Re: Linux users want better desktop performance (Screw data. Prioritize code)

[Soeren Sandmann Pedersen <sandmann redhat com>]

Bill Nottingham <notting redhat com> writes:

> Colin Walters (walters verbum org) said: 
> > > http://rudd-o.com/en/linux-and-free-software/tales-from-responsivenessland-why-linux-feels-slow-and-how-to-fix-that
> > >
> > > What is you comment?
> > 
> > I think if someone proposed a patch which tweaked some kernel
> > parameters as part of the desktop kickstart, it'd be reasonable to
> > consider.  I'd definitely agree with him that the default desktop
> > installation should be tuned for responsiveness over throughput.
> 
> Well, we could just turn off swap entirely, which obviates the issue
> (at the expense of other issues.)

Systems where I have done that, have generally been thrashing
themselves to death. When there is no swap at all, the kernel can't
move any malloced or otherwise anonymous data to disk, which means
that filebacked data will be competing for fewer and fewer pages as
the amount of available RAM shrinks.

Basically, no swap at all means that a simple memory leak can
completely kill the system.


Soren