[clue-tech] understanding Linux process memory usage?

[mike havlicek]

--- On Mon, 3/23/09, Jim Ockers <ockers at ockers.net> wrote:

> From: Jim Ockers <ockers at ockers.net>
> Subject: [clue-tech] understanding Linux process memory usage?
> To: clue-tech at cluedenver.org
> Date: Monday, March 23, 2009, 1:17 PM
> Hi CLUEbies,
> 
> I wonder if anyone out there can help me understand process
> memory usage in Linux?
> I am trying to reconcile the memory usage information from
> 'top' with what is
> actually happening in the OS. 
> 
> It seems that something in the top numbers is out to
> lunch.  I am wondering about 
> how to interpret the linux memory usage information as
> reported by ps and top.
> 
> Specifically, RSS, SIZE, SHARE, etc.  I am trying to
> analyze some problematic 
> systems performance and nobody on the 'net seems to
> understand exactly how to
> tell how much memory footprint a process has,
> exactly.  My googling has turned
> up lots of questions and not very many answers.
> 
> Is it just process executable code size?  data
> too?  What about the stack?  What 
> about X, which seems to map in video memory into the VM
> address space.  I know 
> how big the total VM pie is, and I need to figure out
> exactly how big of a slice 
> of that pie each process is using, especially X.
> 
> Does anyone know how to do this?  Please feel free to
> chime in.
> 
> Thanks,
> Jim
> 
> -- 

Jim,

There is a book that I admit I haven't look at for quite a while that
has a bit of information on such things:

"Optimizing Linux Performance"  Phillip G. Ezolt, ISBN 0-13-148682-9

http://www.informit.com/store/product.aspx?isbn=0131486829

-Mike


> Jim Ockers, P.Eng. (ockers at ockers.net)
> Contact info: please see http://www.ockers.net/
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