mlx5dr_buddy_alloc_mem(9)

💅 mlx5dr_buddy_alloc_mem — bestie edition

okay so this is a Linux kernel API manual page, section 9, and today's main character is mlx5dr_buddy_alloc_mem. and yes she's here to update the second level bitmap — that's literally her whole job description, no cap 🎀

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✨ NAME ✨

mlx5dr_buddy_alloc_mem — Update second level bitmap.

like. that's the assignment. that's what she does. periodt 💅

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

int mlx5dr_buddy_alloc_mem(struct mlx5dr_icm_buddy_mem *buddy,
                           unsigned int order,
                           unsigned int *segment);

three args, one int back, iconic behavior honestly 🦋

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🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

• buddy — the buddy you want to update. yes it's really called buddy, we love an on-brand parameter name 🫶
• order — the order of the buddy being updated. iykyk ✨
• segment — a segment number. she's a pointer, she's got places to be 📍

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💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

so the way this works: this function goes and finds the first area of the ICM memory that's managed by this here buddy. she's using the buddy system's own data structures to do it — not vibing, actually searching — looking for the first area of free place, and she starts the search from the current order and keeps going all the way up to the maximum order in the system. literally climbing the order ladder bestie 🧚

and then she reports back the location (segment) inside the whole buddy ICM memory area — as in, the index of the memory segment that's available for use. that's the prize. that's the whole point. slay 💜

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⭐ RETURN ⭐

• 0 when segment is set 🔥
• non-zero error status otherwise 😭

so like, check the return value. always. that's the vibe check. fr fr.

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👑 SEE ALSO 👑

• Kernel file: ./drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx5/core/steering/sws/dr_buddy.c — go read the source, bestie, it's giving lore 🌈

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ngl she's a sweet little helper but she doesn't allocate anything herself — read the description again, she finds and returns the segment index. that's it. don't put words in her mouth 💀

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okay that's the whole page, no notes 💖 this one came out of ./drivers/net/ethernet/mellano… and it's dated October 2026, section 9 of the kernel API manual — mwah, love that for us 🍓💅