On Thu, 03 Mar 2011 15:03:34 -0500, Stephen Harris wrote: > > /proc/sys/vm/overcommit_memory > (or sysctl vm.overcommit_memory) > >>From the kernel Documentation: > > This value contains a flag that enables memory overcommitment. > > When this flag is 0, the kernel attempts to estimate the amount of free > memory left when userspace requests more memory. > > When this flag is 1, the kernel pretends there is always enough memory > until it actually runs out. > > When this flag is 2, the kernel uses a "never overcommit" policy that > attempts to prevent any overcommit of memory. > > This feature can be very useful because there are a lot of programs that > malloc() huge amounts of memory "just-in-case" and don't use much of it. > > The default value is 0. > I just wrote a sequence of values (kk % 256) and (after changing to unsigned char) read back successfully. I did see some action in top. Now given my numbers, it would seem that I am "overcommitted". Leaving the flag you mention at 0 (which it is), do I run a risk of a later failure? Thanks, Mike.