> shouldn't swap size be ram/2 rather than ram x 2?
> like if you already have a large amnt. of ram,
> then the chances of swap being used would be slimmer,
> so why is there a need for 2x swap ?
There's really no hard and fast rule. Firstly, though, the 2x rule
(actually more like 2xRAM + 10%) is a BSDism, used because the swap
partitions on some versions of Unix are used like 'backing store' -
or are there to keep a copy of what is already in memory.
Linux doesn't use swap partitions in this fashion, and swap partitions,
where present, are simply additive - they just add to the total memory
footprint you can have.
Other people have opined that 32 RAM / 32 swap is a good rule of thumb,
but as any rule of thumb goes, it may be not enough, or may be too much
for some. Always try to err on the side of excess in sizing swap files,
since Linux doesn't like it much when memory is exhausted -- and it
seems frighteningly easy sometimes to eatup memory, especially with
apps like Netscape Communicator, StarOffice, and other huge
apps. But don't just think that these are the culprits: other apps
and tools can be deceptive in their memory usage. gcc can eat up
large spaces; so can awk, perl, and your newsreader, if given a
group with a ton of articles in it.
>From my perspective, starting Linux on a system with 4 megs of RAM,
then upgrading to 8, then later 16, and finally fat, dumb, and
happy :) with 48 megs, I think that the need for swap space is
rather great when not enough main memory is present (which is
as it should be) and the need for swap further diminishes as RAM
goes up, and then goes asymptotic (approaches 0, if my use of the
term is correct) once you reach a certain point. So, for instance, one
might need 4xRAM if you have <8 megs, and then only 2xRAM when you
get to 32 megs. On my system at least, with 4 megs, I started with
a 16 (more or less) meg swap, and kept that for a while even after
I upgraded to 8 megs. But then my usages changed somewhat, and I
found myself needing more than that (especially with X and Accelerated
X and that sort of thing).
I'm using 64 megs of swap with 48 megs of RAM, which should be
sufficient for the near future. There's always something that'll
need more than that, of course. (For instance, I hear "horror
stories" from time to time about how gcc needed ~400 megs of
VM to compile something.) :_)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
David E. Fox Tax Thanks for letting me
[EMAIL PROTECTED] the change magnetic patterns
[EMAIL PROTECTED] churches on your hard disk.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
--
PLEASE read the Red Hat FAQ, Tips, Errata and the MAILING LIST ARCHIVES!
http://www.redhat.com/RedHat-FAQ /RedHat-Errata /RedHat-Tips /mailing-lists
To unsubscribe: mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] with
"unsubscribe" as the Subject.
