Re: Two questions about kfreebsd
On 21/02/2013, Steven Chamberlain <steven@pyro.eu.org> wrote:
> Hi Bret,
>
> On 20/02/13 02:24, Bret Busby wrote:
<snip>
>> [...] I have been as yet, unable to get Debian 6 amd64 Linux running as a
>> stable operating system
>
> That is odd, I found Debian 6 GNU/Linux to be a very stable desktop OS
> on amd64. And the Linux 3.2 kernel for wheezy has been mostly okay so
> far (e.g. some 50+ days continuous running currently, but the nouveau
> graphics driver is flaky).
>
The primary problem, which I had raised on the Debian Users list, but
had been unable to get resolved, is that I have been unable to get
swapping/paging properly implemented, with Debian Linux 6.0.x amd64.
I have a desktop computer with an Intel I3 CPU, and 8GB of RAM, and,
it simply does not use the swap space (I had allocated 40GB) on the
hard drive.
So, what the system does, is progressively use up the RAM, until it
crashes. And, to achieve a reboot, I have to hold the power switch
down for the 12 seconds or whatever, until it chokes the system to
death, then wait for a minute, then switch the power back on. Nothing
else will work
With Debian 5, on another computer (which, from memory, had 2GB RAM
and an AMD K6 CPU), when it would not swap, I would load and run the
GIMP, and, when I closed the GIMP, it would force swapping.
But, I can not get that, or, loading and running any other
application, to force swapping, in Debian Linux 6.0.x amd64.
I had, after raising the problem on the Debian Users list, checked the
settings, and found them all to be appropriate for memory swapping,
and simply can not get memory swapping to work on this system.
It reminded me of the scenario with the Intel 80486 CPU, which, from
memory, introduced virtual machines, or, some other new extension - it
was said (perhaps by a university computer hardware lecturer - I am
not sure - it was many years ago), that MS Windows 486 could not
properly use the capabilities of the 80486 CPU; to make full use of
the capabilities of the 80486 CPU, a version of UNIX was required.
This would have been about the time that Linux was in the process of
being ported to the 80486 - before version 1 of Linux, in the early
1990's.
At that time, or, developing from that time, was the principle that
the primary (other problem) with MS Windows 486, was that it would run
for no more than 29 (I think it was) days, then it would automatically
crash, and require rebooting.
Debian Linux on the Intel I3, with 8GB of RAM, seems to me, to be a
bit like the reputation of MS Windows 4586 running on an Intel 80486
CPU, it would run kind of okay for a while, but, within a month, it
would automatically crash, and require a system reboot.
I have also noticed that, on this system, when the RAM usage shows as
having reached about 60%, the system slows, especially dta
transmission through the ethernet card.
That is why I had thought that, maybe, to run Debian Linux on the 64
bit architecture, with more than 4GB of RAM, the kfreebsd kernel is
required, being UNIX-based, in the same way that UNIX was required to
be able to make full (or, as full as possible) use of the 80486
architecture and its innovations, that UNIX, or a UNIX kernel, would
be required to be able to properly use 64 bit CPU architecture and the
accompanying RAM, as I have found Debian Linux 6.0.x amd64, to be
unstable, and, unable to implement memory swapping.
While the issue is more one for the Debian Users list, than this list,
that is the primary reason for me wanting to try the kfreebsd kernel,
when it is classed as stable; to be able to properly use the 64 bit
system with 8GB of RAM, that I cannot so far achieve with Debian Linux
6.0.x amd64.
Out of interest, I had installed PC-BSD 9.0 (which is based on FreeBSD
9.0) on an HP/Compaq NX5000 (Intel Celeron CPU, 2GB RAM), in a
multiple boot scenario, in which, it should have been able to work
okay, but, when I finally got it successfully installed, I could not
get it to run. I had raised that on the PC-BSD list, but that is also
unresolved. I had thought that I would use that installation as a
test, and, if I could get that working, I would try installing PC-BSD
9.0 on this computer. Bit, it didn't, so, I didn't.
--
Bret Busby
Armadale
West Australia
..............
"So once you do know what the question actually is,
you'll know what the answer means."
- Deep Thought,
Chapter 28 of Book 1 of
"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:
A Trilogy In Four Parts",
written by Douglas Adams,
published by Pan Books, 1992
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