Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!snorkelwacker!mit-eddie!uw-beaver!ubc-cs!nebulus!root
From: root@nebulus.UUCP (Dennis S. Breckenridge)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.i386
Subject: Re: Question about memory
Keywords: memory, swap
Message-ID: <1990Apr11.024731.11955@nebulus.UUCP>
Date: 11 Apr 90 02:47:31 GMT
References: <156@cms2.UUCP>
Reply-To: root@nebulus.UUCP (Dennis S. Breckenridge)
Organization: Alchemy Mindworks, Vancouver, Canada
Lines: 20

In article <156@cms2.UUCP> alan@cms2.UUCP (Alan McCain) writes:
> memory in their system.  They said that when their system goes into swap it
> never seems to come out of it completely, even when everyone logs off.  I
> have the same situation.  Whey does this happen and can it be fixed?
> 
When a paging system fires up a bunch of processes, a "few" pages of 
each process is stored on the swap device to allow the system to grab
the next block of memory from contiguous disk instead of of a fragmented
one. When you are logged off there are several processes still running
namely getty, init, cron, vhandler, etc. This is normal. If memory is
a problem BUY MORE memory! A rule of thumb for the 386 machines running
a UNIX (not Xenix) kernel is 4 megs for o/s and 1 meg for every Simultask
user. If all of your apps are *nix, then take your best guess, you are
safe with 1 meg per user. 

-- 
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Dennis S. Breckenridge  (604) 277-7413   dennis@nebulus.uucp           VE7TCP
               EMACS: Eight Megabytes And Constantly Swapping!
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