To help developers and applications gain visibility into writeback
behaviour adding four read only sysctl files into /proc/sys/vm.
These files allow user apps to understand writeback behaviour over time
and learn how it is impacting their performance.
# cat /proc/sys/vm/pages_dirtied
3747
# cat /proc/sys/vm/pages_entered_writeback
3618
# cat /proc/sys/vm/dirty_threshold_kbytes
816673
# cat /proc/sys/vm/dirty_background_threshold_kbytes
408336
Documentation/vm.txt has been updated.
In order to track the "cleaned" and "dirtied" counts we added two
vm_stat_items. Per memory node stats have been added also. So we can
see per node granularity:
# cat /sys/devices/system/node/node20/writebackstat
Node 20 pages_writeback: 0 times
Node 20 pages_dirtied: 0 times
Signed-off-by: Michael Rubin <mrubin@xxxxxxxxxx>
---
Documentation/sysctl/vm.txt | 41 +++++++++++++++++++++++++---
drivers/base/node.c | 14 +++++++++
include/linux/mmzone.h | 2 +
include/linux/writeback.h | 17 +++++++++++
kernel/sysctl.c | 28 +++++++++++++++++++
mm/page-writeback.c | 64 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++----
mm/vmstat.c | 2 +
7 files changed, 158 insertions(+), 10 deletions(-)
diff --git a/Documentation/sysctl/vm.txt b/Documentation/sysctl/vm.txt
index 5fdbb61..cfb640d 100644
--- a/Documentation/sysctl/vm.txt
+++ b/Documentation/sysctl/vm.txt
@@ -22,9 +22,11 @@ Currently, these files are in /proc/sys/vm:
- compact_memory
- dirty_background_bytes
- dirty_background_ratio
+- dirty_background_threshold_kbytes
- dirty_bytes
- dirty_expire_centisecs
- dirty_ratio
+- dirty_threshold_kbytes
- dirty_writeback_centisecs
- drop_caches
- extfrag_threshold
@@ -50,6 +52,8 @@ Currently, these files are in /proc/sys/vm:
- overcommit_memory
- overcommit_ratio
- page-cluster
+- pages_dirtied
+- pages_entered_writeback
- panic_on_oom
- percpu_pagelist_fraction
- stat_interval
@@ -92,6 +96,15 @@ the pdflush background writeback daemon will start writing out dirty data.
==============================================================
+dirty_background_threshold_kbytes
+
+Contains the exact amount of dirty memory memory in kbytes the kernel
+uses to trigger the background writeout daemon will start writing out
+dirty data. This value depends on memory state, dirty_background_ratio
+and/or dirty_background_bytes. This value is read-only.
+
+==============================================================
+
dirty_bytes
Contains the amount of dirty memory at which a process generating disk writes
@@ -123,6 +136,15 @@ data.
==============================================================
+dirty_threshold_kbytes
+
+Contains the exact amount of dirty memory in kilobytes that the kernel
+uses to decide when a process which is generating disk writes will itself
+start writing out data. This value depends on memory state, dirty_ratio
+and/or dirty_bytes. This value is read-only.
+
+==============================================================
+
dirty_writeback_centisecs
The pdflush writeback daemons will periodically wake up and write `old' data
@@ -425,10 +447,7 @@ See Documentation/vm/hugetlbpage.txt
nr_pdflush_threads
The current number of pdflush threads. This value is read-only.
-The value changes according to the number of dirty pages in the system.
-
-When necessary, additional pdflush threads are created, one per second, up to
-nr_pdflush_threads_max.
+This value is obsolete.
==============================================================
@@ -580,8 +599,22 @@ The default value is three (eight pages at a time). There may be some
small benefits in tuning this to a different value if your workload is
swap-intensive.
+
+=============================================================
+
+pages_dirtied
+
+Number of pages that have ever been dirtied since boot.
+This value is read-only.
+
=============================================================
+pages_entered_writeback
+
+Number of pages that have been moved from dirty to writeback since boot.
+This is only a count of file pages. This value is read-only.
+
+=============================================================
panic_on_oom
This enables or disables panic on out-of-memory feature.
diff --git a/drivers/base/node.c b/drivers/base/node.c
index 2bdd8a9..b321d32 100644
--- a/drivers/base/node.c
+++ b/drivers/base/node.c
@@ -160,6 +160,18 @@ static ssize_t node_read_numastat(struct sys_device * dev,
}
static SYSDEV_ATTR(numastat, S_IRUGO, node_read_numastat, NULL);
+static ssize_t node_read_writebackstat(struct sys_device *dev,
+ struct sysdev_attribute *attr, char *buf)
+{
+ int nid = dev->id;
+ return sprintf(buf,
+ "Node %d pages_writeback: %lu times\n"
+ "Node %d pages_dirtied: %lu times\n",
+ nid, node_page_state(nid, NR_PAGES_ENTERED_WRITEBACK),
+ nid, node_page_state(nid, NR_FILE_PAGES_DIRTIED));
+}
+static SYSDEV_ATTR(writebackstat, S_IRUGO, node_read_writebackstat, NULL);
+
static ssize_t node_read_distance(struct sys_device * dev,
struct sysdev_attribute *attr, char * buf)
{
@@ -243,6 +255,7 @@ int register_node(struct node *node, int num, struct node *parent)
sysdev_create_file(&node->sysdev, &attr_meminfo);
sysdev_create_file(&node->sysdev, &attr_numastat);
sysdev_create_file(&node->sysdev, &attr_distance);
+ sysdev_create_file(&node->sysdev, &attr_writebackstat);
scan_unevictable_register_node(node);
@@ -267,6 +280,7 @@ void unregister_node(struct node *node)
sysdev_remove_file(&node->sysdev, &attr_meminfo);
sysdev_remove_file(&node->sysdev, &attr_numastat);
sysdev_remove_file(&node->sysdev, &attr_distance);
+ sysdev_remove_file(&node->sysdev, &attr_writebackstat);
scan_unevictable_unregister_node(node);
hugetlb_unregister_node(node); /* no-op, if memoryless node */
diff --git a/include/linux/mmzone.h b/include/linux/mmzone.h
index b4d109e..c0cd2bd 100644
--- a/include/linux/mmzone.h
+++ b/include/linux/mmzone.h
@@ -112,6 +112,8 @@ enum zone_stat_item {
NUMA_LOCAL, /* allocation from local node */
NUMA_OTHER, /* allocation from other node */
#endif
+ NR_PAGES_ENTERED_WRITEBACK, /* number of times pages enter writeback */
+ NR_FILE_PAGES_DIRTIED, /* number of times pages get dirtied */
NR_VM_ZONE_STAT_ITEMS };
/*
diff --git a/include/linux/writeback.h b/include/linux/writeback.h
index c24eca7..b3b7038 100644
--- a/include/linux/writeback.h
+++ b/include/linux/writeback.h
@@ -99,6 +99,10 @@ extern int dirty_background_ratio;
extern unsigned long dirty_background_bytes;
extern int vm_dirty_ratio;
extern unsigned long vm_dirty_bytes;
+extern unsigned long vm_pages_dirtied;
+extern unsigned long vm_pages_entered_writeback;
+extern unsigned long vm_dirty_threshold;
+extern unsigned long vm_bg_threshold;
extern unsigned int dirty_writeback_interval;
extern unsigned int dirty_expire_interval;
extern int vm_highmem_is_dirtyable;
@@ -120,6 +124,19 @@ extern int dirty_bytes_handler(struct ctl_table *table, int write,
void __user *buffer, size_t *lenp,
loff_t *ppos);
+extern int pages_dirtied_handler(struct ctl_table *table, int write,
+ void __user *buffer, size_t *lenp,
+ loff_t *ppos);
+extern int pages_entered_writeback_handler(struct ctl_table *table, int write,
+ void __user *buffer, size_t *lenp,
+ loff_t *ppos);
+extern int dirty_threshold_handler(struct ctl_table *table, int write,
+ void __user *buffer, size_t *lenp,
+ loff_t *ppos);
+extern int bg_threshold_handler(struct ctl_table *table, int write,
+ void __user *buffer, size_t *lenp,
+ loff_t *ppos);
+
struct ctl_table;
int dirty_writeback_centisecs_handler(struct ctl_table *, int,
void __user *, size_t *, loff_t *);
diff --git a/kernel/sysctl.c b/kernel/sysctl.c
index d24f761..8dcec17 100644
--- a/kernel/sysctl.c
+++ b/kernel/sysctl.c
@@ -1053,6 +1053,34 @@ static struct ctl_table vm_table[] = {
.proc_handler = proc_dointvec,
},
{
+ .procname = "pages_dirtied",
+ .data = &vm_pages_dirtied,
+ .maxlen = sizeof(vm_pages_dirtied),
+ .mode = 0444 /* read-only */,
+ .proc_handler = pages_dirtied_handler,
+ },
+ {
+ .procname = "pages_entered_writeback",
+ .data = &vm_pages_entered_writeback,
+ .maxlen = sizeof(vm_pages_entered_writeback),
+ .mode = 0444 /* read-only */,
+ .proc_handler = pages_entered_writeback_handler,
+ },
+ {
+ .procname = "dirty_threshold_kbytes",
+ .data = &vm_dirty_threshold,
+ .maxlen = sizeof(vm_dirty_threshold),
+ .mode = 0444 /* read-only */,
+ .proc_handler = dirty_threshold_handler,
+ },
+ {
+ .procname = "dirty_background_threshold_kbytes",
+ .data = &vm_bg_threshold,
+ .maxlen = sizeof(vm_bg_threshold),
+ .mode = 0444 /* read-only */,
+ .proc_handler = bg_threshold_handler,
+ },
+ {
.procname = "nr_pdflush_threads",
.data = &nr_pdflush_threads,
.maxlen = sizeof nr_pdflush_threads,
diff --git a/mm/page-writeback.c b/mm/page-writeback.c
index b8e7b3b..84e3e2e 100644
--- a/mm/page-writeback.c
+++ b/mm/page-writeback.c
@@ -95,6 +95,20 @@ unsigned int dirty_writeback_interval = 5 * 100; /* centiseconds */
*/
unsigned int dirty_expire_interval = 30 * 100; /* centiseconds */
+
+/*
+ * Number of pages dirtied and entered writeback state
+ */
+
+unsigned long vm_pages_dirtied;
+unsigned long vm_pages_entered_writeback;
+
+/*
+ * Dirty thresholds for export
+ */
+unsigned long vm_dirty_threshold;
+unsigned long vm_bg_threshold;
+
/*
* Flag that makes the machine dump writes/reads and block dirtyings.
*/
@@ -196,7 +210,6 @@ int dirty_ratio_handler(struct ctl_table *table, int write,
return ret;
}
-
int dirty_bytes_handler(struct ctl_table *table, int write,
void __user *buffer, size_t *lenp,
loff_t *ppos)
@@ -212,6 +225,45 @@ int dirty_bytes_handler(struct ctl_table *table, int write,
return ret;
}
+int pages_dirtied_handler(struct ctl_table *table, int write,
+ void __user *buffer, size_t *lenp,
+ loff_t *ppos)
+{
+ vm_pages_dirtied = global_page_state(NR_FILE_PAGES_DIRTIED);
+ return proc_doulongvec_minmax(table, write, buffer, lenp, ppos);
+}
+
+int pages_entered_writeback_handler(struct ctl_table *table, int write,
+ void __user *buffer, size_t *lenp,
+ loff_t *ppos)
+{
+ vm_pages_entered_writeback =
+ global_page_state(NR_PAGES_ENTERED_WRITEBACK);
+ return proc_doulongvec_minmax(table, write, buffer, lenp, ppos);
+}
+
+#define K(pages) ((pages) << (PAGE_SHIFT - 10))
+
+int dirty_threshold_handler(struct ctl_table *table, int write,
+ void __user *buffer, size_t *lenp,
+ loff_t *ppos)
+{
+ unsigned long bg_thresh, dirty_thresh;
+ get_dirty_limits(&bg_thresh, &dirty_thresh, NULL, NULL);
+ vm_dirty_threshold = K(dirty_thresh);
+ return proc_doulongvec_minmax(table, write, buffer, lenp, ppos);
+}
+
+int bg_threshold_handler(struct ctl_table *table, int write,
+ void __user *buffer, size_t *lenp,
+ loff_t *ppos)
+{
+ unsigned long bg_thresh, dirty_thresh;
+ get_dirty_limits(&bg_thresh, &dirty_thresh, NULL, NULL);
+ vm_bg_threshold = K(bg_thresh);
+ return proc_doulongvec_minmax(table, write, buffer, lenp, ppos);
+}
+
/*
* Increment the BDI's writeout completion count and the global writeout
* completion count. Called from test_clear_page_writeback().
@@ -1091,6 +1143,7 @@ void account_page_dirtied(struct page *page, struct address_space *mapping)
{
if (mapping_cap_account_dirty(mapping)) {
__inc_zone_page_state(page, NR_FILE_DIRTY);
+ __inc_zone_page_state(page, NR_FILE_PAGES_DIRTIED);
__inc_bdi_stat(mapping->backing_dev_info, BDI_RECLAIMABLE);
task_dirty_inc(current);
task_io_account_write(PAGE_CACHE_SIZE);
@@ -1103,15 +1156,15 @@ EXPORT_SYMBOL(account_page_dirtied);
* NOTE: Unlike account_page_dirtied this does not rely on being atomic
* wrt interrupts.
*/
-
void account_page_writeback(struct page *page, struct address_space *mapping)
{
- if (mapping_cap_account_dirty(mapping))
+ if (mapping_cap_account_dirty(mapping)) {
inc_zone_page_state(page, NR_WRITEBACK);
+ inc_zone_page_state(page, NR_PAGES_ENTERED_WRITEBACK);
+ }
}
EXPORT_SYMBOL(account_page_writeback);
-
/*
* For address_spaces which do not use buffers. Just tag the page as dirty in
* its radix tree.
@@ -1347,9 +1400,8 @@ int test_set_page_writeback(struct page *page)
ret = TestSetPageWriteback(page);
}
if (!ret)
- inc_zone_page_state(page, NR_WRITEBACK);
+ account_page_writeback(page, mapping);
return ret;
-
}
EXPORT_SYMBOL(test_set_page_writeback);
diff --git a/mm/vmstat.c b/mm/vmstat.c
index 7759941..e177a40 100644
--- a/mm/vmstat.c
+++ b/mm/vmstat.c
@@ -740,6 +740,8 @@ static const char * const vmstat_text[] = {
"numa_local",
"numa_other",
#endif
+ "nr_pages_entered_writeback",
+ "nr_file_pages_dirtied",
#ifdef CONFIG_VM_EVENT_COUNTERS
"pgpgin",
--
1.7.1
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