linux-kernel - RE: [PATCH kernel 1/2] mm: add the related functions to build the free page bitmap

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Date:	Wed, 20 Apr 2016 01:41:24 +0000
From:	"Li, Liang Z" <liang.z.li@...el.com>
To:	"Michael S. Tsirkin" <mst@...hat.com>
CC:	Rik van Riel <riel@...hat.com>,
	"viro@...iv.linux.org.uk" <viro@...iv.linux.org.uk>,
	"linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org" <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>,
	"quintela@...hat.com" <quintela@...hat.com>,
	"amit.shah@...hat.com" <amit.shah@...hat.com>,
	"pbonzini@...hat.com" <pbonzini@...hat.com>,
	"dgilbert@...hat.com" <dgilbert@...hat.com>,
	"linux-mm@...ck.org" <linux-mm@...ck.org>,
	"kvm@...r.kernel.org" <kvm@...r.kernel.org>,
	"qemu-devel@...gnu.org" <qemu-devel@...gnu.org>,
	"agraf@...e.de" <agraf@...e.de>,
	"borntraeger@...ibm.com" <borntraeger@...ibm.com>
Subject: RE: [PATCH kernel 1/2] mm: add the related functions to build the
 free page bitmap

> Cc: Rik van Riel; viro@...iv.linux.org.uk; linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org;
> quintela@...hat.com; amit.shah@...hat.com; pbonzini@...hat.com;
> dgilbert@...hat.com; linux-mm@...ck.org; kvm@...r.kernel.org; qemu-
> devel@...gnu.org; agraf@...e.de; borntraeger@...ibm.com
> Subject: Re: [PATCH kernel 1/2] mm: add the related functions to build the
> free page bitmap
> 
> On Tue, Apr 19, 2016 at 03:02:09PM +0000, Li, Liang Z wrote:
> > > On Tue, 2016-04-19 at 22:34 +0800, Liang Li wrote:
> > > > The free page bitmap will be sent to QEMU through virtio interface
> > > > and used for live migration optimization.
> > > > Drop the cache before building the free page bitmap can get more
> > > > free pages. Whether dropping the cache is decided by user.
> > > >
> > >
> > > How do you prevent the guest from using those recently-freed pages
> > > for something else, between when you build the bitmap and the live
> > > migration completes?
> >
> > Because the dirty page logging is enabled before building the bitmap,
> > there is no need to prevent the guest from using the recently-freed
> pages ...
> >
> > Liang
> 
> Well one point of telling host that page is free is so that it can mark it clean
> even if it was dirty previously.
> So I think you must pass the pages to guest under the lock.

Thanks! You mean save the free page bitmap in host pages?

> This will allow host optimizations such as marking these pages
> MADV_DONTNEED or MADV_FREE
> Otherwise it's all too tied up to a specific usecase - you aren't telling host that
> a page is free, you are telling it that a page was free in the past.
> 

Then we should prevent the guest from using those recently-freed pages, 
before doing the MADV_DONTNEED or MADV_FREE, or the pages in the
free page bitmap may be not free any more. In which case we will do something
like this? Balloon?

Liang


> --
> MST