Linux: Compacting Memory | Linux Today

Linux: Compacting Memory

Written By
Web Webster
Web Webster
Jun 3, 2007

“Mel Gorman offered a first release of a patchset that compacts
memory, ‘this is a prototype for compacting memory to reduce
external fragmentation so that free memory exists as fewer, but
larger contiguous blocks. Rather than being a full defragmentation
solution, this focuses exclusively on pages that are movable via
the page migration mechanism.’ He notes that the patchset is
currently incomplete, and at this time memory is only compacted
manually, not automatically, ‘this version of the patchset is
mainly concerned with getting the compaction mechanism
correct…'”

Complete Story

Web Webster

Web Webster

Web Webster has more than 20 years of writing and editorial experience in the tech sector. He’s written and edited news, demand generation, user-focused, and thought leadership content for business software solutions, consumer tech, and Linux Today, he edits and writes for a portfolio of tech industry news and analysis websites including webopedia.com, and DatabaseJournal.com.

Linux Today Logo

LinuxToday is a trusted, contributor-driven news resource supporting all types of Linux users. Our thriving international community engages with us through social media and frequent content contributions aimed at solving problems ranging from personal computing to enterprise-level IT operations. LinuxToday serves as a home for a community that struggles to find comparable information elsewhere on the web.

Property of TechnologyAdvice. © 2026 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.