path: root/man/sd_event_add_memory_pressure.xml

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<refentry id="sd_event_add_memory_pressure" xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude">

  <refentryinfo>
    <title>sd_event_add_memory_pressure</title>
    <productname>systemd</productname>
  </refentryinfo>

  <refmeta>
    <refentrytitle>sd_event_add_memory_pressure</refentrytitle>
    <manvolnum>3</manvolnum>
  </refmeta>

  <refnamediv>
    <refname>sd_event_add_memory_pressure</refname>
    <refname>sd_event_source_set_memory_pressure_type</refname>
    <refname>sd_event_source_set_memory_pressure_period</refname>
    <refname>sd_event_trim_memory</refname>

    <refpurpose>Add and configure an event source run as result of memory pressure</refpurpose>
  </refnamediv>

  <refsynopsisdiv>
    <funcsynopsis>
      <funcsynopsisinfo>#include &lt;systemd/sd-event.h&gt;</funcsynopsisinfo>

      <funcsynopsisinfo><token>typedef</token> struct sd_event_source sd_event_source;</funcsynopsisinfo>

      <funcprototype>
        <funcdef>int <function>sd_event_add_memory_pressure</function></funcdef>
        <paramdef>sd_event *<parameter>event</parameter></paramdef>
        <paramdef>sd_event_source **<parameter>ret_source</parameter></paramdef>
        <paramdef>sd_event_handler_t <parameter>handler</parameter></paramdef>
        <paramdef>void *<parameter>userdata</parameter></paramdef>
      </funcprototype>

      <funcprototype>
        <funcdef>int <function>sd_event_source_set_memory_pressure_type</function></funcdef>
        <paramdef>sd_event_source *<parameter>source</parameter></paramdef>
        <paramdef>const char *<parameter>type</parameter></paramdef>
      </funcprototype>

      <funcprototype>
        <funcdef>int <function>sd_event_source_set_memory_pressure_period</function></funcdef>
        <paramdef>sd_event_source *<parameter>source</parameter></paramdef>
        <paramdef>uint64_t <parameter>threshold_usec</parameter></paramdef>
        <paramdef>uint64_t <parameter>window_usec</parameter></paramdef>
      </funcprototype>

      <funcprototype>
        <funcdef>int <function>sd_event_trim_memory</function></funcdef>
        <paramdef>void</paramdef>
      </funcprototype>
    </funcsynopsis>
  </refsynopsisdiv>

  <refsect1>
    <title>Description</title>

    <para><function>sd_event_add_memory_pressure()</function> adds a new event source that is triggered
    whenever memory pressure is seen. This functionality is built around the Linux kernel's <ulink
    url="https://docs.kernel.org/accounting/psi.html">Pressure Stall Information (PSI)</ulink> logic.</para>

    <para>Expects an event loop object as first parameter, and returns the allocated event source object in
    the second parameter, on success. The <parameter>handler</parameter> parameter is a function to call when
    memory pressure is seen, or <constant>NULL</constant>. The handler function will be passed the
    <parameter>userdata</parameter> pointer, which may be chosen freely by the caller. The handler may return
    negative to signal an error (see below), other return values are ignored. If
    <parameter>handler</parameter> is <constant>NULL</constant>, a default handler that compacts allocation
    caches maintained by <filename>libsystemd</filename> as well as glibc (via <citerefentry
    project='man-pages'><refentrytitle>malloc_trim</refentrytitle><manvolnum>3</manvolnum></citerefentry>)
    will be used.</para>

    <para>To destroy an event source object use
    <citerefentry><refentrytitle>sd_event_source_unref</refentrytitle><manvolnum>3</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
    but note that the event source is only removed from the event loop when all references to the event
    source are dropped. To make sure an event source does not fire anymore, even if it is still referenced,
    disable the event source using
    <citerefentry><refentrytitle>sd_event_source_set_enabled</refentrytitle><manvolnum>3</manvolnum></citerefentry>
    with <constant>SD_EVENT_OFF</constant>.</para>

    <para>If the second parameter of <function>sd_event_add_memory_pressure()</function> is
    <constant>NULL</constant> no reference to the event source object is returned. In this case the event
    source is considered "floating", and will be destroyed implicitly when the event loop itself is
    destroyed.</para>

    <para>The event source will fire according to the following logic:</para>

    <orderedlist>
      <listitem><para>If the
      <varname>$MEMORY_PRESSURE_WATCH</varname>/<varname>$MEMORY_PRESSURE_WRITE</varname> environment
      variables are set at the time the event source is established, it will watch the file, FIFO or AF_UNIX
      socket specified via <varname>$MEMORY_PRESSURE_WATCH</varname> (which must contain an absolute path
      name) for <constant>POLLPRI</constant> (in case it is a regular file) or <constant>POLLIN</constant>
      events (otherwise). After opening the inode, it will write the (decoded) Base64 data provided via
      <varname>$MEMORY_PRESSURE_WRITE</varname> into it before it starts polling on it (the variable may be
      unset in which case this is skipped). Typically, if used, <varname>$MEMORY_PRESSURE_WATCH</varname>
      will contain a path such as <filename>/proc/pressure/memory</filename> or a path to a specific
      <filename>memory.pressure</filename> file in the control group file system
      (cgroupfs).</para></listitem>

      <listitem><para>If these environment variables are not set, the local PSI interface file
      <filename>memory.pressure</filename> of the control group the invoking process is running in is
      used.</para></listitem>

      <listitem><para>If that file does not exist, the system-wide PSI interface file
      <filename>/proc/pressure/memory</filename> is watched instead.</para></listitem>
    </orderedlist>

    <para>Or in other words: preferably any explicit configuration passed in by an invoking service manager
    (or similar) is used as notification source, before falling back to local notifications of the service,
    and finally to global notifications of the system.</para>

    <para>Well-behaving services and applications are recommended to react to memory pressure events by
    executing one or more of the following operations, in order to ensure optimal behaviour even on loaded
    and resource-constrained systems:</para>

    <itemizedlist>
      <listitem><para>Release allocation caches such as <function>malloc_trim()</function> or similar, both
      implemented in the libraries consumed by the program and in private allocation caches of the program
      itself.</para></listitem>

      <listitem><para>Release any other form of in-memory caches that can easily be recovered if
      needed (e.g. browser caches).</para></listitem>

      <listitem><para>Terminate idle worker threads or processes, or similar.</para></listitem>

      <listitem><para>Even exit entirely from the program if it is idle and can be automatically started when
      needed (for example via socket or bus activation).</para></listitem>
    </itemizedlist>

    <para>Any of the suggested operations should help easing memory pressure situations and allowing the
    system to make progress by reclaiming the memory for other purposes.</para>

    <para>This event source typically fires on memory pressure stalls, i.e. when operational latency above a
    configured threshold already has been seen. This should be taken into consideration when discussing
    whether later latency to re-aquire any released resources is acceptable: it's usually more important to
    think of the latencies that already happened than those coming up in future.</para>

    <para>The <function>sd_event_source_set_memory_pressure_type()</function> and
    <function>sd_event_source_set_memory_pressure_period()</function> functions can be used to fine-tune the
    PSI parameters for pressure notifications. The former takes either <literal>some</literal>,
    <literal>full</literal> as second parameter, the latter takes threshold and period times in microseconds
    as parameters. For details about these three parameters see the PSI documentation. Note that these two
    calls must be invoked immediately after allocating the event source, as they must be configured before
    polling begins. Also note that these calls will fail if memory pressure parameterization has been passed
    in via the <varname>$MEMORY_PRESSURE_WATCH</varname>/<varname>$MEMORY_PRESSURE_WRITE</varname>
    environment variables (or in other words: configuration supplied by a service manager wins over internal
    settings).</para>

    <para>The <function>sd_event_trim_memory()</function> function releases various internal allocation
    caches maintained by <filename>libsystemd</filename> and then invokes glibc's <citerefentry
    project='man-pages'><refentrytitle>malloc_trim</refentrytitle><manvolnum>3</manvolnum></citerefentry>. This
    makes the operation executed when the handler function parameter of
    <function>sd_event_add_memory_pressure</function> is passed as <constant>NULL</constant> directly
    accessible for invocation at any time (see above). This function will log a structured log message at
    <constant>LOG_DEBUG</constant> level (with message ID f9b0be465ad540d0850ad32172d57c21) about the memory
    pressure operation.</para>

    <para>For further details see <ulink url="https://systemd.io/MEMORY_PRESSURE">Memory Pressure Handling in
    systemd</ulink>.</para>
  </refsect1>

  <refsect1>
    <title>Return Value</title>

    <para>On success, these functions return 0 or a positive
    integer. On failure, they return a negative errno-style error
    code.</para>

    <refsect2>
      <title>Errors</title>

      <para>Returned errors may indicate the following problems:</para>

      <variablelist>
        <varlistentry>
          <term><constant>-ENOMEM</constant></term>

          <listitem><para>Not enough memory to allocate an object.</para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>

        <varlistentry>
          <term><constant>-EINVAL</constant></term>

          <listitem><para>An invalid argument has been passed.</para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>

        <varlistentry>
          <term><constant>-EHOSTDOWN</constant></term>

          <listitem><para>The <varname>$MEMORY_PRESSURE_WATCH</varname> variable has been set to the literal
          string <filename>/dev/null</filename>, in order to explicitly disable memory pressure
          handling.</para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>

        <varlistentry>
          <term><constant>-EBADMSG</constant></term>

          <listitem><para>The <varname>$MEMORY_PRESSURE_WATCH</varname> variable has been set to an invalid
          string, for example a relative rather than an absolute path.</para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>

        <varlistentry>
          <term><constant>-ENOTTY</constant></term>

          <listitem><para>The <varname>$MEMORY_PRESSURE_WATCH</varname> variable points to a regular file
          outside of the procfs or cgroupfs file systems.</para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>

        <varlistentry>
          <term><constant>-EOPNOTSUPP</constant></term>

          <listitem><para>No configuration via <varname>$MEMORY_PRESSURE_WATCH</varname> has been specified
          and the local kernel does not support the PSI interface.</para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>

        <varlistentry>
          <term><constant>-EBUSY</constant></term>

          <listitem><para>This is returned by <function>sd_event_source_set_memory_pressure_type()</function>
          and <function>sd_event_source_set_memory_pressure_period()</function> if invoked on event sources
          at a time later than immediately after allocating them.</para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>

        <varlistentry>
          <term><constant>-ESTALE</constant></term>

          <listitem><para>The event loop is already terminated.</para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>

        <varlistentry>
          <term><constant>-ECHILD</constant></term>

          <listitem><para>The event loop has been created in a different process.</para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>

        <varlistentry>
          <term><constant>-EDOM</constant></term>

          <listitem><para>The passed event source is not a signal event source.</para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>

      </variablelist>
    </refsect2>
  </refsect1>

  <xi:include href="libsystemd-pkgconfig.xml" />

  <refsect1>
    <title>See Also</title>

    <para>
      <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
      <citerefentry><refentrytitle>sd-event</refentrytitle><manvolnum>3</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
      <citerefentry><refentrytitle>sd_event_new</refentrytitle><manvolnum>3</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
      <citerefentry><refentrytitle>sd_event_add_io</refentrytitle><manvolnum>3</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
      <citerefentry><refentrytitle>sd_event_add_time</refentrytitle><manvolnum>3</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
      <citerefentry><refentrytitle>sd_event_add_child</refentrytitle><manvolnum>3</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
      <citerefentry><refentrytitle>sd_event_add_inotify</refentrytitle><manvolnum>3</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
      <citerefentry><refentrytitle>sd_event_add_defer</refentrytitle><manvolnum>3</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
      <citerefentry><refentrytitle>sd_event_source_set_enabled</refentrytitle><manvolnum>3</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
      <citerefentry><refentrytitle>sd_event_source_set_description</refentrytitle><manvolnum>3</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
      <citerefentry><refentrytitle>sd_event_source_set_userdata</refentrytitle><manvolnum>3</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
      <citerefentry><refentrytitle>sd_event_source_set_floating</refentrytitle><manvolnum>3</manvolnum></citerefentry>
    </para>
  </refsect1>

</refentry>