QUESTION:
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Does anyone have pointers to docs, or would someone care to explain
exactly what the following DU process is and, specifically, what it does:
[kernel idle] (from ps aux)
More curious than anything else...
ANSWERS:
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(thanks to Dr. Tom Blinn, Larry Magnello, Steve VanDevender)
My first guess is that it was similar to the ATTish sched. However, Dr.
Blinn's specific response as to what it does is worth a direct quote:
> Well, it's the "kernel idle" process. Strictly speaking, it's process 0
> on the system, there are a number of things inside the kernel that run
> in that process context, and when the kernel is really idle (the system
> has no work to be done, other than waiting for I/O to complete), then
> there is a loop in the kernel called the "kernel idle loop" where the
> kernel waits for I/O or some other interrupt (e.g., the clock ticking)
> to occur. Until then, time is charged to the kernel idle process. Some
> memory resources used globally in the system are also charged to "kernel
> idle".
There were also a few suggestions on reading material...
1. A UNIX internals book such as Leffler et. al.'s book on Berkeley UNIX
2. The Tuning section of Digital's online books:
http://www.unix.digital.com/faqs/publications/pub_page/doc_list.html
And a strange suggestion not to kill the process...
thanks much,
_____________________________________________________________________________
Ian Veach, Systems Software Analyst, UCCSN Systems Computing Services
ivo_at_nevada.edu, VOICE: (702) 784.6486, FAX: (702) 784.1108
_____________________________________________________________________________
Received on Thu Oct 22 1998 - 18:54:22 NZDT