isolate_migratepages_range will take zone->lru_lock first and check if the lock is contented, if yes, it will release the lock. This isn't efficient. If the lock is truly contented, a lock/unlock pair will increase the lock contention. We'd better check if the lock is contended first. compact_trylock_irqsave perfectly meets the requirement. V2: leave cond_resched() pointed out by Mel. Signed-off-by: Shaohua Li <shli@xxxxxxxxxxxx> --- mm/compaction.c | 5 +++-- 1 file changed, 3 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-) Index: linux/mm/compaction.c =================================================================== --- linux.orig/mm/compaction.c 2012-09-10 08:49:40.377869710 +0800 +++ linux/mm/compaction.c 2012-09-10 08:53:10.295230575 +0800 @@ -295,8 +295,9 @@ isolate_migratepages_range(struct zone * /* Time to isolate some pages for migration */ cond_resched(); - spin_lock_irqsave(&zone->lru_lock, flags); - locked = true; + locked = compact_trylock_irqsave(&zone->lru_lock, &flags, cc); + if (!locked) + return 0; for (; low_pfn < end_pfn; low_pfn++) { struct page *page; -- To unsubscribe, send a message with 'unsubscribe linux-mm' in the body to majordomo@xxxxxxxxx. For more info on Linux MM, see: http://www.linux-mm.org/ . Don't email: <a href=mailto:"dont@xxxxxxxxx"> email@xxxxxxxxx </a>