On Fri, Sep 08, 2006 at 10:07:53AM -0400, James Stark wrote:
> >A process doesn't use any memory after it's done; the memory is freed by 
> >the
> >kernel.  If not, that would be a kernel bug.

> Usually that's true, however there have been cases where the kernel has 
> bled memory like that the the blame was put on the process.  So is 
> updatedb the cause, or just the trigger that exposes the bug?  If you 
> really think that it's a kernel bug then feel free to reassign it.

If there is no process left associated with that memory, it's definitely a
kernel bug.  If updatedb leaves a process around and that's what uses the
memory, that's an updatedb bug.

> >But how have you determined that the memory is "in use"?  It sounds to me
> >like you're misidentifying disk cache as "used" memory.

> Nope.  Disk cache is reported separately.  Here is the results from 
> another run designed to reproduce the problem.  It was run on an AthonXP 
> with 512MB of RAM, running up to date unstable and stock 2.6.17.  I had 
> killed off everything except udev, syslog, init and the kernel processes:

> # uname -a
> Linux Barracuda 2.6.17-2-k7 #1 SMP Thu Aug 31 13:27:53 UTC 2006 i686 
> GNU/Linux

> # ps ax

[...]

> # updatedb

Ok; what does ps ax show /after/ you've run updatedb?  That seems to be the
key.

Cheers,
-- 
Steve Langasek                   Give me a lever long enough and a Free OS
Debian Developer                   to set it on, and I can move the world.
[EMAIL PROTECTED]                                   http://www.debian.org/


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