Re: la la la la ... swappiness
From: Chris Friesen
Date: Mon Dec 04 2006 - 11:11:45 EST
Aucoin wrote:
The definition of perfectly good here may be up for debate or
someone can explain it to me. This perfectly good data was
cached under the tar yet hours after the tar has completed the
pages are still cached.
If nothing else has asked for that memory since the tar, there is no
reason to evict the pages from the cache. The inactive memory is
basically "free, but still contains the previous data".
If anything asks for memory, those pages will be filled with zeros or
the new information. In the meantime, the kernel keeps them in the
cache in case anyone wants the old information.
It doesn't hurt anything to keep the pages around with the old data in
them--and it might help.
Chris
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