How Linux Memory Reclamation Works: Zones, Swap, and Compression Explained

This article explains Linux's memory reclamation mechanisms, covering the role of memory as the system's bloodstream, the three reclamation paths (fast, direct, kswapd), zone watermarks, page cache structures, reverse mapping, and how swap and compression are used to keep the system stable under memory pressure.

Memory ManagementSwapmemory reclamation

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How Linux Memory Reclamation Works: Zones, Swap, and Compression Explained

Linux Kernel Journey

Mar 23, 2025 · Fundamentals

Efficient Dynamic Memory Reclamation Techniques in Linux

The article provides an in‑depth technical analysis of Linux’s memory reclamation system, covering zones, watermarks, page flags, LRU lists, the shrink_zone workflow, kswapd, direct reclaim, OOM handling, page‑cache structures, and practical tuning tips for optimal performance.

LRULinuxSwap

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Efficient Dynamic Memory Reclamation Techniques in Linux

Architect's Journey

Apr 15, 2021 · Operations

What Seven Days of Testing Reveal About TCP Memory Overhead

After a week-long series of experiments measuring TCP connections in various states—including ESTABLISH, client‑to‑server, server‑to‑client, and non‑ESTABLISH scenarios—the author quantifies per‑connection memory usage and shows how modern kernels reclaim buffers and reduce overhead, especially for TIME_WAIT.

LinuxTCPkernel

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What Seven Days of Testing Reveal About TCP Memory Overhead