Each of the memory settings are described in the kernel sysctl [1] documentation. The goal is to create a larger margin for user error or lack of memory budget

Each of the memory settings are described in the kernel sysctl [1] documentation. The goal is to create a larger margin for user error or lack of memory budgeting. This often precludes ever needing swap and forces user space applications into the memory that is actually available. [1] - https://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/sysctl/vm.txt https://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/sysctl/vm.txt All of the settings should be calculated per server role and memory capacity after extensive testing of your application settings and performance. > I'm guessing this triggers a reboot for you when the OOM evicts a process? It triggers a panic if you hit OOM, rather than kicking in OOM killer which often leaves a system broken, sticky and confused. This should only be used for ephemeral systems or systems that do batch work and can handle reboots. This requires people to find the root cause of their over-allocation and fix them.