linux-kernel - Re: Can someone explain under what condition inode cache pages can be swapped out?

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Date:	Thu, 3 Aug 2006 09:55:50 +0200 (MEST)
From:	Jan Engelhardt <jengelh@...ux01.gwdg.de>
To:	Xin Zhao <uszhaoxin@...il.com>
cc:	linux-kernel <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>,
	linux-fsdevel@...r.kernel.org
Subject: Re: Can someone explain under what condition inode cache pages can
 be swapped out?



>
> Specifically, how a swaping system determine which page should be
> swapped out when memory is tight?

LRU, f.ex.

> Intuitively, I think inode cache
> pages should be swapped out as late as possible.

I believe they are not swapped at all - they are shrunk when memory becomes 
a premium. (If this was a math class I'd say the cache size will be zero, 
although that's not too realistic in practice)

> But how Linux mkae
> decision on this? Why linux does not pin inode pages in the memory?

Ugh hell no. Then you could trigger OOM by simply walking a big filesystem. 


Jan Engelhardt
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