Samuel D. Leslie ralish

## linux_memory_control_to_avoid_swap_thrashing.md

      
        
          
            
              
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                JPvRiel
                / linux_memory_control_to_avoid_swap_thrashing.md
            
            
              Created
              November 7, 2016 22:29
            
              
                Notes on linux memory management options to prioritize and control memory access using older ulimits, newer cgroups and overcommit policy settings. Mostly as an attempt to keep a desktop environment responsive and avoid swap thrashing under high memory pressure.
              
          
        
      
        
  
      
    Overview

Some notes about:

Explaining why current day Linux memory swap thrashing still happens (as of 2016).
Mitigating "stop the world" type thrashing issues on a Linux workstation when it's under high memory pressure and where responsiveness is more important than process completion.
Prioritizing and limiting memory use.
Older ulimit versus newer CGroup options.

These notes assume some basic background knowledge about memory management, ulimits and cgroups.