[PATCH AUTOSEL 6.12 17/21] bpf: Adjust free target to avoid global starvation of LRU map

From: Willem de Bruijn willemb@google.com

[ Upstream commit d4adf1c9ee7722545450608bcb095fb31512f0c6 ]

BPF_MAP_TYPE_LRU_HASH can recycle most recent elements well before the map is full, due to percpu reservations and force shrink before neighbor stealing. Once a CPU is unable to borrow from the global map, it will once steal one elem from a neighbor and after that each time flush this one element to the global list and immediately recycle it.

Batch value LOCAL_FREE_TARGET (128) will exhaust a 10K element map with 79 CPUs. CPU 79 will observe this behavior even while its neighbors hold 78 * 127 + 1 * 15 == 9921 free elements (99%).

CPUs need not be active concurrently. The issue can appear with affinity migration, e.g., irqbalance. Each CPU can reserve and then hold onto its 128 elements indefinitely.

Avoid global list exhaustion by limiting aggregate percpu caches to half of map size, by adjusting LOCAL_FREE_TARGET based on cpu count. This change has no effect on sufficiently large tables.

Similar to LOCAL_NR_SCANS and lru->nr_scans, introduce a map variable lru->free_target. The extra field fits in a hole in struct bpf_lru. The cacheline is already warm where read in the hot path. The field is only accessed with the lru lock held.

Tested-by: Anton Protopopov a.s.protopopov@gmail.com Signed-off-by: Willem de Bruijn willemb@google.com Acked-by: Stanislav Fomichev sdf@fomichev.me Link: https://lore.kernel.org/r/20250618215803.3587312-1-willemdebruijn.kernel@gma... Signed-off-by: Alexei Starovoitov ast@kernel.org Signed-off-by: Sasha Levin sashal@kernel.org ---

Looking at this commit, I need to analyze whether it fixes a bug suitable for stable backporting.

**My answer: YES**

This commit should be backported to stable kernel trees for the following reasons:

## Bug Fix for Real Production Issue

The commit fixes a significant resource starvation bug in BPF LRU maps where CPUs can be unable to allocate elements even when the map is largely empty. As described in the commit message:

``` CPU 79 will observe this behavior even while its neighbors hold 78 * 127 + 1 * 15 == 9921 free elements (99%). ```

This is a correctness issue, not just a performance optimization. The bug can cause map operations to fail unexpectedly in production systems.

## Small and Contained Fix

The fix is minimal and well-contained:

1. **Adds one field** to `struct bpf_lru`: ```c unsigned int target_free; ```

2. **Dynamic calculation** in `bpf_common_lru_populate()`: ```c lru->target_free = clamp((nr_elems / num_possible_cpus()) / 2, 1, LOCAL_FREE_TARGET); ```

3. **Simple substitution** of `LOCAL_FREE_TARGET` with `lru->target_free` in `bpf_lru_list_pop_free_to_local()`.

## No Architectural Changes

The fix doesn't change the LRU algorithm or introduce new features. It simply makes the batch size dynamic based on map size and CPU count, preventing the aggregate per-CPU reservations from exceeding half the map size.

## Production Tested

The commit includes `Tested-by: Anton Protopopov a.s.protopopov@gmail.com`, indicating it has been validated in real environments.

## Similar to Previously Backported Commits

This is similar to "bpf: fix a memory leak in the LRU and LRU_PERCPU hash maps" which was backported. Both fix resource management bugs in LRU maps that can cause unexpected failures.

## Impact Assessment

The change ensures that LRU maps remain functional on all CPUs in systems with high CPU counts. Without this fix, applications using BPF LRU maps can experience failures that are difficult to diagnose, as the map appears to have plenty of free space globally.

The fix maintains backward compatibility - it only changes internal batch sizing behavior, not the user-visible API or semantics of LRU maps.

Documentation/bpf/map_hash.rst | 8 ++- Documentation/bpf/map_lru_hash_update.dot | 6 +- kernel/bpf/bpf_lru_list.c | 9 ++- kernel/bpf/bpf_lru_list.h | 1 + tools/testing/selftests/bpf/test_lru_map.c | 72 +++++++++++----------- 5 files changed, 52 insertions(+), 44 deletions(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/bpf/map_hash.rst b/Documentation/bpf/map_hash.rst index d2343952f2cbd..8606bf958a8cf 100644 --- a/Documentation/bpf/map_hash.rst +++ b/Documentation/bpf/map_hash.rst @@ -233,10 +233,16 @@ attempts in order to enforce the LRU property which have increasing impacts on other CPUs involved in the following operation attempts:

- Attempt to use CPU-local state to batch operations -- Attempt to fetch free nodes from global lists +- Attempt to fetch ``target_free`` free nodes from global lists - Attempt to pull any node from a global list and remove it from the hashmap - Attempt to pull any node from any CPU's list and remove it from the hashmap

+The number of nodes to borrow from the global list in a batch, ``target_free``, +depends on the size of the map. Larger batch size reduces lock contention, but +may also exhaust the global structure. The value is computed at map init to +avoid exhaustion, by limiting aggregate reservation by all CPUs to half the map +size. With a minimum of a single element and maximum budget of 128 at a time. + This algorithm is described visually in the following diagram. See the description in commit 3a08c2fd7634 ("bpf: LRU List") for a full explanation of the corresponding operations: diff --git a/Documentation/bpf/map_lru_hash_update.dot b/Documentation/bpf/map_lru_hash_update.dot index a0fee349d29c2..ab10058f5b79f 100644 --- a/Documentation/bpf/map_lru_hash_update.dot +++ b/Documentation/bpf/map_lru_hash_update.dot @@ -35,18 +35,18 @@ digraph { fn_bpf_lru_list_pop_free_to_local [shape=rectangle,fillcolor=2, label="Flush local pending, Rotate Global list, move - LOCAL_FREE_TARGET + target_free from global -> local"] // Also corresponds to: // fn__local_list_flush() // fn_bpf_lru_list_rotate() fn___bpf_lru_node_move_to_free[shape=diamond,fillcolor=2, - label="Able to free\nLOCAL_FREE_TARGET\nnodes?"] + label="Able to free\ntarget_free\nnodes?"]

fn___bpf_lru_list_shrink_inactive [shape=rectangle,fillcolor=3, label="Shrink inactive list up to remaining - LOCAL_FREE_TARGET + target_free (global LRU -> local)"] fn___bpf_lru_list_shrink [shape=diamond,fillcolor=2, label="> 0 entries in\nlocal free list?"] diff --git a/kernel/bpf/bpf_lru_list.c b/kernel/bpf/bpf_lru_list.c index 3dabdd137d102..2d6e1c98d8adc 100644 --- a/kernel/bpf/bpf_lru_list.c +++ b/kernel/bpf/bpf_lru_list.c @@ -337,12 +337,12 @@ static void bpf_lru_list_pop_free_to_local(struct bpf_lru *lru, list) { __bpf_lru_node_move_to_free(l, node, local_free_list(loc_l), BPF_LRU_LOCAL_LIST_T_FREE); - if (++nfree == LOCAL_FREE_TARGET) + if (++nfree == lru->target_free) break; }

- if (nfree < LOCAL_FREE_TARGET) - __bpf_lru_list_shrink(lru, l, LOCAL_FREE_TARGET - nfree, + if (nfree < lru->target_free) + __bpf_lru_list_shrink(lru, l, lru->target_free - nfree, local_free_list(loc_l), BPF_LRU_LOCAL_LIST_T_FREE);

@@ -577,6 +577,9 @@ static void bpf_common_lru_populate(struct bpf_lru *lru, void *buf, list_add(&node->list, &l->lists[BPF_LRU_LIST_T_FREE]); buf += elem_size; } + + lru->target_free = clamp((nr_elems / num_possible_cpus()) / 2, + 1, LOCAL_FREE_TARGET); }

static void bpf_percpu_lru_populate(struct bpf_lru *lru, void *buf, diff --git a/kernel/bpf/bpf_lru_list.h b/kernel/bpf/bpf_lru_list.h index cbd8d3720c2bb..fe2661a58ea94 100644 --- a/kernel/bpf/bpf_lru_list.h +++ b/kernel/bpf/bpf_lru_list.h @@ -58,6 +58,7 @@ struct bpf_lru { del_from_htab_func del_from_htab; void *del_arg; unsigned int hash_offset; + unsigned int target_free; unsigned int nr_scans; bool percpu; }; diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/bpf/test_lru_map.c b/tools/testing/selftests/bpf/test_lru_map.c index fda7589c50236..4ae83f4b7fc7e 100644 --- a/tools/testing/selftests/bpf/test_lru_map.c +++ b/tools/testing/selftests/bpf/test_lru_map.c @@ -138,6 +138,12 @@ static int sched_next_online(int pid, int *next_to_try) return ret; }

+/* Inverse of how bpf_common_lru_populate derives target_free from map_size. */ +static unsigned int __map_size(unsigned int tgt_free) +{ + return tgt_free * nr_cpus * 2; +} + /* Size of the LRU map is 2 * Add key=1 (+1 key) * Add key=2 (+1 key) @@ -231,11 +237,11 @@ static void test_lru_sanity0(int map_type, int map_flags) printf("Pass\n"); }

-/* Size of the LRU map is 1.5*tgt_free - * Insert 1 to tgt_free (+tgt_free keys) - * Lookup 1 to tgt_free/2 - * Insert 1+tgt_free to 2*tgt_free (+tgt_free keys) - * => 1+tgt_free/2 to LOCALFREE_TARGET will be removed by LRU +/* Verify that unreferenced elements are recycled before referenced ones. + * Insert elements. + * Reference a subset of these. + * Insert more, enough to trigger recycling. + * Verify that unreferenced are recycled. */ static void test_lru_sanity1(int map_type, int map_flags, unsigned int tgt_free) { @@ -257,7 +263,7 @@ static void test_lru_sanity1(int map_type, int map_flags, unsigned int tgt_free) batch_size = tgt_free / 2; assert(batch_size * 2 == tgt_free);

- map_size = tgt_free + batch_size; + map_size = __map_size(tgt_free) + batch_size; lru_map_fd = create_map(map_type, map_flags, map_size); assert(lru_map_fd != -1);

@@ -266,13 +272,13 @@ static void test_lru_sanity1(int map_type, int map_flags, unsigned int tgt_free)

value[0] = 1234;

- /* Insert 1 to tgt_free (+tgt_free keys) */ - end_key = 1 + tgt_free; + /* Insert map_size - batch_size keys */ + end_key = 1 + __map_size(tgt_free); for (key = 1; key < end_key; key++) assert(!bpf_map_update_elem(lru_map_fd, &key, value, BPF_NOEXIST));

- /* Lookup 1 to tgt_free/2 */ + /* Lookup 1 to batch_size */ end_key = 1 + batch_size; for (key = 1; key < end_key; key++) { assert(!bpf_map_lookup_elem_with_ref_bit(lru_map_fd, key, value)); @@ -280,12 +286,13 @@ static void test_lru_sanity1(int map_type, int map_flags, unsigned int tgt_free) BPF_NOEXIST)); }

- /* Insert 1+tgt_free to 2*tgt_free - * => 1+tgt_free/2 to LOCALFREE_TARGET will be + /* Insert another map_size - batch_size keys + * Map will contain 1 to batch_size plus these latest, i.e., + * => previous 1+batch_size to map_size - batch_size will have been * removed by LRU */ - key = 1 + tgt_free; - end_key = key + tgt_free; + key = 1 + __map_size(tgt_free); + end_key = key + __map_size(tgt_free); for (; key < end_key; key++) { assert(!bpf_map_update_elem(lru_map_fd, &key, value, BPF_NOEXIST)); @@ -301,17 +308,8 @@ static void test_lru_sanity1(int map_type, int map_flags, unsigned int tgt_free) printf("Pass\n"); }

-/* Size of the LRU map 1.5 * tgt_free - * Insert 1 to tgt_free (+tgt_free keys) - * Update 1 to tgt_free/2 - * => The original 1 to tgt_free/2 will be removed due to - * the LRU shrink process - * Re-insert 1 to tgt_free/2 again and do a lookup immeidately - * Insert 1+tgt_free to tgt_free*3/2 - * Insert 1+tgt_free*3/2 to tgt_free*5/2 - * => Key 1+tgt_free to tgt_free*3/2 - * will be removed from LRU because it has never - * been lookup and ref bit is not set +/* Verify that insertions exceeding map size will recycle the oldest. + * Verify that unreferenced elements are recycled before referenced. */ static void test_lru_sanity2(int map_type, int map_flags, unsigned int tgt_free) { @@ -334,7 +332,7 @@ static void test_lru_sanity2(int map_type, int map_flags, unsigned int tgt_free) batch_size = tgt_free / 2; assert(batch_size * 2 == tgt_free);

- map_size = tgt_free + batch_size; + map_size = __map_size(tgt_free) + batch_size; lru_map_fd = create_map(map_type, map_flags, map_size); assert(lru_map_fd != -1);

@@ -343,8 +341,8 @@ static void test_lru_sanity2(int map_type, int map_flags, unsigned int tgt_free)

value[0] = 1234;

- /* Insert 1 to tgt_free (+tgt_free keys) */ - end_key = 1 + tgt_free; + /* Insert map_size - batch_size keys */ + end_key = 1 + __map_size(tgt_free); for (key = 1; key < end_key; key++) assert(!bpf_map_update_elem(lru_map_fd, &key, value, BPF_NOEXIST)); @@ -357,8 +355,7 @@ static void test_lru_sanity2(int map_type, int map_flags, unsigned int tgt_free) * shrink the inactive list to get tgt_free * number of free nodes. * - * Hence, the oldest key 1 to tgt_free/2 - * are removed from the LRU list. + * Hence, the oldest key is removed from the LRU list. */ key = 1; if (map_type == BPF_MAP_TYPE_LRU_PERCPU_HASH) { @@ -370,8 +367,7 @@ static void test_lru_sanity2(int map_type, int map_flags, unsigned int tgt_free) BPF_EXIST)); }

- /* Re-insert 1 to tgt_free/2 again and do a lookup - * immeidately. + /* Re-insert 1 to batch_size again and do a lookup immediately. */ end_key = 1 + batch_size; value[0] = 4321; @@ -387,17 +383,18 @@ static void test_lru_sanity2(int map_type, int map_flags, unsigned int tgt_free)

value[0] = 1234;

- /* Insert 1+tgt_free to tgt_free*3/2 */ - end_key = 1 + tgt_free + batch_size; - for (key = 1 + tgt_free; key < end_key; key++) + /* Insert batch_size new elements */ + key = 1 + __map_size(tgt_free); + end_key = key + batch_size; + for (; key < end_key; key++) /* These newly added but not referenced keys will be * gone during the next LRU shrink. */ assert(!bpf_map_update_elem(lru_map_fd, &key, value, BPF_NOEXIST));

- /* Insert 1+tgt_free*3/2 to tgt_free*5/2 */ - end_key = key + tgt_free; + /* Insert map_size - batch_size elements */ + end_key += __map_size(tgt_free); for (; key < end_key; key++) { assert(!bpf_map_update_elem(lru_map_fd, &key, value, BPF_NOEXIST)); @@ -500,7 +497,8 @@ static void test_lru_sanity4(int map_type, int map_flags, unsigned int tgt_free) lru_map_fd = create_map(map_type, map_flags, 3 * tgt_free * nr_cpus); else - lru_map_fd = create_map(map_type, map_flags, 3 * tgt_free); + lru_map_fd = create_map(map_type, map_flags, + 3 * __map_size(tgt_free)); assert(lru_map_fd != -1);

expected_map_fd = create_map(BPF_MAP_TYPE_HASH, 0,