LinuxQuestions.org
Download your favorite Linux distribution at LQ ISO.
Go Back   LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Linux Forums > Linux - Distributions > Slackware
User Name
Password
Slackware This Forum is for the discussion of Slackware Linux.

Notices


Reply
  Search this Thread
Old 06-02-2002, 12:20 AM   #1
theapodan
LQ Newbie
 
Registered: Jun 2002
Distribution: Slackware
Posts: 19

Rep: Reputation: 0
Question Swap file install


So, I have a burning desire in the left leg of my pants to install slackware. My only linux knowledge was from installing a distro called small linux on a 486 that I had.

Anyway, I have 320 MB of ram in my computer, and I was pondering whether I'd have to have a swap partition.

I would rather install linux in one single partition.

So, how do I go about using a swapfile on the same partition as the rest of my linux install, what kind of performance hit would I take, and is this an incredibly stupid thing to do?

Thank you kindly.
 
Old 06-02-2002, 12:53 AM   #2
trickykid
LQ Guru
 
Registered: Jan 2001
Posts: 24,149

Rep: Reputation: 269Reputation: 269Reputation: 269
Well usually Linux requires a swap file and during the install of Slack it will ask for the creation of a swap file. You could get by with only installing a small swap, maybe 64 megs or so, but I would consider creating more than just one partition for Linux.
 
Old 06-02-2002, 01:00 AM   #3
milos
LQ Newbie
 
Registered: May 2002
Posts: 12

Rep: Reputation: 0
swap

You want to create a swap partition if your going to run linux on your machine. It doesn't have to be huge though. I have 256mg of ram on my machine and use the formula taking half my ram for swap, so my partition is 128mg in size. How big is your hard drive? Anyhow I run a dual boot with win98 taking the first 5 GB of my hard drive and slackware linux using the remaining 15 GB (my 128 MG swap space lies between these 2 partitions).

good luck
 
Old 06-02-2002, 01:38 AM   #4
sakeeb
Member
 
Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 270

Rep: Reputation: 31
Re: swap

Quote:
Originally posted by milos
use the formula taking half my ram for swap
half of ram for swap.? i believe it is double of ram
 
Old 06-02-2002, 02:34 AM   #5
DeadPuddle
Member
 
Registered: Mar 2002
Location: Asheville, NC
Distribution: Debian
Posts: 257

Rep: Reputation: 30
The rule of thumb is double the amount of RAM.
 
Old 06-02-2002, 11:05 AM   #6
theapodan
LQ Newbie
 
Registered: Jun 2002
Distribution: Slackware
Posts: 19

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 0
What kind of performance hit would I take by using only a swapfile?

I am used to DOS and MacOS, and see no reason for the additional complexity of making two or three partitions for linux. I want the familiarity of a one-partition system.

So how much swap space should I create with 320 MB of ram?
 
Old 06-02-2002, 11:27 AM   #7
trickykid
LQ Guru
 
Registered: Jan 2001
Posts: 24,149

Rep: Reputation: 269Reputation: 269Reputation: 269
Re: Re: swap

Quote:
Originally posted by sakeeb


half of ram for swap.? i believe it is double of ram
That was the rule of thumb about a half decade ago when 64 MB of RAM was standard, so a 100-125 MB swap partition would do you good. Unless your running a high performance server with many users logged in, I never see any need to have a swap twice the size of your RAM, only when you have maybe 64 megs or less.

I personally use and only use no more than 125 MB of swap ever.
I have one box with 128 MB of RAM, got a 100 MB swap that is never hardly touched or used.
 
Old 06-02-2002, 03:45 PM   #8
DeadPuddle
Member
 
Registered: Mar 2002
Location: Asheville, NC
Distribution: Debian
Posts: 257

Rep: Reputation: 30
Well, trick, that rule of thumb is still in the Slackware book
 
Old 06-02-2002, 03:46 PM   #9
DeadPuddle
Member
 
Registered: Mar 2002
Location: Asheville, NC
Distribution: Debian
Posts: 257

Rep: Reputation: 30
Generally, for a desktop user, you only need three partitions:

/boot - About 32MB
SWAP - Use rule of thumb OR take trick's advice
/ - Whatever is left over

Huzzah!
 
Old 06-02-2002, 04:09 PM   #10
trickykid
LQ Guru
 
Registered: Jan 2001
Posts: 24,149

Rep: Reputation: 269Reputation: 269Reputation: 269
Quote:
Originally posted by kernal
Well, trick, that rule of thumb is still in the Slackware book
I don't think the Slackware book has been updated in a while. That is the same one they've had for a while now.
The supposedly rule of thumb is still in alot of HowTo's and other documents you may find, as it won't hurt anyone making a swap twice the size of their RAM, but it just seems wasteful to me. If I created a 1GB swap on the machine I have 512 MB of RAM and when I had a 100 MB swap never getting touched, that would seem wasteful space to me IMHO.
 
Old 06-02-2002, 06:55 PM   #11
DeadPuddle
Member
 
Registered: Mar 2002
Location: Asheville, NC
Distribution: Debian
Posts: 257

Rep: Reputation: 30
Makes sense
 
Old 06-02-2002, 10:18 PM   #12
theapodan
LQ Newbie
 
Registered: Jun 2002
Distribution: Slackware
Posts: 19

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 0
Dudes, i still want to know what kind of performance hit i'd take from putting it all on one partition, because despite advice about every other partition scheme, i still want to stick to my original idea.
 
Old 06-02-2002, 11:22 PM   #13
trickykid
LQ Guru
 
Registered: Jan 2001
Posts: 24,149

Rep: Reputation: 269Reputation: 269Reputation: 269
You probably won't see much of a performance decrease with a small swap partition with that much RAM, but I recommend you still have one though, its essential to the functionality of Linux.
I still recommend creating more than just a swap and a / partition though. What are you going to be using the Linux box for ?
 
Old 06-03-2002, 10:46 AM   #14
jtshaw
Senior Member
 
Registered: Nov 2000
Location: Seattle, WA USA
Distribution: Ubuntu @ Home, RHEL @ Work
Posts: 3,892
Blog Entries: 1

Rep: Reputation: 67
The double the ram rule of thumb comes from being able to copy your entire memory into swap and still have operating space left if somethings strange happens. I have 512MB of Ram in my main system and I did opt for a 1024MB Swap file, but I have disk space to spare so it wasn't a big deal for me to do so.

When I first started using linux I didn't see the benifit for multiple partitions... then one day I started experimenting with other distributions and whatnot, and realized that having things like /home or /usr/local seperate is pretty nice. Especially if you want to to a fresh OS install but not lose all your home directories.
 
Old 06-04-2002, 12:03 AM   #15
theapodan
LQ Newbie
 
Registered: Jun 2002
Distribution: Slackware
Posts: 19

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 0
I'm just setting this up for the hell of it. I plan on using a desktop environment in addition to the commandline. Nothing that is particularly taxing is going to be going on. I'd also like to learn more Unix than I know, so I figure slackware will be good.

Also, slackware came recommended.

What is to be gained from creating separate root and user partitions?
 
  


Reply


Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off



Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
what is a swap file...? zameer_india Linux - Newbie 8 01-09-2005 10:35 PM
swap file linuxhippy Linux - General 4 10-11-2004 04:07 PM
Swap File Cyric Slackware 13 10-04-2004 11:19 PM
Swap file not being used...why? ganja_guru Linux - General 6 12-08-2003 03:41 AM
SWAP File TJ60515 Linux - Newbie 4 07-30-2003 03:37 PM

LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Linux Forums > Linux - Distributions > Slackware

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:05 AM.

Main Menu
Advertisement
My LQ
Write for LQ
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute content, let us know.
Main Menu
Syndicate
RSS1  Latest Threads
RSS1  LQ News
Twitter: @linuxquestions
Open Source Consulting | Domain Registration