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DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ECRTS.2026.15

BRUMM: A Case for Predictable Memory Reclamation

Authors: Viktor Reusch, Michael Roitzsch, and Horst Schirmeier

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 375, 38th European Conference on Real-Time Systems (ECRTS 2026)

Abstract

Edge data centers process latency-sensitive workloads of nearby Internet-of-Things devices. These security-critical, multi-tenant environments are equipped with comparatively limited compute resources. Consequently, resource management must be fast and predictable even in the presence of malicious tenants because there is no surplus of resources to compensate for performance attacks. In particular, there is a need to constrain the time it takes to reclaim memory from applications. Existing accounting mechanisms in operating systems focus on limiting memory or scheduling-time usage; they provide no guarantees about the latency of resource reclamation, which can vary greatly and is a potential vector for performance attacks. To solve this standing issue, we introduce BRUMM (Bounded Reclamation of User-space Memory Mappings): This accounting-driven mechanism predicts and tracks how long it will take to reclaim memory allocated to applications, enforcing an upper limit via a configurable latency budget. As a case study, we extended the L4Re microkernel to add a quota object for reclamation latency and enforce its limit. Our evaluation demonstrates that this implementation of BRUMM achieves a consistent overestimation of reclamation latency, staying within the same order of magnitude to real, measured latencies. The implementation only shows modest performance overhead on kernel operations, ranging from 2.4% overhead for simple system calls to 28% in synthetic worst-case scenarios. BRUMM makes reclamation latency a first-class resource that can be accounted for, thereby improving isolation and reliability in edge clouds.

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Viktor Reusch, Michael Roitzsch, and Horst Schirmeier. BRUMM: A Case for Predictable Memory Reclamation. In 38th European Conference on Real-Time Systems (ECRTS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 375, pp. 15:1-15:24, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{reusch_et_al:LIPIcs.ECRTS.2026.15,
  author =	{Reusch, Viktor and Roitzsch, Michael and Schirmeier, Horst},
  title =	{{BRUMM: A Case for Predictable Memory Reclamation}},
  booktitle =	{38th European Conference on Real-Time Systems (ECRTS 2026)},
  pages =	{15:1--15:24},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-429-1},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{375},
  editor =	{Kritikakou, Angeliki},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ECRTS.2026.15},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-266072},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ECRTS.2026.15},
  annote =	{Keywords: Resource Reclamation, Main Memory, Accounting, Operating System, Microkernel, Capability, L4Re}
}

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Artifact

DOI: 10.4230/DARTS.12.2.3

BRUMM: A Case for Predictable Memory Reclamation (Artifact)

Authors: Viktor Reusch, Michael Roitzsch, and Horst Schirmeier

Published in: DARTS, Volume 12, Issue 2, Special Issue of the 38th European Conference on Real-Time Systems (ECRTS 2026)

Abstract

This artifact contains all source code material that has been created for the paper: "BRUMM: A Case for Predictable Memory Reclamation". BRUMM is a mechanism for accounting for the predicted reclamation latency of user-space memory mappings. It enables the system operator to limit reclamation latency via configurable, per-process-group budgets. A prototype of BRUMM has been implemented in the L4Re microkernel-based operating system. The artifact includes the modified L4Re sources, the benchmark programs, and the evaluation scripts for generating plots. This artifact description provides details about the artifact and how to get started reproducing the paper’s results.

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Viktor Reusch, Michael Roitzsch, and Horst Schirmeier. BRUMM: A Case for Predictable Memory Reclamation (Artifact). In Special Issue of the 38th European Conference on Real-Time Systems (ECRTS 2026). Dagstuhl Artifacts Series (DARTS), Volume 12, Issue 2, pp. 3:1-3:3, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@Article{reusch_et_al:DARTS.12.2.3,
  author =	{Reusch, Viktor and Roitzsch, Michael and Schirmeier, Horst},
  title =	{{BRUMM: A Case for Predictable Memory Reclamation (Artifact)}},
  pages =	{3:1--3:3},
  journal =	{Dagstuhl Artifacts Series},
  ISSN =	{2509-8195},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{12},
  number =	{2},
  editor =	{Reusch, Viktor and Roitzsch, Michael and Schirmeier, Horst},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/DARTS.12.2.3},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-266202},
  doi =		{10.4230/DARTS.12.2.3},
  annote =	{Keywords: Resource Reclamation, Main Memory, Accounting, Operating System, Microkernel, Capability, L4Re}
}

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BRUMM: A Case for Predictable Memory Reclamation

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BRUMM: A Case for Predictable Memory Reclamation (Artifact)

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