swap question

[sirmax]

I was thinking...

i have a desktop PC and a notebook
my notebook have only 96 MB ram, knoppix ask me to make a swap file, now my question...
what would be faster a swap file or a swap partition???

Thanks in advance for all your time

[rickenbacherus]

As a rule of thumb, primary swap space would be on a swap partition.
If you use an non-journaled file system then you run the risk of having a fragmented swap file. A swap file is usually used if temporary swap space is needed. Why?

When swaping to a swap file it first must decide where to write, in order to do that you have to:
-Find out where the file is.
-Find the correct cluster that the blocks belong in.
-Write the files there, BUT
-If it's bigger than one cluster it has to find the next cluster.
-Then it write in that cluster.
-It will continue writing to and finding clusters until it finishes.

There is one advantage to a swap file however. Should you wanted to increase your swap size you can do it without changing the partition table.

With a swap partition there's less work involved. A swap partition basically writes wherever it wants to. Should you have two or more drives I always put a swap partition on a seperate disk, that way you can reduce seek times. Additionally a swap partition placed on the outside of the disk is faster due to the increased speed found on the outside edge of the disk. If you use imaging software for example or compile programs it could make a big difference but if you just do general day to day things it might not be a noticeable improvement.

But that's just my 2 cents worth.

[VeeDubb]

In that case, when I install the copy of Mandrake I hope to be recieveing soo would you reccomend that I get rid of the swap partition I have on my primary Hard drive and replace it with my 500MB secondary HDD that is currently running DOS 6.22?

[rickenbacherus]

I'm sure that whomever is sending you that MDK set is very reliable.

Actually I might use Knoppix 3.2 and the included partimage software to copy DOS to a second or third partition on my second hard drive then make my swap partition on the outside edge of the second hard drive. If you've ever used cfdisk you'll know how easy this would be to do. If you've got the space DOS is never a bad idea IMHO.

[VeeDubb]

Got the space? Untill 2 years ago, my father's primary computer was a packard Bell 386, no math co-processor with 8MB or RAM (upgraded from 1MB three years ago) and a, now read close, a 40MBHDD that is 4-0. Not 4-0-0, just 40MB. It RAN DOS 6.22 like mobodies bussiness.

EVERYONE has room for a DOS partition. As for reliable, I don't know, the guy seemed kind of crazy

[Dave_Bechtel]

--No I would not, and here's why:

--Linux can have multiple swap areas, whether they are files or partitions. You can add swap files on the fly, all you have to do is mkswap on the filename and swapon. This is from my machine:

swapon -s
Filename                        Type            Size    Used    Priority
/dev/hdb5                       partition       72252   19636   3
/dev/hda3                       partition       265064  19644   3
/dev/sdb2                       partition       72252   0       2

--Knoppix in particular looks for a file called "knoppix.swp" - if found, it will activate it in addition to any other swap partitions you have.

--Also, that ancient 500MB drive is S-L-O-W. Try doing a few hdparm tests against your primary drive and then the 500. (man hdparm) If possible, either connect the 500 to the secondary controller or just remove it and buy a faster/larger drive. I wouldn't use anything less than an 800M anyway (CDR capacity, doncha know) and that only in the extreme case. Find a 486 for that 500.

In that case, when I install the copy of Mandrake I hope to be recieveing soo would you reccomend that I get rid of the swap partition I have on my primary Hard drive and replace it with my 500MB secondary HDD that is currently running DOS 6.22?

[VeeDubb]

That's a good point, though, it's a Western Digital Caviar, not a cheap piece of junk. And the seek times are realy quite low considering.

I also have a 1995 1GB maxtor, a 1992 500MB Maxtor, and a 1995 1.28GB WD Caviar drive. Would one of those be better to use if I realy wan't my swap on a seperate controller? (whitch I do)

I was thinking about using the 1.2 caviar, but it's litle big for a swap drive. (Perfect size for Windows 95 though) And I'm a litle apprehensive about using an older maxtor.

By the way, if anybody wants one I'll sell it cheap, (shipping will be a lot though unless you are in the Salem, OR area.)

[Dave_Bechtel]

--You'll see the difference when you do the hdparm tests. My 40- and 80-gig IDE drives are faster than my 68-pin SCSI drives(!) Swap is one thing that you want FAST access to, as it is substituting for RAM. Always place your swap on your FASTEST drives.

( /me has his own dark opinions of WD, but chooses to withhold them at this time. )

That's a good point, though, it's a Western Digital Caviar, not a cheap piece of junk. And the seek times are realy quite low considering.

I also have a 1995 1GB maxtor, a 1992 500MB Maxtor, and a 1995 1.28GB WD Caviar drive. Would one of those be better to use if I realy wan't my swap on a seperate controller? (whitch I do)

I was thinking about using the 1.2 caviar, but it's litle big for a swap drive. (Perfect size for Windows 95 though) And I'm a litle apprehensive about using an older maxtor.

By the way, if anybody wants one I'll sell it cheap, (shipping will be a lot though unless you are in the Salem, OR area.)