[PATCH v5 0/3] Consolidate memory policy interpretation in alloc_hugetlb_folio()

[PATCH v5 0/3] Consolidate memory policy interpretation in alloc_hugetlb_folio()

[Ackerley Tng via B4 Relay]

This patch series is the first 3 patches, split out from "Open HugeTLB
allocation routine for more generic use" [1].

I'm splitting these 3 patches into this separate series, and continuing as
v5 from [1] to avoid being blocked on addressing pre-existing
bugs. (Sashiko's reviews on [1] revealed quite a few pre-existing bugs,
which is separately being addressed in [2].)

These 3 patches have been reviewed and can be merged first. (Thank you
Andrew!) The other 3 patches in [1] will probably build on [2], so I'd like
to leave those to later.

In this v5, the only change is to the first patch - I improved the wording
of the comment just above the call to dequeue_hugetlb_folio_vma() in
alloc_hugetlb_folio().

[1] https://lore.kernel.org/all/20260702-hugetlb-open-up-v4-0-d53cefcccf34@google.com/T/
[2] https://lore.kernel.org/all/20260722-hugetlb-alloc-failure-fixes-v4-0-88e8b81970dc@google.com/T/

Testing:

+ libhugetlbfs tests pass
+ tools/testing/selftests/mm/ksft_hugetlb.sh passes

RFC v1: https://lore.kernel.org/all/bb35a69a-5be9-45f5-a557-1902487a1bc2@linux.dev/
v2: https://lore.kernel.org/r/20260506-hugetlb-open-up-v2-0-826a0c5f28fc@google.com
v3: https://lore.kernel.org/r/20260518-hugetlb-open-up-v3-0-e14b302477f8@google.com
v4: https://lore.kernel.org/r/20260702-hugetlb-open-up-v4-0-d53cefcccf34@google.com

Signed-off-by: Ackerley Tng <ackerleytng@google.com>
---
Ackerley Tng (3):
      mm: hugetlb: Consolidate interpretation of gbl_chg within alloc_hugetlb_folio()
      mm: hugetlb: Move mpol interpretation out of alloc_buddy_hugetlb_folio_with_mpol()
      mm: hugetlb: Move mpol interpretation out of dequeue_hugetlb_folio_vma()

 include/uapi/linux/mempolicy.h |   2 +-
 mm/hugetlb.c                   | 110 +++++++++++++++++++++++------------------
 2 files changed, 62 insertions(+), 50 deletions(-)
---
base-commit: 075b74841bd0065a3bda3440873c747938e69b68
change-id: 20260803-hugetlb-mpol-interpretation-1c61e03073b4

Best regards,
--
Ackerley Tng <ackerleytng@google.com>

[PATCH v5 1/3] mm: hugetlb: Consolidate interpretation of gbl_chg within alloc_hugetlb_folio()

[Ackerley Tng via B4 Relay]

From: Ackerley Tng <ackerleytng@google.com>

The dequeue_hugetlb_folio_vma() function currently handles the gbl_chg
parameter to determine if a folio can be dequeued based on global page
availability. This leaks reservation-specific logic into the dequeueing
path.

Relocate this logic to alloc_hugetlb_folio() so that
dequeue_hugetlb_folio_vma() focuses solely on selecting and dequeuing a
folio. In alloc_hugetlb_folio(), only attempt to dequeue a folio if a
reservation exists (gbl_chg == 0) or if there are available huge pages in
the global pool.

No functional change intended.

Reviewed-by: James Houghton <jthoughton@google.com>
Acked-by: Oscar Salvador <osalvador@suse.de>
Reviewed-by: Joshua Hahn <joshua.hahnjy@gmail.com>
Signed-off-by: Ackerley Tng <ackerleytng@google.com>
---
 mm/hugetlb.c | 26 +++++++++++---------------
 1 file changed, 11 insertions(+), 15 deletions(-)

diff --git a/mm/hugetlb.c b/mm/hugetlb.c
index e93c4d2456aa4..7985cfd21a03c 100644
--- a/mm/hugetlb.c
+++ b/mm/hugetlb.c
@@ -1319,7 +1319,7 @@ static unsigned long available_huge_pages(struct hstate *h)
 
 static struct folio *dequeue_hugetlb_folio_vma(struct hstate *h,
 				struct vm_area_struct *vma,
-				unsigned long address, long gbl_chg)
+				unsigned long address)
 {
 	struct folio *folio = NULL;
 	struct mempolicy *mpol;
@@ -1327,13 +1327,6 @@ static struct folio *dequeue_hugetlb_folio_vma(struct hstate *h,
 	nodemask_t *nodemask;
 	int nid;
 
-	/*
-	 * gbl_chg==1 means the allocation requires a new page that was not
-	 * reserved before.  Making sure there's at least one free page.
-	 */
-	if (gbl_chg && !available_huge_pages(h))
-		goto err;
-
 	gfp_mask = htlb_alloc_mask(h);
 	nid = huge_node(vma, address, gfp_mask, &mpol, &nodemask);
 
@@ -1351,9 +1344,6 @@ static struct folio *dequeue_hugetlb_folio_vma(struct hstate *h,
 
 	mpol_cond_put(mpol);
 	return folio;
-
-err:
-	return NULL;
 }
 
 #if defined(CONFIG_ARCH_HAS_GIGANTIC_PAGE) && defined(CONFIG_CONTIG_ALLOC)
@@ -2923,12 +2913,18 @@ struct folio *alloc_hugetlb_folio(struct vm_area_struct *vma,
 		goto out_uncharge_cgroup_reservation;
 
 	spin_lock_irq(&hugetlb_lock);
+
 	/*
-	 * glb_chg is passed to indicate whether or not a page must be taken
-	 * from the global free pool (global change).  gbl_chg == 0 indicates
-	 * a reservation exists for the allocation.
+	 * Try to dequeue from the pool if either:
+	 * 1) A reservation exists (gbl_chg == 0).
+	 * 2) No reservation exists, but there are unreserved (available)
+	 *    pages in the pool; this prefers using pre-allocated pool
+	 *    pages over allocating fresh ones from the buddy allocator.
 	 */
-	folio = dequeue_hugetlb_folio_vma(h, vma, addr, gbl_chg);
+	folio = NULL;
+	if (!gbl_chg || available_huge_pages(h))
+		folio = dequeue_hugetlb_folio_vma(h, vma, addr);
+
 	if (!folio) {
 		spin_unlock_irq(&hugetlb_lock);
 		folio = alloc_buddy_hugetlb_folio_with_mpol(h, vma, addr);

-- 
2.55.0.508.g3f0d502094-goog

Re: [PATCH v5 1/3] mm: hugetlb: Consolidate interpretation of gbl_chg within alloc_hugetlb_folio()

[Gregory Price]

On Mon, Aug 03, 2026 at 06:37:58AM -0700, Ackerley Tng wrote:
> The dequeue_hugetlb_folio_vma() function currently handles the gbl_chg
> parameter to determine if a folio can be dequeued based on global page
> availability. This leaks reservation-specific logic into the dequeueing
> path.
> 
> Relocate this logic to alloc_hugetlb_folio() so that
> dequeue_hugetlb_folio_vma() focuses solely on selecting and dequeuing a
> folio. In alloc_hugetlb_folio(), only attempt to dequeue a folio if a
> reservation exists (gbl_chg == 0) or if there are available huge pages in
> the global pool.
> 
> No functional change intended.
> 
> Reviewed-by: James Houghton <jthoughton@google.com>
> Acked-by: Oscar Salvador <osalvador@suse.de>
> Reviewed-by: Joshua Hahn <joshua.hahnjy@gmail.com>
> Signed-off-by: Ackerley Tng <ackerleytng@google.com>

Reviewed-by: Gregory Price <gourry@gourry.net>

[PATCH v5 2/3] mm: hugetlb: Move mpol interpretation out of alloc_buddy_hugetlb_folio_with_mpol()

[Ackerley Tng via B4 Relay]

From: Ackerley Tng <ackerleytng@google.com>

Move memory policy interpretation out of
alloc_buddy_hugetlb_folio_with_mpol() and into alloc_hugetlb_folio() to
separate reading and interpretation of memory policy from actual
allocation.

This will later allow memory policy to be interpreted outside of the
process of allocating a hugetlb folio entirely. This opens doors for other
callers of the HugeTLB folio allocation function, such as guest_memfd,
where memory may not always be mapped and hence may not have an associated
vma.

Introduce struct mempolicy_interpreted to hold all the components of an
interpreted memory policy.

Rename alloc_buddy_hugetlb_folio_with_mpol() to alloc_buddy_hugetlb_folio()
since the function no longer interprets memory policy.

No functional change intended.

Reviewed-by: James Houghton <jthoughton@google.com>
Acked-by: Oscar Salvador <osalvador@suse.de>
Signed-off-by: Ackerley Tng <ackerleytng@google.com>
---
 include/uapi/linux/mempolicy.h |  2 +-
 mm/hugetlb.c                   | 54 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++--------------
 2 files changed, 37 insertions(+), 19 deletions(-)

diff --git a/include/uapi/linux/mempolicy.h b/include/uapi/linux/mempolicy.h
index 6c962d866e864..7f6fc9599693b 100644
--- a/include/uapi/linux/mempolicy.h
+++ b/include/uapi/linux/mempolicy.h
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
  */
 
 /* Policies */
-enum {
+enum mempolicy_mode {
 	MPOL_DEFAULT,
 	MPOL_PREFERRED,
 	MPOL_BIND,
diff --git a/mm/hugetlb.c b/mm/hugetlb.c
index 7985cfd21a03c..3a159de08a0b6 100644
--- a/mm/hugetlb.c
+++ b/mm/hugetlb.c
@@ -1317,6 +1317,12 @@ static unsigned long available_huge_pages(struct hstate *h)
 	return h->free_huge_pages - h->resv_huge_pages;
 }
 
+struct mempolicy_interpreted {
+	int nid;
+	nodemask_t *nodemask;
+	enum mempolicy_mode mode;
+};
+
 static struct folio *dequeue_hugetlb_folio_vma(struct hstate *h,
 				struct vm_area_struct *vma,
 				unsigned long address)
@@ -2138,32 +2144,28 @@ static struct folio *alloc_migrate_hugetlb_folio(struct hstate *h, gfp_t gfp_mas
 	return folio;
 }
 
-/*
- * Use the VMA's mpolicy to allocate a huge page from the buddy.
- */
 static
-struct folio *alloc_buddy_hugetlb_folio_with_mpol(struct hstate *h,
-		struct vm_area_struct *vma, unsigned long addr)
+struct folio *alloc_buddy_hugetlb_folio(struct hstate *h,
+		gfp_t gfp_mask, struct mempolicy_interpreted *mpoli)
 {
 	struct folio *folio = NULL;
-	struct mempolicy *mpol;
-	gfp_t gfp_mask = htlb_alloc_mask(h);
-	int nid;
-	nodemask_t *nodemask;
+	nodemask_t *nodemask = mpoli->nodemask;
 
-	nid = huge_node(vma, addr, gfp_mask, &mpol, &nodemask);
-	if (mpol_is_preferred_many(mpol)) {
+	if (mpoli->mode == MPOL_PREFERRED_MANY) {
 		gfp_t gfp = gfp_mask & ~(__GFP_DIRECT_RECLAIM | __GFP_NOFAIL);
 
-		folio = alloc_surplus_hugetlb_folio(h, gfp, nid, nodemask);
+		folio = alloc_surplus_hugetlb_folio(h, gfp, mpoli->nid,
+						    nodemask);
 
 		/* Fallback to all nodes if page==NULL */
 		nodemask = NULL;
 	}
 
-	if (!folio)
-		folio = alloc_surplus_hugetlb_folio(h, gfp_mask, nid, nodemask);
-	mpol_cond_put(mpol);
+	if (!folio) {
+		folio = alloc_surplus_hugetlb_folio(h, gfp_mask, mpoli->nid,
+						    nodemask);
+	}
+
 	return folio;
 }
 
@@ -2853,7 +2855,7 @@ struct folio *alloc_hugetlb_folio(struct vm_area_struct *vma,
 	int ret, idx;
 	struct hugetlb_cgroup *h_cg = NULL;
 	struct hugetlb_cgroup *h_cg_rsvd = NULL;
-	gfp_t gfp = htlb_alloc_mask(h) | __GFP_RETRY_MAYFAIL;
+	gfp_t gfp = htlb_alloc_mask(h);
 
 	idx = hstate_index(h);
 
@@ -2926,8 +2928,24 @@ struct folio *alloc_hugetlb_folio(struct vm_area_struct *vma,
 		folio = dequeue_hugetlb_folio_vma(h, vma, addr);
 
 	if (!folio) {
+		struct mempolicy_interpreted mpoli;
+		struct mempolicy *mpol;
+		nodemask_t *nodemask;
+		int nid;
+
 		spin_unlock_irq(&hugetlb_lock);
-		folio = alloc_buddy_hugetlb_folio_with_mpol(h, vma, addr);
+		nid = huge_node(vma, addr, gfp, &mpol, &nodemask);
+		mpoli = (struct mempolicy_interpreted){
+			.nid = nid,
+#ifdef CONFIG_NUMA
+			.mode = mpol ? mpol->mode : MPOL_DEFAULT,
+#else
+			.mode = MPOL_DEFAULT,
+#endif
+			.nodemask = nodemask,
+		};
+		folio = alloc_buddy_hugetlb_folio(h, gfp, &mpoli);
+		mpol_cond_put(mpol);
 		if (!folio)
 			goto out_uncharge_cgroup;
 		spin_lock_irq(&hugetlb_lock);
@@ -2983,7 +3001,7 @@ struct folio *alloc_hugetlb_folio(struct vm_area_struct *vma,
 		}
 	}
 
-	ret = mem_cgroup_charge_hugetlb(folio, gfp);
+	ret = mem_cgroup_charge_hugetlb(folio, gfp | __GFP_RETRY_MAYFAIL);
 	/*
 	 * Unconditionally increment NR_HUGETLB here. If it turns out that
 	 * mem_cgroup_charge_hugetlb failed, then immediately free the page and

-- 
2.55.0.508.g3f0d502094-goog

Re: [PATCH v5 2/3] mm: hugetlb: Move mpol interpretation out of alloc_buddy_hugetlb_folio_with_mpol()

[Gregory Price]

On Mon, Aug 03, 2026 at 06:37:59AM -0700, Ackerley Tng wrote:
> Move memory policy interpretation out of
> alloc_buddy_hugetlb_folio_with_mpol() and into alloc_hugetlb_folio() to
> separate reading and interpretation of memory policy from actual
> allocation.
> 
> This will later allow memory policy to be interpreted outside of the
> process of allocating a hugetlb folio entirely. This opens doors for other
> callers of the HugeTLB folio allocation function, such as guest_memfd,
> where memory may not always be mapped and hence may not have an associated
> vma.
> 
> Introduce struct mempolicy_interpreted to hold all the components of an
> interpreted memory policy.
> 
> Rename alloc_buddy_hugetlb_folio_with_mpol() to alloc_buddy_hugetlb_folio()
> since the function no longer interprets memory policy.
> 
> No functional change intended.
> 
> Reviewed-by: James Houghton <jthoughton@google.com>
> Acked-by: Oscar Salvador <osalvador@suse.de>
> Signed-off-by: Ackerley Tng <ackerleytng@google.com>
> ---
>  include/uapi/linux/mempolicy.h |  2 +-
>  mm/hugetlb.c                   | 54 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++--------------
>  2 files changed, 37 insertions(+), 19 deletions(-)
> 
> --- a/mm/hugetlb.c
> +++ b/mm/hugetlb.c
> @@ -1317,6 +1317,12 @@ static unsigned long available_huge_pages(struct hstate *h)
>  	return h->free_huge_pages - h->resv_huge_pages;
>  }
>  
> +struct mempolicy_interpreted {
> +	int nid;
> +	nodemask_t *nodemask;
        ^^ const please (mempolicy owns it, it should never change)

> +	enum mempolicy_mode mode;
> +};
> +

Is this intended to be an ephemeral struct that will eventually be
removed?  Because it feels like mempolicy.c should just be handling this
directly instead of needing this cached structure.

>  static struct folio *dequeue_hugetlb_folio_vma(struct hstate *h,
>  				struct vm_area_struct *vma,
>  				unsigned long address)
> @@ -2138,32 +2144,28 @@ static struct folio *alloc_migrate_hugetlb_folio(struct hstate *h, gfp_t gfp_mas
>  	return folio;
>  }
>  
... snip ...
> @@ -2926,8 +2928,24 @@ struct folio *alloc_hugetlb_folio(struct vm_area_struct *vma,
>  		folio = dequeue_hugetlb_folio_vma(h, vma, addr);
>  
>  	if (!folio) {
> +		struct mempolicy_interpreted mpoli;
> +		struct mempolicy *mpol;
> +		nodemask_t *nodemask;
> +		int nid;
> +
>  		spin_unlock_irq(&hugetlb_lock);
> -		folio = alloc_buddy_hugetlb_folio_with_mpol(h, vma, addr);
> +		nid = huge_node(vma, addr, gfp, &mpol, &nodemask);
> +		mpoli = (struct mempolicy_interpreted){
> +			.nid = nid,
> +#ifdef CONFIG_NUMA
> +			.mode = mpol ? mpol->mode : MPOL_DEFAULT,
> +#else
> +			.mode = MPOL_DEFAULT,
> +#endif

This is not great, and tells me this interaction should probably
be sunk into mempolicy instead of pulling ifdef/else into hugetlb.

> +			.nodemask = nodemask,
> +		};
> +		folio = alloc_buddy_hugetlb_folio(h, gfp, &mpoli);
> +		mpol_cond_put(mpol);
>  		if (!folio)
>  			goto out_uncharge_cgroup;
>  		spin_lock_irq(&hugetlb_lock);

[PATCH v5 3/3] mm: hugetlb: Move mpol interpretation out of dequeue_hugetlb_folio_vma()

[Ackerley Tng via B4 Relay]

From: Ackerley Tng <ackerleytng@google.com>

Move memory policy interpretation out of dequeue_hugetlb_folio_vma() and
into alloc_hugetlb_folio() to separate reading and interpretation of memory
policy from actual allocation.

Also rename dequeue_hugetlb_folio_vma() to
dequeue_hugetlb_folio_with_mpol() to remove association with vma and to
align with alloc_buddy_hugetlb_folio_with_mpol().

This will later allow memory policy to be interpreted outside of the
process of allocating a hugetlb folio entirely. This opens doors for other
callers of the HugeTLB folio allocation function, such as guest_memfd,
where memory may not always be mapped and hence may not have an associated
vma.

No functional change intended.

Signed-off-by: Ackerley Tng <ackerleytng@google.com>
Reviewed-by: James Houghton <jthoughton@google.com>
---
 mm/hugetlb.c | 66 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-------------------------------
 1 file changed, 32 insertions(+), 34 deletions(-)

diff --git a/mm/hugetlb.c b/mm/hugetlb.c
index 3a159de08a0b6..a11cb919e00fe 100644
--- a/mm/hugetlb.c
+++ b/mm/hugetlb.c
@@ -1323,32 +1323,26 @@ struct mempolicy_interpreted {
 	enum mempolicy_mode mode;
 };
 
-static struct folio *dequeue_hugetlb_folio_vma(struct hstate *h,
-				struct vm_area_struct *vma,
-				unsigned long address)
+static struct folio *dequeue_hugetlb_folio(struct hstate *h, gfp_t gfp_mask,
+					   struct mempolicy_interpreted *mpoli)
 {
+	nodemask_t *nodemask = mpoli->nodemask;
 	struct folio *folio = NULL;
-	struct mempolicy *mpol;
-	gfp_t gfp_mask;
-	nodemask_t *nodemask;
-	int nid;
-
-	gfp_mask = htlb_alloc_mask(h);
-	nid = huge_node(vma, address, gfp_mask, &mpol, &nodemask);
 
-	if (mpol_is_preferred_many(mpol)) {
+	if (mpoli->mode == MPOL_PREFERRED_MANY) {
 		folio = dequeue_hugetlb_folio_nodemask(h, gfp_mask,
-							nid, nodemask);
+						       mpoli->nid,
+						       nodemask);
 
 		/* Fallback to all nodes if page==NULL */
 		nodemask = NULL;
 	}
 
-	if (!folio)
+	if (!folio) {
 		folio = dequeue_hugetlb_folio_nodemask(h, gfp_mask,
-							nid, nodemask);
-
-	mpol_cond_put(mpol);
+						       mpoli->nid,
+						       nodemask);
+	}
 	return folio;
 }
 
@@ -2855,7 +2849,11 @@ struct folio *alloc_hugetlb_folio(struct vm_area_struct *vma,
 	int ret, idx;
 	struct hugetlb_cgroup *h_cg = NULL;
 	struct hugetlb_cgroup *h_cg_rsvd = NULL;
+	struct mempolicy_interpreted mpoli;
 	gfp_t gfp = htlb_alloc_mask(h);
+	struct mempolicy *mpol;
+	nodemask_t *nodemask;
+	int nid;
 
 	idx = hstate_index(h);
 
@@ -2914,6 +2912,18 @@ struct folio *alloc_hugetlb_folio(struct vm_area_struct *vma,
 	if (ret)
 		goto out_uncharge_cgroup_reservation;
 
+	/* Takes reference on mpol. */
+	nid = huge_node(vma, addr, gfp, &mpol, &nodemask);
+	mpoli = (struct mempolicy_interpreted){
+		.nid = nid,
+#ifdef CONFIG_NUMA
+		.mode = mpol ? mpol->mode : MPOL_DEFAULT,
+#else
+		.mode = MPOL_DEFAULT,
+#endif
+		.nodemask = nodemask,
+	};
+
 	spin_lock_irq(&hugetlb_lock);
 
 	/*
@@ -2925,35 +2935,23 @@ struct folio *alloc_hugetlb_folio(struct vm_area_struct *vma,
 	 */
 	folio = NULL;
 	if (!gbl_chg || available_huge_pages(h))
-		folio = dequeue_hugetlb_folio_vma(h, vma, addr);
+		folio = dequeue_hugetlb_folio(h, gfp, &mpoli);
 
 	if (!folio) {
-		struct mempolicy_interpreted mpoli;
-		struct mempolicy *mpol;
-		nodemask_t *nodemask;
-		int nid;
-
 		spin_unlock_irq(&hugetlb_lock);
-		nid = huge_node(vma, addr, gfp, &mpol, &nodemask);
-		mpoli = (struct mempolicy_interpreted){
-			.nid = nid,
-#ifdef CONFIG_NUMA
-			.mode = mpol ? mpol->mode : MPOL_DEFAULT,
-#else
-			.mode = MPOL_DEFAULT,
-#endif
-			.nodemask = nodemask,
-		};
 		folio = alloc_buddy_hugetlb_folio(h, gfp, &mpoli);
-		mpol_cond_put(mpol);
-		if (!folio)
+		if (!folio) {
+			mpol_cond_put(mpol);
 			goto out_uncharge_cgroup;
+		}
 		spin_lock_irq(&hugetlb_lock);
 		list_add(&folio->lru, &h->hugepage_activelist);
 		folio_ref_unfreeze(folio, 1);
 		/* Fall through */
 	}
 
+	mpol_cond_put(mpol);
+
 	/*
 	 * Either dequeued or buddy-allocated folio needs to add special
 	 * mark to the folio when it consumes a global reservation.

-- 
2.55.0.508.g3f0d502094-goog

Re: [PATCH v5 3/3] mm: hugetlb: Move mpol interpretation out of dequeue_hugetlb_folio_vma()

[Gregory Price]

On Mon, Aug 03, 2026 at 06:38:00AM -0700, Ackerley Tng wrote:
... snip ...
> @@ -2925,35 +2935,23 @@ struct folio *alloc_hugetlb_folio(struct vm_area_struct *vma,
>  	 */
>  	folio = NULL;
>  	if (!gbl_chg || available_huge_pages(h))
> -		folio = dequeue_hugetlb_folio_vma(h, vma, addr);
> +		folio = dequeue_hugetlb_folio(h, gfp, &mpoli);
>  
>  	if (!folio) {
> -		struct mempolicy_interpreted mpoli;
> -		struct mempolicy *mpol;
> -		nodemask_t *nodemask;
> -		int nid;
> -
>  		spin_unlock_irq(&hugetlb_lock);
> -		nid = huge_node(vma, addr, gfp, &mpol, &nodemask);
> -		mpoli = (struct mempolicy_interpreted){
> -			.nid = nid,
> -#ifdef CONFIG_NUMA
> -			.mode = mpol ? mpol->mode : MPOL_DEFAULT,
> -#else
> -			.mode = MPOL_DEFAULT,
> -#endif
> -			.nodemask = nodemask,
> -		};

Bah, mea culpa on prior comment, i did not notice this was a prexisting
patterns.  This is frustrating to say the least.

It does seem like there should be a better way to do this, but i think
we should be ok with this for now.

Reviewed-by: Gregory Price (Meta) <gourry@gourry.net>