Zack's Kernel News
Zack's Kernel News
Zack Brown looks at improving memory management, simplifying(ish) the Kernel Build System, and detecting firmware crashes.
Improving Memory Management
SeongJae Park wanted to improve Linux's memory management. To do this, he wanted to implement finer-grained data access tracking. Then, using that data, Linux would have a better idea of how to move data around in memory and which data to swap out to disk.
The problem was that finer-grained tracking would take CPU time that the system might otherwise use for executing user code, so there'd be a slowdown. On the other hand, the improved memory management made possible by SeongJae's patch would speed up the system – potentially enough to justify the hit taken by gathering the data.
SeongJae pointed out that there were already patches to take advantage of the kind of fine-grained data he wanted to track, but none of those patches had been merged into the Linux kernel because of the lack of that kind of tracking.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
AUR Repository Still Under DDoS Attack
Arch User Repository continues to be under a DDoS attack that has been going on for two weeks.
-
RingReaper Malware Poses Danger to Linux Systems
A new kind of malware exploits modern Linux kernels for I/O operations.
-
Happy Birthday, Linux
On August 25, Linux officially turns 34.
-
VirtualBox 7.2 Has Arrived
With early support for Linux kernel 6.17 and other new additions, VirtualBox 7.2 is a must-update for users.
-
Linux Mint 22.2 Beta Available for Testing
Some interesting new additions and improvements are coming to Linux Mint. Check out the Linux Mint 22.2 Beta to give it a test run.
-
Debian 13.0 Officially Released
After two years of development, the latest iteration of Debian is now available with plenty of under-the-hood improvements.
-
Upcoming Changes for MXLinux
MXLinux 25 has plenty in store to please all types of users.
-
A New Linux AI Assistant in Town
Newelle, a Linux AI assistant, works with different LLMs and includes document parsing and profiles.
-
Linux Kernel 6.16 Released with Minor Fixes
The latest Linux kernel doesn't really include any big-ticket features, just a lot of lines of code.
-
EU Sovereign Tech Fund Gains Traction
OpenForum Europe recently released a report regarding a sovereign tech fund with backing from several significant entities.