Linux memory management

jrd · 04-23-2006, 02:52 PM

Can anybody point me to anything i can read about how Linux manages the memory? ..how to set which apps it kills in very low memory instances. are there memory quotas(like disk quotas)?

macemoneta · 04-23-2006, 03:35 PM

This Google search describes the behavior of the Out Of Memory Killer in Linux.

jrd · 04-23-2006, 05:01 PM

aaahh, ic. was not using the right keywords in my search.
thank you.

syg00 · 04-23-2006, 05:59 PM

Begs the question "why do you care ???".

If the oom killer is being invoked you have bigger problems to chase. Simple (quick) fix is give it more swap - sure it's slow, but beats being killed.
If the issue recurs, fix the *real* problem - the memory consumption.

jrd · 04-24-2006, 11:56 AM

right. i set aside swap space and added the right line to /etc/fstab but forgot to do a mkswap

..and, careless me, i didnt do a free to check.

i used up my memory to the brim the other day, and of the 5 apps i was running at that time, the one the i would have picked if i had the choice, died. i got curious as to how linux chooses what to kill.

im not a technical person, really, but a reading few more pages of how a tool works never hurt anybody.

syg00 · 04-24-2006, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrd

im not a technical person, really, but a reading few more pages of how a tool works never hurt anybody.

I have no argument with that - happy to encourage it.
Hopefully you found a link to the linux-mm article. Short and current; should help. Although the code itself is not that involved, and can be read fairly comfortably if you feel so inclined.