Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!pollux.usc.edu!kjh
From: kjh@pollux.usc.edu (Kenneth J. Hendrickson)
Newsgroups: comp.os.minix
Subject: Re: Second RAM disk?
Message-ID: <31340@usc>
Date: 24 Mar 91 01:19:26 GMT
References: <47610@nigel.ee.udel.edu> <1690@targon.UUCP>
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In article <1690@targon.UUCP> gert@targon.UUCP (Gert Kanis) writes:
>If you happen to run your system with the root fs on a (hard) disk partition
>then you have still the possibility the use the (one and only :-) ram disk
>for /tmp.
>The latter requiers to change some defines in boot.h, recompile the kernel
>and some line in /etc/rc that create a valid file system (mkfs) in /dev/ram.

I just recently started using a hard disk partition as the root file
system, (because I didn't want to have to manually mount the image, and
copy files every time I edited them), and I never changed any constants
anyplace.  Am I courting disaster?

--

I have thought of a good use for more than 1 ram disk.
mounted on /tmp for obvious reasons.
mounted on /bin to have fast access to commonly used commands.
mounted on /usr/bin to have fast access to all other commands.

--

The above may significantly improve the speed of Minix, as perceived by
the user.

I haven't yet looked at the source code (shame on me), but would there
be much more involved than creating all the /dev/ramX entries you
wanted, with different minor device numbers, and specifying the maximum
of all /dev/ramX entries at boot up time?  Perhaps just a minor
modification to the ram disk device driver?

-- 
favourite oxymorons:   student athlete, military justice, mercy killing
Ken Hendrickson N8DGN/6       kjh@usc.edu      ...!uunet!usc!pollux!kjh