yielding a new public interface, vm_page_alloc_contig(). This new function
addresses some of the limitations of the current interfaces, contigmalloc()
and kmem_alloc_contig(). For example, the physically contiguous memory that
is allocated with those interfaces can only be allocated to the kernel vm
object and must be mapped into the kernel virtual address space. It also
provides functionality that vm_phys_alloc_contig() doesn't, such as wiring
the returned pages. Moreover, unlike that function, it respects the low
water marks on the paging queues and wakes up the page daemon when
necessary. That said, at present, this new function can't be applied to all
types of vm objects. However, that restriction will be eliminated in the
coming weeks.
From a design standpoint, this change also addresses an inconsistency
between vm_phys_alloc_contig() and the other vm_phys_alloc*() functions.
Specifically, vm_phys_alloc_contig() manipulated vm_page fields that other
functions in vm/vm_phys.c didn't. Moreover, vm_phys_alloc_contig() knew
about vnodes and reservations. Now, vm_page_alloc_contig() is responsible
for these things.
Reviewed by: kib
Discussed with: jhb
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