Re: [PATCH 3/3][RFC] swsusp: shrink file cache first

From: KOSAKI Motohiro
Date: Fri Feb 06 2009 - 00:59:52 EST


Hi

> > if we think suspend performance, we should consider swap device and file-backed device
> > are different block device.
> > the interleave of file-backed page out and swap out can improve total write out performce.
>
> Hm, good point. We could probably improve that but I don't think it's
> too pressing because at least on my test boxen, actual shrinking time
> is really short compared to the total of suspending to disk.

ok.
only remain problem is mesurement result posting :)


> > if we think resume performance, we shold how think the on-disk contenious of the swap consist
> > process's virtual address contenious.
> > it cause to reduce unnecessary seek.
> > but your patch doesn't this.
> >
> > Could you explain this patch benefit?
>
> The patch tries to shrink those pages first that are most unlikely to
> be needed again after resume. It assumes that active anon pages are
> immediately needed after resume while inactive file pages are not. So
> it defers shrinking anon pages after file cache.

hmm, I'm confusing.
I agree active anon is important than inactive file.
but I don't understand why scanning order at suspend change resume order.


> But I just noticed that the old behaviour defers it as well, because
> even if it does scan anon pages from the beginning, it allows writing
> only starting from pass 3.

Ah, I see.
it's obiously wrong.

> I couldn't quite understand what you wrote about on-disk
> contiguousness, but that claim still stands: faulting in contiguous
> pages from swap can be much slower than faulting file pages. And my
> patch prefers mapped file pages over anon pages. This is probably
> where I have seen the improvements after resume in my tests.

sorry, I don't understand yet.
Why "prefers mapped file pages over anon pages" makes large improvement?


> So assuming that we can not save the whole working set, it's better to
> preserve as much as possible of those pages that are the most
> expensive ones to refault.
>
> > and, I think you should mesure performence result.
>
> Yes, I'm still thinking about ideas how to quantify it properly. I
> have not yet found a reliable way to check for whether the working set
> is intact besides seeing whether the resumed applications are
> responsive right away or if they first have to swap in their pages
> again.

thanks.
I'm looking for this :)



> > > @@ -2134,17 +2144,17 @@ unsigned long shrink_all_memory(unsigned
> > >
> > > /*
> > > * We try to shrink LRUs in 5 passes:
> > > - * 0 = Reclaim from inactive_list only
> > > - * 1 = Reclaim from active list but don't reclaim mapped
> > > - * 2 = 2nd pass of type 1
> > > - * 3 = Reclaim mapped (normal reclaim)
> > > - * 4 = 2nd pass of type 3
> > > + * 0 = Reclaim unmapped inactive file pages
> > > + * 1 = Reclaim unmapped file pages
> >
> > I think your patch reclaim mapped file at priority 0 and 1 too.
>
> Doesn't the following check in shrink_page_list prevent this:
>
> if (!sc->may_swap && page_mapped(page))
> goto keep_locked;
>
> ?

Grr, you are right.
I agree, currently may_swap doesn't control swap out or not.
so I think we should change it correct name ;)



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