Re: Swap

["François Cami" <stilgar2k@wanadoo.fr>]

J.A. Magallon wrote:


> Yes, a box without swap runs faster, but if you *don't do anything* with it. The test
> shown in previous mails had a ton of apps opened *doing nothing*. Try do do
> a grep several times on the kernel source tree for example in that scenario.
> Or a kernel build. They will be dog slow (all the tries). Try the same on
> a box with swap, the second time much things are cached and it flies.

I tend to both agree and disagree with you.


fact :
I don't use more than 350MB of my 512MB for apps (and that's a
worst case scenario), and I guess than 150MB of RAM is enough
for caching, at least in my case.

I agree that a box that uses 99% of its RAM for apps
will be dog slow ; but I simply have to disagree with
swapping apps I *use* when 66% of my RAM is free.
Have you tried pulling openoffice from swap to RAM ?
If doing a second [and third, and so on] grep on the kernel source
tree is dog slow without swap, pulling openoffice from swap is
*snail* slow.

François