[PATCH 0/3] kernfs: do less work under the kernfs_rwsem write lock
From: Shakeel Butt
Date: Sat Sep 12 2026 - 22:15:40 EST
kernfs_rwsem is per kernfs root, so sysfs and cgroupfs have one each for
the whole machine, and every create, remove and rename takes it for
writing. Whatever a writer does while holding it, everyone else waits
for. These three patches take work out of that section.
Patch 1: kernfs_add_one() links the node in, drops the lock, then calls
kernfs_activate(), which takes it again. sysfs does not create nodes
deactivated, so it pays two write locks for every file and directory.
Activate before dropping the lock. lock_stat says 1200 -> 830 write
acquisitions for creating and destroying five dummy netdevs.
Patch 2: kernfs_rename_ns() calls kstrdup_const() under the lock. It is
the only GFP_KERNEL allocation under the write lock in kernfs, so a
rename can enter reclaim with the lock held. Allocate before the lock.
Patch 3: kernfs_rename_ns() also frees the old name under the lock with
kfree_rcu_mightsleep(). When its batching allocation fails, which is
what happens under memory pressure, it falls back to synchronize_rcu().
A rename can then wait out a grace period with the lock held. Free
after the unlock.
Tested with the kernfs selftests under KASAN and lockdep.
Shakeel Butt (3):
kernfs: activate a new node without dropping kernfs_rwsem
kernfs: allocate the new name outside kernfs_rwsem
kernfs: free the old name outside kernfs_rwsem
fs/kernfs/dir.c | 32 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++------
1 file changed, 26 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-)
base-commit: 7f24d0f60b1087dbc28d68398957c18774e5a7d8
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