Subject: Compressed cache system [Re: Google Summer of Code project ideas]
To: None <tech-embed@netbsd.org>
From: Matt Fleming <mattjfleming@googlemail.com>
List: tech-embed
Date: 04/21/2006 20:48:52
Jan Schaumann wrote:

> *  Compressed Cache System -- Implement NetBSD version of compressed
>    cache system (for low-memory devices):
>    http://linuxcompressed.sourceforge.net/
> 
> The complete list of project ideas is available online at
> http://www.netbsd.org/contrib/projects.html
> 

Just so I actually have some answers for my proposal, I was wondering if 
I could get some feedback here.

I was thinking of implementing this (a compressed cache for UVM) as a 
patchset for UVM, as I feel that a kernel option to turn this on and off 
would be a little 'icky' (for lack of a better word), _especially_ for 
people who don't care about this option.

Also, a question I've been thinking about, some compressed cache systems 
only store pages that are backed by files and not  swap-backed pages. 
What is the communities view on this? The research from 
http://linuxcompressed.sourceforge.net/ shows that good results can 
still be achieved even if the compressed cache stores swap-backed pages.

Wondering if people have any opinions on the merits of both approaches?

Thanks,
Matt