At the recently concluded Linux Plumbing Conference (LPC 2026) in the Czech Republic, Huawei engineers presented an innovative experimental file system called XMFS (eXpress Memory FS, a high-speed memory file system). Tailored specifically for contemporary Linux servers that feature CXL 3.0 technology or Huawei's unified bus architecture, this system is engineered to facilitate direct access to cross-node shared memory via standard POSIX file system interfaces. This means that applications can leverage this capability without the need for any alterations to their upper-layer logic.

In comparison to other solutions such as FAMFS and DAXFS, XMFS inherently supports conventional POSIX file system operations. Moreover, it outstrips the traditional TMPFS in fundamental performance benchmarks, showcasing its superior capabilities. Presently, XMFS has undergone rigorous testing and validation in various scenarios, including multi-node container image sharing and metadata-intensive workloads. Its practical value is particularly evident in the fields of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and High-Performance Computing (HPC).

However, it is important to note that XMFS is still in its experimental phase and has not yet been submitted to the Linux kernel mailing list for comprehensive community review. This step is crucial for gaining wider acceptance and integration into the broader Linux ecosystem.