linux-kernel - Re: [Patch 1/1] init: Provide a kernel start parameter to increase pid

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Date:	Thu, 22 Apr 2010 07:48:25 -0700 (PDT)
From:	Linus Torvalds <torvalds@...ux-foundation.org>
To:	Alan Cox <alan@...rguk.ukuu.org.uk>
cc:	Greg KH <gregkh@...e.de>, Rik van Riel <riel@...hat.com>,
	John Stoffel <john@...ffel.org>, Hedi Berriche <hedi@....com>,
	Mike Travis <travis@....com>, Ingo Molnar <mingo@...e.hu>,
	Jack Steiner <steiner@....com>,
	Andrew Morton <akpm@...ux-foundation.org>,
	Robin Holt <holt@....com>, LKML <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>
Subject: Re: [Patch 1/1] init: Provide a kernel start parameter to increase
 pid_max v2



On Thu, 22 Apr 2010, Alan Cox wrote:
>
> > Distros don't want to take a patch that adds a new boot param that is
> > not accepted upstream, otherwise they will be stuck forward porting it
> > from now until, well, forever :)
> 
> So for an obscure IA64 specific problem you want the upstream kernel to
> port it forward forever instead ?

Ehh. Nobody does ia64 any more. It's dead, Jim.

This is x86. SGI finally long ago gave up on the Intel/HP clusterf*ck.

Which I'm not entirely sure makes the case for the kernel parameter much 
stronger, though. I wonder if it's not more appropriate to just have a 
total hack saying

	if (max_pids < N * max_cpus) {
		printk("We have %d CPUs, increasing max_pids to %d\n");
		max_pids = N*max_cpus;
	}

where "N" is just some random fudge-factor. It's reasonable to expect a 
certain minimum number of processes per CPU, after all.

		Linus
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