[TriLUG] SWAP size vs physical RAM size

[Joseph Mack NA3T]

On Tue, 7 Aug 2007, Brian Henning wrote:

> Hi Gang,
>
> I built a server some time ago.  When I built it, it had 2GB physical
> RAM, so I created a swap partition 4GB in size (somewhere along the way
> I picked up swap = 2x physical as a rule of thumb).  I'm about to
> upgrade the RAM to at least 4GB; possibly 6 or 10 GB (depending on the
> capabilities of the motherboard).  It's not a simple matter at this
> point to create a 8 - 20 GB swap partition (until other hardware
> upgrades are made), so my question is, how crucial is it to have a swap
> file a lot larger than the physical ram space?

not at all. You need RAM+SWAP to be greater than the memory 
needs for any combination of jobs you'll ever run. You've 
already shown that your mix of jobs can fit into 2+4=6G. If 
you then go to 6G of RAM, without changing your job mix, you 
won't need any swap at all.

Joe

-- 
Joseph Mack NA3T EME(B,D), FM05lw North Carolina
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