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Re: How to kill slave kernel securely?

• To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
• Subject: [mg117163] Re: How to kill slave kernel securely?
• From: "Alexey Popkov" <lehin.p at gmail.com>
• Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2011 06:37:46 -0500 (EST)
• References: <201103091200.HAA14063@smc.vnet.net> <Pine.LNX.4.63.1103090610360.22963@wopr.wolfram.com> <002101cbde66$acb4c670$5db7440a@lehin> <Pine.LNX.4.63.1103091045160.16870@wopr.wolfram.com> <006701cbde97$1e1cc120$5db7440a@lehin> <Pine.LNX.4.63.1103100135050.22315@wopr.wolfram.com>

>From: "Oliver Ruebenkoenig" <ruebenko at wolfram.com>

> On Thu, 10 Mar 2011, Alexey Popkov wrote:
>
> > Instead of MemoryConstrained I would prefer to have
'FreeMemoryConstrained'
> > function to protect from swapping securely...
> >
>
> What is holding you from setting that MemoryConstraint to the amount of
> physical memory you have?

There are two problems:

1) I cannot know how much memory I should allow MathKernel to allocate
because other applications can allocate memory too. If I simply set
MemoryConstrained to the amount of physical memory or even to the half of
physical memory the system still can go into swapping. From the other side I
do wish to allow MathKernel to use almost all available free physical memory
with except for about 200 MB which must be always available for other
applications.

2) My bitter experience with MemoryConstrained clearly shows that it is not
a reliable function. It practical cases when I heavily use such functions as
NDSolve, NIntegrate etc. it often allows MathKernel to take for example
500-900 MB more that I have set. And system goes into swapping...

• References:
  • How to kill slave kernel securely?
    • From: Alexey <lehin.p@gmail.com>