Re: [PATCH] mm/memcontrol: Add the drop_cache interface for cgroup v2

[Chris Down]

Michal Hocko writes:
> On Mon 21-09-20 16:02:55, zangchunxin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> > From: Chunxin Zang <zangchunxin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> >
> > In the cgroup v1, we have 'force_mepty' interface. This is very
> > useful for userspace to actively release memory. But the cgroup
> > v2 does not.
> >
> > This patch reuse cgroup v1's function, but have a new name for
> > the interface. Because I think 'drop_cache' may be is easier to
> > understand :)
>
> This should really explain a usecase. Global drop_caches is a terrible
> interface and it has caused many problems in the past. People have
> learned to use it as a remedy to any problem they might see and cause
> other problems without realizing that. This is the reason why we even
> log each attempt to drop caches.
>
> I would rather not repeat the same mistake on the memcg level unless
> there is a very strong reason for it.

I agree with Michal. We already have ways to do best-effort memory release on 
cgroup v2, primarily with memory.high. Singling out a category of memory for 
reclaim has historically proved to be a fool's errand.