IRC, freenode, #hurd, 2011-08-05

< neal> braunr: For instance, memory objects are great as they allow you to
  specify the mapping policy in user space.
< neal> braunr: But, the policy for determining the eviction order is
  realized by Mach
< neal> braunr: And user-space has no control
< braunr> are you referring to the page cache lru approximation and stuff
  like resource containers ?
< neal> I'm not sure what you mean by page cache lru appoximateion
< braunr> the kernel eviction policy :)
< neal> that's an implementation detail

IRC, freenode, #hurd, 2011-09-05

<braunr> mach isn't a true modern microkernel, it handles a lot of
  resources, such as high level virtual memory and cpu time
<braunr> for example, the page replacement mechanism can't be implemented
  outside the kernel
<braunr> yet, it provides nothing to userspace server to easily allocate
  resources on behalf of clients
<braunr> so, when a thread calls an RPC, the cpu time used to run that RPC
  is accounted on the server task
<braunr> the hurd uses lots of external memory managers

external pager mechanism.

<braunr> but they can't decide how to interact with the page cache
<braunr> the kernel handles the page cache, and initiates the requests to
  the pagers
<cjuner> braunr, why can't they decide that?
<braunr> because it's implemented in the kernel
<braunr> and there is nothing provided by mach to do that some other way
<slpz_> braunr: you probably already know this, but the problem with client
  requests being accounted on behalf the server, is fixed in Mach with
  Migrating Threads

mach migrating threads.

<braunr> slpz_: migrating threads only fix the issue for the resources
  managed by mach, not the external servers
<braunr> slpz_: but it's a (imo necessary) step to completely solve the
  issue
<braunr> in addition to being a great feature for performance (lighter
  context switchers, less state to track)
<braunr> it also helps priority inversion problems
<slpz_> braunr: I was referring just to cpu-time, but I agree with you an
  interface change is needed for external pagers
<braunr> slpz_: servers in general, not necessarily pagers
<slpz_> as a way to mitigate the effect of Mach paging out to external
  pagers, the folks at OSF implemented an "advisory pageout", so servers
  are "warned" that they should start paging out, and can decide which
  pages are going to be flushed by themselves

resource management problems.

memory object model vs block-level cache