[Xen-users] confusion over memory, maxmem, balloon, etc

[Daniel Goertzen <goertzen@xxxxxxxx>]

My goal for my xen setup is to allow the dom0 and domU to "share" 
memory, meaning that occasionally one of the domains will hog ram for a 
short time and then relinquish it so it can be used for other domains.  
I get the impression that xen can handle this, but I'm having a hell of 
a time getting straight information.
What does the "memory" parameter in a domU config file actually mean?  
Is this an amount of physical ram that is permanently reserved for the 
domU?  Is this a minimum setting?  Maximum setting?  Is this the same 
parameter as dom0_mem param given to xen?
What exactly is the role of the balloon driver?  Is this always present 
in the xen linux kernel or do I have to do something to turn it on?  Is 
it something I need to control?  Does it behave the same in dom0 and 
domU kernels?
What is the dom0_min_mem parameter?  How is it set?  Do domU's have this 
too?
When I type "xm list --long" I see a parameter called "maxmem".  What 
does that mean?  How is it set?  I note that "xm list" will show maxmem 
as say 512, but "xm top" will show "no limit"???
I apologize for the barrage of questions, but the fragments of 
information I have been finding just leave me more confused and frustrated.
Thanks,
Dan.

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