> It is possible to declare a chunk of memory as a ramdisk which is then
>treated like a normal disk by SunOS.
It's possible to do so, with sufficient effort, but that's not what
"tmpfs" does:
1) "tmpfs" isn't a file system that lives on a normal disk; it's
a file system specifically written to have its "metadata"
(data structures used to access files) in kernel memory, and
its data pages in memory backed up by swap space;
2) "tmpfs" does not "declare a chunk of memory" as anything; the
metadata lives in whatever pages the kernel memory allocator
happens to parcel out to it, and the regular file data lives
in *pageable* kernel virtual memory - i.e., it is *NOT* wired
down in memory, and *can* get pushed out of memory to swap
space.
Now, "tmpfs" may give at least some of you everything you'd want out of
a RAM disk file system, but it's *not* a RAM disk file system and should
*not* be confused with a RAM disk file system.
If you want a RAM disk, you'd have to get a RAM disk driver....
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.2 : Fri Sep 28 2001 - 23:08:02 CDT