intel_guc_allocate_vma(9)

💅 intel_guc_allocate_vma(9) 💅

okay so bestie, we're in the Kernel API Manual today and this one is genuinely iconic — it's intel_guc_allocate_vma, and it does exactly what it says on the tin: it allocates a GGTT VMA for GuC usage. no cap. 🎀

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✨ NAME ✨

intel_guc_allocate_vma — Allocate a GGTT VMA for GuC usage 🌸

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🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

struct i915_vma * intel_guc_allocate_vma (struct intel_guc *guc , u32 size );

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💖 ARGUMENTS 💖

• guc — the guc. that's it. that's the whole description. she's main character energy and needs no introduction. 👑
• size — size of area to allocate — and bb, it's both virtual space and memory, not just one of them. both. at once. slay. 🫶

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🌈 DESCRIPTION 🌈

so like… this function is a wrapper. a cute little convenience wrapper whose whole job is creating an object for use with the GuC. 🧚

here's the vibe check: in order to actually use an object inside the GuC, that object needs to be pinned lifetime. meaning it's not going anywhere, ever, it's committed. 💀 so what do we do? we allocate both:

• some backing storage, and
• a range inside the Global GTT.

two things, one function, we love to see it. ✨

and here's the part you cannot skip — we must pin it in the GGTT somewhere other than the range [0, GUC ggtt_pin_bias), because that range is reserved inside GuC. that's GuC's spot. don't touch. 🙈 it's giving "reserved parking space" and we are not that girl who parks there.

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🔥 RETURN 🔥

an i915_vma if it's successful 💖 — otherwise it hands you back an ERR_PTR. so like, check that pointer, bestie, fr fr. 😭

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🌸 SEE ALSO 🌸

• Kernel file ./drivers/gpu/drm/i915/gt/uc/intel_guc.c
• GuC(9)
• intel_guc_auth_huc(9)
• intel_guc_suspend(9)
• intel_guc_resume(9)
• GuC Memory Management(9)
• intel_guc_allocate_and_map_vma(9)
• intel_guc_load_status(9)

all of these are lowkey required reading, iykyk. 📚⭐

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bestie PSA: that [0, GUC ggtt_pin_bias) range is reserved inside GuC, so pinning outside of it isn't a suggestion, it's the whole assignment. 💅

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that's the page! brought to you from ./drivers/gpu/drm/i915/gt/uc, dated October 2026, in the Kernel API Manual. mwah, go read the source, ily, bye! 💜🦋🎀