How to optimize and tune your Linux system’s memory usage to improve performance

How to optimize and adjust the memory usage of Linux systems to improve performance

Abstract: Linux is a commonly used operating system, but it may experience performance degradation after running for a long time. This article will introduce some methods to optimize and adjust the memory usage of Linux systems to improve system performance.

1. Use Swap partition more: Swap partition is the virtual memory of Linux system. When the physical memory is insufficient, the system will save some data to the Swap partition. It is recommended to set up a Swap partition equal to the size of the physical memory to ensure sufficient virtual memory. Swap partition can be enabled through the command "swapon".
2. Reduce memory leaks: Memory leaks may occur in long-running programs, causing the system memory usage to continue to increase. These problems can be detected and fixed using tools such as Valgrind. At the same time, ensuring that the allocated memory is released after the program ends can be achieved by writing good code and using appropriate memory management techniques.
3. Improve kernel parameters: By modifying the parameters of the Linux kernel, memory usage can be optimized. For example, the "vm.swappiness" parameter can be adjusted to control the proportion at which the system starts using Swap partitions when physical memory is low. The default value is 60, which can be adjusted according to the actual situation of the system. At the same time, appropriately increasing the values ​​of the "vm.dirty_ratio" and "vm.dirty_background_ratio" parameters can improve the system's response speed.
4. Adjust applications: Some applications may occupy a large amount of memory resources, causing system performance to decrease. Memory usage can be reduced by optimizing the application's configuration parameters or upgrading to a new version. At the same time, applications that are unnecessary to run can be closed or uninstalled to release memory resources.
5. Use memory compression technology: Linux system provides some memory compression technologies, such as ZSwap and ZRam. ZSwap can compress and save part of the memory that needs to be swapped to the Swap partition, reducing the IO overhead of the swap process. ZRam uses part of the memory as compressed storage space to improve memory utilization.
6. Monitoring and Diagnostics: Use tools to monitor your system's memory usage, such as free, top, and htop. Through these tools, processes with abnormal memory usage can be discovered in time and corresponding measures can be taken. Common tools for diagnosing memory usage issues also include vmstat and sar.
7. Restart the system regularly: Systems that have been running for a long time may have some unknown problems, including memory leaks and kernel errors. Restarting the system regularly can clear up these problems and help free up occupied memory resources.

Summary: By optimizing and adjusting the memory usage of Linux systems, we can improve system performance and extend system stability. Starting from many aspects, including setting up Swap partitions, reducing memory leaks, adjusting kernel parameters, optimizing applications, etc., you can make the system use memory resources more efficiently.

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