vmballoon_lock_op(9)

💖 vmballoon_lock_op(9) — Kernel API Manual 💖

okay bestie, pull up a chair, because this one is a Kernel API Manual page and it's literally about telling the host what's up with your balloon pages 🎈

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✨ NAME ✨

vmballoon_lock_op — notifies the host about inflated/deflated pages.

like, it's the little messenger that goes "hey host, these pages? mine now" (or "not mine anymore"). slay. 💅

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🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

unsigned long vmballoon_lock_op (struct vmballoon *b , unsigned int
num_pages , enum vmballoon_page_size_type page_size , enum vmballoon_op
op );

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🌸 ARGUMENTS 🌸

• b — pointer to the balloon. yes, the whole balloon. 🎈
• num_pages — number of inflated/deflated pages.
• page_size — size of the page.
• op — the type of operation (lock or unlock).

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so the whole vibe here is: you notify the host about page(s) that were ballooned (or removed from the balloon) so that host can use it without fear that guest will need it (or stop using them since the VM does). it's giving polite handoff energy 🫶

here's the part where you gotta pay attention though, no cap: host may reject some pages, we need to check the return value and maybe submit a different page. so like, don't just fire and forget, bestie 😭 check that return value fr fr.

the pages that are inflated/deflated are pointed by b->page. that's the hookup. iykyk.

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🔥 RETURN 🔥

result as provided by the hypervisor. that's it, that's the tea ⭐

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

• Kernel file ./drivers/misc/vmw_balloon.c
• enum vmballoon_cmd_type(9)
• struct vmballoon_batch_entry(9)
• vmballoon_send_guest_id(9)
• vmballoon_page_order(9)
• vmballoon_page_in_frames(9)
• vmballoon_mark_page_offline(9)
• vmballoon_mark_page_online(9)
• vmballoon_send_get_target(9)
• vmballoon_alloc_page_list(9)
• vmballoon_handle_one_result(9)
• vmballoon_status_page(9)
• vmballoon_add_page(9)
• vmballoon_lock(9)
• vmballoon_release_page_list(9)
• vmballoon_change(9)
• vmballoon_enqueue_page_list(9)
• vmballoon_dequeue_page_list(9)
• vmballoon_split_refused_pages(9)
• vmballoon_inflate(9)
• vmballoon_deflate(9)
• vmballoon_deinit_batching(9)
• vmballoon_init_batching(9)
• vmballoon_vmci_init(9)
• vmballoon_pop(9)
• vmballoon_work(9)
• vmballoon_shrinker_scan(9)
• vmballoon_shrinker_count(9)
• vmballoon_debug_show(9)
• vmballoon_migratepage(9)

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ok that's the whole page, go read the source in ./drivers/misc if you want the deep lore 💀

and that's a wrap, bestie 🎀 this lil page lives in ./drivers/misc, dated October 2026, and it's filed under vmballoon_lock_op(9) — go forth and check your return values, ily, bye 👑✨