Message-ID: <45463B7D.8050002@vmware.com>
Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2006 09:50:53 -0800
From: Zachary Amsden <zach@vmware.com>
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To: Jan Engelhardt <jengelh@linux01.gwdg.de>
Cc: Linux Kernel Mailing List <linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org>
Subject: Re: 2.6.18 is problematic in VMware
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Jan Engelhardt wrote:
> Hello list,
>
>
> I have observed a strange slowdown with the 2.6.18 kernel in VMware. 
> This happened both with the SUSE flavor and with the FC6 installer CD 
> (which I am trying right now). In both cases, the kernel "takes its 
> time" after the following text strings:
>
> * Checking if this processor honours the WP bit even in supervisor mode... Ok.
> * Checking 'hlt' instruction... OK.
>
> What's with that?
>   

Thanks.  It is perhaps the jiffies calibration taking a while because of 
the precise timing loop.  Are you reasonably confident that it is a 
regression in performance over 2.6.17?  The boot sequence is pretty 
complicated, and a lot of it is difficult / slow to virtualize, so it 
could just be alternate timing makes the boot output appear to stall, 
when in fact the raw time is still about the same.  I will run some 
experiments.

Zach
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