International Business Machines Corporation
Scalable virtual memory metadata management

Abstract:

Scalable virtual memory metadata management comprising a plurality of pre-instantiated VM metadata containers representing the entire amount of real physical memory available to a computing system, with additional instantiated VM metadata containers created as needed. Individual and/or groups of VM metadata containers are assigned to metadata container groups, wherein each container group is controlled by an acquired lock assigned to the VM metadata container groups. Virtual memory metadata is managed using a "least used" technique. In response to allocation requests, the allocator scans the container groups/VM containers and fulfills memory object metadata allocation to the least used VM metadata container of the least used container group, filling the individual VM metadata containers and/or the container groups at a nearly equal rate.