Understanding the Linux Virtual Memory Manager

石头

作者：Mel Gorman
出版日期：May 9, 2004
出版社：Prentice Hall
页数：768
ISBN：ISBN-10: 0131453483 ISBN-13: 978-0131453487
文件格式：PDF


A programmer wanting to understand the workings of the Linux VMtoday literally has no choice but to study the kernel source code,line-by-line – an excruciatingly difficult and time-consuming task.This book dedicates itself to explaining, in detail, how the memorymanager is implemented in Linux, thereby cutting down the time neededto understand it from many months to mere weeks. The Linux VM is thesingle most important component of the Linux kernel. The behavior ofthe VM affects all other kernel subsystems, and has a dramatic impacton overall system performance. This book is unique in that not onlydoes it describe the Linux VM itself in unprecedented detail, it alsoincludes the theoretical foundations for it which is of interest toboth developers and students but has been omitted from recent Linuxkernel related material. It is split into three parts. The first partbegins with an introduction on how to approach reading the code of anopen source project. It then provides a detailed description of the VMarchitecture with the aid of numerous diagrams and call graphs, whichis suitable for people who need a clear understanding of how the VMfunctions. The second part is a detailed line-by-line description ofthe C source modules (source code commentary) that implement the VM inthe Linux 2.4 kernel. The third part describes new features in theupcoming 2.6 kernel.
From the Back Cover
Finally, a comprehensive guide to the Linux VM!
VM’s behavior affects every Linux kernel subsystem and dramaticallyimpacts overall performance. But until now, there was only one way tounderstand VM: study the poorly documented source one line at a time.Now there’s an easier, faster alternative. This book describes VM inunprecedented detail, presenting both theoretical foundations and aline-by-line source code commentary. It systematically coverseverything from physical memory description to out-of-memorymanagement. Coverage includes:

• Linux VM 2.4 architecture in depth-with diagrams and call graphs
• Physical memory description, page tables, address spaces, and memory allocation
• High memory, swapping, shared memory, and much more
• Expert guidance for analyzing the code of any open source project
• New Linux 2.6 kernel features in every chapter

Well organized and superbly written, Understanding the Linux VirtualMemory Manager will be indispensable to every kernel programmer andresearcher.
CD-ROM INCLUDED
Complete VM Learning Lab! Contains the author’s new toolkit forexploring VM, including a browsable version of kernel source, CodeVizcall graph generator; and VMRegress for analyzing and benchmarking VM.Also includes all code commentary in HTML, PDF, and plain text formats.