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authorMing Lei <ming.lei@redhat.com>2026-03-31 18:31:54 +0300
committerJens Axboe <axboe@kernel.dk>2026-04-07 16:39:24 +0300
commit08677040a91199175149d1fd465c02e3b3fc768a (patch)
tree0596b119af77e071ed4f0acf4067644319a5ae7b
parent4d4a512a1f87b156f694d25c800e3d525aa56e8a (diff)
downloadlinux-08677040a91199175149d1fd465c02e3b3fc768a.tar.xz
ublk: enable UBLK_F_SHMEM_ZC feature flag
Add UBLK_F_SHMEM_ZC (1ULL << 19) to the UAPI header and UBLK_F_ALL. Switch ublk_support_shmem_zc() and ublk_dev_support_shmem_zc() from returning false to checking the actual flag, enabling the shared memory zero-copy feature for devices that request it. Signed-off-by: Ming Lei <ming.lei@redhat.com> Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20260331153207.3635125-4-ming.lei@redhat.com [axboe: ublk_buf_reg -> ublk_shmem_buf_reg errors] Signed-off-by: Jens Axboe <axboe@kernel.dk>
-rw-r--r--Documentation/block/ublk.rst117
-rw-r--r--drivers/block/ublk_drv.c7
-rw-r--r--include/uapi/linux/ublk_cmd.h7
3 files changed, 128 insertions, 3 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/block/ublk.rst b/Documentation/block/ublk.rst
index 6ad28039663d..e80cc415a739 100644
--- a/Documentation/block/ublk.rst
+++ b/Documentation/block/ublk.rst
@@ -485,6 +485,123 @@ Limitations
in case that too many ublk devices are handled by this single io_ring_ctx
and each one has very large queue depth
+Shared Memory Zero Copy (UBLK_F_SHMEM_ZC)
+------------------------------------------
+
+The ``UBLK_F_SHMEM_ZC`` feature provides an alternative zero-copy path
+that works by sharing physical memory pages between the client application
+and the ublk server. Unlike the io_uring fixed buffer approach above,
+shared memory zero copy does not require io_uring buffer registration
+per I/O — instead, it relies on the kernel matching page frame numbers
+(PFNs) at I/O time. This allows the ublk server to access the shared
+buffer directly, which is unlikely for the io_uring fixed buffer
+approach.
+
+Motivation
+~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Shared memory zero copy takes a different approach: if the client
+application and the ublk server both map the same physical memory, there is
+nothing to copy. The kernel detects the shared pages automatically and
+tells the server where the data already lives.
+
+``UBLK_F_SHMEM_ZC`` can be thought of as a supplement for optimized client
+applications — when the client is willing to allocate I/O buffers from
+shared memory, the entire data path becomes zero-copy without any per-I/O
+overhead.
+
+Use Cases
+~~~~~~~~~
+
+This feature is useful when the client application can be configured to
+use a specific shared memory region for its I/O buffers:
+
+- **Custom storage clients** that allocate I/O buffers from shared memory
+ (memfd, hugetlbfs) and issue direct I/O to the ublk device
+- **Database engines** that use pre-allocated buffer pools with O_DIRECT
+
+How It Works
+~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+1. The ublk server and client both ``mmap()`` the same file (memfd or
+ hugetlbfs) with ``MAP_SHARED``. This gives both processes access to the
+ same physical pages.
+
+2. The ublk server registers its mapping with the kernel::
+
+ struct ublk_shmem_buf_reg buf = { .addr = mmap_va, .len = size };
+ ublk_ctrl_cmd(UBLK_U_CMD_REG_BUF, .addr = &buf);
+
+ The kernel pins the pages and builds a PFN lookup tree.
+
+3. When the client issues direct I/O (``O_DIRECT``) to ``/dev/ublkb*``,
+ the kernel checks whether the I/O buffer pages match any registered
+ pages by comparing PFNs.
+
+4. On a match, the kernel sets ``UBLK_IO_F_SHMEM_ZC`` in the I/O
+ descriptor and encodes the buffer index and offset in ``addr``::
+
+ if (iod->op_flags & UBLK_IO_F_SHMEM_ZC) {
+ /* Data is already in our shared mapping — zero copy */
+ index = ublk_shmem_zc_index(iod->addr);
+ offset = ublk_shmem_zc_offset(iod->addr);
+ buf = shmem_table[index].mmap_base + offset;
+ }
+
+5. If pages do not match (e.g., the client used a non-shared buffer),
+ the I/O falls back to the normal copy path silently.
+
+The shared memory can be set up via two methods:
+
+- **Socket-based**: the client sends a memfd to the ublk server via
+ ``SCM_RIGHTS`` on a unix socket. The server mmaps and registers it.
+- **Hugetlbfs-based**: both processes ``mmap(MAP_SHARED)`` the same
+ hugetlbfs file. No IPC needed — same file gives same physical pages.
+
+Advantages
+~~~~~~~~~~
+
+- **Simple**: no per-I/O buffer registration or unregistration commands.
+ Once the shared buffer is registered, all matching I/O is zero-copy
+ automatically.
+- **Direct buffer access**: the ublk server can read and write the shared
+ buffer directly via its own mmap, without going through io_uring fixed
+ buffer operations. This is more friendly for server implementations.
+- **Fast**: PFN matching is a single maple tree lookup per bvec. No
+ io_uring command round-trips for buffer management.
+- **Compatible**: non-matching I/O silently falls back to the copy path.
+ The device works normally for any client, with zero-copy as an
+ optimization when shared memory is available.
+
+Limitations
+~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+- **Requires client cooperation**: the client must allocate its I/O
+ buffers from the shared memory region. This requires a custom or
+ configured client — standard applications using their own buffers
+ will not benefit.
+- **Direct I/O only**: buffered I/O (without ``O_DIRECT``) goes through
+ the page cache, which allocates its own pages. These kernel-allocated
+ pages will never match the registered shared buffer. Only ``O_DIRECT``
+ puts the client's buffer pages directly into the block I/O.
+
+Control Commands
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+- ``UBLK_U_CMD_REG_BUF``
+
+ Register a shared memory buffer. ``ctrl_cmd.addr`` points to a
+ ``struct ublk_shmem_buf_reg`` containing the buffer virtual address and size.
+ Returns the assigned buffer index (>= 0) on success. The kernel pins
+ pages and builds the PFN lookup tree. Queue freeze is handled
+ internally.
+
+- ``UBLK_U_CMD_UNREG_BUF``
+
+ Unregister a previously registered buffer. ``ctrl_cmd.data[0]`` is the
+ buffer index. Unpins pages and removes PFN entries from the lookup
+ tree.
+
References
==========
diff --git a/drivers/block/ublk_drv.c b/drivers/block/ublk_drv.c
index 264b41ceedd8..bdb1de41d526 100644
--- a/drivers/block/ublk_drv.c
+++ b/drivers/block/ublk_drv.c
@@ -85,7 +85,8 @@
| (IS_ENABLED(CONFIG_BLK_DEV_INTEGRITY) ? UBLK_F_INTEGRITY : 0) \
| UBLK_F_SAFE_STOP_DEV \
| UBLK_F_BATCH_IO \
- | UBLK_F_NO_AUTO_PART_SCAN)
+ | UBLK_F_NO_AUTO_PART_SCAN \
+ | UBLK_F_SHMEM_ZC)
#define UBLK_F_ALL_RECOVERY_FLAGS (UBLK_F_USER_RECOVERY \
| UBLK_F_USER_RECOVERY_REISSUE \
@@ -425,7 +426,7 @@ static inline bool ublk_dev_support_zero_copy(const struct ublk_device *ub)
static inline bool ublk_support_shmem_zc(const struct ublk_queue *ubq)
{
- return false;
+ return ubq->flags & UBLK_F_SHMEM_ZC;
}
static inline bool ublk_iod_is_shmem_zc(const struct ublk_queue *ubq,
@@ -436,7 +437,7 @@ static inline bool ublk_iod_is_shmem_zc(const struct ublk_queue *ubq,
static inline bool ublk_dev_support_shmem_zc(const struct ublk_device *ub)
{
- return false;
+ return ub->dev_info.flags & UBLK_F_SHMEM_ZC;
}
static inline bool ublk_support_auto_buf_reg(const struct ublk_queue *ubq)
diff --git a/include/uapi/linux/ublk_cmd.h b/include/uapi/linux/ublk_cmd.h
index 5b71c19d3b9c..a7078b798791 100644
--- a/include/uapi/linux/ublk_cmd.h
+++ b/include/uapi/linux/ublk_cmd.h
@@ -408,6 +408,13 @@ struct ublk_shmem_buf_reg {
/* Disable automatic partition scanning when device is started */
#define UBLK_F_NO_AUTO_PART_SCAN (1ULL << 18)
+/*
+ * Enable shared memory zero copy. When enabled, the server can register
+ * shared memory buffers via UBLK_U_CMD_REG_BUF. If a block request's
+ * pages match a registered buffer, UBLK_IO_F_SHMEM_ZC is set and addr
+ * encodes the buffer index + offset instead of a userspace buffer address.
+ */
+#define UBLK_F_SHMEM_ZC (1ULL << 19)
/* device state */
#define UBLK_S_DEV_DEAD 0