this post was submitted on 22 Apr 2025
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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I would not worry about virtual memory usage. Virtual memory can include memory mapped files and does not indicate actual ram usage - only the address space that the program has opened at some point. There is little point in worrying about it.
Do people even need virtual memory these days?
Also, isn't it harmful to SSDs?
Virtual memory is different from swap memory.
Swap memory is used when you run out of physical memory, so the memory is extended to your storage.
Virtual memory is an abstraction that lies between programs using memory and the physical memory in the device. It can be something like compression and memory-mapped files, like mentioned.
And yes, some swap is still useful, up to something like 4G for larger systems.
And if you want to hibernate to disk, you may need as much swap as your physical memory. But maybe that’s changed. I haven’t done that in years.
I've thought they were the same thing all these years.