Huge Page Concepts In Linux

Recorded March 15, 2022

Everyone wants their code to run faster. Sometimes, the use of huge pages can help. Linux provides two primary mechanisms for applications to use huge pages for data.

This session will start with the basics of virtual memory. We will discuss the interaction between the kernel’s memory map and page tables and the hardware memory management unit (MMU). We will see how huge pages fit into this model. We will then discuss how applications can make use of huge pages with Transparent Huge Pages (THP) as well as HugeTLBfs. Emphasis will be placed on HugeTLBfs as that requires the most application changes. In addition, handling of HugeTLBfs huge pages is different than ‘normal’ memory pages and sometimes a source of confusion.

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