[gregjm]

TCMalloc never munmaps, instead it mmap(MAP_FIXED) within unpopulated PROT_NONE regions, and then madvise(MADV_FREE) at page granularity to reduce RSS. Perhaps a similar approach for file I/O could help to dodge the cost of munmap TLB shootdowns after a file has been read, but using MADV_DONTNEED instead of MADV_FREE. There will probably be a shootdown associated with the MADV_DONTNEED, but maybe it will be lower cost than munmap?

You might also just keep around the file mapping until memory/address space pressure requires, and at that point MAP_FIXED over it.