From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Mon Mar 6 01:43:44 2006 Return-Path: X-Original-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.FreeBSD.org (mx1.freebsd.org [216.136.204.125]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 2F47A16A420 for ; Mon, 6 Mar 2006 01:43:44 +0000 (GMT) (envelope-from laszlof@vonostingroup.com) Received: from ritamari.vonostingroup.com (ritamari.vonostingroup.com [216.144.193.230]) by mx1.FreeBSD.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id C86C243D45 for ; Mon, 6 Mar 2006 01:43:43 +0000 (GMT) (envelope-from laszlof@vonostingroup.com) Received: from c-71-227-92-22.hsd1.mi.comcast.net ([71.227.92.22] helo=[192.168.0.6]) by ritamari.vonostingroup.com with esmtpa (Exim 4.60 (FreeBSD)) (envelope-from ) id 1FG4lg-0007Y6-8v; Sun, 05 Mar 2006 20:44:12 -0500 Message-ID: <440B93EC.5010600@vonostingroup.com> Date: Sun, 05 Mar 2006 20:44:12 -0500 From: "Frank J. Laszlo" User-Agent: Thunderbird 1.5 (X11/20060123) MIME-Version: 1.0 To: Michael Tuchman References: <440B7224.4060404@alum.mit.edu> In-Reply-To: <440B7224.4060404@alum.mit.edu> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-AntiAbuse: This header was added to track abuse, please include it with any abuse report X-AntiAbuse: Primary Hostname - ritamari.vonostingroup.com X-AntiAbuse: Original Domain - freebsd.org X-AntiAbuse: Originator/Caller UID/GID - [0 0] / [26 6] X-AntiAbuse: Sender Address Domain - vonostingroup.com X-Source: X-Source-Args: X-Source-Dir: Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Applications using hard disk too often X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Mon, 06 Mar 2006 01:43:44 -0000 Michael Tuchman wrote: > I am running freeBSD 5.4 stable on a P133 box with 128 Mb ram. > Although I don't think I'm overloading the system, it seems that my > system is using virtual memory too often. Admittedly, this is a > subjective question where 'too often' means only 'more often than I > remember with other *nix-like operating environments on even weaker > machines'. > > Can anybody offer advice on memory management, appropriate places to > read in the documentation, or other useful links? > > I realize that the answer is 'it depends', so what I am asking is really > * How can I find out if I change this annoying behavior for the better? > * Would upgrading to 6.0 help? > > This is an experimental box only. There is no critical data on it, so > data loss is not an issue when considering options. The 5.x series was a "transition" release, to ease the pain between 4.x and 6.x. I would recommend going up to 6.0 (or 6.1, But I have not yet tested it) Doing a fresh install would probably be in your best interest. Also running a custom kernel will ease some of the overhead, if you aren't already doing that. Remove anything from the kernel you do not use, etc.. There are numerous documents for doing this. The freebsd handbook is a excellent resource for both newbies and seasoned system admins. (http://www.freebsd.org/handbook) The output of `ps uxaww` will give us more of an idea of what you can get rid of as far as running daemons. Hope this helps. -Frank