Zack's Kernel News
Zack's Kernel News
Zack Brown reports on container-aware cgroups, a different type of RAM chip on a single system, new SARA security framework, and improving GPIO interrupt handling.
Container-Aware Cgroups
Roman Gushchin didn't like the way the out-of-memory (OOM) killer targeted individual processes for termination. On a system with many virtual systems on top, he said, the current OOM killer would not behave ideally. It would not recognize individual processes as belonging to particular containers, so it might unexpectedly kill some random process within the container. Or a very large container might not be recognized as a proper target for the OOM killer if it simply contained a large number of very small processes. The OOM killer might target a much smaller container instead, only because that container had a couple of large processes.
Roman wanted to address these problems by creating an OOM killer that would treat a single container as having the size of all processes running within it. Then the OOM killer might properly target that container and kill all the processes associated with it. In cases where no such containers existed, the OOM killer would fall back to its traditional per-process targeting system.
He posted a patch to implement this, but Michal Hocko objected. The real problem with the OOM killer is similar to the problem with context switching, in which the kernel switches rapidly between processes to give the illusion that they are all running simultaneously. The problem with context-switching algorithms is that different user behaviors call for different switching algorithms; the same is true for the OOM killer. There's no obviously correct way to choose which process to kill during OOM conditions.
[...]
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
-
Manjaro 26.0 Primary Desktop Environments Default to Wayland
If you want to stick with X.Org, you'll be limited to the desktop environments you can choose.
-
Mozilla Plans to AI-ify Firefox
With a new CEO in control, Mozilla is doubling down on a strategy of trust, all the while leaning into AI.
-
Gnome Says No to AI-Generated Extensions
If you're a developer wanting to create a new Gnome extension, you'd best set aside that AI code generator, because the extension team will have none of that.
-
Parrot OS Switches to KDE Plasma Desktop
Yet another distro is making the move to the KDE Plasma desktop.
-
TUXEDO Announces Gemini 17
TUXEDO Computers has released the fourth generation of its Gemini laptop with plenty of updates.
-
Two New Distros Adopt Enlightenment
MX Moksha and AV Linux 25 join ranks with Bodhi Linux and embrace the Enlightenment desktop.
-
Solus Linux 4.8 Removes Python 2
Solus Linux 4.8 has been released with the latest Linux kernel, updated desktops, and a key removal.
-
Zorin OS 18 Hits over a Million Downloads
If you doubt Linux isn't gaining popularity, you only have to look at Zorin OS's download numbers.
-
TUXEDO Computers Scraps Snapdragon X1E-Based Laptop
Due to issues with a Snapdragon CPU, TUXEDO Computers has cancelled its plans to release a laptop based on this elite hardware.
-
Debian Unleashes Debian Libre Live
Debian Libre Live keeps your machine free of proprietary software.