> We have a machine which tends to die with the error `Couldn't get a
> free page...'. It is known to eventually die with that error
> with versions 2.0.30 and 2.0.28 of the Linux kernel. The problem
> didn't seem to occur with 1.2.13
>
> Does anyone have any idea of how to fix this problem?
>
One way to prevent this is to force more memory to be kept free (so it can
be used in interrupts, and other times when we can't swap). The numbers
in /proc/sys/vm/freepages control when the box starts various types of
swapping, just try doubling them, and see if you get the message again:
root@gytha:~# cd /proc/sys/vm
root@gytha:/proc/sys/vm# cat freepages
80 120 160
root@gytha:/proc/sys/vm# echo 160 240 320 >freepages
root@gytha:/proc/sys/vm# cat freepages
160 240 320
root@gytha:/proc/sys/vm#
Bryn
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