Linux add a swap file howto
| Author: | Vivek Gite |
|---|---|
| Date: | May 18, 2006 |
| url: | http://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/linux-add-a-swap-file-howto/http://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/linux-add-a-swap-file-howto/ |
Q. I need additional swap space to improve my system performance. How do I add a swap file to Linux system?
A. In Linux, as in most other Unix-like operating systems, it is common to use a whole partition of a hard disk for swapping. However, with the 2.6 Linux kernel, swap files are just as fast[7] as swap partitions, although Red Hat recommends using a swap partition. The administrative flexibility of swap files outweighs that of partitions; since modern high capacity hard drives can remap physical sectors, no partition is guaranteed to be contiguous. You can add swap file as a dedicated partition or use following instructions to create a swap file.
Procedure to add a swap file
You need to use dd command to create swapfile. Next you need to use mkswap command to set up a Linux swap area on a device or in a file.
- Login as the root user
b) Type following command to create 512MB swap file (1024 * 512MB = 524288 block size):
# dd if=/dev/zero of=/swapfile1 bs=1024 count=524288
Set up a Linux swap area:
# mkswap /swapfile1
Activate /swapfile1 swap space immediately:
# swapon /swapfile1
e) To activate /swapfile1 after Linux system reboot, add entry to /etc/fstab file. Open this file using text editor such as vi:
# vi /etc/fstab
Append following line:
/swapfile1 swap swap defaults 0 0
So next time Linux comes up after reboot, it enables the new swap file for you automatically.
g) How do I verify swap is activated or not? Simply use free command:
$ free -m