Cgroups
Cgroups (control groups) is a Linux kernel feature that allows limiting, prioritizing, and accounting for resource usage (CPU, memory, disk I/O, network) of groups of processes. It provides a mechanism for resource isolation and management, enabling fine-grained control over system resources for applications or containers. Cgroups is a fundamental building block for containerization technologies like Docker and Kubernetes.
Developers should learn Cgroups when working with Linux-based systems, especially for containerization, virtualization, or resource management tasks. It is essential for building and managing containers to ensure fair resource allocation, prevent resource starvation, and improve system stability. Use cases include limiting memory usage for applications, controlling CPU shares in multi-tenant environments, and implementing resource quotas in cloud infrastructure.