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Message from Steven
===================
Christof Lange wrote:
>
> > I don't use a swap file.  I recommend people
> > use a swap partition.  
> 
> is there a difference in performance or why do 
> you prefer a swap partition? 

Yes, for 2.2 kernels swap partitions are significantly 
faster than swap files.  Apparently the performance of 
swap files has been improved in the 2.6 kernel.

Other reasons why swap partitions are better than swap files:

* Swap files reside on a filesystem which must be mounted.
* Swap files are written in clusters (can be fragmented).
* Power failure while swapping to file can corrupt 
  the filesystem on which the swap file resides. 

Cheers,
Steven