Windows 10 memory management changes to give Hyper-V more headroom

The Register's virtualization desk is back from holidays, just in time to report changes to desktop Hyper-V before they go completely stale. Desktop Hyper-V is a Windows 10 feature that offers users the chance to create and run virtual machines on the Windows desktop, a task for which plenty instead turn to Oracle's free …

[AMBxx]

My wish list

I just wish I could change all VM settings while a VM is running with them just taking effect on the next reboot of the VM. Works for SQL Server, I don't see why it's not in HyperV. Just need 2 values - current running and default.

[Hans 1]

>Which isn’t to say you’ll never run out of memory but now the amount of memory shown in task manager accurately reflects the amount available for starting virtual machines.

When was task manager patched ? It has been showing bogus data since Windows XP, iirc, in Windows 2000 it was correct ... and that was the last time.

Thanks for the laugh!

[Sandtitz]

@Hans 1

"It has been showing bogus data since Windows XP, iirc"

No it hasn't.

[Bronek Kozicki]

Running Linux on top of Windows hypervisor ...

... is like pouring milk before hot water when making a tea. Getting there, but in the wrong order.

[quxinot]

Re: Running Linux on top of Windows hypervisor ...

>... is like pouring milk before hot water when making a tea. Getting there, but in the wrong order.<

I'm American. I have no idea if I'm supposed to upvote you or downvote you.

Sorry, I'm fitting all the stereotypes right now. :(

[Ammaross Danan]

Re: Running Linux on top of Windows hypervisor ...

@quxinot: think of it kind of like adding cream to coffee. Maybe that will help. ;)

@OP: Windows as the base environment is useful for high-intensity apps that benefit from being closer to the metal (video rendering comes to mind). While Windows is more-frequently in need of reboots, it is more performance-demanding in many deskwork situations that it would be used for than a common Linux environment.

[Anonymous Coward]

Hmm...

"In Windows 10, you’re probably running several applications (web browsers, text editors, chat clients, etc) and most of them will reserve more memory than they’re actively using."

Whilst I can't help wondering why they can't just allocate the memory that they need, requesting more if/when they need it, it does explain a few things.

It's difficult not to interpret that as an admission of laziness and poor coding over effort and design.

[Shaha Alam]

Re: Hmm...

depends, is it more efficient to grab 100k of memory and gradually fill it as needed or keep making requests for more memory and accepting the overhead each time?

it really does depend on the application and use case. application optimisation usually results in some tradeoffs.

[cambsukguy]

Re: Hmm...

I can see Word adding a new request for memory every time you typed a character.

I suspect most coders, including me, allocate some space for a task, often the most they might reasonably expect to be used by most users.

This allocation is then extended when needed, using whatever algorithm seems reasonable, another block the same size, a percentage of the original, increasing in size as demand increases etc.

There is no easy, simple solution to any of these problems, memory, security etc. If it was easy and simple then most, if not all programmers, would avoid the pitfalls we see all the time.