Re: Should vmalloc and kmalloc be integrated?
Alan Cox (alan@lxorguk.ukuu.org.uk)
Sun, 9 Nov 1997 00:05:10 +0000 (GMT)
> Except for DMA buffer allocations (where contiguous memory is needed)
> vmalloc and kmalloc are equivally correct to use. There is allready a
> DMA priority in the linux kernel for kmalloc so it can detect that
> situation.
vmalloc isnt usable at interrupt time and is also slower - furthermore on
some platforms vmalloc memory continues to be slower to access forever. That
isnt to say its not a potentially useful idea. Alas most problem cases
are either DMA buffers or interrupt handlers or both
Alan