Filesystems, Disks and Memory

I'm using PartitionMagic's wizard to partition my drive for Linux, and after I get past the first step it asks if I want to screate a seperate Linux Swap Partition. What is a Linux Swap Partition and is something I need/should have?

A linux swap partition is simply a partition that holds the linux swap.

The swap is basically the same as virtual memory in Windows.

You do need it.

I haven't used patition magic before, but I usually use the partition util in the linux installation (diskdruid in redhat).

You may have to use partition magic depending on the distro you install

How much should I use for the swap partition? PartitionMagic defaults to something like 2.4 gigs. Do I need that much for it? I'm planning on installing Mandrake 8.1. Does anyone know if Mandrake has a partitioner as part of the install?

Normally you would put double the size of memory (this is from experience not from running Mandrake).

If you need more info - look to Mandrake at
http://www.linux-mandrake.com/en/doc...ks.html#AEN718

They write about the partitions needed.

Trade,
The more Swap space you allocate the more smoother your Unix session will be. Try not to decrease the size other then the size of the memory. That wil fix it.

Too much swap will result in wasted disk space.

Most systems that are properly configured, running fairly stable software should not swap all that much. I used systems with small amounts of RAM, and I still barely used any swap. Also, swap is slow... Avoid it as much as possible.

As mentioned above, a good rule of thumb for Linux swap is twice the size of your RAM - just in case.

I have 512MB of DDR RAM. Will I still need an extra gig for the partition?