Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!cca!decvax!harpo!seismo!hao!hplabs!sri-unix!BYTE@mit-mc From: BYTE%mit-mc@sri-unix.UUCP Newsgroups: net.micro.cpm Subject: Re: RAM disks with UNIX Message-ID: <1911@sri-arpa.UUCP> Date: Wed, 8-Jun-83 05:49:00 EDT Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.1911 Posted: Wed Jun 8 05:49:00 1983 Date-Received: Fri, 10-Jun-83 15:42:21 EDT Lines: 22 From: Roger L. LongYes, I believe it would be possible to write a RAM disk driver for UNIX, but I think that if you are going to put a substantial amount of memory into a system for such a purpose, it could be better utilized by other means. For instance, certain mods have been made to various UNIX systems to leave sharable code in memory once you are finished using it until such time as you want to use the code again, or you need the memory for something else. Having a large amount of main memory would mean less chance of such things having to be loaded from disk again, so in a sense, you are obtaining the same benifits of having a RAM disk by other means. Also, UNIX manages a large buffer pool, and reuses its buffers with a LRU algorithm, I believe. If you have lots of memory, increasing this buffer pool should automatically give you the effect of having a RAM disk, as if the disk block that UNIX needs is already in a buffer, no physical I/O operation will be requested of the disk driver. -roger