zRam

[colin_b]

A few weeks ago I set up MX 17 on a friend's computer. Everything ran fine until a few browser tabs were opened, then things really started to drag I checked how much RAM he had, and when I did this I found the problem - his PC only had 2GB. I ended up begging 1GB RAM from another friend who builds computers and the problem was solved.

Yesterday I tripped over https://mxlinux.org/wiki/other/zram, and my instant thought was it could have solved the problem without the need for begging. I have done some digging around and found someone testing it on a Raspberry Pi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJ4VAelq-wE and someone else running a game whilst using it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIAVCUMQ3KI. I was expecting a noticeable processing slowdown, but this isn't the case.

I dug around further and I found https://code.launchpad.net/~elementary- ... ap-enabler,

Could this be modified for use on MX Linux, for example, as an MX tweak? I envisage something like a simple button which says "Start zRam", and when it is pressed zRam starts. The button then changes to "Stop zRam", and when pressed it stops zRam.

This could be very useful for people with limited RAM.

[dolphin_oracle]

well, the zram file still exists.

does the process in the wiki still work?

[colin_b]

Unfortunately I have no idea. My friend lives 100 miles away, and my PC has 8GB RAM, so this is not an issue for me.

Hopefully someone else will know the answer. If it does work it could be mighty useful for some.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zram

A compressed swap space with zram/zswap also offers advantages for low-end hardware devices such as embedded devices and netbooks. Such devices usually use flash-based storage, which has limited lifespan due to write amplification, and also use it to provide swap space. The reduction in swap usage as a result of using zram effectively reduces the amount of wear placed on such flash-based storage, resulting in prolonging its usable life. Also, using zram results in a significantly reduced I/O for Linux systems that require swapping.

[skidoo]

Could this be modified for use on MX Linux

The zramswap-enabler contains an init script which targets upstart.
(It has no "ui". To customize the settings, would need to [use upstart init and] edit the script.)
https://bazaar.launchpad.net/~elementar ... ap.upstart

In the woogaloo discussion topic, you'll find an app which provides a ui toward messing with zram and zswap.

[oops]

Hi,
Yes , Woogaloo (beta): GUI for performing hodgepodge system tasks ... is a good way to test these functions.
viewtopic.php?f=108&t=44861

[cyrilus31]

A few weeks ago I set up MX 17 on a friend's computer. Everything ran fine until a few browser tabs were opened, then things really started to drag I checked how much RAM he had, and when I did this I found the problem - his PC only had 2GB. I ended up begging 1GB RAM from another friend who builds computers and the problem was solved.

Yesterday I tripped over https://mxlinux.org/wiki/other/zram, and my instant thought was it could have solved the problem without the need for begging. I have done some digging around and found someone testing it on a Raspberry Pi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJ4VAelq-wE and someone else running a game whilst using it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIAVCUMQ3KI. I was expecting a noticeable processing slowdown, but this isn't the case.

I dug around further and I found https://code.launchpad.net/~elementary- ... ap-enabler,

Could this be modified for use on MX Linux, for example, as an MX tweak? I envisage something like a simple button which says "Start zRam", and when it is pressed zRam starts. The button then changes to "Stop zRam", and when pressed it stops zRam.

This could be very useful for people with limited RAM.

Except if you open many many tabs and do something else at the same time, it's strange to be out of ram with 2Go with few tabs opened
Are you sure CPU is not the cause of the slowdown?

[colin_b]

I was initially somewhat baffled by the slowdown, but the on-screen techie Conky displayed the problem. When an extra 1GB RAM was installed the problem went away. Both Firefox and Vivaldi were hogging a lot of RAM.

If I had known that zRam offered a simple solution I would have given it a bash because it looks highly effective - the problem could have been solved with a simple click of a button or a tick in a check box. Its effectiveness at optimizing RAM could open the MX Linux door to numerous folks on low spec systems.

Here's my suggestion for optimizing RAM and cleaning, FWIW.

zRam has to be made obvious so that it is easily found by newbies. If it has an icon in the control panel settings hardware section under something like "MX Performance" then it will be noticed. This would open up and show the performance section of Wongaloo. All of the cleaning functions that are part of Wongaloo but not part of the upcoming MX Cleaner would be removed from Wongaloo and added to the cleaner. You would then have two distinct sections which are intuitive and easy to use, and they would both be comprehensive and hugely useful.

A newbie on a RAM limited machine could potentially have MX Linux working properly by simply ticking a few checkboxes. Heaven!

That's my thought, I hope it makes sense.

[colin_b]

Since MX Cleaner does the required cleaning why not remove all of the cleanup functions from Woogaloo, thus leaving only the performance tasks? This would leave an effective way to optimize MX performance via a simple interface.