[Bug 1489220] [NEW] Dramatic increase in RAM usage when viewing several videos in a row

[Serhiy Zahoriya]

Public bug reported:

I guess the reason is that Firefox doesn't delete huge cached video
files from already closed pages/history and Linux is still keeping them
in cached-disk RAM which leads to quick plummeting into swap and
overwhelmingly reduced performance.

Steps to reproduce:
View several [long] videos on Vimeo/Youtube in a row.
System starts going into swap after several videos which is really uncomfortable on a 5400-rpm HDD.
Restart Firefox.
The video that was playing before the restart will easily be played and everything is okay unless you decide to watch more videos in a row.

vm.swappiness = 25

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 15.04
Package: firefox 40.0+build4-0ubuntu0.15.04.4
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.19.0-26.28-generic 3.19.8-ckt4
Uname: Linux 3.19.0-26-generic x86_64
AddonCompatCheckDisabled: False
ApportVersion: 2.17.2-0ubuntu1.3
Architecture: amd64
AudioDevicesInUse:
 USER        PID ACCESS COMMAND
 /dev/snd/controlC0:  int        1583 F.... pulseaudio
BuildID: 20150819100530
Channel: Unavailable
CurrentDesktop: KDE
Date: Thu Aug 27 04:20:26 2015
Extensions: extensions.sqlite corrupt or missing
ForcedLayersAccel: False
IfupdownConfig:
 # interfaces(5) file used by ifup(8) and ifdown(8)
 auto lo
 iface lo inet loopback
 #auto eth0
 #iface eth0 inet dhcp
IncompatibleExtensions: Unavailable (corrupt or non-existant compatibility.ini or extensions.sqlite)
IpRoute:
 default via 192.168.0.1 dev ra0  proto static  metric 1024 
 169.254.0.0/16 dev ra0  scope link  metric 1000 
 192.168.0.0/24 dev ra0  proto kernel  scope link  src 192.168.0.3
Locales: extensions.sqlite corrupt or missing
Plugins:
 IcedTea-Web Plugin (using IcedTea-Web 1.5.2 (1.5.2-1ubuntu2)) - /usr/lib/jvm/java-7-openjdk-amd64/jre/lib/amd64/IcedTeaPlugin.so (icedtea-7-plugin)
 Google Talk Plugin Video Renderer - /opt/google/talkplugin/libnpo1d.so (google-talkplugin)
 Google Talk Plugin - /opt/google/talkplugin/libnpgoogletalk.so (google-talkplugin)
 Shockwave Flash - /usr/lib/adobe-flashplugin/libflashplayer.so (adobe-flashplugin)
PrefSources:
 prefs.js
 [Profile]/extensions/kwallet at guillermo.molina/defaults/preferences/prefs.js
Profiles: Profile0 (Default) - LastVersion=40.0/20150819100530 (In use)
RelatedPackageVersions:
 icedtea-7-plugin  1.5.2-1ubuntu2
 google-talkplugin 5.41.0.0-1
 adobe-flashplugin 1:20150811.1-0vivid1
RunningIncompatibleAddons: False
SourcePackage: firefox
Themes: extensions.sqlite corrupt or missing
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
dmi.bios.date: 06/09/2013
dmi.bios.vendor: American Megatrends Inc.
dmi.bios.version: X502CA.209
dmi.board.asset.tag: ATN12345678901234567
dmi.board.name: X502CA
dmi.board.vendor: ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC.
dmi.board.version: 1.0
dmi.chassis.asset.tag: No Asset Tag
dmi.chassis.type: 10
dmi.chassis.vendor: ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC.
dmi.chassis.version: 1.0
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnAmericanMegatrendsInc.:bvrX502CA.209:bd06/09/2013:svnASUSTeKCOMPUTERINC.:pnX502CA:pvr1.0:rvnASUSTeKCOMPUTERINC.:rnX502CA:rvr1.0:cvnASUSTeKCOMPUTERINC.:ct10:cvr1.0:
dmi.product.name: X502CA
dmi.product.version: 1.0
dmi.sys.vendor: ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC.

** Affects: firefox (Ubuntu)
     Importance: Undecided
         Status: New


** Tags: amd64 apport-bug vivid

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Title:
  Dramatic increase in RAM usage when viewing several videos in a row

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