linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH v3] mempolicy: Clarify what zone reclaim means

lists.openwall.net		lists / announce owl-users owl-dev john-users john-dev passwdqc-users yescrypt popa3d-users / oss-security kernel-hardening musl sabotage tlsify passwords / crypt-dev xvendor / Bugtraq Full-Disclosure linux-kernel linux-netdev linux-ext4 linux-hardening linux-cve-announce PHC
Open Source and information security mailing list archives

Hash Suite: Windows password security audit tool. GUI, reports in PDF.

[<prev] [next>] [<thread-prev] [thread-next>] [day] [month] [year] [list]

Message-ID: <080369EA-4896-4851-A784-CA60D51AD659@nvidia.com>
Date: Tue, 05 Aug 2025 16:54:42 -0400
From: Zi Yan <ziy@...dia.com>
To: Joshua Hahn <joshua.hahnjy@...il.com>
Cc: Andrew Morton <akpm@...ux-foundation.org>,
 David Hildenbrand <david@...hat.com>, SeongJae Park <sj@...nel.org>,
 Ying Huang <ying.huang@...ux.alibaba.com>,
 Alistair Popple <apopple@...dia.com>, Byungchul Park <byungchul@...com>,
 Gregory Price <gourry@...rry.net>, Matthew Brost <matthew.brost@...el.com>,
 Rakie Kim <rakie.kim@...com>, linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org,
 linux-mm@...ck.org, kernel-team@...a.com
Subject: Re: [PATCH v3] mempolicy: Clarify what zone reclaim means

On 5 Aug 2025, at 16:50, Joshua Hahn wrote:

> The zone_reclaim_mode API controls the reclaim behavior when a node runs out of
> memory. Contrary to its user-facing name, it is internally referred to as
> "node_reclaim_mode".
>
> This can be confusing. But because we cannot change the name of the API since
> it has been in place since at least 2.6, let's try to be more explicit about
> what the behavior of this API is.
>
> Change the description to clarify what zone reclaim entails, and be explicit
> about the RECLAIM_ZONE bit, whose purpose has led to some confusion in the
> past already [1] [2].
>
> While at it, also soften the warning about changing these bits.
>
> [1] https://lore.kernel.org/linux-mm/1579005573-58923-1-git-send-email-alex.shi@linux.alibaba.com/
> [2] https://lore.kernel.org/linux-mm/20200626003459.D8E015CA@viggo.jf.intel.com/
>
> Acked-by: SeongJae Park <sj@...nel.org>
> Acked-by: David Hildenbrand <david@...hat.com>
> Reviewed-by: Huang Ying <ying.huang@...ux.alibaba.com>
> Signed-off-by: Joshua Hahn <joshua.hahnjy@...il.com>
> ---
> v2 --> v3:
> - Fixed typos
> - Softend wording from "never" --> "should not"
>
>  include/uapi/linux/mempolicy.h | 10 ++++++++--
>  1 file changed, 8 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)
>

Acked-by: Zi Yan <ziy@...dia.com>

Best Regards,
Yan, Zi