serialize.1 (2010 09)

s
serialize(1) serialize(1)
NAME
serialize - force target process to run serially with other processes
SYNOPSIS
serialize command [command_args ]
serialize [-t][-p
pid]
DESCRIPTION
The
serialize command is used to force the target process to run serially with other processes also
marked by this command. The target process can be referred to by pid value, or it can be invoked
directly on the command. Once a process has been marked by
serialize, the process stays marked
until process completion unless
serialize is reissued on the serialized process with the
-t option. The
-t option causes the pid specified with the
-p option to return to normal timeshare scheduling algo-
rithms.
This call is used to improve process throughput, since process throughput usually increases for large
processes when they are executed serially instead of allowing each program to run for only a short period
of time. By running large processes one at a time, the system makes more efficient use of the CPU as well
as system memory, since each process does not end up constantly faulting in its working set, to only have
the pages stolen when another process starts running. As long as there is enough memory in the system,
processes marked by
serialize behave no differently from other processes in the system. However,
once memory becomes tight, processes marked by serialize are run one at a time with the highest
priority processes being run first. Each process will run for a finite interval of time before another serial-
ized process is allowed to run.
Options
serialize supports the following options:
-t Indicates the process specified by pid should be returned to timeshare scheduling.
-p Indicates the pid of the target process.
If neither option is specified,
serialize is invoked on the command line passed in.
RETURN VALUE
serialize returns the following value:
0 Successful completion.
1 Invalid pid specification, nonnumeric entry, or pid specification is that of a special system pro-
cess.
2 Could not execute the specified command.
3 No such process.
4 Must be root or a member of a group having the SERIALIZE privilege to execute serial-
ize.
ERRORS
serialize fails under the following condition and sets errno (see errno (2)) to the following value:
[ESRCH] The pid passed in does not exist.
EXAMPLES
Use
serialize to force a database application to run serially with other processes marked for serializa-
tion:
serialize database_app
Force a currently running process with a pid value of 215 to run serially with other processes marked for
serialization:
serialize -p 215
Return a process previously marked for serialization to normal timeshare scheduling. The pid of the tar-
get process for this example is 174:
serialize -t -p 174
HP-UX 11i Version 3: September 2010 − 1 − Hewlett-Packard Company 1