OK, but that still doesn't account for the relatively large increase
from 2.6.18 -> 2.6.26. You're using HZ=100 in both cases, I presume.
The other variable is NOHZ and highres timers. You could try turning
those off in 2.6.26. Also, CONFIG_PREEMPT could well make a
difference. 2.6.18-xen doesn't support CONFIG_PREEMPT at all, but
pvops(-xen) does.
J
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