Anatomy of Linux Kernel Shared Memory

“Software engineering tends to be an evolutionary process.
Problems are addressed with solutions that can create new problems
and subsequently new solutions. Ideally, the new problems that are
created justify the original solution. The technology discussed
here is one of the secondary solutions to a problem created by
server virtualization. Before delving into KSM, however, let’s take
a quick look at the original solution and how KSM is applied here
and elsewhere.

“Server virtualization

“Virtualization as a technology has been around since the 1960s,
popularized by the IBM® System/360® mainframe. Five decades
later, virtualization has exploded, making it possible to share a
single server with multiple operating systems and applications.
This particular use, called server virtualization, is transforming
data centers, as a single physical machine can be used to host
typically 10 or more virtual machines (VMs), as shown in Figure 1.
This virtualization enables the infrastructure to be much more
dynamic, power efficient, and (therefore) cost-efficient. See
Resources for more information on server virtualization and its
benefits.”

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