get_vm_area(9)

✨ get_vm_area(9) ✨

okay bestie, welcome to the Kernel API Manual 💅 this one's a lil function from the ./mm directory and it's literally the "save me a spot" of kernel virtual memory. let's get into it 🫶

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🌸 NAME 🌸

get_vm_area — reserve a contiguous kernel virtual area 🎀

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

struct vm_struct * get_vm_area (unsigned long size , unsigned long flags );

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💖 ARGUMENTS 💖

• size — the size of the area, bestie. that's how much virtual space you're asking for 💫
• flags — gotta be VM_IOREMAP for I/O mappings, or VM_ALLOC 👑

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so what it does is: it searches for an area of size inside the kernel virtual mapping area, and then reserves it for our purposes 💅 (the original says "for out purposes" — yes queen, typos are canon, no cap 😭).

it returns the area descriptor on success, or NULL on failure. that's the whole vibe check 🌈

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⭐ RETURN ⭐

the area descriptor on success or NULL on failure 💀 that's it, that's the whole return contract — if you get NULL, it did not slay 🙈

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👑 SEE ALSO 👑

this is the part where the manpage just flexes its whole friend group at you, so buckle up sis 🍓 the kernel file is ./mm/vmalloc.c and the whole squad is:

• vunmap_range(9)
• vmap_pages_range(9)
• vm_area_map_pages(9)
• vm_area_unmap_pages(9)
• new_vmap_block(9)
• vm_unmap_aliases(9)
• vm_unmap_ram(9)
• vm_map_ram(9)
• vm_area_add_early(9)
• vm_area_register_early(9)
• find_vm_area(9)
• remove_vm_area(9)
• vfree_atomic(9)
• vfree(9)
• vunmap(9)
• vmap(9)
• vmap_pfn(9)
• __vmalloc_node_range(9)
• __vmalloc_node(9)
• vmalloc(9)
• vmalloc_huge_node(9)
• vzalloc(9)
• vmalloc_user(9)
• vmalloc_node(9)
• vzalloc_node(9)
• vrealloc_node_align(9)
• vmalloc_32(9)
• vmalloc_32_user(9)
• vread_iter(9)
• remap_vmalloc_range_partial(9)
• remap_vmalloc_range(9)
• pvm_find_va_enclose_addr(9)
• pvm_determine_end_from_reverse(9)
• pcpu_get_vm_areas(9)
• pcpu_free_vm_areas(9)

like, that's the entire vmalloc extended universe fr fr 🌌 obsessed.

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and that's the page, bestie 💜 this lil gem comes to you from the ./mm source, dated October 2026, and it's living in the Kernel API Manual section 9. go reserve some virtual space, you icon 👑✨