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+.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+
+==============================
+Network Filesystem Caching API
+==============================
+
+Fscache provides an API by which a network filesystem can make use of local
+caching facilities. The API is arranged around a number of principles:
+
+ (1) A cache is logically organised into volumes and data storage objects
+ within those volumes.
+
+ (2) Volumes and data storage objects are represented by various types of
+ cookie.
+
+ (3) Cookies have keys that distinguish them from their peers.
+
+ (4) Cookies have coherency data that allows a cache to determine if the
+ cached data is still valid.
+
+ (5) I/O is done asynchronously where possible.
+
+This API is used by::
+
+ #include <linux/fscache.h>.
+
+.. This document contains the following sections:
+
+ (1) Overview
+ (2) Volume registration
+ (3) Data file registration
+ (4) Declaring a cookie to be in use
+ (5) Resizing a data file (truncation)
+ (6) Data I/O API
+ (7) Data file coherency
+ (8) Data file invalidation
+ (9) Write back resource management
+ (10) Caching of local modifications
+ (11) Page release and invalidation
+
+
+Overview
+========
+
+The fscache hierarchy is organised on two levels from a network filesystem's
+point of view. The upper level represents "volumes" and the lower level
+represents "data storage objects". These are represented by two types of
+cookie, hereafter referred to as "volume cookies" and "cookies".
+
+A network filesystem acquires a volume cookie for a volume using a volume key,
+which represents all the information that defines that volume (e.g. cell name
+or server address, volume ID or share name). This must be rendered as a
+printable string that can be used as a directory name (ie. no '/' characters
+and shouldn't begin with a '.'). The maximum name length is one less than the
+maximum size of a filename component (allowing the cache backend one char for
+its own purposes).
+
+A filesystem would typically have a volume cookie for each superblock.
+
+The filesystem then acquires a cookie for each file within that volume using an
+object key. Object keys are binary blobs and only need to be unique within
+their parent volume. The cache backend is reponsible for rendering the binary
+blob into something it can use and may employ hash tables, trees or whatever to
+improve its ability to find an object. This is transparent to the network
+filesystem.
+
+A filesystem would typically have a cookie for each inode, and would acquire it
+in iget and relinquish it when evicting the cookie.
+
+Once it has a cookie, the filesystem needs to mark the cookie as being in use.
+This causes fscache to send the cache backend off to look up/create resources
+for the cookie in the background, to check its coherency and, if necessary, to
+mark the object as being under modification.
+
+A filesystem would typically "use" the cookie in its file open routine and
+unuse it in file release and it needs to use the cookie around calls to
+truncate the cookie locally. It *also* needs to use the cookie when the
+pagecache becomes dirty and unuse it when writeback is complete. This is
+slightly tricky, and provision is made for it.
+
+When performing a read, write or resize on a cookie, the filesystem must first
+begin an operation. This copies the resources into a holding struct and puts
+extra pins into the cache to stop cache withdrawal from tearing down the
+structures being used. The actual operation can then be issued and conflicting
+invalidations can be detected upon completion.
+
+The filesystem is expected to use netfslib to access the cache, but that's not
+actually required and it can use the fscache I/O API directly.
+
+
+Volume Registration
+===================
+
+The first step for a network filsystem is to acquire a volume cookie for the
+volume it wants to access::
+
+ struct fscache_volume *
+ fscache_acquire_volume(const char *volume_key,
+ const char *cache_name,
+ const void *coherency_data,
+ size_t coherency_len);
+
+This function creates a volume cookie with the specified volume key as its name
+and notes the coherency data.
+
+The volume key must be a printable string with no '/' characters in it. It
+should begin with the name of the filesystem and should be no longer than 254
+characters. It should uniquely represent the volume and will be matched with
+what's stored in the cache.
+
+The caller may also specify the name of the cache to use. If specified,
+fscache will look up or create a cache cookie of that name and will use a cache
+of that name if it is online or comes online. If no cache name is specified,
+it will use the first cache that comes to hand and set the name to that.
+
+The specified coherency data is stored in the cookie and will be matched
+against coherency data stored on disk. The data pointer may be NULL if no data
+is provided. If the coherency data doesn't match, the entire cache volume will
+be invalidated.
+
+This function can return errors such as EBUSY if the volume key is already in
+use by an acquired volume or ENOMEM if an allocation failure occured. It may
+also return a NULL volume cookie if fscache is not enabled. It is safe to
+pass a NULL cookie to any function that takes a volume cookie. This will
+cause that function to do nothing.
+
+
+When the network filesystem has finished with a volume, it should relinquish it
+by calling::
+
+ void fscache_relinquish_volume(struct fscache_volume *volume,
+ const void *coherency_data,
+ bool invalidate);
+
+This will cause the volume to be committed or removed, and if sealed the
+coherency data will be set to the value supplied. The amount of coherency data
+must match the length specified when the volume was acquired. Note that all
+data cookies obtained in this volume must be relinquished before the volume is
+relinquished.
+
+
+Data File Registration
+======================
+
+Once it has a volume cookie, a network filesystem can use it to acquire a
+cookie for data storage::
+
+ struct fscache_cookie *
+ fscache_acquire_cookie(struct fscache_volume *volume,
+ u8 advice,
+ const void *index_key,
+ size_t index_key_len,
+ const void *aux_data,
+ size_t aux_data_len,
+ loff_t object_size)
+
+This creates the cookie in the volume using the specified index key. The index
+key is a binary blob of the given length and must be unique for the volume.
+This is saved into the cookie. There are no restrictions on the content, but
+its length shouldn't exceed about three quarters of the maximum filename length
+to allow for encoding.
+
+The caller should also pass in a piece of coherency data in aux_data. A buffer
+of size aux_data_len will be allocated and the coherency data copied in. It is
+assumed that the size is invariant over time. The coherency data is used to
+check the validity of data in the cache. Functions are provided by which the
+coherency data can be updated.
+
+The file size of the object being cached should also be provided. This may be
+used to trim the data and will be stored with the coherency data.
+
+This function never returns an error, though it may return a NULL cookie on
+allocation failure or if fscache is not enabled. It is safe to pass in a NULL
+volume cookie and pass the NULL cookie returned to any function that takes it.
+This will cause that function to do nothing.
+
+
+When the network filesystem has finished with a cookie, it should relinquish it
+by calling::
+
+ void fscache_relinquish_cookie(struct fscache_cookie *cookie,
+ bool retire);
+
+This will cause fscache to either commit the storage backing the cookie or
+delete it.
+
+
+Marking A Cookie In-Use
+=======================
+
+Once a cookie has been acquired by a network filesystem, the filesystem should
+tell fscache when it intends to use the cookie (typically done on file open)
+and should say when it has finished with it (typically on file close)::
+
+ void fscache_use_cookie(struct fscache_cookie *cookie,
+ bool will_modify);
+ void fscache_unuse_cookie(struct fscache_cookie *cookie,
+ const void *aux_data,
+ const loff_t *object_size);
+
+The *use* function tells fscache that it will use the cookie and, additionally,
+indicate if the user is intending to modify the contents locally. If not yet
+done, this will trigger the cache backend to go and gather the resources it
+needs to access/store data in the cache. This is done in the background, and
+so may not be complete by the time the function returns.
+
+The *unuse* function indicates that a filesystem has finished using a cookie.
+It optionally updates the stored coherency data and object size and then
+decreases the in-use counter. When the last user unuses the cookie, it is
+scheduled for garbage collection. If not reused within a short time, the
+resources will be released to reduce system resource consumption.
+
+A cookie must be marked in-use before it can be accessed for read, write or
+resize - and an in-use mark must be kept whilst there is dirty data in the
+pagecache in order to avoid an oops due to trying to open a file during process
+exit.
+
+Note that in-use marks are cumulative. For each time a cookie is marked
+in-use, it must be unused.
+
+
+Resizing A Data File (Truncation)
+=================================
+
+If a network filesystem file is resized locally by truncation, the following
+should be called to notify the cache::
+
+ void fscache_resize_cookie(struct fscache_cookie *cookie,
+ loff_t new_size);
+
+The caller must have first marked the cookie in-use. The cookie and the new
+size are passed in and the cache is synchronously resized. This is expected to
+be called from ``->setattr()`` inode operation under the inode lock.
+
+
+Data I/O API
+============
+
+To do data I/O operations directly through a cookie, the following functions
+are available::
+
+ int fscache_begin_read_operation(struct netfs_cache_resources *cres,
+ struct fscache_cookie *cookie);
+ int fscache_read(struct netfs_cache_resources *cres,
+ loff_t start_pos,
+ struct iov_iter *iter,
+ enum netfs_read_from_hole read_hole,
+ netfs_io_terminated_t term_func,
+ void *term_func_priv);
+ int fscache_write(struct netfs_cache_resources *cres,
+ loff_t start_pos,
+ struct iov_iter *iter,
+ netfs_io_terminated_t term_func,
+ void *term_func_priv);
+
+The *begin* function sets up an operation, attaching the resources required to
+the cache resources block from the cookie. Assuming it doesn't return an error
+(for instance, it will return -ENOBUFS if given a NULL cookie, but otherwise do
+nothing), then one of the other two functions can be issued.
+
+The *read* and *write* functions initiate a direct-IO operation. Both take the
+previously set up cache resources block, an indication of the start file
+position, and an I/O iterator that describes buffer and indicates the amount of
+data.
+
+The read function also takes a parameter to indicate how it should handle a
+partially populated region (a hole) in the disk content. This may be to ignore
+it, skip over an initial hole and place zeros in the buffer or give an error.
+
+The read and write functions can be given an optional termination function that
+will be run on completion::
+
+ typedef
+ void (*netfs_io_terminated_t)(void *priv, ssize_t transferred_or_error,
+ bool was_async);
+
+If a termination function is given, the operation will be run asynchronously
+and the termination function will be called upon completion. If not given, the
+operation will be run synchronously. Note that in the asynchronous case, it is
+possible for the operation to complete before the function returns.
+
+Both the read and write functions end the operation when they complete,
+detaching any pinned resources.
+
+The read operation will fail with ESTALE if invalidation occurred whilst the
+operation was ongoing.
+
+
+Data File Coherency
+===================
+
+To request an update of the coherency data and file size on a cookie, the
+following should be called::
+
+ void fscache_update_cookie(struct fscache_cookie *cookie,
+ const void *aux_data,
+ const loff_t *object_size);
+
+This will update the cookie's coherency data and/or file size.
+
+
+Data File Invalidation
+======================
+
+Sometimes it will be necessary to invalidate an object that contains data.
+Typically this will be necessary when the server informs the network filesystem
+of a remote third-party change - at which point the filesystem has to throw
+away the state and cached data that it had for an file and reload from the
+server.
+
+To indicate that a cache object should be invalidated, the following should be
+called::
+
+ void fscache_invalidate(struct fscache_cookie *cookie,
+ const void *aux_data,
+ loff_t size,
+ unsigned int flags);
+
+This increases the invalidation counter in the cookie to cause outstanding
+reads to fail with -ESTALE, sets the coherency data and file size from the
+information supplied, blocks new I/O on the cookie and dispatches the cache to
+go and get rid of the old data.
+
+Invalidation runs asynchronously in a worker thread so that it doesn't block
+too much.
+
+
+Write-Back Resource Management
+==============================
+
+To write data to the cache from network filesystem writeback, the cache
+resources required need to be pinned at the point the modification is made (for
+instance when the page is marked dirty) as it's not possible to open a file in
+a thread that's exiting.
+
+The following facilities are provided to manage this:
+
+ * An inode flag, ``I_PINNING_FSCACHE_WB``, is provided to indicate that an
+ in-use is held on the cookie for this inode. It can only be changed if the
+ the inode lock is held.
+
+ * A flag, ``unpinned_fscache_wb`` is placed in the ``writeback_control``
+ struct that gets set if ``__writeback_single_inode()`` clears
+ ``I_PINNING_FSCACHE_WB`` because all the dirty pages were cleared.
+
+To support this, the following functions are provided::
+
+ bool fscache_dirty_folio(struct address_space *mapping,
+ struct folio *folio,
+ struct fscache_cookie *cookie);
+ void fscache_unpin_writeback(struct writeback_control *wbc,
+ struct fscache_cookie *cookie);
+ void fscache_clear_inode_writeback(struct fscache_cookie *cookie,
+ struct inode *inode,
+ const void *aux);
+
+The *set* function is intended to be called from the filesystem's
+``dirty_folio`` address space operation. If ``I_PINNING_FSCACHE_WB`` is not
+set, it sets that flag and increments the use count on the cookie (the caller
+must already have called ``fscache_use_cookie()``).
+
+The *unpin* function is intended to be called from the filesystem's
+``write_inode`` superblock operation. It cleans up after writing by unusing
+the cookie if unpinned_fscache_wb is set in the writeback_control struct.
+
+The *clear* function is intended to be called from the netfs's ``evict_inode``
+superblock operation. It must be called *after*
+``truncate_inode_pages_final()``, but *before* ``clear_inode()``. This cleans
+up any hanging ``I_PINNING_FSCACHE_WB``. It also allows the coherency data to
+be updated.
+
+
+Caching of Local Modifications
+==============================
+
+If a network filesystem has locally modified data that it wants to write to the
+cache, it needs to mark the pages to indicate that a write is in progress, and
+if the mark is already present, it needs to wait for it to be removed first
+(presumably due to an already in-progress operation). This prevents multiple
+competing DIO writes to the same storage in the cache.
+
+Firstly, the netfs should determine if caching is available by doing something
+like::
+
+ bool caching = fscache_cookie_enabled(cookie);
+
+If caching is to be attempted, pages should be waited for and then marked using
+the following functions provided by the netfs helper library::
+
+ void set_page_fscache(struct page *page);
+ void wait_on_page_fscache(struct page *page);
+ int wait_on_page_fscache_killable(struct page *page);
+
+Once all the pages in the span are marked, the netfs can ask fscache to
+schedule a write of that region::
+
+ void fscache_write_to_cache(struct fscache_cookie *cookie,
+ struct address_space *mapping,
+ loff_t start, size_t len, loff_t i_size,
+ netfs_io_terminated_t term_func,
+ void *term_func_priv,
+ bool caching)
+
+And if an error occurs before that point is reached, the marks can be removed
+by calling::
+
+ void fscache_clear_page_bits(struct address_space *mapping,
+ loff_t start, size_t len,
+ bool caching)
+
+In these functions, a pointer to the mapping to which the source pages are
+attached is passed in and start and len indicate the size of the region that's
+going to be written (it doesn't have to align to page boundaries necessarily,
+but it does have to align to DIO boundaries on the backing filesystem). The
+caching parameter indicates if caching should be skipped, and if false, the
+functions do nothing.
+
+The write function takes some additional parameters: the cookie representing
+the cache object to be written to, i_size indicates the size of the netfs file
+and term_func indicates an optional completion function, to which
+term_func_priv will be passed, along with the error or amount written.
+
+Note that the write function will always run asynchronously and will unmark all
+the pages upon completion before calling term_func.
+
+
+Page Release and Invalidation
+=============================
+
+Fscache keeps track of whether we have any data in the cache yet for a cache
+object we've just created. It knows it doesn't have to do any reading until it
+has done a write and then the page it wrote from has been released by the VM,
+after which it *has* to look in the cache.
+
+To inform fscache that a page might now be in the cache, the following function
+should be called from the ``release_folio`` address space op::
+
+ void fscache_note_page_release(struct fscache_cookie *cookie);
+
+if the page has been released (ie. release_folio returned true).
+
+Page release and page invalidation should also wait for any mark left on the
+page to say that a DIO write is underway from that page::
+
+ void wait_on_page_fscache(struct page *page);
+ int wait_on_page_fscache_killable(struct page *page);
+
+
+API Function Reference
+======================
+
+.. kernel-doc:: include/linux/fscache.h