Handling Linux/Unix memory parameters

In this topic, let's discuss various kernel memory settings, and see the recommended configuration values.

Getting ready

The kernel provides various memory settings based on its distribution. Using these parameters, we can control the kernel behavior, which provides the necessary resources to the applications. PostgreSQL is a database software application, which needs to communicate to kernel with its system calls, to get its required resources.

How to do it...

Let us discuss about, how to tune few major kernel memory components in Linux:

kernel.shmmax

This setting defines the maximum size limit of a shared memory segment, which limits the processes required segment size. We need to specify the maximum allowed segment size in bytes. It is recommended to set this value as half of the RAM size in the form of bytes.

kernel.shmall

This setting defines the limit on the available shared memory in the system. In general, we need to set this parameter in the form...