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-rw-r--r--include/linux/mmzone.h41
1 files changed, 34 insertions, 7 deletions
diff --git a/include/linux/mmzone.h b/include/linux/mmzone.h
index 0c0b1d608a69..cd55dad56aac 100644
--- a/include/linux/mmzone.h
+++ b/include/linux/mmzone.h
@@ -460,17 +460,44 @@ struct zone {
unsigned long zone_start_pfn;
/*
- * zone_start_pfn, spanned_pages and present_pages are all
- * protected by span_seqlock. It is a seqlock because it has
- * to be read outside of zone->lock, and it is done in the main
- * allocator path. But, it is written quite infrequently.
+ * spanned_pages is the total pages spanned by the zone, including
+ * holes, which is calculated as:
+ * spanned_pages = zone_end_pfn - zone_start_pfn;
*
- * The lock is declared along with zone->lock because it is
+ * present_pages is physical pages existing within the zone, which
+ * is calculated as:
+ * present_pages = spanned_pages - absent_pages(pags in holes);
+ *
+ * managed_pages is present pages managed by the buddy system, which
+ * is calculated as (reserved_pages includes pages allocated by the
+ * bootmem allocator):
+ * managed_pages = present_pages - reserved_pages;
+ *
+ * So present_pages may be used by memory hotplug or memory power
+ * management logic to figure out unmanaged pages by checking
+ * (present_pages - managed_pages). And managed_pages should be used
+ * by page allocator and vm scanner to calculate all kinds of watermarks
+ * and thresholds.
+ *
+ * Locking rules:
+ *
+ * zone_start_pfn and spanned_pages are protected by span_seqlock.
+ * It is a seqlock because it has to be read outside of zone->lock,
+ * and it is done in the main allocator path. But, it is written
+ * quite infrequently.
+ *
+ * The span_seq lock is declared along with zone->lock because it is
* frequently read in proximity to zone->lock. It's good to
* give them a chance of being in the same cacheline.
+ *
+ * Write access to present_pages and managed_pages at runtime should
+ * be protected by lock_memory_hotplug()/unlock_memory_hotplug().
+ * Any reader who can't tolerant drift of present_pages and
+ * managed_pages should hold memory hotplug lock to get a stable value.
*/
- unsigned long spanned_pages; /* total size, including holes */
- unsigned long present_pages; /* amount of memory (excluding holes) */
+ unsigned long spanned_pages;
+ unsigned long present_pages;
+ unsigned long managed_pages;
/*
* rarely used fields:
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