perf(alloc): use jemalloc to reduce memory fragmentation#200
Merged
philippem merged 1 commit intoBlockstream:new-indexfrom Mar 31, 2026
Merged
perf(alloc): use jemalloc to reduce memory fragmentation#200philippem merged 1 commit intoBlockstream:new-indexfrom
philippem merged 1 commit intoBlockstream:new-indexfrom
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Replace the system allocator (glibc malloc) with jemalloc via tikv-jemallocator. Reduces RSS by ~18% by eliminating malloc fragmentation that accumulates over time with RocksDB's allocation patterns.
philippem
approved these changes
Mar 31, 2026
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Summary
tikv-jemallocatorBackground
glibc malloc fragments heavily under RocksDB's allocation pattern of many small, long-lived objects (block cache entries, memtable keys). Over hours of operation, RSS grows well beyond the logical heap size. jemalloc's arena-based allocator
and thread-local caching avoid this fragmentation.
Measured on a production-sized mainnet node (62 GB RAM, 1.45 TB DB):
Test plan
cargo check/cargo buildwith default featurescargo build --features liquid