Implementing smart swapping algorithm to boost the performance of Linux PC’s.

Abstract

Abstract Swap space in Linux is used when the amount of physical memory (RAM) is full. If the system needs more memory resources and the RAM is full, inactive pages in memory are moved to the swap space. While swap space can help machines with a small amount of RAM, it should not be considered a replacement for more RAM. Swap space is located on hard drives, which have a slower access time than physical memory. If any memory-intensive application is deployed on a PC with limited amount of Random-Access Memory, the inactive (not recently used) application which is generally the system UI is shifted to the Swap memory (much slower than RAM). This makes the entire UI slow but the higher priority processes (the most recent applications) remain unaffected because they remain in the RAM. When we are finished with our work with the memory intensive application and close it, the RAM gets cleared and has ample of space to accommodate the contents of the SWAP memory. But the swap memory stays as it is, and does not get transferred back to the RAM. This results in slower UI even though the system has enough RAM and no memory intensive process is running. This then results in lag in UI transition, delayed application launches, slower processing of programs and a large overhead.In years past, the recommended amount of swap space increased linearly with the amount of RAM in the system. But because the amount of memory in modern systems has increased into the hundreds of gigabytes, it is now recognized that the amount of swap space that a system needs is a function of the memory workload running on that system.In the world of enhanced hardware and superior machines, the software enhancements and optimization for low end PC’s is sometimes neglected. Hence, we propose a technique to overcome the lag created by the swap space y moving the content of the swap memory back to the RAM and a total boost is provided to the system. The technique is evaluated under various configurations and proves to solve the problem.