +	if (!time_filename)
> +		return 0;
> +
> +	elapsed = (end.tv_sec - start.tv_sec) +
> +		  (end.tv_usec - start.tv_usec) / 1000000.0;
> +	printf("%.6f\n", elapsed);
> +
> +	fp = fopen(time_filename, "w");
> +	if (!ASSERT_OK_PTR(fp, "fopen"))
> +		return -1;
> +	fprintf(fp, "%.6f", elapsed);
> +	fclose(fp);
> +
> +	return 0;
> +}

real_test_child_work() runs in a fork()ed child:

> +	low_pid = fork();
> +	if (!ASSERT_GE(low_pid, 0, "fork low"))
> +		goto cleanup;
> +	if (low_pid == 0)
> +		exit(real_test_child_work(CG_LOW_DIR, low_data_file,
> +					  low_time_file, read_times));

and every diagnostic it produces is discarded.

test_progs' stdio_hijack_init() replaces both stdout and stderr with an
open_memstream() FILE* whose buffer lives in the test process' heap
(tools/testing/selftests/bpf/test_progs.c). After fork() the child writes
into its private copy of that buffer, which is freed when the child exits.

So the ASSERT_OK("join_parent_cgroup"/"write_file"/"read_file") messages,
cgroup_helpers' log_err() output and read_file()'s "File size mismatch"
fprintf(stderr, ...) never reach the test log. The parent only ever sees
`high exit status: actual 255 != expected 0` from run_high_low_workload(),
with no indication of which step failed.

Should the child report failures through something the parent can observe
(distinct exit codes, or the already-created time file / a pipe)?

[ ... ]

> +void test_memcg_wq_async_reclaim(void)
> +{
> +	u64 high_cgroup_id, low_cgroup_id;
> +	int err;
> +	double high_time = 0.0, low_time = 0.0;
> +	struct memcg_async_reclaim *skel = NULL;
> +
> +	err = setup_high_low_cgroups(&high_cgroup_id, &low_cgroup_id);
> +	if (!ASSERT_OK(err, "setup_high_low_cgroups reclaim"))
> +		return;
> +
> +	err = setup_bpf(high_cgroup_id, low_cgroup_id, &skel);
> +	if (!ASSERT_OK(err, "setup_bpf"))
> +		goto out;
> +
> +	err = run_high_low_workload(&high_time, &low_time, READ_TIMES);
> +	if (!ASSERT_OK(err, "run_high_low_workload reclaim"))
> +		goto out;
> +
> +	if (high_time >= low_time)
> +		PRINT_FAIL("high cgroup not improved with async reclaim: high_time=%f low_time=%f",
> +			   high_time, low_time);

The pass criterion does not check what the changelog claims and has no
tolerance.

The commit message says the test triggers reclaim on the low cgroup
"expecting the 'high' cgroup's workload to finish faster than without such
reclaim", but no no-reclaim baseline is ever measured. run_high_low_workload()
is called exactly once, with the BPF timer already armed, and the only
comparison is high_time vs low_time inside that single run.

There is also nothing that verifies any reclaim actually happened (the BPF
side exposes no counter to userspace, and the test does not read one), so a
kernel where bpf_proactive_reclaim() reclaims nothing is indistinguishable
from a working one apart from timing noise.

Finally, the check is a bare >= on two wall-clock doubles measured in two
separate processes running the same 32MB/50-iteration workload, with no
margin: the two children are symmetric apart from being forked a few
microseconds apart, so ordinary run-to-run variance decides the verdict.

Should the changelog describe what is actually asserted, or should the test
measure a baseline run and/or export a reclaim counter from the BPF program
and require a minimum improvement margin before declaring success?

> diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/bpf/progs/memcg_async_reclaim.c b/tools/testing/selftests/bpf/progs/memcg_async_reclaim.c
> new file mode 100644
> index 000000000000..62c2bb7e037b
> --- /dev/null
> +++ b/tools/testing/selftests/bpf/progs/memcg_async_reclaim.c

[ ... ]

> +static int get_cgroup_event(u64 cgroup_id, u64 *val)
> +{
> +	struct cgroup_memcg cm;
> +
> +	if (get_cgroup_memcg_from_id(cgroup_id, &cm))
> +		return -1;
> +	bpf_mem_cgroup_flush_stats(cm.memcg);
> +	*val = bpf_mem_cgroup_page_state(cm.memcg, WORKINGSET_REFAULT_FILE);
> +	put_cgroup_memcg(&cm);
> +
> +	return 0;
> +}

WORKINGSET_REFAULT_FILE is an 'enum node_stat_item' value
(include/linux/mmzone.h) that is baked into the object file as a plain
integer taken from whatever vmlinux.h the object was compiled against.

'enum node_stat_item' is not a stable ABI - it is built up from NR_LRU_BASE
and contains config-dependent members - so the numeric index is only
guaranteed to match the kernel the object was compiled against.

The only other BPF selftest that uses this same kfunc family,
progs/cgroup_iter_memcg.c, deliberately wraps every index:

	memcg_query.nr_anon_mapped = bpf_mem_cgroup_page_state(
		memcg,
		bpf_core_enum_value(enum node_stat_item, NR_ANON_MAPPED));

Should this program use bpf_core_enum_value(enum node_stat_item,
WORKINGSET_REFAULT_FILE), so that the index is CO-RE relocated against the
running kernel? Without it, an object built against a different kernel
silently samples the wrong counter, and because the test's only assertion is
a wall-clock comparison the mis-sample shows up as an unexplained failure.

(This also requires including <bpf/bpf_core_read.h>, which the new program
does not.)

[ ... ]

> +static int async_free(void *map, int *key, void *value)
> +{
> +	struct wq_elem *elem = value;
> +
> +	if (should_reclaim_cgroup(wq_high_cgroup_id, &elem->prev_event,
> +		elem->event_delta_threshold)) {
> +		reclaim_cgroup(wq_low_cgroup_id);
> +		bpf_wq_start(&elem->work, 0);
> +	}
> +
> +	return 0;
> +}

async_free() is the bpf_wq callback installed by bpf_wq_set_callback(&elem->work,
async_free, 0), and it re-arms its own work item with bpf_wq_start(&elem->work, 0)
with no delay and no iteration cap.

bpf_wq_work() (kernel/bpf/helpers.c) is a plain work_struct handler, so
process_one_work() has already cleared WORK_STRUCT_PENDING by the time the
BPF callback runs; schedule_work() inside bpf_wq_start() therefore queues
the item again and the callback runs back-to-back.

The design already has a pacing mechanism:

> +static int wq_timer_cb(void *map, int *key, struct wq_elem *elem)
> +{
> +	bpf_wq_start(&elem->work, 0);
> +	bpf_timer_start(&elem->timer, elem->check_ns, 0);
> +
> +	return 0;
> +}

wq_timer_cb() kicks the wq once every elem->check_ns (CHECK_PERIOD_NS = 2 ms
in prog_tests/memcg_async_reclaim.c) and then re-arms the timer. The
self-requeue in async_free() bypasses that pacing entirely.

The only exit condition is should_reclaim_cgroup() returning false, i.e. the
WORKINGSET_REFAULT_FILE delta between two consecutive, zero-delay samples
falling below elem->event_delta_threshold - and the userspace test sets
EVENT_DELTA_THRESHOLD to 1, so a single refault event observed between two
samples keeps the loop going.

Each loop iteration does bpf_mem_cgroup_flush_stats() (rstat flush, walks
per-CPU state) plus up to RECLAIM_MAX_ITER (32) try_to_free_mem_cgroup_pages()
passes on the low cgroup, and re-acquires/releases the cgroup and memcg
references twice. Loop termination is not structurally guaranteed - it
depends entirely on how fast mem_cgroup_flush_stats()'s rate limiter lets the
cached counter advance.

While it spins it burns a workqueue worker and drives continuous reclaim,
which also perturbs the wall-clock comparison (high_time vs low_time) that is
the test's only assertion.

Should the bpf_wq_start() at the end of async_free() be dropped (the timer
already re-kicks the work every check_ns), or should the repeat have an
explicit bound/delay?


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AI reviewed your patch. Please fix the bug or email reply why it's not a bug.
See: https://github.com/kernel-patches/vmtest/blob/master/ci/claude/README.md

CI run summary: https://github.com/kernel-patches/bpf/actions/runs/32118218829