Re: [PATCH 1/6] freepgt: free_pgtables use vma list

[Andi Kleen <ak@suse.de>]

On Wed, Mar 23, 2005 at 05:11:34PM +0000, Hugh Dickins wrote:
> Recent woes with some arches needing their own pgd_addr_end macro; and
> 4-level clear_page_range regression since 2.6.10's clear_page_tables;
> and its long-standing well-known inefficiency in searching throughout
> the higher-level page tables for those few entries to clear and free:
> all can be blamed on ignoring the list of vmas when we free page tables.
> 
> Replace exit_mmap's clear_page_range of the total user address space by
> free_pgtables operating on the mm's vma list; unmap_region use it in the
> same way, giving floor and ceiling beyond which it may not free tables.
> This brings lmbench fork/exec/sh numbers back to 2.6.10 (unless preempt
> is enabled, in which case latency fixes spoil unmap_vmas throughput).
> 
> Beware: the do_mmap_pgoff driver failure case must now use unmap_region
> instead of zap_page_range, since a page table might have been allocated,
> and can only be freed while it is touched by some vma.
> 
> Move free_pgtables from mmap.c to memory.c, where its lower levels are
> adapted from the clear_page_range levels.  (Most of free_pgtables' old
> code was actually for a non-existent case, prev not properly set up,
> dating from before hch gave us split_vma.)  Pass mmu_gather** in the
> public interfaces, since we might want to add latency lockdrops later;
> but no attempt to do so yet, going by vma should itself reduce latency.
> 
> But what if is_hugepage_only_range?  Those ia64 and ppc64 cases need
> careful examination: put that off until a later patch of the series.

Sorry for late answer. Nice approach.... It will not work as well
on large sparse mappings as the bit vectors, but that may be tolerable.

> 
> What of x86_64's 32bit vdso page __map_syscall32 maps outside any vma?

Everything. It could be easily changed though, but I was too lazy for 
it so far. Do you think it is needed for your patch?

-Andi
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