Re: 2.4.28 -> ch..ch...changes....

From: Nix (nix_at_esperi.org.uk)
Date: 11/26/04

  • Next message: Matthew Wilcox: "Re: [RFC] Splitting kernel headers and deprecating __KERNEL__" 
    To: Nick Warne <nick@linicks.net>
Date:	Fri, 26 Nov 2004 11:53:58 +0000

    On 24 Nov 2004, Nick Warne mused:
    > Normally memory slowly fills up, perhaps using swap for a bit under these
    > circumstances - but looking afterwards:

    This is a feature, not a bug. Free memory is wasted memory (although
    some has to be kept free for drivers that need GFP_ATOMIC allocations:
    i.e. `memory *now* dammit *now*'.

    > root@linuxamd:~# free
    > total used free shared buffers cached
    > Mem: 1292348 520012 772336 0 38596 327304
    > -/+ buffers/cache: 154112 1138236
    > Swap: 1959888 0 1959888

    The only thing I can think of that causes this is something very
    memory-hungry that's just been killed, releasing a pile of pages back to
    the system.

    > But whatever, I am impressed indeed - somethings changed for the good!!!

    I see no signs of such a change on my 2.4.28 boxes:

    (UltraSPARC II)
                 total used free shared buffers cached
    Mem: 509360 498432 10928 0 133568 52656
    -/+ buffers/cache: 312208 197152
    Swap: 1557264 143992 1413272

    (Athlon IV)
                 total used free shared buffers cached
    Mem: 775072 762744 12328 0 88304 322740
    -/+ buffers/cache: 351700 423372
    Swap: 1048560 81020 967540

    (i586)
                 total used free shared buffers cached
    Mem: 126992 123640 3352 0 11792 42012
    -/+ buffers/cache: 69836 57156
    Swap: 1245168 155560 1089608

    The only suspiciously high free figure is on a 2.4.28 UML instance
    (2.4.28 + forward-ported 2.4.27-1 patches) on one of those machines:

                 total used free shared buffers cached
    Mem: 94000 66512 27488 0 2940 31260
    -/+ buffers/cache: 32312 61688
    Swap: 0 0 0

    and that is trivially obviously caused by the instance's lack of swap :) 

    -- 
`The sword we forged has turned upon us
 Only now, at the end of all things do we see
 The lamp-bearer dies; only the lamp burns on.'
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  • Next message: Matthew Wilcox: "Re: [RFC] Splitting kernel headers and deprecating __KERNEL__"