Cache Control

The SunOS 5.0 through 5.7.0 through 5. virtual memory system is a cache system, in which processor memory buffers data from file system objects. There are interfaces to control or interrogate the status of the cache.

mincore(2)

mincore(2) determines the residency of the memory pages in the address space covered by mappings in the specified range. Because the status of a page can change after mincore checks it, but before mincore returns the data, returned information can be outdated. Only locked pages are guaranteed to remain in memory

mlock(3C) and munlock(3C)

mlock(3C) causes the pages in the specified address range to be locked in physical memory. References to locked pages (in this or other processes) do not result in page faults that require an I/O operation. This operation ties up physical resources and can disrupt normal system operation, so, use of mlock(3C) is limited to the superuser. The system lets only a configuration dependent limit of pages be locked in memory. The call to mlock fails if this limit is exceeded.

munlock(3C) releases the locks on physical pages. If multiple mlock calls are made on an address range of a single mapping, a single munlock call is release the locks. However, if different mappings to the same pages are mlocked, the pages are not unlocked until the locks on all the mappings are released.

Locks are also released when a mapping is removed, either through being replaced with an mmap operation or removed with munmap.

A lock is transferred between pages on the "copy-on-write" event associated with a MAP_PRIVATE mapping, thus locks on an address range that includes MAP_PRIVATE mappings will be retained transparently along with the copy-on-write redirection (see mmap above for a discussion of this redirection)

mlockall(3C) and munlockall(3C)

mlockall(3C)and munlockall(3C) are similar to mlock(3C) and munlock(3C), but they operate on entire address spaces. mlockall(3C) sets locks on all pages in the address space and munlockall(3C) removes all locks on all pages in the address space, whether established by mlock(3C) or mlockall(3C)

msync(3C)

msync(3C) causes all modified pages in the specified address range to be flushed to the objects mapped by those addresses. It is similar to fsync(3C) for files.