Dynamic selection of memory virtualization techniques

Abstract

A computer system may be configured to dynamically select a memory virtualization and corresponding virtual-to-physical address translation technique during execution of an application and to dynamically employ the selected technique in place of a current technique without re-initializing the application. The computer system may be configured to determine that a current address translation technique incurs a high overhead for the application's current workload and may be configured to select a different technique dependent on various performance criteria and/or a user policy. Dynamically employing the selected technique may include reorganizing a memory, reorganizing a translation table, allocating a different block of memory to the application, changing a page or segment size, or moving to or from a page-based, segment-based, or function-based address translation technique. A selected translation technique may be dynamically employed for the application independent of a translation technique employed for a different application.