DAXFS Debuts as Latest Linux File System
In recent developments, the Linux community welcomes DAXFS, a new open-source file system. This read-only system leverages the Linux kernel’s Direct Access (DAX) infrastructure. DAXFS operates directly on shared physical memory, distinguishing itself from traditional file systems.
DAXFS: Key Features and Advantages
DAXFS introduces several innovative features aimed at enhancing performance and simplifying operations:
- Zero-Copy Efficiency: File reads are executed as direct memory loads, avoiding page cache duplication.
- True Physical Sharing: By mapping contiguous physical addresses, multiple kernel instances can share the same memory pages.
- Hardware Integration: It supports mounting of memory from GPUs, FPGAs, and CXL devices through the dma-buf API.
- Simplicity: DAXFS utilizes a straightforward read-only image format and avoids complex device management.
Primary Use Cases of DAXFS
DAXFS is designed for specific scenarios where efficiency and performance are essential:
- Multikernel Environments: Share a common Docker image across independent kernel instances via shared memory.
- CXL Memory Pooling: Access read-only data across multiple hosts without requiring network I/O.
- Container Rootfs Sharing: Employ a single DAXFS base image for multiple containers using OverlayFS, conserving RAM.
- Accelerator Data: Achieve zero-copy access to model weights or lookup tables stored in device memory.
Development and Future Prospects
DAXFS is under development by the team at Multikernel.io, who are also working on a multi-kernel architecture for Linux. The DAXFS project aims not only to improve the multi-kernel efforts but also to enhance CXL support and accelerator data management.
The announcement regarding DAXFS was made on the Linux Kernel Mailing List today. For those interested, the current DAXFS kernel module and user-space tools are available on GitHub. The developers are monitoring upstream interest for potential integration into the mainline Linux kernel.
