GitLab

Patch series "mm: Randomize free memory", v10.

This patch (of 3):

Randomization of the page allocator improves the average utilization of
a direct-mapped memory-side-cache.  Memory side caching is a platform
capability that Linux has been previously exposed to in HPC
(high-performance computing) environments on specialty platforms.  In
that instance it was a smaller pool of high-bandwidth-memory relative to
higher-capacity / lower-bandwidth DRAM.  Now, this capability is going
to be found on general purpose server platforms where DRAM is a cache in
front of higher latency persistent memory [1].

Robert offered an explanation of the state of the art of Linux
interactions with memory-side-caches [2], and I copy it here:

    It's been a problem in the HPC space:
    http://www.nersc.gov/research-and-development/knl-cache-mode-performance-coe/

    A kernel module called zonesort is available to try to help:
    https://software.intel...