diff --git a/Documentation/sysctl/vm.txt b/Documentation/sysctl/vm.txt
index 7d73882e2c27..187ce4f599a2 100644
--- a/Documentation/sysctl/vm.txt
+++ b/Documentation/sysctl/vm.txt
@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@ files can be found in mm/swap.c.
 - swappiness
 - user_reserve_kbytes
 - vfs_cache_pressure
+- watermark_boost_factor
 - watermark_scale_factor
 - zone_reclaim_mode
 
@@ -856,6 +857,26 @@ ten times more freeable objects than there are.
 
 =============================================================
 
+watermark_boost_factor:
+
+This factor controls the level of reclaim when memory is being fragmented.
+It defines the percentage of the high watermark of a zone that will be
+reclaimed if pages of different mobility are being mixed within pageblocks.
+The intent is that compaction has less work to do in the future and to
+increase the success rate of future high-order allocations such as SLUB
+allocations, THP and hugetlbfs pages.
+
+To make it sensible with respect to the watermark_scale_factor parameter,
+the unit is in fractions of 10,000. The default value of 15,000 means
+that up to 150% of the high watermark will be reclaimed in the event of
+a pageblock being mixed due to fragmentation. The level of reclaim is
+determined by the number of fragmentation events that occurred in the
+recent past. If this value is smaller than a pageblock then a pageblocks
+worth of pages will be reclaimed (e.g.  2MB on 64-bit x86). A boost factor
+of 0 will disable the feature.
+
+=============================================================
+
 watermark_scale_factor:
 
 This factor controls the aggressiveness of kswapd. It defines the
diff --git a/include/linux/mm.h b/include/linux/mm.h
index 5411de93a363..2c4c69508413 100644
--- a/include/linux/mm.h
+++ b/include/linux/mm.h
@@ -2202,6 +2202,7 @@ extern void zone_pcp_reset(struct zone *zone);
 
 /* page_alloc.c */
 extern int min_free_kbytes;
+extern int watermark_boost_factor;
 extern int watermark_scale_factor;
 
 /* nommu.c */
diff --git a/include/linux/mmzone.h b/include/linux/mmzone.h
index e43e8e79db99..d352c1dab486 100644
--- a/include/linux/mmzone.h
+++ b/include/linux/mmzone.h
@@ -269,10 +269,10 @@ enum zone_watermarks {
 	NR_WMARK
 };
 
-#define min_wmark_pages(z) (z->_watermark[WMARK_MIN])
-#define low_wmark_pages(z) (z->_watermark[WMARK_LOW])
-#define high_wmark_pages(z) (z->_watermark[WMARK_HIGH])
-#define wmark_pages(z, i) (z->_watermark[i])
+#define min_wmark_pages(z) (z->_watermark[WMARK_MIN] + z->watermark_boost)
+#define low_wmark_pages(z) (z->_watermark[WMARK_LOW] + z->watermark_boost)
+#define high_wmark_pages(z) (z->_watermark[WMARK_HIGH] + z->watermark_boost)
+#define wmark_pages(z, i) (z->_watermark[i] + z->watermark_boost)
 
 struct per_cpu_pages {
 	int count;		/* number of pages in the list */
@@ -364,6 +364,7 @@ struct zone {
 
 	/* zone watermarks, access with *_wmark_pages(zone) macros */
 	unsigned long _watermark[NR_WMARK];
+	unsigned long watermark_boost;
 
 	unsigned long nr_reserved_highatomic;
 
@@ -885,6 +886,8 @@ static inline int is_highmem(struct zone *zone)
 struct ctl_table;
 int min_free_kbytes_sysctl_handler(struct ctl_table *, int,
 					void __user *, size_t *, loff_t *);
+int watermark_boost_factor_sysctl_handler(struct ctl_table *, int,
+					void __user *, size_t *, loff_t *);
 int watermark_scale_factor_sysctl_handler(struct ctl_table *, int,
 					void __user *, size_t *, loff_t *);
 extern int sysctl_lowmem_reserve_ratio[MAX_NR_ZONES];
diff --git a/kernel/sysctl.c b/kernel/sysctl.c
index 5fc724e4e454..1825f712e73b 100644
--- a/kernel/sysctl.c
+++ b/kernel/sysctl.c
@@ -1462,6 +1462,14 @@ static struct ctl_table vm_table[] = {
 		.proc_handler	= min_free_kbytes_sysctl_handler,
 		.extra1		= &zero,
 	},
+	{
+		.procname	= "watermark_boost_factor",
+		.data		= &watermark_boost_factor,
+		.maxlen		= sizeof(watermark_boost_factor),
+		.mode		= 0644,
+		.proc_handler	= watermark_boost_factor_sysctl_handler,
+		.extra1		= &zero,
+	},
 	{
 		.procname	= "watermark_scale_factor",
 		.data		= &watermark_scale_factor,
diff --git a/mm/page_alloc.c b/mm/page_alloc.c
index e44eb68744ed..f9af2a79b1cd 100644
--- a/mm/page_alloc.c
+++ b/mm/page_alloc.c
@@ -263,6 +263,7 @@ compound_page_dtor * const compound_page_dtors[] = {
 
 int min_free_kbytes = 1024;
 int user_min_free_kbytes = -1;
+int watermark_boost_factor __read_mostly = 15000;
 int watermark_scale_factor = 10;
 
 static unsigned long nr_kernel_pages __meminitdata;
@@ -2129,6 +2130,21 @@ static bool can_steal_fallback(unsigned int order, int start_mt)
 	return false;
 }
 
+static inline void boost_watermark(struct zone *zone)
+{
+	unsigned long max_boost;
+
+	if (!watermark_boost_factor)
+		return;
+
+	max_boost = mult_frac(zone->_watermark[WMARK_HIGH],
+			watermark_boost_factor, 10000);
+	max_boost = max(pageblock_nr_pages, max_boost);
+
+	zone->watermark_boost = min(zone->watermark_boost + pageblock_nr_pages,
+		max_boost);
+}
+
 /*
  * This function implements actual steal behaviour. If order is large enough,
  * we can steal whole pageblock. If not, we first move freepages in this
@@ -2138,7 +2154,7 @@ static bool can_steal_fallback(unsigned int order, int start_mt)
  * itself, so pages freed in the future will be put on the correct free list.
  */
 static void steal_suitable_fallback(struct zone *zone, struct page *page,
-					int start_type, bool whole_block)
+		unsigned int alloc_flags, int start_type, bool whole_block)
 {
 	unsigned int current_order = page_order(page);
 	struct free_area *area;
@@ -2160,6 +2176,15 @@ static void steal_suitable_fallback(struct zone *zone, struct page *page,
 		goto single_page;
 	}
 
+	/*
+	 * Boost watermarks to increase reclaim pressure to reduce the
+	 * likelihood of future fallbacks. Wake kswapd now as the node
+	 * may be balanced overall and kswapd will not wake naturally.
+	 */
+	boost_watermark(zone);
+	if (alloc_flags & ALLOC_KSWAPD)
+		wakeup_kswapd(zone, 0, 0, zone_idx(zone));
+
 	/* We are not allowed to try stealing from the whole block */
 	if (!whole_block)
 		goto single_page;
@@ -2443,7 +2468,8 @@ __rmqueue_fallback(struct zone *zone, int order, int start_migratetype,
 	page = list_first_entry(&area->free_list[fallback_mt],
 							struct page, lru);
 
-	steal_suitable_fallback(zone, page, start_migratetype, can_steal);
+	steal_suitable_fallback(zone, page, alloc_flags, start_migratetype,
+								can_steal);
 
 	trace_mm_page_alloc_extfrag(page, order, current_order,
 		start_migratetype, fallback_mt);
@@ -7451,6 +7477,7 @@ static void __setup_per_zone_wmarks(void)
 
 		zone->_watermark[WMARK_LOW]  = min_wmark_pages(zone) + tmp;
 		zone->_watermark[WMARK_HIGH] = min_wmark_pages(zone) + tmp * 2;
+		zone->watermark_boost = 0;
 
 		spin_unlock_irqrestore(&zone->lock, flags);
 	}
@@ -7551,6 +7578,18 @@ int min_free_kbytes_sysctl_handler(struct ctl_table *table, int write,
 	return 0;
 }
 
+int watermark_boost_factor_sysctl_handler(struct ctl_table *table, int write,
+	void __user *buffer, size_t *length, loff_t *ppos)
+{
+	int rc;
+
+	rc = proc_dointvec_minmax(table, write, buffer, length, ppos);
+	if (rc)
+		return rc;
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
 int watermark_scale_factor_sysctl_handler(struct ctl_table *table, int write,
 	void __user *buffer, size_t *length, loff_t *ppos)
 {
diff --git a/mm/vmscan.c b/mm/vmscan.c
index 62ac0c488624..4c96b6356398 100644
--- a/mm/vmscan.c
+++ b/mm/vmscan.c
@@ -87,6 +87,9 @@ struct scan_control {
 	/* Can pages be swapped as part of reclaim? */
 	unsigned int may_swap:1;
 
+	/* e.g. boosted watermark reclaim leaves slabs alone */
+	unsigned int may_shrinkslab:1;
+
 	/*
 	 * Cgroups are not reclaimed below their configured memory.low,
 	 * unless we threaten to OOM. If any cgroups are skipped due to
@@ -2755,8 +2758,10 @@ static bool shrink_node(pg_data_t *pgdat, struct scan_control *sc)
 			shrink_node_memcg(pgdat, memcg, sc, &lru_pages);
 			node_lru_pages += lru_pages;
 
-			shrink_slab(sc->gfp_mask, pgdat->node_id,
+			if (sc->may_shrinkslab) {
+				shrink_slab(sc->gfp_mask, pgdat->node_id,
 				    memcg, sc->priority);
+			}
 
 			/* Record the group's reclaim efficiency */
 			vmpressure(sc->gfp_mask, memcg, false,
@@ -3238,6 +3243,7 @@ unsigned long try_to_free_pages(struct zonelist *zonelist, int order,
 		.may_writepage = !laptop_mode,
 		.may_unmap = 1,
 		.may_swap = 1,
+		.may_shrinkslab = 1,
 	};
 
 	/*
@@ -3282,6 +3288,7 @@ unsigned long mem_cgroup_shrink_node(struct mem_cgroup *memcg,
 		.may_unmap = 1,
 		.reclaim_idx = MAX_NR_ZONES - 1,
 		.may_swap = !noswap,
+		.may_shrinkslab = 1,
 	};
 	unsigned long lru_pages;
 
@@ -3328,6 +3335,7 @@ unsigned long try_to_free_mem_cgroup_pages(struct mem_cgroup *memcg,
 		.may_writepage = !laptop_mode,
 		.may_unmap = 1,
 		.may_swap = may_swap,
+		.may_shrinkslab = 1,
 	};
 
 	/*
@@ -3378,6 +3386,30 @@ static void age_active_anon(struct pglist_data *pgdat,
 	} while (memcg);
 }
 
+static bool pgdat_watermark_boosted(pg_data_t *pgdat, int classzone_idx)
+{
+	int i;
+	struct zone *zone;
+
+	/*
+	 * Check for watermark boosts top-down as the higher zones
+	 * are more likely to be boosted. Both watermarks and boosts
+	 * should not be checked at the time time as reclaim would
+	 * start prematurely when there is no boosting and a lower
+	 * zone is balanced.
+	 */
+	for (i = classzone_idx; i >= 0; i--) {
+		zone = pgdat->node_zones + i;
+		if (!managed_zone(zone))
+			continue;
+
+		if (zone->watermark_boost)
+			return true;
+	}
+
+	return false;
+}
+
 /*
  * Returns true if there is an eligible zone balanced for the request order
  * and classzone_idx
@@ -3388,6 +3420,10 @@ static bool pgdat_balanced(pg_data_t *pgdat, int order, int classzone_idx)
 	unsigned long mark = -1;
 	struct zone *zone;
 
+	/*
+	 * Check watermarks bottom-up as lower zones are more likely to
+	 * meet watermarks.
+	 */
 	for (i = 0; i <= classzone_idx; i++) {
 		zone = pgdat->node_zones + i;
 
@@ -3516,14 +3552,14 @@ static int balance_pgdat(pg_data_t *pgdat, int order, int classzone_idx)
 	unsigned long nr_soft_reclaimed;
 	unsigned long nr_soft_scanned;
 	unsigned long pflags;
+	unsigned long nr_boost_reclaim;
+	unsigned long zone_boosts[MAX_NR_ZONES] = { 0, };
+	bool boosted;
 	struct zone *zone;
 	struct scan_control sc = {
 		.gfp_mask = GFP_KERNEL,
 		.order = order,
-		.priority = DEF_PRIORITY,
-		.may_writepage = !laptop_mode,
 		.may_unmap = 1,
-		.may_swap = 1,
 	};
 
 	psi_memstall_enter(&pflags);
@@ -3531,9 +3567,28 @@ static int balance_pgdat(pg_data_t *pgdat, int order, int classzone_idx)
 
 	count_vm_event(PAGEOUTRUN);
 
+	/*
+	 * Account for the reclaim boost. Note that the zone boost is left in
+	 * place so that parallel allocations that are near the watermark will
+	 * stall or direct reclaim until kswapd is finished.
+	 */
+	nr_boost_reclaim = 0;
+	for (i = 0; i <= classzone_idx; i++) {
+		zone = pgdat->node_zones + i;
+		if (!managed_zone(zone))
+			continue;
+
+		nr_boost_reclaim += zone->watermark_boost;
+		zone_boosts[i] = zone->watermark_boost;
+	}
+	boosted = nr_boost_reclaim;
+
+restart:
+	sc.priority = DEF_PRIORITY;
 	do {
 		unsigned long nr_reclaimed = sc.nr_reclaimed;
 		bool raise_priority = true;
+		bool balanced;
 		bool ret;
 
 		sc.reclaim_idx = classzone_idx;
@@ -3560,13 +3615,40 @@ static int balance_pgdat(pg_data_t *pgdat, int order, int classzone_idx)
 		}
 
 		/*
-		 * Only reclaim if there are no eligible zones. Note that
-		 * sc.reclaim_idx is not used as buffer_heads_over_limit may
-		 * have adjusted it.
+		 * If the pgdat is imbalanced then ignore boosting and preserve
+		 * the watermarks for a later time and restart. Note that the
+		 * zone watermarks will be still reset at the end of balancing
+		 * on the grounds that the normal reclaim should be enough to
+		 * re-evaluate if boosting is required when kswapd next wakes.
+		 */
+		balanced = pgdat_balanced(pgdat, sc.order, classzone_idx);
+		if (!balanced && nr_boost_reclaim) {
+			nr_boost_reclaim = 0;
+			goto restart;
+		}
+
+		/*
+		 * If boosting is not active then only reclaim if there are no
+		 * eligible zones. Note that sc.reclaim_idx is not used as
+		 * buffer_heads_over_limit may have adjusted it.
 		 */
-		if (pgdat_balanced(pgdat, sc.order, classzone_idx))
+		if (!nr_boost_reclaim && balanced)
 			goto out;
 
+		/* Limit the priority of boosting to avoid reclaim writeback */
+		if (nr_boost_reclaim && sc.priority == DEF_PRIORITY - 2)
+			raise_priority = false;
+
+		/*
+		 * Do not writeback or swap pages for boosted reclaim. The
+		 * intent is to relieve pressure not issue sub-optimal IO
+		 * from reclaim context. If no pages are reclaimed, the
+		 * reclaim will be aborted.
+		 */
+		sc.may_writepage = !laptop_mode && !nr_boost_reclaim;
+		sc.may_swap = !nr_boost_reclaim;
+		sc.may_shrinkslab = !nr_boost_reclaim;
+
 		/*
 		 * Do some background aging of the anon list, to give
 		 * pages a chance to be referenced before reclaiming. All
@@ -3618,6 +3700,16 @@ static int balance_pgdat(pg_data_t *pgdat, int order, int classzone_idx)
 		 * progress in reclaiming pages
 		 */
 		nr_reclaimed = sc.nr_reclaimed - nr_reclaimed;
+		nr_boost_reclaim -= min(nr_boost_reclaim, nr_reclaimed);
+
+		/*
+		 * If reclaim made no progress for a boost, stop reclaim as
+		 * IO cannot be queued and it could be an infinite loop in
+		 * extreme circumstances.
+		 */
+		if (nr_boost_reclaim && !nr_reclaimed)
+			break;
+
 		if (raise_priority || !nr_reclaimed)
 			sc.priority--;
 	} while (sc.priority >= 1);
@@ -3626,6 +3718,28 @@ static int balance_pgdat(pg_data_t *pgdat, int order, int classzone_idx)
 		pgdat->kswapd_failures++;
 
 out:
+	/* If reclaim was boosted, account for the reclaim done in this pass */
+	if (boosted) {
+		unsigned long flags;
+
+		for (i = 0; i <= classzone_idx; i++) {
+			if (!zone_boosts[i])
+				continue;
+
+			/* Increments are under the zone lock */
+			zone = pgdat->node_zones + i;
+			spin_lock_irqsave(&zone->lock, flags);
+			zone->watermark_boost -= min(zone->watermark_boost, zone_boosts[i]);
+			spin_unlock_irqrestore(&zone->lock, flags);
+		}
+
+		/*
+		 * As there is now likely space, wakeup kcompact to defragment
+		 * pageblocks.
+		 */
+		wakeup_kcompactd(pgdat, pageblock_order, classzone_idx);
+	}
+
 	snapshot_refaults(NULL, pgdat);
 	__fs_reclaim_release();
 	psi_memstall_leave(&pflags);
@@ -3854,7 +3968,8 @@ void wakeup_kswapd(struct zone *zone, gfp_t gfp_flags, int order,
 
 	/* Hopeless node, leave it to direct reclaim if possible */
 	if (pgdat->kswapd_failures >= MAX_RECLAIM_RETRIES ||
-	    pgdat_balanced(pgdat, order, classzone_idx)) {
+	    (pgdat_balanced(pgdat, order, classzone_idx) &&
+	     !pgdat_watermark_boosted(pgdat, classzone_idx))) {
 		/*
 		 * There may be plenty of free memory available, but it's too
 		 * fragmented for high-order allocations.  Wake up kcompactd
