RE: [alsa-devel] change kmalloc into vmalloc for large memory allocations

From: Wang, Yalin
Date: Mon Mar 03 2014 - 10:33:44 EST


Hi Takashi,

I see,

I just want to save low memory for kmalloc use,
So I want to filter out large memory allocations
To use vmalloc instead ,

It will be preferable, if there is a better solution :)

Thank you for your clarification.

-----Original Message-----
From: Takashi Iwai [mailto:tiwai@xxxxxxx]
Sent: Monday, March 03, 2014 10:44 PM
To: Wang, Yalin
Cc: 'Lars-Peter Clausen'; 'alsa-devel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx'; Mark Brown; 'linux-kernel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx'; Liam Girdwood
Subject: Re: [alsa-devel] change kmalloc into vmalloc for large memory allocations

At Mon, 3 Mar 2014 22:29:19 +0800,
Wang, Yalin wrote:
>
> Hi
>
> I see,
> Is it possible to change this part:
> https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/will/linux.git/tree/sound
> /soc/soc-core.c?h=master#n3772
>
>
> so that it use vmalloc if it need allocate large memory for struct
> snd_soc_pcm_runtime ?

As I mentioned, this won't help much for your problem, unless this allocation really failed. This is performed only once at boot.
Allocating this size via kmalloc once shouldn't be a big problem for a system with 1GB RAM. The other places allocate large buffers at each open or such frequent operation, thus they might influence more, though.

IMO, a cleaner solution would to rewrite the code to allocate each RTD dynamically at binding. But this would need lots of fundamental code changes.


Takashi

>
> Thanks
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Lars-Peter Clausen [mailto:lars@xxxxxxxxxx]
> Sent: Monday, March 03, 2014 10:23 PM
> To: Wang, Yalin
> Cc: 'Takashi Iwai'; 'alsa-devel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx'; Mark Brown;
> 'linux-kernel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx'; Liam Girdwood
> Subject: Re: [alsa-devel] change kmalloc into vmalloc for large memory
> allocations
>
> On 03/03/2014 02:29 PM, Wang, Yalin wrote:
> > Hi
> >
> >
> > I find the num_links are defined here:
> > https://www.codeaurora.org/cgit/quic/la/kernel/msm-3.10/tree/sound/s
> > oc
> > /msm/msm8226.c?h=msm-3.10&id=d681c8e79c597a5e1ae79803dc0215d02df8fe3
> > 4#
> > n1812
> >
> >
> > the ARRAY_SIZE is 42 , you mean the driver can't define so many elements ?
> > how to implement it if we can't do like this ?
> >
>
> Looks like your platform is a bit special in this regard and requires quite a few more links than usual.
>
> > Thanks
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Lars-Peter Clausen [mailto:lars@xxxxxxxxxx]
> > Sent: Monday, March 03, 2014 7:46 PM
> > To: Wang, Yalin
> > Cc: 'Takashi Iwai'; 'alsa-devel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx'; Mark Brown;
> > 'linux-kernel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx'; Liam Girdwood
> > Subject: Re: [alsa-devel] change kmalloc into vmalloc for large
> > memory allocations
> >
> > On 03/03/2014 12:36 PM, Wang, Yalin wrote:
> >> Hi
> >>
> >> I am curious what number range is correct here for card->num_links ?
> >
> > It depends on your board. But typically I'd say <= 5, for most boards it's either 1 or 2.
> >
> >>
> >>
> >> Thanks
> >>
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: Lars-Peter Clausen [mailto:lars@xxxxxxxxxx]
> >> Sent: Monday, March 03, 2014 7:35 PM
> >> To: Wang, Yalin
> >> Cc: 'Takashi Iwai'; 'alsa-devel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx'; Mark Brown;
> >> 'linux-kernel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx'; Liam Girdwood
> >> Subject: Re: [alsa-devel] change kmalloc into vmalloc for large
> >> memory allocations
> >>
> >> On 03/03/2014 12:13 PM, Wang, Yalin wrote:
> >>> Hi
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> I add logs in kernel , the result is :
> >>>
> >>> 532 <4>[ 5.690094] @@ sizeof(struct snd_soc_pcm_runtime)=1488 card->num_links=42 card->num_aux_devs=0
> >>>
> >>> card->num_links=42 , is it correct ?
> >>
> >> Very unlikely. Make sure that it is properly initialized in your machine driver.
> >>
> >>>
> >>> our hardware is qcom msm8x26 platform .
> >>
> >> This one doesn't seem to be in upstream.
> >>
> >>>
> >>> Thanks
> >>>
> >>> -----Original Message-----
> >>> From: Takashi Iwai [mailto:tiwai@xxxxxxx]
> >>> Sent: Monday, March 03, 2014 5:23 PM
> >>> To: Wang, Yalin
> >>> Cc: 'linux-kernel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx'; Mark Brown; 'perex@xxxxxxxx';
> >>> 'alsa-devel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx'; Liam Girdwood
> >>> Subject: Re: change kmalloc into vmalloc for large memory
> >>> allocations
> >>>
> >>> At Mon, 03 Mar 2014 10:19:58 +0100, Takashi Iwai wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>> [Dropped unrelated subsystem MLs, and corrected Liam's address]
> >>>
> >>> Grrr, even Mark's address was obsoleted. Here corrected.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> Takashi
> >>>
> >>>>
> >>>> At Mon, 3 Mar 2014 09:55:15 +0800, Wang, Yalin wrote:
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Hi Takashi,
> >>>>>
> >>>>> For this one:
> >>>>> https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/will/linux.git/tree
> >>>>> /s
> >>>>> o
> >>>>> u
> >>>>> nd/soc/soc-core.c?h=master#n3772
> >>>>>
> >>>>> in my kernel log,
> >>>>> the allocation size 62496,
> >>>>> about 62KB,
> >>>>
> >>>> This looks way too much than expected. I thought each struct
> >>>> snd_soc_pcm_runtime should be 1 or 2kB. The code allocating an
> >>>> arary of snd_soc_pcm_runtime, so this might be due to some
> >>>> invalid values there.
> >>>>
> >>>>> I think need to change to vmalloc .
> >>>>> How do you think of it ?
> >>>>
> >>>> This looks rather like a bug somewhere around it.
> >>>>
> >>>> Could you check the values there, sizeof(struct
> >>>> snd_soc_pcm_runtime),
> >>>> card->num_links and card->num_aux_devs?
> >>>>
> >>>> And, with which hardware is the issue examined?
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> thanks,
> >>>>
> >>>> Takashi
> >>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Logs:
> >>>>> <4>[ 11.469789] ------------[ cut here ]------------
> >>>>> <4>[ 11.469803] WARNING: at /media/00DE7FE2DE7FCE82/jb-mr2-yukon/kernel/include/linux/slub_def.h:265 __kmalloc+0x38/0x29c()
> >>>>> <4>[ 11.469811] size=62496 flags=80d0
> >>>>> <4>[ 11.469815] Modules linked in:
> >>>>> <4>[ 11.469835] [<c010c534>] (unwind_backtrace+0x0/0x11c) from [<c018ab04>] (warn_slowpath_common+0x4c/0x64)
> >>>>> <4>[ 11.469850] [<c018ab04>] (warn_slowpath_common+0x4c/0x64) from [<c018ab9c>] (warn_slowpath_fmt+0x2c/0x3c)
> >>>>> <4>[ 11.469864] [<c018ab9c>] (warn_slowpath_fmt+0x2c/0x3c) from [<c0249ab4>] (__kmalloc+0x38/0x29c)
> >>>>> <4>[ 11.469879] [<c0249ab4>] (__kmalloc+0x38/0x29c) from [<c06a0124>] (snd_soc_register_card+0x184/0x104c)
> >>>>> <4>[ 11.469896] [<c06a0124>] (snd_soc_register_card+0x184/0x104c) from [<c088183c>] (msm8226_asoc_machine_probe+0x298/0x7f0)
> >>>>> <4>[ 11.469913] [<c088183c>] (msm8226_asoc_machine_probe+0x298/0x7f0) from [<c044b1fc>] (platform_drv_probe+0x14/0x18)
> >>>>> <4>[ 11.469927] [<c044b1fc>] (platform_drv_probe+0x14/0x18) from [<c0449f2c>] (driver_probe_device+0x134/0x334)
> >>>>> <4>[ 11.469940] [<c0449f2c>] (driver_probe_device+0x134/0x334) from [<c044a194>] (__driver_attach+0x68/0x8c)
> >>>>> <4>[ 11.469953] [<c044a194>] (__driver_attach+0x68/0x8c) from [<c044849c>] (bus_for_each_dev+0x48/0x80)
> >>>>> <4>[ 11.469965] [<c044849c>] (bus_for_each_dev+0x48/0x80) from [<c0449528>] (bus_add_driver+0x100/0x26c)
> >>>>> <4>[ 11.469978] [<c0449528>] (bus_add_driver+0x100/0x26c) from [<c044a66c>] (driver_register+0x9c/0x120)
> >>>>> <4>[ 11.469992] [<c044a66c>] (driver_register+0x9c/0x120) from [<c010052c>] (do_one_initcall+0x90/0x160)
> >>>>> <4>[ 11.470007] [<c010052c>] (do_one_initcall+0x90/0x160) from [<c0d00b74>] (kernel_init+0xec/0x1a8)
> >>>>> <4>[ 11.470022] [<c0d00b74>] (kernel_init+0xec/0x1a8) from [<c0106aec>] (kernel_thread_exit+0x0/0x8)
> >>>>> <4>[ 11.470030] ---[ end trace 1b75b31a2719ed4d ]---
> >>>>>
> >>>>> BRs/ Yalin
> >>>>> -----Original Message-----
> >>>>> From: Takashi Iwai [mailto:tiwai@xxxxxxx]
> >>>>> Sent: Friday, February 28, 2014 10:20 PM
> >>>>> To: Wang, Yalin
> >>>>> Cc: 'linux-kernel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx'; 'linux-arm-msm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx'; 'linux-arm-kernel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx'; 'linux-input@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx'; 'balbi@xxxxxx'; 'gregkh@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx'; 'lrg@xxxxxx'; 'broonie@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx'; 'perex@xxxxxxxx'; 'pablo@xxxxxxxxxxxxx'; 'kaber@xxxxxxxxx'; 'davem@xxxxxxxxxxxxx'; 'rostedt@xxxxxxxxxxx'; 'fweisbec@xxxxxxxxx'; 'mingo@xxxxxxxxxx'; 'dmitry.torokhov@xxxxxxxxx'; 'rydberg@xxxxxxxxxxx'; 'linux-usb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx'; 'alsa-devel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx'; 'netfilter-devel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx'; 'netfilter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx'; 'coreteam@xxxxxxxxxxxxx'; 'netdev@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx'
> >>>>> Subject: Re: change kmalloc into vmalloc for large memory
> >>>>> allocations
> >>>>>
> >>>>> At Fri, 28 Feb 2014 16:15:23 +0800, Wang, Yalin wrote:
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> Hi
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> I find there is some drivers use kmalloc to allocate large
> >>>>>> Memorys during module_init, some can be changed to use vmalloc
> >>>>>> To save some low mem, I add log in kernel to track , And list them here:
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/will/linux.git/tre
> >>>>>> e/
> >>>>>> d
> >>>>>> rive
> >>>>>> rs/usb/gadget/f_mass_storage.c?h=master#n2724
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/will/linux.git/tre
> >>>>>> e/
> >>>>>> s
> >>>>>> ound
> >>>>>> /soc/soc-core.c?h=master#n3772
> >>>>>
> >>>>> At least the ASoC runtime case doesn't use the allocated memory as buffer, and they are allocated only once per device, thus it shouldn't be the problem you stated. If it really consumes so much memory, we need to rethink, instead of allocating an array but allocate each object, for example.
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>> thanks,
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Takashi
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>> https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/will/linux.git/tre
> >>>>>> e/
> >>>>>> n
> >>>>>> et/n
> >>>>>> etfilter/nf_conntrack_ftp.c?h=master#n603
> >>>>>> https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/will/linux.git/tre
> >>>>>> e/
> >>>>>> n
> >>>>>> et/n
> >>>>>> etfilter/nf_conntrack_h323_main.c?h=master#n1849
> >>>>>> https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/will/linux.git/tre
> >>>>>> e/
> >>>>>> n
> >>>>>> et/n
> >>>>>> etfilter/nf_conntrack_irc.c?h=master#n247
> >>>>>> https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/will/linux.git/tre
> >>>>>> e/
> >>>>>> n
> >>>>>> et/n
> >>>>>> etfilter/nf_conntrack_sane.c?h=master#n195
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/will/linux.git/tre
> >>>>>> e/
> >>>>>> d
> >>>>>> rive
> >>>>>> rs/input/evdev.c?h=master#n403
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> they allocate large memory from 10k~64K , this will use lots of
> >>>>>> low mem, instead if we use vmalloc for these drivers , it will
> >>>>>> be good for some devices like smart phone, we often encounter
> >>>>>> some errors like kmalloc failed because there is not enough low
> >>>>>> mem , especially when the device has physical memory less than 1GB .
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> could this module change the memory allocation into vmalloc ?
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> I was thinking that if we can introduce a helper function in kmalloc.h like this :
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> Kmalloc(size, flags)
> >>>>>> {
> >>>>>> If (size > PAGE_SIZE && flags&CAN_USE_VMALLOC_FLAG)
> >>>>>> return vmalloc(size);
> >>>>>> Else
> >>>>>> return real_kmalloc(size);
> >>>>>> }
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> Kfree(ptr)
> >>>>>> {
> >>>>>> If (is_vmalloc_addr(ptr))
> >>>>>> Vfree(ptr);
> >>>>>> Else
> >>>>>> Kfree(ptr);
> >>>>>> }
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> But we need add some flags to ensure always use kmalloc for
> >>>>>> Some special use (dma etc..)
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> How do you think of it ?
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> Thanks
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>> _______________________________________________
> >>> Alsa-devel mailing list
> >>> Alsa-devel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >>> http://mailman.alsa-project.org/mailman/listinfo/alsa-devel
> >>>
> >>
> >
>
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