The vmalloc mechanism in the Linux kernel provides contiguous virtual memory allocations, even when the underlying physical memory is non-contiguous. However, with increasing adoption and usage, the synchronization of vmalloc data structures poses significant performance challenges, particularly in many-core systems with 256+ cores.

This session will explore the scalability improvements made to the vmalloc mechanism, covering the following key topics:

1. An overview of the legacy vmalloc approach, which relies on a single global lock for data synchronization.

2. Introduction to an enhanced vmap node implementation designed to address the limitations of the legacy approach.

3. Identification and detailed analysis of two remaining performance bottlenecks despite the enhanced vmap node implementation, along with their proposed solutions.

Join us to gain insights into the evolving design of vmalloc and its implications for performance in modern high-core-count systems.