Linux - add a swap file

Procedure to add a SWAP file

In Linux, as in most other Unix-like operating systems, it is common to use a whole partition of a hard disk for swapping. However, with the 2.6 Linux kernel, swap files are just as fast[7] as swap partitions, although Red Hat recommends using a swap partition. The administrative flexibility of swap files outweighs that of partitions; since modern high capacity hard drives can remap physical sectors, no partition is guaranteed to be contiguous. You can add swap file as a dedicated partition or use following instructions to create a swap file.

 

You need to use dd command to create swapfile.

Next you need to use mkswap command to set up a Linux swap area on a device or in a file.

a) Login as the root user

b) Type following command to create 512MB swap file (1024 * 512MB = 524288 block size):

  # dd if=/dev/zero of=/swapfile1 bs=1024 count=524288

 c) Set up a Linux swap area:

 # mkswap /swapfile1

 d) Activate /swapfile1 swap space immediately:

 # swapon /swapfile1

 e) To activate /swapfile1 after Linux system reboot, add entry to /etc/fstab file. Open this file using text editor such as vi:

# vi /etc/fstab

 Append following line:

/swapfile1 swap swap defaults 0 0

So next time Linux comes up after reboot, it enables the new swap file for you automatically.

g) How do I verify swap is activated or not?

Simply use free command:

$ free -m