Re: [PATCH 1/1] x86, e820: Remove direct mapping of reserved spacefor HT hole around 1TB

From: H. Peter Anvin
Date: Thu Oct 13 2011 - 11:53:01 EST


On 10/13/2011 02:57 AM, Andreas Herrmann wrote:

So what is the point in including address space below TOM2 not backed
with memory in kernel's direct mapping? For similar reserved space
before 4GB we don't do this.

Instead of barfing, some more constructive feedback would be
appreciated.


Ok, that's a BUG, plain and simple, and a very serious one (for exactly the reason you just described.) We should NEVER have cachable mappings for a RESERVED region because it can have arbitrary side effects, so the fact that that happens at all is the real problem and it MUST be addressed.

So I'm not arguing that it is not a problem for you (it is a real and serious problem), but I would like to see it addressed correctly, which is to exclude these memory regions from direct mapping just as we do for < 4 GB. That way the fix applies to any RESERVED region.

-hpa

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