Re: [Patch 1/1] init: Provide a kernel start parameter to increase pid_max v2

[Linus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org>]

On Thu, 22 Apr 2010, Alan Cox wrote:
>
> > Distros don't want to take a patch that adds a new boot param that is
> > not accepted upstream, otherwise they will be stuck forward porting it
> > from now until, well, forever :)
> 
> So for an obscure IA64 specific problem you want the upstream kernel to
> port it forward forever instead ?

Ehh. Nobody does ia64 any more. It's dead, Jim.

This is x86. SGI finally long ago gave up on the Intel/HP clusterf*ck.

Which I'm not entirely sure makes the case for the kernel parameter much 
stronger, though. I wonder if it's not more appropriate to just have a 
total hack saying

	if (max_pids < N * max_cpus) {
		printk("We have %d CPUs, increasing max_pids to %d\n");
		max_pids = N*max_cpus;
	}

where "N" is just some random fudge-factor. It's reasonable to expect a 
certain minimum number of processes per CPU, after all.

		Linus