Add a new helper function blk_rq_nr_bvec() that returns the number of bvecs in a request. This count represents the number of iterations rq_for_each_bvec() would perform on a request. Drivers need to pre-allocate bvec arrays before iterating through a request's bvecs. Currently, they manually count bvecs using rq_for_each_bvec() in a loop, which is repetitive. The new helper centralizes this logic. This pattern exists in loop and zloop drivers, where multi-bio requests require copying bvecs into a contiguous array before creating an iov_iter for file operations. Update loop and zloop drivers to use the new helper, eliminating duplicate code. This patch also provides a clear API to avoid any potential misuse of blk_nr_phys_segments() for calculating the bvecs since, one bvec can have more than one segments and use of blk_nr_phys_segments() can lead to extra memory allocation :- [ 6155.673749] nullb_bio: 128K bio as ONE bvec: sector=0, size=131072 [ 6155.673846] null_blk: #### null_handle_data_transfer:1375 [ 6155.673850] null_blk: nr_bvec=1 blk_rq_nr_phys_segments=2 [ 6155.674263] null_blk: #### null_handle_data_transfer:1375 [ 6155.674267] null_blk: nr_bvec=1 blk_rq_nr_phys_segments=1 Reviewed-by: Niklas Cassel Signed-off-by: Chaitanya Kulkarni --- V3:- 1. Rebased and Added Reviewed-by tag. (Niklas) Hi, During bio submission, the block layer may split a single bvec into multiple physical segments based on device limits: submit_bio() -> submit_bio_noacct() -> __submit_bio_noacct() -> __submit_bio() -> blk_mq_submit_bio() -> __bio_split_to_limits() -> bio_split_rw() -> bio_split_rw_at() -> bio_split_io_at() -> bio_for_each_bvec() -> [Fast path] nsegs++ (1 bvec = 1 segment) -> [Slow path] bvec_split_segs() The bvec_split_segs() function handles the case where a single bvec must be split into multiple segments: /** * bvec_split_segs - verify whether or not a bvec should be split in the * middle * ... * When splitting a bio, it can happen that a bvec is encountered that is * too big to fit in a single segment and hence that it has to be split in * the middle. */ static bool bvec_split_segs(...) { while (len && *nsegs < max_segs) { seg_size = get_max_segment_size(...); (*nsegs)++; total_len += seg_size; len -= seg_size; } *bytes += total_len; return (len > 0); } Splitting occurs when a bvec exceeds: - max_segment_size - segment_boundary_mask (DMA boundary constraints) - max_segments limit Result after bio_split_io_at(): - nr_bvec (what rq_for_each_bvec iterates): **1** - rq->nr_phys_segments: 2 *[ 6155.673749] nullb_bio: 128K bio as ONE bvec: sector=0, size=131072 *[ 6155.673846] null_blk: #### null_handle_data_transfer:1375* *[ 6155.673850] null_blk: nr_bvec=1 blk_rq_nr_phys_segments=2* *[ 6155.674263] null_blk: #### null_handle_data_transfer:1375* *[ 6155.674267] null_blk: nr_bvec=1 blk_rq_nr_phys_segments=1* -ck --- drivers/block/loop.c | 5 ++--- drivers/block/zloop.c | 5 ++--- include/linux/blk-mq.h | 18 ++++++++++++++++++ 3 files changed, 22 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-) diff --git a/drivers/block/loop.c b/drivers/block/loop.c index ebe751f39742..272bc608e528 100644 --- a/drivers/block/loop.c +++ b/drivers/block/loop.c @@ -348,11 +348,10 @@ static int lo_rw_aio(struct loop_device *lo, struct loop_cmd *cmd, struct file *file = lo->lo_backing_file; struct bio_vec tmp; unsigned int offset; - int nr_bvec = 0; + unsigned int nr_bvec; int ret; - rq_for_each_bvec(tmp, rq, rq_iter) - nr_bvec++; + nr_bvec = blk_rq_nr_bvec(rq); if (rq->bio != rq->biotail) { diff --git a/drivers/block/zloop.c b/drivers/block/zloop.c index 3f50321aa4a7..77bd6081b244 100644 --- a/drivers/block/zloop.c +++ b/drivers/block/zloop.c @@ -394,7 +394,7 @@ static void zloop_rw(struct zloop_cmd *cmd) struct bio_vec tmp; unsigned long flags; sector_t zone_end; - int nr_bvec = 0; + unsigned int nr_bvec; int ret; atomic_set(&cmd->ref, 2); @@ -487,8 +487,7 @@ static void zloop_rw(struct zloop_cmd *cmd) spin_unlock_irqrestore(&zone->wp_lock, flags); } - rq_for_each_bvec(tmp, rq, rq_iter) - nr_bvec++; + nr_bvec = blk_rq_nr_bvec(rq); if (rq->bio != rq->biotail) { struct bio_vec *bvec; diff --git a/include/linux/blk-mq.h b/include/linux/blk-mq.h index eb7254b3dddd..cae9e857aea4 100644 --- a/include/linux/blk-mq.h +++ b/include/linux/blk-mq.h @@ -1213,6 +1213,24 @@ static inline unsigned short blk_rq_nr_discard_segments(struct request *rq) return max_t(unsigned short, rq->nr_phys_segments, 1); } +/** + * blk_rq_nr_bvec - return number of bvecs in a request + * @rq: request to calculate bvecs for + * + * Returns the number of bvecs. + */ +static inline unsigned int blk_rq_nr_bvec(struct request *rq) +{ + struct req_iterator rq_iter; + struct bio_vec bv; + unsigned int nr_bvec = 0; + + rq_for_each_bvec(bv, rq, rq_iter) + nr_bvec++; + + return nr_bvec; +} + int __blk_rq_map_sg(struct request *rq, struct scatterlist *sglist, struct scatterlist **last_sg); static inline int blk_rq_map_sg(struct request *rq, struct scatterlist *sglist) -- 2.40.0