Update README on allocators

[redis.git] / README

diff --git a/README b/README
index 31d22e607e18cae577d74ceae6d6946bb4d14e55..3920b53428416c8d16c431ea8daa11cdba47cc42 100644 (file)
--- a/README
+++ b/README
@@ -2,8 +2,7 @@ Where to find complete Redis documentation?
 -------------------------------------------
 
 This README is just a fast "quick start" document. You can find more detailed
-documentation here: http://redis.io/documentation
-
+documentation at http://redis.io
 
 Building Redis
 --------------
@@ -12,19 +11,42 @@ It is as simple as:
 
     % make
 
-Redis is just a single binary, but if you want to install it you can use
-the "make install" target that will copy the binary to /usr/local/bin
-by default. You can also use "make PREFIX=/some/other/directory install"
-if you wish to use a different destination.
-
 You can run a 32 bit Redis binary using:
 
     % make 32bit
 
-After you build Redis is a good idea to test it (which require Tcl), using:
+After building Redis is a good idea to test it, using:
 
     % make test
 
+NOTE: if after building Redis with a 32 bit target you need to rebuild it
+      with a 64 bit target you need to perform a "make clean" in the root
+      directory of the Redis distribution.
+
+Allocator
+---------
+
+Selecting a non-default memory allocator when building Redis is done by setting
+the `MALLOC` environment variable. Redis is compiled and linked against libc
+malloc by default, with the exception of jemalloc being the default on Linux
+systems. This default was picked because jemalloc has proven to have fewer
+fragmentation problems than libc malloc.
+
+To force compiling against libc malloc, use:
+
+    % make MALLOC=libc
+
+To compile against jemalloc on Mac OS X systems, use:
+
+    % make MALLOC=jemalloc
+
+Verbose build
+-------------
+
+Redis will build with a user friendly colorized output by default.
+If you want to see a more verbose output use the following:
+
+    % make V=1
 
 Running Redis
 -------------
@@ -40,7 +62,6 @@ parameter (the path of the configuration file):
     % cd src
     % ./redis-server /path/to/redis.conf
 
-
 Playing with Redis
 ------------------
 
@@ -65,4 +86,30 @@ You can find the list of all the available commands here:
 
     http://redis.io/commands
 
+Installing Redis
+-----------------
+
+In order to install Redis binaries into /usr/local/bin just use:
+
+    % make install
+
+You can use "make PREFIX=/some/other/directory install" if you wish to use a
+different destination.
+
+Make install will just install binaries in your system, but will not configure
+init scripts and configuration files in the appropriate place. This is not
+needed if you want just to play a bit with Redis, but if you are installing
+it the proper way for a production system, we have a script doing this
+for Ubuntu and Debian systems:
+
+    % cd utils
+    % ./install_server
+
+The script will ask you a few questions and will setup everything you need
+to run Redis properly as a background daemon that will start again on
+system reboots.
+
+You'll be able to stop and start Redis using the script named
+/etc/init.d/redis_<portnumber>, for instance /etc/init.d/redis_6379.
+
 Enjoy!