acquire_context(9)

💅 acquire_context(9) — bestie, let's grab a dedupe context

okay so this is a page from the Kernel API Manual and it's about acquire_context — a lil function from the kernel world that's higherkey doing its thing in the dedupe machinery 🎀 so grab a snack and let's get into it ✨

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🌸 NAME

acquire_context — literally just acquires a dedupe context from a hash_zone if any are available 💖 no cap, that's the whole vibe.

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🦋 SYNOPSIS

struct dedupe_context * acquire_context (struct hash_zone *zone );

like, that's the shape of it. that's what you're calling. periodt 👑

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🌈 ARGUMENTS

• zone — the hash zone, bestie. that's it. that's the argument. it's giving "one job and it does it" 🫶

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⭐ RETURN

you get a dedupe_context back 🎉 … or NULL if none are available 😭 which is the universe telling you "not right now, try again later" fr fr.

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🧚 SEE ALSO

okay this list is long and it is iconic, so buckle up 💅 — there's a whole kernel file to look at, plus a truly stunning amount of friends:

• Kernel file ./drivers/md/dm-vdo/dedupe.c
• Introduction(9)
• return_hash_lock_to_pool(9)
• vdo_get_duplicate_lock(9)
• hash_lock_key(9)
• get_hash_lock_state_name(9)
• assert_hash_lock_agent(9)
• set_duplicate_lock(9)
• dequeue_lock_waiter(9)
• set_hash_lock(9)
• exit_hash_lock(9)
• set_duplicate_location(9)
• retire_lock_agent(9)
• wait_on_hash_lock(9)
• abort_waiter(9)
• start_bypassing(9)
• finish_unlocking(9)
• unlock_duplicate_pbn(9)
• start_unlocking(9)
• finish_updating(9)
• start_updating(9)
• finish_deduping(9)
• acquire_lock(9)
• enter_forked_lock(9)
• fork_hash_lock(9)
• launch_dedupe(9)
• start_deduping(9)
• increment_stat(9)
• finish_verifying(9)
• start_verifying(9)
• finish_locking(9)
• lock_duplicate_pbn(9)
• start_locking(9)
• finish_writing(9)
• select_writing_agent(9)
• start_writing(9)
• finish_querying(9)
• start_querying(9)
• report_bogus_lock_state(9)
• vdo_continue_hash_lock(9)
• is_hash_collision(9)
• vdo_acquire_hash_lock(9)
• vdo_release_hash_lock(9)
• transfer_allocation_lock(9)
• vdo_share_compressed_write_lock(9)
• report_dedupe_timeouts(9)
• finish_index_operation(9)
• check_for_drain_complete(9)
• vdo_make_hash_zones(9)
• vdo_free_hash_zones(9)
• suspend_index(9)
• resume_index(9)
• vdo_resume_hash_zones(9)
• get_hash_zone_statistics(9)
• vdo_get_dedupe_statistics(9)
• vdo_select_hash_zone(9)
• dump_hash_lock(9)
• dump_hash_zone(9)
• vdo_dump_hash_zones(9)

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ngl the whole "finish_X / start_X" pattern in there is a whole aesthetic and i'm obsessed 😭🦋 go read them, iykyk.

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kisses bestie, this page lives in ./drivers/md/dm-vdo, it's serving October 2026 energy, and the manual entry is literally acquire_context(9) — slay 💅👑💖