How to Create and Manage Swap Partitions on Linux

Swap partitions act as overflow memory on Linux systems, allowing the kernel to move rarely used data to disk when physical RAM is insufficient, which is a cost‑effective way to extend usable memory.

The article first demonstrates how to view current memory and swap usage with the # free -h command, showing an example output where a 1 GB swap partition is partially used.

It then describes two methods for creating swap space:

Creating a swap partition on a physical disk

Partition the disk using a partitioning tool (illustrated with an image).

Format the new partition as swap with mkswap /dev/sda5.

Activate the swap partition using swapon /dev/sda5 (no mounting required).

Creating swap space using a file

Allocate a large file on an existing filesystem (illustrated with images).

Set up the file as swap with mkswap /path/to/swapfile (the exact command is implied).

Enable the swap file with swapon /path/to/swapfile.

The article advises keeping swap size under 2 GB for typical use and emphasizes that swap should be used as a backup rather than a primary memory source because excessive swapping can degrade system performance.

Finally, it provides a link to the original source for further reading.