On Monday, 09/29/2008 at 01:41 EDT, Jack Woehr <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Linux kernel for running on VM could be designed a little different from Linux > kernel for PC in order to behave better with VM. > I'm not sure to what extent it actually is different.
This is not just a z/VM problem. For any virtualization platform that overcommits memory, Linux memory usage will be problematic. I hope that, someday, Linux will have a generalized ability to sense its surroundings and constrain itself according to the wishes of the hypervisor. I.e. learn whether or not it is sharing the CPU, memory, and I/O, and know the relative value of each. For example, knowing that on System z, I/O is not a Bad Thing as it is in Intel (this is what drives Linux' fanatical use of cache - I/O is evil) would lead to different biases in the cache management subsystem. That bias could be further influenced by communication between the hypervisor and Linux (similar to CMM on z/VM). Alan Altmark z/VM Development IBM Endicott
