Return-Path: Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id S267860AbUJGTZq (ORCPT ); Thu, 7 Oct 2004 15:25:46 -0400 Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org id S267921AbUJGTX3 (ORCPT ); Thu, 7 Oct 2004 15:23:29 -0400 Received: from h66-38-154-67.gtcust.grouptelecom.net ([66.38.154.67]:13529 "EHLO pbl.ca") by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S267595AbUJGTVP (ORCPT ); Thu, 7 Oct 2004 15:21:15 -0400 Message-ID: <4165983E.5060605@pbl.ca> Date: Thu, 07 Oct 2004 14:25:50 -0500 From: Aleksandar Milivojevic User-Agent: Mozilla Thunderbird 0.8 (X11/20040913) X-Accept-Language: en-us, en MIME-Version: 1.0 To: linux kernel mailing list Subject: Re: [2.4] 0-order allocation failed References: <200410071318.21091.mbuesch@freenet.de> <20041007151518.GA14614@logos.cnet> <200410071917.40896.mbuesch@freenet.de> <20041007153929.GB14614@logos.cnet> <20041007164221.GD14614@logos.cnet> In-Reply-To: <20041007164221.GD14614@logos.cnet> X-Enigmail-Version: 0.86.1.0 X-Enigmail-Supports: pgp-inline, pgp-mime Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org Content-Length: 1590 Lines: 32 Marcelo Tosatti wrote: > On Thu, Oct 07, 2004 at 08:28:04PM +0200, Gabor Z. Papp wrote: >> >>There is really no way to run 2.4 without swap? > > Nope. Any kernel can't. The thing is the system overcommits > memory (it allows applications to allocate more memory than the system > is able to handle). > > If there is no place to "save" that memory once you run out of it, > you're dead. Its a physical problem. :) Hm, shouldn't there be command line option to instruct kernel not to overcommit memory? For servers that don't really need disk, and wouldn't have much use for swap anyhow (like firewalls for example). I do vaugly remember of such option in OSF/1 (Compaq Unix or whatever it is called nowdays) or Solaris. Not sure which one. Or maybe both. If I remember correctly, there the default was not to overcommit, and (not recommended) option would allow kernel to overcommit. Or I might be wrong about the default setting, but the option was there. I don't remember if application that tried to allocate more memory that there was free on the system would be killed or if system call would simply fail. -- Aleksandar Milivojevic Pollard Banknote Limited Systems Administrator 1499 Buffalo Place Tel: (204) 474-2323 ext 276 Winnipeg, MB R3T 1L7 - To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/