[$] Memory: the flat, the discontiguous, and the sparse

The physical memory in a computer system is a precious resource, so alot of effort has been put into managing it effectively. This task is mademore difficult by the complexity of the memory architecture on contemporarysystems. There are severallayers of abstraction that deal with the details of how physical memoryis laid out; one of those is simply called the "memory model". Thereare three models supported in the kernel, but one of them is on its wayout. As a way of understanding this change, this article willtake a closer look at the evolution of the kernel's memory models,their current state, and their possible future.