The free command is used to display the amount of free and used memory on a system. The -m option tells free to print the output in MB.
My laptop has 4Gb currently.
Linux attempts to utilize all of the memory on the system and not leave any sitting idle, like some other operating systems have done over time. Memory will be used for the OS and applications, but the remainder will be used as "buffers and cache". The kernel will keep items in memory that are needed often or are predicted to be needed for faster access. The memory used for "buffers and cache" is available for applications or the OS to use. If required, it is quickly flushed and used.
To find the actual available memory on my system, take the last number on the Mem line (247) and add it to the last number on the Mem line (2397). So currently, I have about 3G of memory available.
Most of this information is available via the manpage and simple google searches. Take a look and you should have all of your questions answered.
I know that free command displays memory usages however I like to know how the option and the results when I use this command..
PLease respond ASAP
thanx... I am a newbie.. :D (1 Reply)
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I've just installed it on a spare box and it... (0 Replies)
HI
I'm a rookie in C programming and I'm working in Monta Vista Linux. I have to write a program that displays free memory. I have memtester(allready written by someone else) and now I have to type how much amount of memory tester will test and I want that memtester finds out himself how much of... (11 Replies)
Linux Kernels 2.6.16 and up provide a way to instruct the kernel to drop the page cache, inode and dentry caches on command. This tip can help free Linux memory without a reboot.
Note: This is a non-destructive operation. Dirty objects are not freeable, hence; you must run sync beforehand.
... (0 Replies)
Hi All,
Please explain me the concept of link counts when you try to view the contents of any file or directory using ls command.
-sh-3.00$ ls -lrt
total 194
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Aug 12 2004 srv
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Aug 12 2004 mnt
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root ... (1 Reply)
Hi,
I am facing one problem, On our Linux server Free memory decreases gradually but my java process memory does not increase.
Please any one tell, why free memory decreases gradually (1MB in approx 15 minutes).
kernel details:-
Linux linux4 2.6.9-42.ELsmp #1 SMP Wed Jul 12 23:27:17 EDT... (13 Replies)
Hello, I am not sure where to post this questions...
I have Windows XP in my home computer. I need to install Linux on
my home computer for learning purpose. Can one please recommend
any free download link to download free linux...
Any help is appreciated...
Thank you... (1 Reply)
hi- im running glassfish 3.1 on debian server and there are times where I need to start the domain when we cannot access the web application. I checked the memory and it's confusing me. Am i still ok? can you explain the below?
USER PID %CPU %MEM VSZ RSS TTY STAT START TIME... (1 Reply)
I have two questions on Linux's free command. Below, I have provided output from my home laptop (fedora 26 ) which has 16GB Physical RAM and a production server (RHEL 7.4) which has 24GB RAM.
Question1. What exactly does the buffer/cache column say in free command's output ? buffer/cache is... (9 Replies)
Discussion started by: omega3
9 Replies
LEARN ABOUT REDHAT
free
FREE(1) Linux User's Manual FREE(1)NAME
free - display information about free and used memory on the system
SYNOPSIS
free [-b|-k|-m|-g] [-l] [-o] [-t] [-s delay ] [-c count ]
DESCRIPTION free(1) displays the total amount of free and used physical memory and swap space in the system, as well as the buffers and cache consumed
by the kernel.
OPTIONS
Normal invocation of free(1) does not require any options. The output, however, can be fine-tuned by specifying one or more of the follow-
ing flags:
-b, --bytes
Display output in bytes.
-k, --kb
Display output in kilobytes (KB). This is the default.
-m, --mb
Display output in megabytes (MB).
-g, --gb
Display output in gigabytes (GB).
-l, --lowhigh
Display detailed information about low vs. high memory usage.
-o, --old
Use old format. Specifically, do not display -/+ buffers/cache.
-t, --total
Display total summary for physical memory + swap space.
-c n, --count=n
Display statistics n times, then exit. Used in conjunction with the -s flag. Default is to display only once, unless -s was speci-
fied, in which case default is to repeat until interrupted.
-s n, --repeat=n
Repeat, pausing every n seconds in-between.
-V, --version
Display version information and exit.
--help Display usage information and exit
FILES
/proc/meminfo -- memory information
SEE ALSO ps(1), top(1), vmstat(1)AUTHORS
Written by Robert Love.
The procps package is maintained by Rik van Riel and Robert Love and was created by Michael Johnson.
Send bug reports to <procps-list@redhat.com>.
Linux 18 Nov 2002 FREE(1)