Re: [PATCH] sysctl: Allow /proc/sys without sys_sysctl

[Andi Kleen]

On Wednesday 12 July 2006 17:32, Eric W. Biederman wrote:
> Andi Kleen <ak@xxxxxxx> writes:
> 
> >> So it will correctly handle that sysctl being compiled out, and
> >> the fallback to using /proc.  The code seems to have been
> >> doing that since it was added to glibc in 2000.
> >
> > Using /proc is extremly slow for this.
> 
> How so it is the same code in the kernel.  Is open much slower than
> sys_sysctl?

Yes, the VFS adds quite a lot of overhead with its zillions of
locks and other complicated things.

I have also people complaining about /proc/cpuinfo overhead.
> 
> > You added significant cost to each program startup.
> 
> Not each program only the ones that use pthreads.

In modern glibc it's basically everything

> > I still think it's a good idea to simulate that sysctl and printk
> > the others.
> 
> To reduce the noise something like that makes sense.  I'm going to
> see if I can get glibc to use uname which should have the same effect.

And still printk for all old binaries?  Not a good idea.

You have to check for  this case in the printk stub anyways and 
if you check for it you can as well emulate it
(with a big fat comment that this won't be done for any other sysctl)

-Andi
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