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From: Mike Snitzer <snitzer@kernel.org>
To: Chuck Lever <cel@kernel.org>, Jeff Layton <jlayton@kernel.org>
Cc: linux-nfs@vger.kernel.org, NeilBrown <neil@brown.name>,
	Olga Kornievskaia <okorniev@redhat.com>,
	Dai Ngo <Dai.Ngo@oracle.com>, Tom Talpey <tom@talpey.com>,
	Christoph Hellwig <hch@lst.de>, Jens Axboe <axboe@kernel.dk>,
	Matthew Wilcox <willy@infradead.org>,
	linux-mm@kvack.org,
	Jonathan Flynn <jonathan.flynn@hammerspace.com>
Subject: [PATCH v4 04/10] NFSD: add direct_misaligned_dontcache debugfs knob
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 2026 19:33:03 -0400	[thread overview]
Message-ID: <20261015233309.42999-5-snitzer@kernel.org> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <20261015233309.42999-1-snitzer@kernel.org>

From: Jonathan Flynn <jonathan.flynn@hammerspace.com>

The parts of a direct-mode WRITE that are not O_DIRECT (the misaligned
start and end of a split WRITE, or the whole of a WRITE that is not
split) are issued IOCB_DONTCACHE when the file system sets
FOP_DONTCACHE.  That suits the workloads a direct mode is chosen for,
but it is a policy, not a requirement: a workload that reads back or
rewrites what it just wrote is better served by those pages staying
cached.

Add /sys/kernel/debug/nfsd/direct_misaligned_dontcache (default Y).  Set
to N, those parts are issued as normal buffered I/O.  The O_DIRECT
middle keeps IOCB_DONTCACHE either way.  With N, a WRITE that is not
split, including one whose payload is misaligned in memory, is cached in
full.  The knob sits beside direct_misaligned_min_bytes, which decides
whether a misaligned WRITE is split at all; this knob decides how the
parts that are not O_DIRECT are cached.

Signed-off-by: Jonathan Flynn <jonathan.flynn@hammerspace.com>
[snitzer: switched from a module parameter to a debugfs knob, moved
next to direct_misaligned_min_bytes, documented in nfsd-io-modes.rst]
Assisted-by: LLM
Signed-off-by: Mike Snitzer <snitzer@kernel.org>
---
 .../filesystems/nfs/nfsd-io-modes.rst         | 19 +++++++++++++------
 fs/nfsd/debugfs.c                             | 13 +++++++++++++
 fs/nfsd/nfsd.h                                |  1 +
 fs/nfsd/vfs.c                                 | 12 ++++++++----
 4 files changed, 35 insertions(+), 10 deletions(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/filesystems/nfs/nfsd-io-modes.rst b/Documentation/filesystems/nfs/nfsd-io-modes.rst
index eab35a9bbdb93..2679d85152dfc 100644
--- a/Documentation/filesystems/nfs/nfsd-io-modes.rst
+++ b/Documentation/filesystems/nfs/nfsd-io-modes.rst
@@ -131,15 +131,17 @@ Misaligned WRITE:
     offset, so the O_DIRECT segment never shares a page with a buffered
     one; a start or end that is already DIO-aligned gets no buffered
     segment at all. If the filesystem supports FOP_DONTCACHE, the
-    misaligned segments are marked DONTCACHE.
-    So is the O_DIRECT segment, where the flag has no effect unless the
-    filesystem services it with buffered IO instead, as XFS does when it
-    cannot invalidate page cache that overlaps the segment. The
-    iomap_dio_invalidate_fail trace event reports such a fallback.
+    O_DIRECT segment is marked DONTCACHE, and so are the misaligned
+    segments unless direct_misaligned_dontcache is N (below). The flag
+    has no effect on the O_DIRECT segment unless the filesystem services
+    it with buffered IO instead, as XFS does when it cannot invalidate
+    page cache that overlaps the segment. The iomap_dio_invalidate_fail
+    trace event reports such a fallback.
 
     If NFSD does not split a misaligned WRITE, it issues the whole WRITE
     as a single DONTCACHE buffered IO (normal buffered IO if the
-    filesystem lacks FOP_DONTCACHE). NFSD does not split a WRITE when:
+    filesystem lacks FOP_DONTCACHE or direct_misaligned_dontcache is N).
+    NFSD does not split a WRITE when:
 
     - the filesystem advertises no DIO alignment;
     - the WRITE is smaller than the larger of the offset and memory
@@ -150,6 +152,11 @@ Misaligned WRITE:
     - the WRITE payload is not aligned in memory to the block device's
       dma_alignment, so the middle cannot be O_DIRECT either.
 
+    Writing N to /sys/kernel/debug/nfsd/direct_misaligned_dontcache
+    (default Y) issues the start and end segments, and a WRITE that is
+    not split, as normal buffered IO instead of DONTCACHE, which suits a
+    workload that reads back or rewrites what it just wrote.
+
 Tracing:
     The nfsd_read_direct trace event shows how NFSD expands any
     misaligned READ to the next DIO-aligned block (on either end of the
diff --git a/fs/nfsd/debugfs.c b/fs/nfsd/debugfs.c
index 02b0369f17648..80f53a4ada7bf 100644
--- a/fs/nfsd/debugfs.c
+++ b/fs/nfsd/debugfs.c
@@ -152,6 +152,19 @@ void nfsd_debugfs_init(void)
 	 */
 	debugfs_create_u32("direct_misaligned_min_bytes", 0644, nfsd_top_dir,
 			   &nfsd_direct_misaligned_min_bytes);
+
+	/*
+	 * /sys/kernel/debug/nfsd/direct_misaligned_dontcache
+	 *
+	 *   Y: the start and end segments of a split direct-mode WRITE, and
+	 *      a WRITE that is not split, use DONTCACHE buffered IO when the
+	 *      file system supports FOP_DONTCACHE
+	 *   N: those segments use normal buffered IO
+	 *
+	 * The default value of this setting is Y.
+	 */
+	debugfs_create_bool("direct_misaligned_dontcache", 0644, nfsd_top_dir,
+			    &nfsd_direct_misaligned_dontcache);
 #ifdef CONFIG_NFSD_V4
 	debugfs_create_bool("delegated_timestamps", 0644, nfsd_top_dir,
 			    &nfsd_delegts_enabled);
diff --git a/fs/nfsd/nfsd.h b/fs/nfsd/nfsd.h
index db81620bd5168..b520b51692b09 100644
--- a/fs/nfsd/nfsd.h
+++ b/fs/nfsd/nfsd.h
@@ -143,6 +143,7 @@ enum {
 extern u64 nfsd_io_cache_read __read_mostly;
 extern u64 nfsd_io_cache_write __read_mostly;
 extern u32 nfsd_direct_misaligned_min_bytes __read_mostly;
+extern bool nfsd_direct_misaligned_dontcache __read_mostly;
 
 bool nfsd_v4client(struct svc_rqst *rqstp);
 
diff --git a/fs/nfsd/vfs.c b/fs/nfsd/vfs.c
index a419eee401d9d..b596bd61f8cb7 100644
--- a/fs/nfsd/vfs.c
+++ b/fs/nfsd/vfs.c
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@ bool nfsd_disable_splice_read __read_mostly;
 u64 nfsd_io_cache_read __read_mostly = NFSD_IO_BUFFERED;
 u64 nfsd_io_cache_write __read_mostly = NFSD_IO_BUFFERED;
 u32 nfsd_direct_misaligned_min_bytes __read_mostly = 8192;
+bool nfsd_direct_misaligned_dontcache __read_mostly = true;
 
 /**
  * nfserrno - Map Linux errnos to NFS errnos
@@ -1325,11 +1326,13 @@ nfsd_write_dio_iters_init(struct nfsd_file *nf, struct bio_vec *bvec,
 	size_t prefix, middle, suffix;
 	loff_t offset = iocb->ki_pos;
 	unsigned int dontcache_flags = 0;
+	unsigned int buffered_flags;
 	unsigned int nsegs = 0;
 	u32 cut;
 
 	if (nf->nf_file->f_op->fop_flags & FOP_DONTCACHE)
 		dontcache_flags = IOCB_DONTCACHE;
+	buffered_flags = nfsd_direct_misaligned_dontcache ? dontcache_flags : 0;
 
 	/*
 	 * Check if direct I/O is feasible for this write request.
@@ -1368,7 +1371,7 @@ nfsd_write_dio_iters_init(struct nfsd_file *nf, struct bio_vec *bvec,
 	if (prefix) {
 		nfsd_write_dio_seg_init(&segments[nsegs], bvec,
 					nvecs, total, 0, prefix, iocb);
-		segments[nsegs++].flags |= dontcache_flags;
+		segments[nsegs++].flags |= buffered_flags;
 	}
 
 	nfsd_write_dio_seg_init(&segments[nsegs], bvec, nvecs,
@@ -1392,7 +1395,7 @@ nfsd_write_dio_iters_init(struct nfsd_file *nf, struct bio_vec *bvec,
 	if (suffix) {
 		nfsd_write_dio_seg_init(&segments[nsegs], bvec, nvecs, total,
 					prefix + middle, suffix, iocb);
-		segments[nsegs++].flags |= dontcache_flags;
+		segments[nsegs++].flags |= buffered_flags;
 	}
 
 	return nsegs;
@@ -1400,11 +1403,12 @@ nfsd_write_dio_iters_init(struct nfsd_file *nf, struct bio_vec *bvec,
 no_dio:
 	/*
 	 * Issue the whole WRITE as a single buffered segment, uncached when
-	 * the file system supports FOP_DONTCACHE.
+	 * the file system supports FOP_DONTCACHE and
+	 * direct_misaligned_dontcache is set.
 	 */
 	nfsd_write_dio_seg_init(&segments[0], bvec, nvecs, total, 0,
 				total, iocb);
-	segments[0].flags |= dontcache_flags;
+	segments[0].flags |= buffered_flags;
 	return 1;
 }
 
-- 
2.52.0


  parent reply	other threads:[~2026-10-15 23:33 UTC|newest]

Thread overview: 15+ messages / expand[flat|nested]  mbox.gz  Atom feed  top
2026-10-15 23:32 [PATCH v4 00/10] NFSD: keep direct-mode I/O out of the page cache Mike Snitzer
2026-10-15 23:33 ` [PATCH v4 01/10] NFSD: cut a misaligned direct-mode WRITE at page boundaries Mike Snitzer
2026-10-15 23:33 ` [PATCH v4 02/10] NFSD: mark the direct middle of a split WRITE IOCB_DONTCACHE as well Mike Snitzer
2026-10-15 23:33 ` [PATCH v4 03/10] NFSD: only split a direct-mode WRITE for a worthwhile direct middle Mike Snitzer
2026-10-16 11:03   ` Jeff Layton
2026-10-15 23:33 ` Mike Snitzer [this message]
2026-10-15 23:33 ` [PATCH v4 05/10] NFSD: do not use direct I/O for a READ smaller than its alignment Mike Snitzer
2026-10-15 23:33 ` [PATCH v4 06/10] NFSD: persist a synchronous direct-mode WRITE once, after all of its segments Mike Snitzer
2026-10-15 23:33 ` [PATCH v4 07/10] mm: add folio_mark_dropbehind() to mark a folio dropbehind and account it Mike Snitzer
2026-10-16 11:08   ` Jeff Layton
2026-10-16 11:54     ` Matthew Wilcox
2026-10-15 23:33 ` [PATCH v4 08/10] mm: expose WB_DONTCACHE_DIRTY in bdi debugfs stats Mike Snitzer
2026-10-15 23:33 ` [PATCH v4 09/10] NFSD: keep boundary page of a split direct-mode WRITE until both writers complete Mike Snitzer
2026-10-15 23:33 ` [PATCH v4 10/10] NFSD: add tracing for how direct-mode READ and WRITE are serviced Mike Snitzer
2026-10-16 11:18 ` [PATCH v4 00/10] NFSD: keep direct-mode I/O out of the page cache Jeff Layton

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