From owner-freebsd-current@FreeBSD.ORG Thu Jul 24 13:27:45 2003 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-current@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.FreeBSD.org (mx1.freebsd.org [216.136.204.125]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 46B0D37B401 for ; Thu, 24 Jul 2003 13:27:45 -0700 (PDT) Received: from lakemtao05.cox.net (lakemtao05.cox.net [68.1.17.116]) by mx1.FreeBSD.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 4F7F143F75 for ; Thu, 24 Jul 2003 13:27:44 -0700 (PDT) (envelope-from mezz7@cox.net) Received: from mezz.mezzweb.com ([68.103.32.11]) by lakemtao05.cox.net (InterMail vM.5.01.04.05 201-253-122-122-105-20011231) with ESMTP id <20030724202744.KDAJ20948.lakemtao05.cox.net@mezz.mezzweb.com>; Thu, 24 Jul 2003 16:27:44 -0400 To: Bill Moran References: <000001c3521a$7fa912c0$6bd4bfac@AlHindawi> <3F203931.3030300@potentialtech.com> Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed From: Jeremy Messenger MIME-Version: 1.0 Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2003 15:27:38 -0500 In-Reply-To: <3F203931.3030300@potentialtech.com> User-Agent: Opera7.11/Linux M2 build 406 cc: Ahmed Al-Hindawi cc: freebsd-current@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Memory Mangement Problem in 5.1-RELEASE X-BeenThere: freebsd-current@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list List-Id: Discussions about the use of FreeBSD-current List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2003 20:27:45 -0000 On Thu, 24 Jul 2003 15:53:21 -0400, Bill Moran wrote: > Ahmed Al-Hindawi wrote: >> Hi, >> I have 160Mb of SDRAM (PC100) on a 233Mhz CyrixInstead machine and I >> seem to have memory mangament problems. The BIOS indicates I have 160, >> so does the BSD bootstrap program. >> >> When I launch GNOME 2.2 everythings is good as gold untill I open the >> System monitor program. It says that I have 149 Mb of RAM which is fine >> ( 4Mb of video..and the rest...god knows). >> >> I open every program I have and after 107Mb the machine starts to swap >> with about 50Mb left unused!! >> >> I recompliled the GENERIC kernal for the sake of it really (Im still an >> amature) I didn't mess with the configuration files or anything (I just >> don't know how!!). >> >> Is this normal or mismanagement of memory in the 5.1 version of the >> excellent FreeBSD kernel?? > > The mistake is in the way the Gnome System Monitor display the free > memory. > > I just watched both 'top' and the System Monitor as I opened program > after > program until the system started swapping, and System monitor reports > almost 100M free while top reported less than 10M. > > To _always_ have a little memory free is A Good Thing(tm). FreeBSD has > some pretty advanced memory management that will start swapping _before_ > the system runs out of RAM. However, the System Monitor's display of > this is simply inaccurate. There was NOT 100M free when it started > swapping > on my system. Well, the 5.0, old -CURRENT and 4.8 have never touch the swap, until 5.1- CURRENT. My system has 256mb ram and it's always touch swap now. If I compile some stuff, sometime it will get around 300mb swap. Current, I only have Gnome 2.3.x and Opera running, so what my top looks like this: Mem: 85M Active, 29M Inact, 51M Wired, 4496K Cache, 35M Buf, 73M Free Swap: 512M Total, 79M Used, 433M Free, 15% Inuse But, I will remove the Gnome System Monitor applet, then reboot and see how it goes for the whole afternoon. Cheers, Mezz -- bsdforums.org 's moderator, mezz.