MEMORY PIECE CATEGORIZATION

• US 20080104152A1
• Filed: 10/27/2006
• Published: 05/01/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Stephens, Arlie, Hamilton, Eric
• Granted Patent: US 8,271,550 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/023 Free address space management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0253 Garbage collection, i.e. reclamation of unreferenced memory

Abstract

A memory management system for managing memory of a processing device and a corresponding method thereof are described. The system comprises a memory manager and a garbage collector. The memory manager is configured to allocate memory after dividing discrete units of memory into smaller units. The garbage collector is configured to organize a memory availability collection of free units of memory in the memory manager. The collection is ordered based on at least one of the amount of each of the discrete units available and the allocation age of the discrete units.

Claims

1. A memory management system for managing memory of a processing device, comprising:

a memory manager configured to allocate memory after dividing discrete units of memory into smaller units; and

a garbage collector, wherein said garbage collector is configured to organize a memory availability collection of free units of memory in said memory manager, said collection ordered based on at least one of the amount of each of said discrete units available and the allocation age of the discrete units.

2. A memory management system as recited in claim 1, wherein said memory manager is configured to allocate memory based on said collection order.

3. A memory management system as recited in claim 1, wherein said garbage collector organizes said memory availability by dividing said collection into at least two categories.

4. A memory management system as recited in claim 3, wherein said at least two categories are defined by a portion of said discrete memory unit available in said free memory.

5. A memory management system as recited in claim 3, wherein said garbage collector tracks the number of available subunits of each of said discrete units in said collection.

6. A memory management system as recited in claim 1, wherein said collection is ordered based on the allocation age for which the longest lived smaller units within said discrete units have been allocated.

7. A memory management system as recited in claim 1, wherein a low level memory manager is configured to allocate memory in discrete units provides memory to said memory manager.

8. A computer-implemented method of allocating memory comprising:

receiving a request for unallocated memory;

selecting an appropriate piece of available memory from a collection of available memory pieces, wherein one or more memory pieces comprise a memory page and wherein said selection is based on choosing a memory piece from the page of memory having at least one of;

(a) the smallest unallocated portion of memory in said collection of available memory pieces that satisfies said request and (b) the longest lived allocation age of a memory piece; and

allocating said appropriate piece of memory.

9. A computer-implemented method as recited in claim 8, further comprising:

dividing at least one unallocated page of memory into subunits and wherein said available memory pieces consist of said subunits.

11. A computer-implemented method as recited in claim 9, wherein said subunits are a binary fraction of at least one page of memory.

12. A computer-implemented method as recited in claim 8, further comprising:

ordering said collection of available memory pieces based on the portion of each of all pages of memory available in said collection.

13. A computer-implemented method as recited in claim 12, wherein said ordering of pieces of available memory is from least available portion to most available portion, whereby pieces of memory from said most available portion of a page of memory are allocated last.

10. A computer-implemented method as recited in claim 10, wherein said division of a page of memory is in response to said request, wherein said selecting does not provide enough subunits of a single page to respond to said request.

14. A method for managing memory in a device having a processor, comprising:

associating portions of unallocated memory with one of a set of pages of memory; and

categorizing said memory based on at least one of the amount of unallocated memory available from said one of said set of pages of memory and the allocation age of an allocated memory from said one of said set of pages of memory.

15. A method as recited in claim 14, further comprising:

allocating categorized memory from the least available portions of said set of pages first.

16. The method as recited in claim 14, further comprising:

determining that a process that was using allocated memory has deallocated said allocated memory prior to said associating.

17. The method as recited in claim 16, further comprising:

associating said released memory before performing said categorizing.

18. A method as recited in claim 15, further comprising generating sublists from said available memory, wherein each said sublist has an indicator being for said portion of a page available.

19. A method as recited in claim 18, wherein said indicator is a range of portions of memory available from each page.

20. A method as recited claim 14, wherein an index is associated with the amount of a particular memory page that remains available for allocation.

21. A memory or a computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to receive a request for unallocated memory;

select an appropriate piece of available memory from a collection of available memory pieces, wherein one or more memory pieces comprise a memory page and wherein said selection is based on choosing a memory piece from at least one of;

(a) the page of memory having the smallest unallocated portion of memory in said collection of available memory pieces that satisfies said request and (b) the page of memory having a memory piece having the longest lived allocation age; and

allocate said appropriate piece of memory.

22. A memory or a computer-readable medium as recited in claim 21 storing further instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to associate portions of unallocated memory with one of a set of pages of memory;

and categorize said memory based on the amount of unallocated memory available from said one of said pages of memory.