swap_pager indefinite wait buffer - question - SOLVED

[Matthew Dillon]

DragonFly's HAMMER works pretty well across all memory configurations.  It
does work well in small memory configurations.  Some care must be taken
when using HAMMER on a small partition (more typically when using it on a
small SSD).  Since space is limited the automatic snapshotting feature's
'60d' (60 day) default might be way too large and the reblock parameters
might reblock a little too often and cause unecessary (but still not too
much) wear on the SSD.   The hammer and swapcache manual pages should have
a good amount of information on this.

-Matt

On Fri, Dec 26, 2014 at 10:48 PM, PeerCorps Trust Fund <
ipc at peercorpstrust.org> wrote:

> Really? Would have been nice to meet up for a chat, although I am only
> there for part of the year.
>
> All of the BSD's, hmm. The results we came up with in our testing were as
> follows (I'm summarizing).
>
> OpenBSD - having the ability to suspend and resume is extremely useful for
> both a server device and workstations in this environment, and it does this
> flawlessly on Thinkpads (which we are focused on using). It is easy to
> install and everything was very very well laid-out, including getting a
> nice simple desktop environment for the workstations. Unfortunately both on
> the server and client side, NFS is just not there in terms of speed or
> reliability no matter what configuration its in. Apart from NFS, everything
> just works.
>
> NetBSD - couldn't get anything to work.
>
> FreeBSD - worked very well. Rich selection of packages. NFS is fast and
> easy to configure on both client and server machines. ZFS is very useful,
> but am not sure if it is a long term solution for low-end set-ups.
>
> DragonflyBSD - Works! Rich selection of packages (Dports). NFS is
> extremely robust and ridiculously fast. Never seen anything like it before.
> HAMMER offers quite a number of very useful benefits and we are learning to
> put these features to good use.
>
>
> On 12/27/2014 06:12 AM, Matthew Dillon wrote:
> > That's an excellent use of a free OS.  I was in Tanzania at the beginning
> > of the year on vacation.  You can do a lot with 1GB and a lean UI.  All
> the
> > BSDs should do quite well in that configuration.
> >
> > -Matt
> >
> > On Fri, Dec 26, 2014 at 4:05 AM, PeerCorps Trust Fund <
> > ipc at peercorpstrust.org> wrote:
> >
> >> It certainly is, although the machines are actually running stock
> FreeBSD
> >> 10.1.
> >>
> >> PC-BSD was an option in the beginning, but because these were older
> >> computers it was easier to build a low-resource install enabling only
> basic
> >> services such as NFS rather than trying to pare down a PC-BSD install to
> >> suit the needs of the project (which is a basic KDE-based workstation).
> >>
> >> Most of those desktops had only one gigabyte of RAM ad PC-BSD uses a lot
> >> of resources. We learned a lot in the process and will be implementing
> >> modified libraries in the coming year using donated computer equipment.
> >>
> >> I think many underestimate the enormous value that such projects have in
> >> these communities. Just having access to books and educational material
> is
> >> tremendously beneficial from a development perspective.
> >>
> >> On 12/26/2014 01:12 PM, Carsten Mattner wrote:
> >>> On Fri, Dec 26, 2014 at 12:43 AM, PeerCorps Trust Fund
> >>> <ipc at peercorpstrust.org> wrote:
> >>>> Indeed in Tanzania :) we have a couple of technology initiatives
> taking
> >> place at the
> >>>> moment and *BSD is at the center in many ways. The delivery of
> >> educational
> >>>> materials and books to resource-limited communities is an important
> aim
> >> of
> >>>> these initiatives.
> >>>>
> >>>> We actually used FreeBSD in our first effort, but want to experiment
> >> with some
> >>>> of the capabilities of DragonflyBSD and HAMMER in the next one. In our
> >>>> estimation we can possibly stretch our hardware and funds a bit
> further
> >> with
> >>>> DragonflyBSD/HAMMER owing to its low resource requirements.
> >>>
> >>> Ah nice. Is it the same project we heard recently of with photos of a
> >> library
> >>> room running PCBSD machines with a video and document library?
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>> On 12/25/2014 11:20 PM, Carsten Mattner wrote:
> >>>>> On Thu, Dec 25, 2014 at 7:08 PM, PeerCorps Trust Fund
> >>>>> <ipc at peercorpstrust.org> wrote:
> >>>>>> I just wanted to take the opportunity update a previous post that I
> >> made to the
> >>>>>> list concerning a swap_pager concern. It isn't an issue at all but
> >> the fault of my
> >>>>>> own ignorance and hardware limits.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> The external drive in question was simply not pulling enough power
> >> from the
> >>>>>> USB port of the laptop. This was likely resulting in a stalled drive
> >> when anything
> >>>>>> substantial was being copied to it.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> This has since been solved by connecting the drive first to an
> >> externally powered
> >>>>>> USB hub. So, if there is anyone else out there having a similar
> >> issue, trying this
> >>>>>> seems to do the trick. Alternatively, just use a drive that is
> >> powered externally.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> Everything works beautifully now and this low cost experiment for a
> >> simple file
> >>>>>> server will find a home in a school classroom next year.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> In Tanzania?
> >>>>>
> >>>>> FreeBSD had a writeup about a set of PCBSD machines installed in
> >> Nigeria IIRC.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> A blog post or other writeup to link on dragonflybsd.org would
> surely
> >> be nice.
> >>>>>
> >>>>
> >>
> >> --
> >> Michael L. Wilson
> >> International Project Coordinator
> >> PeerCorps Trust Fund - Tanzania
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >
>
> --
> Michael L. Wilson
> International Project Coordinator
> PeerCorps Trust Fund - Tanzania
>
>
>
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