Emacs+sdb+BIG PROGRAM => SV paging trashing (a bug?)

[Kim F. Storm]

Background:  System V.3.1.1 on a 3B2/600, 4Mb of memory

We get the message

	NOTICE: getcpages - waiting for 1 contiguous pages

in /usr/adm/errlog regularly, and sometimes with an frequency of
zillions pr seconds (we have seen the log file group by 2Mb in a few
minutes).  At times it also waits for two or three pages.

Reproduced by:

	Run a >1Mb program (compiled with -g) inside sdb(SV) in
	an emacs(GNU) window.

	Kill it when you are tired of waiting for it to start up and
	have a look at /usr/adm/errlog.
	

I guess that we have too little memory it that little beauty, but 
there are no hints in the sysadm guide whether there is some tuneable
parameter that can make it perform better (this NOTICE is not documented!)

But is 1 emacs + 1 sdb + 1 big program really enough to make SV paging
trashing?  At least I think that it is a bug that it makes way too many
"NOTICE"s about this condition!  It seems as if the system is using
more time to write these messages to the disk than to swap some pages
out to make room for the required "1 pages".

What is going on?

--
Kim F. Storm, storm at ambush.dk (or ..!mcvax!ambush!storm)
AmbraSoft A/S, Rojelskaer 15, DK-2840 Holte, Denmark.  tel: +45 2424 111

		No news is good news, but nn is better!