UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

hi guys

I got 4 server which have 756MB swap

Code:

swapon -s
Filename                                Type            Size    Used    Priority
/dev/sda1                               partition       763048  0       -1

Now this needs to be increased to 8GB.
I've been reading about increase SWAP space:
options are:
1. Create a new Swap on a new partition.
2. Increase the actual swap gparted software is needed
3. Create a new file using dd command

OK my question is I am thinking about using gparted to resize / and add more space to /swap but since creating a file with dd looks so easy
I want to know if the swap created with dd command behaves the same way as the swap created on a specific partition? I mean the same performance?

what is your recommendation?

thanks

If they're all on the same spindle anyway, none of them is really 'better'. Creating a big blank file with dd is probably the safest, no partition editing involved, unless someone decides to delete the big "useless" file.

Ideally you want swap on a separate disk, so that use of swap doesn't impact other disk performance.

got it

right now swap is in /dev/sda1
and / is /dev/sda2 same LUN from Storage.

so creating a file under / like /SwapFile is the same thing and safer as you say

thanks a lot

---------- Post updated at 09:25 PM ---------- Previous update was at 07:12 PM ----------

last question since this file will be under /

I know I can used chmod 600 to secure the file

can chattr be used as well?
chattr +i swapfile

chattr +i would mark the file immutable meaning even root can't write to it. That would not work for a swapfile which needs to be written to.

mmm I was thinking i option was to avoid the file to be deleted

but I just deleted I chattr +i file

and I cannot vi on it well chmod 600 will be

thanks a lot

sda1 and sda2 are on the same disk. You aren't gaining anything by putting it on sda1 vs sda2, just put it where you have lots of available space...

although i personally have never tested it, i have been told swap partitions work better than swap files.
Creating a swap partition is no more difficult than creating a swap file with dd