Bug#611622: linux-image-2.6.32-bpo.5-686: VM problems
Ben Hutchings wrote:
> On Sat, 2011-02-05 at 13:45 +0000, Anton Ivanov wrote:
>
>> Ben Hutchings wrote:
>>
>>> On Mon, 2011-01-31 at 11:16 +0000, Anton Ivanov wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>> Package: linux-2.6
>>>> Version: 2.6.32-30~bpo50+1
>>>> Severity: normal
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I keep getting VM failure messages. I suspect the machine
>>>> is simply a bit too slow for the network card which is in
>>>> it. It is a via Nehemia at 1.7GHz with an extra Intel
>>>> GigE server adapter. The backtraces look like showing
>>>> problems in the network receive/xmit routines.
>>>>
>>>>
>>> This is an allocation failure for a *huge* allocation (order 5 = 128 KB
>>> chunk) in atomic (non-sleeping) context. I think this may be related to
>>> (1) use of GRO on the receive path to coalesce packets (2) a
>>> netfilter/iptables rule that requires the packet to be duplicated, or
>>> requires the contents to be made contiguous.
>>>
>>>
>> 1. Do you mean gso? I do not see gro as an option on ethtool.
>>
>
> I mean what I said. Install ethtool from squeeze.
>
Understood. Will test and submit results.
>
>> 2. I think I know the culprit. I have recently made the machine to
>> double up as a X-term. Some pixmap updates can easily pass around chunks
>> that size. I have a couple of other systems with similar hardware so I
>> will see if I can reproduce it with them.
>>
>
> That doesn't require contiguous blocks. But it will still reduce the
> amount of free memory.
>
>
>> 3. While the machine has a few netfilter rules they are all on another
>> interface (towards a wifi AP) and it does not do any NAT so no need to
>> reconstruct packets.
>>
>
> That's strange.
>
>
The only traffic of notice the machine has is NFS, Xterm and a bit of
mysql from time to time. NFS is mostly read and clients use -orsize=4096
[snip]
>
>
> Really, you think Linux hasn't improved in 7 years?
>
Oh it has. It is now much better on handling failed hardware/hardware
gone away. Fair point. I will test how exactly does it look if you swap
to a device and the device suddenly goes away nowdays.
> Ben.
>
>
Brgds,
--
Understanding is a three-edged sword:
your side, their side, and the truth. --Kosh Naranek
A. R. Ivanov
E-mail: aivanov@sigsegv.cx
WWW: http://www.sigsegv.cx/
pub 1024D/DDE5E715 2002-03-03 Anton R. Ivanov <ai1-n@sigsegv.cx>
Fingerprint: C824 CBD7 EE4B D7F8 5331 89D5 FCDA 572E DDE5 E715
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