Reclaiming memory pages in a computing system hosting a set of virtual machines
US9280458B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | May 11, 2012 |
| Grant date | Mar 8, 2016 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 11, 2033 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F2212/151
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A technique reclaims memory pages in a virtualization platform. The technique involves receiving, by a virtual machine of the virtualization platform, an inflate command which directs a balloon driver of the virtual machine to inflate. The technique further involves issuing, by the virtual machine and in response to the inflate command, a sweep request to a hypervisor. The sweep request directs the hypervisor to (i) perform a scan of memory pages allocated to the virtual machine for a predetermined pattern of characters, (ii) de-allocate memory pages having the predetermined pattern of characters from the virtual machine (e.g., zeroed pages), the de-allocated memory pages including super pages and regular pages, and (iii) update a list of memory page mappings to reflect the de-allocated memory pages. The technique further involves completing balloon driver inflation after the list of memory page mappings is updated.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.