4 ms·

I'd like to see Linux gain support for actual memory compression, without the need to go through zram, similar to macOS/Windows.

homebrewer 9mo ago
zram has been "obsolete" for years, I don't know why people still reach for it. Linux supports proper memory compression in the form of zswap https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Zswap https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Zswap
- ChocolateGod 9mo ago
  Because I'd rather compress ram when running low on memory rather than swapping to my disks. zram is also default on some distros (e.g. Fedora).
  - homebrewer 9mo ago
    Did you read the link? Additional disk swap is optional, and if for some reason you would still like to have one, it's easy to disable writeback, using just the RAM. And even if one enables zswap and configures nothing else, compressing RAM and only swapping out to disk under extreme pressure is still the default behavior.
    - kasabali 9mo ago
      > Additional disk swap is optional Where did you read that? My experience has been that not only in reality the pool size is limited by the amount of swap space you've allocated, it's also uncompressed again when offloaded there which is ridiculous when you think about it.
- RealStickman_ 9mo ago
  I didn't realize zswap also uses in-memory compression. It might be a combination of poor naming and zram being continuously popular.
- deleted 9mo ago
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- rascul 9mo ago
  It is not obsolete. It's also useful for other things.
JamesTRexx 9mo ago
I use zswap, which is a non-fixed intermediate layer between RAM and swap and worked great on my old laptop which had a max of 4GB RAM. Even use it now on my current 32GB laptop. Full compression would be nicer, but I'd also like to see ECC emulation (or alternative) as a cheaper alternative to the real hardware, although with current prices that might be less so.
mkurz 9mo ago
zswap?
- deleted 9mo ago
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homebrewer 9mo ago

zram has been "obsolete" for years, I don't know why people still reach for it. Linux supports proper memory compression in the form of zswap https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Zswap https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Zswap

ChocolateGod 9mo ago
Because I'd rather compress ram when running low on memory rather than swapping to my disks. zram is also default on some distros (e.g. Fedora).
- homebrewer 9mo ago
  Did you read the link? Additional disk swap is optional, and if for some reason you would still like to have one, it's easy to disable writeback, using just the RAM. And even if one enables zswap and configures nothing else, compressing RAM and only swapping out to disk under extreme pressure is still the default behavior.
  - kasabali 9mo ago
    > Additional disk swap is optional Where did you read that? My experience has been that not only in reality the pool size is limited by the amount of swap space you've allocated, it's also uncompressed again when offloaded there which is ridiculous when you think about it.
RealStickman_ 9mo ago
I didn't realize zswap also uses in-memory compression. It might be a combination of poor naming and zram being continuously popular.
deleted 9mo ago
[deleted]
deleted 9mo ago
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rascul 9mo ago
It is not obsolete. It's also useful for other things.

JamesTRexx 9mo ago

I use zswap, which is a non-fixed intermediate layer between RAM and swap and worked great on my old laptop which had a max of 4GB RAM. Even use it now on my current 32GB laptop. Full compression would be nicer, but I'd also like to see ECC emulation (or alternative) as a cheaper alternative to the real hardware, although with current prices that might be less so.

mkurz 9mo ago

zswap?

deleted 9mo ago
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