The Hard Work Behind Large Physical Allocations in the Kernel

Explore the intricacies of large physical memory allocations in the Linux kernel through this conference talk from the Linux Plumbers Conference. Delve into the challenges of managing physically continuous memory allocations and the kernel's mechanisms for defragmenting free memory. Learn about memory compaction and page grouping by mobility, understanding their roles in balancing successful large allocations with processor and lock usage overhead. Examine known problems in these mechanisms and potential solutions proposed by memory management developers. Gain insights into topics such as the physical memory allocator, high-order allocations, compaction limitations, mobility grouping fallback heuristics, and open issues related to compaction overhead and mobility grouping.