Re: [PATCH *] rmap VM 11c (RMAP IS A WINNER!)

[Adam Kropelin]

Andrea Arcangeli:
> On Sat, Jan 19, 2002 at 12:08:30AM -0500, Adam Kropelin wrote:
> > /bin/echo "10 0 0 0 500 3000 30 0 0" > /proc/sys/vm/bdflush
>   ^
>
> you cannot set the underlined one to zero (way too low, insane) or to
> left it to its default (20) in -aa, or it will be misconfigured setup
> that can lead to anything. the rule is:
>
> nfract_stop_bdflush <= nfract <= nfract_sync

<snip>

> so nfract_stop_bdflush cannot be 20.

Ok, thanks for straightening me out on that. I figured there might be some
consequence of  the additional knobs in -aa which I didn't know about.

> Furthmore you set ndirty to 0, that also is an invalid setup.

I didn't. That was one of the "additional parameters" that I left at the default
on -aa (500, it seems). Sorry, I should have been clearer about exactly what
settings I used on -aa; the quoted settings were for -rmap only. For reference,
the exact command I tried on -aa was:

/bin/echo "10 500 0 0 500 3000 30 20 0" > /proc/sys/vm/bdflush

> With -aa something sane along the above lines is:
>
> /bin/echo "10 2000 0 0 500 3000 30 5 0" > /proc/sys/vm/bdflush

Unfortunately, those adjustments on top of 2.4.18-pre2aa2 set a new record for
worst performance: 7:19.

An additional datapoint: The quoted bdflush settings which make 2.4.17-rmap11c a
winner do not do well at all on 2.4.17-rmap11a. Rik's initial reaction to the
issue was that there was a bug and I know he made some changes in rmap11c to
address it. The fact that 11c definitely performs better for me than 11a seems
to support this. Perhaps this bug or a variant thereof also exists in aa?

--Adam