How to configure swap space after system installation?

Question

I've installed Debian Wheezy; after installation completed, I realized that I forgot to set the swap memory. So now, how can I configure the swap space?

score 8 · Accepted Answer · edited Sep 17 '12 at 21:12

8

Try this:

Create a partition or RAID array or logical volume... (or use an existing one) for swap
mkswap that partition
Run blkid that-block-device
Add an entry to /etc/fstab in the form UUID=7321174b-e4d8-4d9d-b223-113a1b8e9c9f swap swap sw 0 0 (see step 3 for actual UUID)
swapon -a or reboot

edited Sep 17 '12 at 21:12

Stéphane Chazelas

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answered Sep 17 '12 at 20:42

Renan

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2

You can also use a file instead of a partition. It's slower, but will get the job done if you don't have room for an additional partition. – jordanm Sep 17 '12 at 22:50

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 06 '21 at 16:52

If you can't create a new partition or add new disks, you can increase your swap with the following :

swapfile=swapfile01
dd if=/dev/zero of=/var/$swapfile bs=1024 count=$(( 2*1024*1024 ))
mkswap -L $swapfile /var/$swapfile
echo "/var/$swapfile swap swap defaults 0 0" >> /etc/fstab
swapon /var/$swapfile

NB - this creates a 2GB swapfile. Adjust count= to requirements.

score -3 · Answer 3 · answered Jul 22 '15 at 23:57

-3

FYI. If you configure a swap space on an encrypted container, it will break! I strongly advise you to configure swap volume during the OS setup phase.

answered Jul 22 '15 at 23:57

Neocron

1

Edit: if you try to configure swap space on logical volume where the encrypted container resides outside of the logical volume, it will break. – Neocron Jul 22 '15 at 23:58
I am using swapfiles on encrypted volumes for years without setting them up in setup phase and never ran into problems. – Jodka Lemon Jul 23 '15 at 00:04
..running Debian. – Jodka Lemon Jul 23 '15 at 00:13

How to configure swap space after system installation?

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