Re: kernel 2.6.22: what IS the VM doing?

[Rik van Riel <riel@redhat.com>]

Sami Farin wrote:
> On Wed, Sep 05, 2007 at 12:24:26 -0400, Rik van Riel wrote:
> ...
>>> *shrug*
>> The attached patch should make sure kswapd does not free an
>> excessive number of pages in zone_normal just because the
>> pages in zone_highmem are difficult to free.
>>
>> It does give kswapd a large margin to continue putting equal
>> pressure on all zones in normal situations.
>>
>> Sami, could you try out this patch to see if it helps your
>> situation?
> 
> Thanks, Rik.  bzImage is ready, I probably reboot inside one
> month for a reason or other 8-)

The more I look at the bug, the more I see that it is probably
not very easy to reproduce on demand.  I have, however, a full
explanation on why it happens and why the patch should fix it,
so I will submit it for inclusion in -mm.

Sami, thank you for the detailed bug report.

-- 
Politics is the struggle between those who want to make their country
the best in the world, and those who believe it already is.  Each group
calls the other unpatriotic.