Skip site navigation (1)Skip section navigation (2)
Date:      Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:56:26 -0400
From:      Michael Scheidell <scheidell@secnap.net>
To:        Tom Haapanen <tomh@motorsport.com>
Cc:        freebsd-jail@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: Memory usage across multiple jails
Message-ID:  <4A41417A.9080805@secnap.net>
In-Reply-To: <0c1201c9f43e$166c8450$43458cf0$@com>
References:  <0c1201c9f43e$166c8450$43458cf0$@com>

next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help


Tom Haapanen wrote:
> I have been using FreeBSD (and other forms of *BSD) a long time, but I'm new
> to the world of jails.  I have been doing reading on them, but there is one
> question I have not been able to find an answer to, and that's the
> efficiency of memory usage when using multiple jails on a single system.
>
>  
>
> With "conventional" virtual machines (VMware, Virtual Server et al),
> essentially each VM is opaque to the host OS, and thus has to be allocated X
> MB of memory, which that VM then manages internally.
>
>  
>   
im been expermenting with some of this

disk cache (malloc, etc) is shared.

if httpd is different in each jail (even if its the same), then
example:
jail 1 has 4 httpd's running, one copy (of binary) will be in memory, 4 
copies of data structure

jail 2 has 10 httpd's running, its got one (more) copy of binary, and 10 
copies of data structure.


HOWEVER if you nullmount /usr/local/bin ../sbin .../libexec ../lib then 
you CAN share the one httpd binary.

other issue is static libs.

in /usr/lib

these aren't likely shares, as when you build the jail, you made COPIES 
of /usr/lib

so, nullfs mount /usr/lib /usr/bin /usr/sbin /sbin, /usr/libexec, maybe 
you can get the most out of it.

(but, 6 freebsd jails use a heck of a lot ram than 6 vmware images)

> However, since jails are based on the FreeBSD kernel, and both host and
> guest OSs are identical, I am wondering whether there are any comparative
> efficiencies in memory utilization.  Will the jails share the disk cache,
> for example, or does each jail allocate its own?  Will other kernel
> structures (and code!) be shared across jails, or allocated multiple times?
> And what about userland applications, like httpd, for example?  (I suspect
> userland would not be able to benefit, but that's just a guess.)
>
>  
>
> Thanks for any insight into this ...
>
>  
>
> Tom
>
> _______________________________________________
> freebsd-jail@freebsd.org mailing list
> http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-jail
> To unsubscribe, send any mail to "freebsd-jail-unsubscribe@freebsd.org"
>   

-- 
Michael Scheidell, CTO
Phone: 561-999-5000, x 1259
 > *| *SECNAP Network Security Corporation

    * Certified SNORT Integrator
    * 2008-9 Hot Company Award Winner, World Executive Alliance
    * Five-Star Partner Program 2009, VARBusiness
    * Best Anti-Spam Product 2008, Network Products Guide
    * King of Spam Filters, SC Magazine 2008


_________________________________________________________________________
This email has been scanned and certified safe by SpammerTrap(r). 
For Information please see http://www.secnap.com/products/spammertrap/
_________________________________________________________________________



Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?4A41417A.9080805>