Re: [PATCH 1/6] NFSD: add the ability to enable use of RWF_DONTCACHE for all IO

Mike Snitzer
2025-06-11T19:18:32Z

On Wed, Jun 11, 2025 at 10:31:20AM -0400, Chuck Lever wrote:
> On 6/10/25 4:57 PM, Mike Snitzer wrote:
> > Add 'enable-dontcache' to NFSD's debugfs interface so that: Any data
> > read or written by NFSD will either not be cached (thanks to O_DIRECT)
> > or will be removed from the page cache upon completion (DONTCACHE).
>
> I thought we were going to do two switches: One for reads and one for
> writes? I could be misremembering.

We did discuss the possibility of doing that. Still can-do if that's
what you'd prefer.

> After all, you are describing two different facilities here: a form of
> direct I/O for READs, and RWF_DONTCACHE for WRITEs (I think?).

My thinking was NFSD doesn't need to provide faithful pure
RWF_DONTCACHE if it really doesn't make sense. But the "dontcache"
name can be (ab)used by NFSD to define it how it sees fit (O_DIRECT
doesn't cache so it seems fair). What I arrived at with this patchset
is how I described in my cover letter:

When 'enable-dontcache' is used:
- all READs will use O_DIRECT (both DIO-aligned and misaligned)
- all DIO-aligned WRITEs will use O_DIRECT (useful for SUNRPC RDMA)
- misaligned WRITEs currently continue to use normal buffered IO

But we reserve the right to iterate on the implementation details as
we see fit. Still using the umbrella of 'dontcache'.

> > diff --git a/fs/nfsd/vfs.c b/fs/nfsd/vfs.c
> > index 7d94fae1dee8..bba3e6f4f56b 100644
> > --- a/fs/nfsd/vfs.c
> > +++ b/fs/nfsd/vfs.c
> > @@ -49,6 +49,7 @@
> > #define NFSDDBG_FACILITY NFSDDBG_FILEOP
> >
> > bool nfsd_disable_splice_read __read_mostly;
> > +bool nfsd_enable_dontcache __read_mostly;
> >
> > /**
> > * nfserrno - Map Linux errnos to NFS errnos
> > @@ -1086,6 +1087,7 @@ __be32 nfsd_iter_read(struct svc_rqst *rqstp, struct svc_fh *fhp,
> > unsigned long v, total;
> > struct iov_iter iter;
> > loff_t ppos = offset;
> > + rwf_t flags = 0;
> > ssize_t host_err;
> > size_t len;
> >
> > @@ -1103,7 +1105,11 @@ __be32 nfsd_iter_read(struct svc_rqst *rqstp, struct svc_fh *fhp,
> >
> > trace_nfsd_read_vector(rqstp, fhp, offset, *count);
> > iov_iter_bvec(&iter, ITER_DEST, rqstp->rq_bvec, v, *count);
> > - host_err = vfs_iter_read(file, &iter, &ppos, 0);
> > +
> > + if (nfsd_enable_dontcache)
> > + flags |= RWF_DONTCACHE;
>
> Two things:
>
> - Maybe NFSD should record whether the file system is DONTCACHE-enabled
> in @fhp or in the export it is associated with, and then check that
> setting here before asserting RWF_DONTCACHE

Sure, that'd be safer than allowing RWF_DONTCACHE to be tried only to
get EOPNOTSUPP because the underlying filesystem doesn't enable
support.

Could follow what I did with nfsd_file only storing the dio_*
alignment data retrieved from statx IFF 'enable-dontcache' was enabled
at the time the nfsd_file was opened.

By adding check for FOP_DONTCACHE being set in underlying filesystem.
But as-is, we're not actually using RWF_DONTCACHE in the final form of
what I've provided in this patchset. So can easily circle back to
adding this if/when we do decide to use RWF_DONTCACHE.

> - I thought we were going with O_DIRECT for READs.

Yes, this is just an intermediate patch that goes away in later
patches. I was more focused on minimal patch to get the
'enable-dontcache' debugfs interface in place and tweaking it to its
ultimate form in later patch.

I put in place a more general framework that can evolve... it being
more free-form (e.g. "don't worry your pretty head about the
implementation details, we'll worry for you").

Causes some reviewer angst I suppose, so I can just fold patches to do
away with unused intermediate state.

Mike