OPPO Kernel Craftsman

Jul 3, 2020 · Fundamentals

Overview of Linux Physical Memory Fragmentation and Management

Linux uses a buddy‑system allocator organized into nodes and zones to manage physical memory, distinguishing internal fragmentation (unused space within allocated blocks) from external fragmentation (insufficient contiguous free blocks), and mitigates the latter through memory compaction, the kcompactd daemon, and various allocation‑policy optimizations.