aio: Basic subsystem initialization

This commit just does the minimal wiring up of the AIO subsystem, added in the
next commit, to the rest of the system. The next commit contains more details
about motivation and architecture.

This commit is kept separate to make it easier to review, separating the
changes across the tree, from the implementation of the new subsystem.

We discussed squashing this commit with the main commit before merging AIO,
but there has been a mild preference for keeping it separate.

Reviewed-by: Heikki Linnakangas <hlinnaka@iki.fi>
Reviewed-by: Noah Misch <noah@leadboat.com>
Discussion: https://postgr.es/m/uvrtrknj4kdytuboidbhwclo4gxhswwcpgadptsjvjqcluzmah%40brqs62irg4dt

doc/src/sgml/config.sgml

@@ -2638,6 +2638,57 @@ include_dir 'conf.d'
         </para>
        </listitem>
       </varlistentry>
+
+      <varlistentry id="guc-io-max-concurrency" xreflabel="io_max_concurrency">
+       <term><varname>io_max_concurrency</varname> (<type>integer</type>)
+       <indexterm>
+        <primary><varname>io_max_concurrency</varname> configuration parameter</primary>
+       </indexterm>
+       </term>
+       <listitem>
+        <para>
+         Controls the maximum number of I/O operations that one process can
+         execute simultaneously.
+        </para>
+        <para>
+         The default setting of <literal>-1</literal> selects a number based
+         on <xref linkend="guc-shared-buffers"/> and the maximum number of
+         processes (<xref linkend="guc-max-connections"/>, <xref
+         linkend="guc-autovacuum-worker-slots"/>, <xref
+         linkend="guc-max-worker-processes"/> and <xref
+         linkend="guc-max-wal-senders"/>), but not more than
+         <literal>64</literal>.
+        </para>
+        <para>
+         This parameter can only be set at server start.
+        </para>
+       </listitem>
+      </varlistentry>
+
+      <varlistentry id="guc-io-method" xreflabel="io_method">
+       <term><varname>io_method</varname> (<type>enum</type>)
+       <indexterm>
+        <primary><varname>io_method</varname> configuration parameter</primary>
+       </indexterm>
+       </term>
+       <listitem>
+        <para>
+         Selects the method for executing asynchronous I/O.
+         Possible values are:
+         <itemizedlist>
+          <listitem>
+           <para>
+            <literal>sync</literal> (execute asynchronous-eligible I/O synchronously)
+           </para>
+          </listitem>
+         </itemizedlist>
+        </para>
+        <para>
+         This parameter can only be set at server start.
+        </para>
+       </listitem>
+      </varlistentry>
+
      </variablelist>
     </sect2>
 

src/backend/access/transam/xact.c

@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@
 #include "replication/origin.h"
 #include "replication/snapbuild.h"
 #include "replication/syncrep.h"
+#include "storage/aio_subsys.h"
 #include "storage/condition_variable.h"
 #include "storage/fd.h"
 #include "storage/lmgr.h"
@@ -2411,6 +2412,8 @@ CommitTransaction(void)
 						 RESOURCE_RELEASE_BEFORE_LOCKS,
 						 true, true);
 
+	AtEOXact_Aio(true);
+
 	/* Check we've released all buffer pins */
 	AtEOXact_Buffers(true);
 
@@ -2716,6 +2719,8 @@ PrepareTransaction(void)
 						 RESOURCE_RELEASE_BEFORE_LOCKS,
 						 true, true);
 
+	AtEOXact_Aio(true);
+
 	/* Check we've released all buffer pins */
 	AtEOXact_Buffers(true);
 
@@ -2830,6 +2835,8 @@ AbortTransaction(void)
 	pgstat_report_wait_end();
 	pgstat_progress_end_command();
 
+	pgaio_error_cleanup();
+
 	/* Clean up buffer content locks, too */
 	UnlockBuffers();
 
@@ -2960,6 +2967,7 @@ AbortTransaction(void)
 		ResourceOwnerRelease(TopTransactionResourceOwner,
 							 RESOURCE_RELEASE_BEFORE_LOCKS,
 							 false, true);
+		AtEOXact_Aio(false);
 		AtEOXact_Buffers(false);
 		AtEOXact_RelationCache(false);
 		AtEOXact_TypeCache();
@@ -5232,6 +5240,9 @@ AbortSubTransaction(void)
 
 	pgstat_report_wait_end();
 	pgstat_progress_end_command();
+
+	pgaio_error_cleanup();
+
 	UnlockBuffers();
 
 	/* Reset WAL record construction state */
@@ -5326,6 +5337,7 @@ AbortSubTransaction(void)
 							 RESOURCE_RELEASE_BEFORE_LOCKS,
 							 false, false);
 
+		AtEOXact_Aio(false);
 		AtEOSubXact_RelationCache(false, s->subTransactionId,
 								  s->parent->subTransactionId);
 		AtEOSubXact_TypeCache();

src/backend/postmaster/autovacuum.c

@@ -88,6 +88,7 @@
 #include "postmaster/autovacuum.h"
 #include "postmaster/interrupt.h"
 #include "postmaster/postmaster.h"
+#include "storage/aio_subsys.h"
 #include "storage/bufmgr.h"
 #include "storage/ipc.h"
 #include "storage/latch.h"
@@ -465,6 +466,7 @@ AutoVacLauncherMain(const void *startup_data, size_t startup_data_len)
 		 */
 		LWLockReleaseAll();
 		pgstat_report_wait_end();
+		pgaio_error_cleanup();
 		UnlockBuffers();
 		/* this is probably dead code, but let's be safe: */
 		if (AuxProcessResourceOwner)

src/backend/postmaster/bgwriter.c

@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@
 #include "postmaster/auxprocess.h"
 #include "postmaster/bgwriter.h"
 #include "postmaster/interrupt.h"
+#include "storage/aio_subsys.h"
 #include "storage/buf_internals.h"
 #include "storage/bufmgr.h"
 #include "storage/condition_variable.h"
@@ -168,6 +169,7 @@ BackgroundWriterMain(const void *startup_data, size_t startup_data_len)
 		 */
 		LWLockReleaseAll();
 		ConditionVariableCancelSleep();
+		pgaio_error_cleanup();
 		UnlockBuffers();
 		ReleaseAuxProcessResources(false);
 		AtEOXact_Buffers(false);

src/backend/postmaster/checkpointer.c

@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@
 #include "postmaster/bgwriter.h"
 #include "postmaster/interrupt.h"
 #include "replication/syncrep.h"
+#include "storage/aio_subsys.h"
 #include "storage/bufmgr.h"
 #include "storage/condition_variable.h"
 #include "storage/fd.h"
@@ -276,6 +277,7 @@ CheckpointerMain(const void *startup_data, size_t startup_data_len)
 		LWLockReleaseAll();
 		ConditionVariableCancelSleep();
 		pgstat_report_wait_end();
+		pgaio_error_cleanup();
 		UnlockBuffers();
 		ReleaseAuxProcessResources(false);
 		AtEOXact_Buffers(false);

src/backend/postmaster/pgarch.c

@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@
 #include "postmaster/interrupt.h"
 #include "postmaster/pgarch.h"
 #include "storage/condition_variable.h"
+#include "storage/aio_subsys.h"
 #include "storage/fd.h"
 #include "storage/ipc.h"
 #include "storage/latch.h"
@@ -568,6 +569,7 @@ pgarch_archiveXlog(char *xlog)
 		LWLockReleaseAll();
 		ConditionVariableCancelSleep();
 		pgstat_report_wait_end();
+		pgaio_error_cleanup();
 		ReleaseAuxProcessResources(false);
 		AtEOXact_Files(false);
 		AtEOXact_HashTables(false);

src/backend/postmaster/walsummarizer.c

@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@
 #include "postmaster/interrupt.h"
 #include "postmaster/walsummarizer.h"
 #include "replication/walreceiver.h"
+#include "storage/aio_subsys.h"
 #include "storage/fd.h"
 #include "storage/ipc.h"
 #include "storage/latch.h"
@@ -289,6 +290,7 @@ WalSummarizerMain(const void *startup_data, size_t startup_data_len)
 		LWLockReleaseAll();
 		ConditionVariableCancelSleep();
 		pgstat_report_wait_end();
+		pgaio_error_cleanup();
 		ReleaseAuxProcessResources(false);
 		AtEOXact_Files(false);
 		AtEOXact_HashTables(false);

src/backend/postmaster/walwriter.c

@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@
 #include "postmaster/auxprocess.h"
 #include "postmaster/interrupt.h"
 #include "postmaster/walwriter.h"
+#include "storage/aio_subsys.h"
 #include "storage/bufmgr.h"
 #include "storage/condition_variable.h"
 #include "storage/fd.h"
@@ -164,6 +165,7 @@ WalWriterMain(const void *startup_data, size_t startup_data_len)
 		LWLockReleaseAll();
 		ConditionVariableCancelSleep();
 		pgstat_report_wait_end();
+		pgaio_error_cleanup();
 		UnlockBuffers();
 		ReleaseAuxProcessResources(false);
 		AtEOXact_Buffers(false);

src/backend/replication/walsender.c

@@ -79,6 +79,7 @@
 #include "replication/walsender.h"
 #include "replication/walsender_private.h"
 #include "storage/condition_variable.h"
+#include "storage/aio_subsys.h"
 #include "storage/fd.h"
 #include "storage/ipc.h"
 #include "storage/pmsignal.h"
@@ -327,6 +328,7 @@ WalSndErrorCleanup(void)
 	LWLockReleaseAll();
 	ConditionVariableCancelSleep();
 	pgstat_report_wait_end();
+	pgaio_error_cleanup();
 
 	if (xlogreader != NULL && xlogreader->seg.ws_file >= 0)
 		wal_segment_close(xlogreader);

src/backend/storage/aio/Makefile

@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ top_builddir = ../../../..
 include $(top_builddir)/src/Makefile.global
 
 OBJS = \
+	aio.o \
+	aio_init.o \
 	read_stream.o
 
 include $(top_srcdir)/src/backend/common.mk

src/backend/storage/aio/aio.c

@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+/*-------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ *
+ * aio.c
+ *    AIO - Core Logic
+ *
+ * Portions Copyright (c) 1996-2025, PostgreSQL Global Development Group
+ * Portions Copyright (c) 1994, Regents of the University of California
+ *
+ * IDENTIFICATION
+ *    src/backend/storage/aio/aio.c
+ *
+ *-------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ */
+
+#include "postgres.h"
+
+#include "lib/ilist.h"
+#include "storage/aio.h"
+#include "storage/aio_subsys.h"
+#include "utils/guc.h"
+#include "utils/guc_hooks.h"
+
+
+/* Options for io_method. */
+const struct config_enum_entry io_method_options[] = {
+	{"sync", IOMETHOD_SYNC, false},
+	{NULL, 0, false}
+};
+
+/* GUCs */
+int			io_method = DEFAULT_IO_METHOD;
+int			io_max_concurrency = -1;
+
+
+
+/*
+ * Release IO handle during resource owner cleanup.
+ */
+void
+pgaio_io_release_resowner(dlist_node *ioh_node, bool on_error)
+{
+}
+
+/*
+ * Perform AIO related cleanup after an error.
+ *
+ * This should be called early in the error recovery paths, as later steps may
+ * need to issue AIO (e.g. to record a transaction abort WAL record).
+ */
+void
+pgaio_error_cleanup(void)
+{
+}
+
+/*
+ * Perform AIO related checks at (sub-)transactional boundaries.
+ *
+ * This should be called late during (sub-)transactional commit/abort, after
+ * all steps that might need to perform AIO, so that we can verify that the
+ * AIO subsystem is in a valid state at the end of a transaction.
+ */
+void
+AtEOXact_Aio(bool is_commit)
+{
+}
+
+void
+assign_io_method(int newval, void *extra)
+{
+}
+
+bool
+check_io_max_concurrency(int *newval, void **extra, GucSource source)
+{
+	if (*newval == -1)
+	{
+		/*
+		 * Auto-tuning will be applied later during startup, as auto-tuning
+		 * depends on the value of various GUCs.
+		 */
+		return true;
+	}
+	else if (*newval == 0)
+	{
+		GUC_check_errdetail("Only -1 or values bigger than 0 are valid.");
+		return false;
+	}
+
+	return true;
+}

src/backend/storage/aio/aio_init.c

@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+/*-------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ *
+ * aio_init.c
+ *    AIO - Subsystem Initialization
+ *
+ * Portions Copyright (c) 1996-2025, PostgreSQL Global Development Group
+ * Portions Copyright (c) 1994, Regents of the University of California
+ *
+ * IDENTIFICATION
+ *    src/backend/storage/aio/aio_init.c
+ *
+ *-------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ */
+
+#include "postgres.h"
+
+#include "storage/aio_subsys.h"
+
+
+
+Size
+AioShmemSize(void)
+{
+	Size		sz = 0;
+
+	return sz;
+}
+
+void
+AioShmemInit(void)
+{
+}
+
+void
+pgaio_init_backend(void)
+{
+}

src/backend/storage/aio/meson.build

@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 # Copyright (c) 2024-2025, PostgreSQL Global Development Group
 
 backend_sources += files(
+  'aio.c',
+  'aio_init.c',
   'read_stream.c',
 )

src/backend/storage/ipc/ipci.c

@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@
 #include "replication/slotsync.h"
 #include "replication/walreceiver.h"
 #include "replication/walsender.h"
+#include "storage/aio_subsys.h"
 #include "storage/bufmgr.h"
 #include "storage/dsm.h"
 #include "storage/dsm_registry.h"
@@ -148,6 +149,7 @@ CalculateShmemSize(int *num_semaphores)
 	size = add_size(size, WaitEventCustomShmemSize());
 	size = add_size(size, InjectionPointShmemSize());
 	size = add_size(size, SlotSyncShmemSize());
+	size = add_size(size, AioShmemSize());
 
 	/* include additional requested shmem from preload libraries */
 	size = add_size(size, total_addin_request);
@@ -340,6 +342,7 @@ CreateOrAttachShmemStructs(void)
 	StatsShmemInit();
 	WaitEventCustomShmemInit();
 	InjectionPointShmemInit();
+	AioShmemInit();
 }
 
 /*

src/backend/utils/init/postinit.c

@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@
 #include "replication/slot.h"
 #include "replication/slotsync.h"
 #include "replication/walsender.h"
+#include "storage/aio_subsys.h"
 #include "storage/bufmgr.h"
 #include "storage/fd.h"
 #include "storage/ipc.h"
@@ -635,6 +636,12 @@ BaseInit(void)
 	 */
 	pgstat_initialize();
 
+	/*
+	 * Initialize AIO before infrastructure that might need to actually
+	 * execute AIO.
+	 */
+	pgaio_init_backend();
+
 	/* Do local initialization of storage and buffer managers */
 	InitSync();
 	smgrinit();

src/backend/utils/misc/guc_tables.c

@@ -72,6 +72,7 @@
 #include "replication/slot.h"
 #include "replication/slotsync.h"
 #include "replication/syncrep.h"
+#include "storage/aio.h"
 #include "storage/bufmgr.h"
 #include "storage/bufpage.h"
 #include "storage/large_object.h"
@@ -3254,6 +3255,18 @@ struct config_int ConfigureNamesInt[] =
 		NULL, NULL, NULL
 	},
 
+	{
+		{"io_max_concurrency",
+			PGC_POSTMASTER,
+			RESOURCES_IO,
+			gettext_noop("Max number of IOs that one process can execute simultaneously."),
+			NULL,
+		},
+		&io_max_concurrency,
+		-1, -1, 1024,
+		check_io_max_concurrency, NULL, NULL
+	},
+
 	{
 		{"backend_flush_after", PGC_USERSET, RESOURCES_IO,
 			gettext_noop("Number of pages after which previously performed writes are flushed to disk."),
@@ -5311,6 +5324,16 @@ struct config_enum ConfigureNamesEnum[] =
 		NULL, NULL, NULL
 	},
 
+	{
+		{"io_method", PGC_POSTMASTER, RESOURCES_IO,
+			gettext_noop("Selects the method for executing asynchronous I/O."),
+			NULL
+		},
+		&io_method,
+		DEFAULT_IO_METHOD, io_method_options,
+		NULL, assign_io_method, NULL
+	},
+
 	/* End-of-list marker */
 	{
 		{NULL, 0, 0, NULL, NULL}, NULL, 0, NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL

src/backend/utils/misc/postgresql.conf.sample

@@ -202,6 +202,12 @@
 #maintenance_io_concurrency = 10	# 1-1000; 0 disables prefetching
 #io_combine_limit = 128kB		# usually 1-32 blocks (depends on OS)
 
+#io_method = sync			# sync (change requires restart)
+#io_max_concurrency = -1		# Max number of IOs that one process
+					# can execute simultaneously
+					# -1 sets based on shared_buffers
+					# (change requires restart)
+
 # - Worker Processes -
 
 #max_worker_processes = 8		# (change requires restart)

src/backend/utils/resowner/resowner.c

@@ -47,6 +47,8 @@
 
 #include "common/hashfn.h"
 #include "common/int.h"
+#include "lib/ilist.h"
+#include "storage/aio.h"
 #include "storage/ipc.h"
 #include "storage/predicate.h"
 #include "storage/proc.h"
@@ -155,6 +157,12 @@ struct ResourceOwnerData
 
 	/* The local locks cache. */
 	LOCALLOCK  *locks[MAX_RESOWNER_LOCKS];	/* list of owned locks */
+
+	/*
+	 * AIO handles need be registered in critical sections and therefore
+	 * cannot use the normal ResourceElem mechanism.
+	 */
+	dlist_head	aio_handles;
 };
 
 
@@ -425,6 +433,8 @@ ResourceOwnerCreate(ResourceOwner parent, const char *name)
 		parent->firstchild = owner;
 	}
 
+	dlist_init(&owner->aio_handles);
+
 	return owner;
 }
 
@@ -725,6 +735,13 @@ ResourceOwnerReleaseInternal(ResourceOwner owner,
 		 * so issue warnings.  In the abort case, just clean up quietly.
 		 */
 		ResourceOwnerReleaseAll(owner, phase, isCommit);
+
+		while (!dlist_is_empty(&owner->aio_handles))
+		{
+			dlist_node *node = dlist_head_node(&owner->aio_handles);
+
+			pgaio_io_release_resowner(node, !isCommit);
+		}
 	}
 	else if (phase == RESOURCE_RELEASE_LOCKS)
 	{
@@ -1082,3 +1099,15 @@ ResourceOwnerForgetLock(ResourceOwner owner, LOCALLOCK *locallock)
 	elog(ERROR, "lock reference %p is not owned by resource owner %s",
 		 locallock, owner->name);
 }
+
+void
+ResourceOwnerRememberAioHandle(ResourceOwner owner, struct dlist_node *ioh_node)
+{
+	dlist_push_tail(&owner->aio_handles, ioh_node);
+}
+
+void
+ResourceOwnerForgetAioHandle(ResourceOwner owner, struct dlist_node *ioh_node)
+{
+	dlist_delete_from(&owner->aio_handles, ioh_node);
+}

src/include/storage/aio.h

@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+/*-------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ *
+ * aio.h
+ *    Main AIO interface
+ *
+ *
+ * Portions Copyright (c) 1996-2025, PostgreSQL Global Development Group
+ * Portions Copyright (c) 1994, Regents of the University of California
+ *
+ * src/include/storage/aio.h
+ *
+ *-------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ */
+#ifndef AIO_H
+#define AIO_H
+
+
+
+/* Enum for io_method GUC. */
+typedef enum IoMethod
+{
+	IOMETHOD_SYNC = 0,
+} IoMethod;
+
+/* We'll default to synchronous execution. */
+#define DEFAULT_IO_METHOD IOMETHOD_SYNC
+
+
+struct dlist_node;
+extern void pgaio_io_release_resowner(struct dlist_node *ioh_node, bool on_error);
+
+
+/* GUCs */
+extern PGDLLIMPORT int io_method;
+extern PGDLLIMPORT int io_max_concurrency;
+
+
+#endif							/* AIO_H */

src/include/storage/aio_subsys.h

@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+/*-------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ *
+ * aio_subsys.h
+ *    Interaction with AIO as a subsystem, rather than actually issuing AIO
+ *
+ * This header is for AIO related functionality that's being called by files
+ * that don't perform AIO, but interact with the AIO subsystem in some
+ * form. E.g. postmaster.c and shared memory initialization need to initialize
+ * AIO but don't perform AIO.
+ *
+ * Portions Copyright (c) 1996-2025, PostgreSQL Global Development Group
+ * Portions Copyright (c) 1994, Regents of the University of California
+ *
+ * src/include/storage/aio_subsys.h
+ *
+ *-------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ */
+#ifndef AIO_SUBSYS_H
+#define AIO_SUBSYS_H
+
+
+/* aio_init.c */
+extern Size AioShmemSize(void);
+extern void AioShmemInit(void);
+
+extern void pgaio_init_backend(void);
+
+
+/* aio.c */
+extern void pgaio_error_cleanup(void);
+extern void AtEOXact_Aio(bool is_commit);
+
+#endif							/* AIO_SUBSYS_H */

src/include/utils/guc.h

@@ -318,6 +318,7 @@ extern PGDLLIMPORT bool optimize_bounded_sort;
  */
 extern PGDLLIMPORT const struct config_enum_entry archive_mode_options[];
 extern PGDLLIMPORT const struct config_enum_entry dynamic_shared_memory_options[];
+extern PGDLLIMPORT const struct config_enum_entry io_method_options[];
 extern PGDLLIMPORT const struct config_enum_entry recovery_target_action_options[];
 extern PGDLLIMPORT const struct config_enum_entry wal_level_options[];
 extern PGDLLIMPORT const struct config_enum_entry wal_sync_method_options[];

src/include/utils/guc_hooks.h

@@ -64,6 +64,8 @@ extern bool check_default_with_oids(bool *newval, void **extra,
 extern bool check_effective_io_concurrency(int *newval, void **extra,
 										   GucSource source);
 extern bool check_huge_page_size(int *newval, void **extra, GucSource source);
+extern void assign_io_method(int newval, void *extra);
+extern bool check_io_max_concurrency(int *newval, void **extra, GucSource source);
 extern const char *show_in_hot_standby(void);
 extern bool check_locale_messages(char **newval, void **extra, GucSource source);
 extern void assign_locale_messages(const char *newval, void *extra);

src/include/utils/resowner.h

@@ -164,4 +164,9 @@ struct LOCALLOCK;
 extern void ResourceOwnerRememberLock(ResourceOwner owner, struct LOCALLOCK *locallock);
 extern void ResourceOwnerForgetLock(ResourceOwner owner, struct LOCALLOCK *locallock);
 
+/* special support for AIO */
+struct dlist_node;
+extern void ResourceOwnerRememberAioHandle(ResourceOwner owner, struct dlist_node *ioh_node);
+extern void ResourceOwnerForgetAioHandle(ResourceOwner owner, struct dlist_node *ioh_node);
+
 #endif							/* RESOWNER_H */

src/tools/pgindent/typedefs.list

@@ -1279,6 +1279,7 @@ IntoClause
 InvalMessageArray
 InvalidationInfo
 InvalidationMsgsGroup
+IoMethod
 IpcMemoryId
 IpcMemoryKey
 IpcMemoryState