[vox-tech] Three Install Questions

[Josh Parsons]

Hi, Pete,

As you say, obviously adding more RAM to a machine reduces (rather than
increasing) the need for swap. It's odd that people seem to behave as if
the reverse were true. :)

However, I think SIDR remains a good rule of thumb for calculating how
much swap to set up in a typical desktop system initially. I've found
that with swap = RAM, I can run out of VM in non-pathological ways
(unless you count running memory hog office apps as pathological). Given
how hard it is to increase the swapsize on typical PC systems, it's
safest to err on the side of liberality. SIDR makes for just slightly
more VM than I'll ever need. Or so it has seemed to me.

What your point shows is that it's a mistake for someone to go upgrading
swap just because they've installed more RAM. The only reason to
increase swap is if they find themselves running out of VM.

-- 
Josh Parsons
Philosophy Department
1238 Social Sciences and Humanities Bldg.
University of California
Davis, CA 95616-8673
USA

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