Answer: Any practical application would use tmpfs.
A related list post about a RAM disk vs. tmpfs from December is here:
http://lists2.linuxjournal.com/pipermail/linux-list/2009-December/031302.html
(RAM disk was the predecessor to ramfs.)
From http://wiki.debian.org/ramfs :
"One downside of ramfs is you can keep writing data into it until you
fill up all memory, and the VM can't free it because the VM thinks that
files +should get written to backing store (rather than swap space), but
ramfs hasn't got any backing store. Because of this, only root (or a
trusted user) should be allowed write access to a ramfs mount."
--Derek
On 04/14/2010 03:22 PM, William Kreuter wrote:
In, at least, RHEL 4 with a 2.6 kernel, when does
one choose ramfs instead of tmpfs, or vice versa?
They both enforce a maximum memory usage, don't
they?
One difference I see is that by default, userland
has write permission with tmpfs, but not ramfs. I'm
not sure what to conclude from that.
Billy
