Linux Kernel Hash Table Behavior: Analysis and Improvements

The Linux kernel employs hash table data structures to store high-usage data objects such as pages, buffers, inodes, and others. In this report we find significant performance boosts with careful analysis and tuning of four critical kernel data structures.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107902/1/citi-tr-00-1.pd

An analysis of the TUX web server

We report on a high-performance in-kernel web server for Linux known as the Threaded linUX http layer, or TUX, for short. TUX uses aggressive network layer data caching to accelerate static content delivery, and invokes CGI scripts directly from the kernel to accelerate dynamic content generation. We describe the TUX web server architecture, modifications included in the patch, and how they affect kernel operation and web server performance.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107910/1/citi-tr-00-8.pd

Linux NFS Client Write Performance

We introduce a simple sequential write benchmark and use it to improve Linux NFS client write performance. We reduce the latency of the write() system call, improve SMP write performance, and reduce kernel CPU processing during sequential writes. Cached write throughput to NFS files improves by more than a factor of three

Scalable Network I/O in Linux

Recent highly publicized benchmarks have suggested that Linux systems do not scale as well as other systems, such as Windows NT, when used as network servers. Windows NT contains features such as I/O completion ports that help boost network server performance and scalability. In this paper we focus on improving the Linux implementation of poll() to reduce the expense of managing large numbers of network connections. We also explore the newer POSIX RT signal API that will help network servers scale into the next decade. A comparison between the two interfaces shows that a server using our /dev/poll interface scales better than a server using RT signals

malloc() Performance in a Multithreaded Linux Environment

Network servers make special demands that other types of applications may not make on memory allocators. We describe a simple malloc() microbenchmark suite that tests the ability of malloc() to divide its work efficiently among multiple threads and processors. The purpose of this suite is to determine the suitability of an operating system's heap allocator for use with network servers running in an SMP environment

Linux kernel hash table behavior: Analysis and improvements

The Linux kernel employs hash table data structures to store high-usage data objects such as pages, buffers, inodes, and others. In this report we find significant performance boosts with careful analysis and tuning of four critical kernel data structures

Analyzing the Overload Behavior of a Simple Web Server

Linux introduces POSIX Real Time signals to report I/O activity on multiple connections with more scalability than traditional models. In this paper we explore ways of improving the scalability and performance of POSIX RT signals even more by measuring system call latency and by creating bulk system calls that can deliver multiple signals at once