Talk:RAM disk
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[edit] Tmp
I am curious; doesn't Gentoo Linux also grow and shrink /tmp as necessary? Isn't that in fact a usual feature of source-based distros? -- Maru Dubshinki A RAM drive is a physical piece of solid state hardware that behaves like a ordinary hard drive in most respects but delivers far superior performance regarding access time and thru put. What you refer to in this wiki is a Virtual RAM Drive where the storage device is emulated in system memory. A virtual RAM drive achieves that same effect as a RAM drive but with a few limitations, namely, virtual RAM drives are limited in capacity to your system memory and they utilize system CPU time when accessing data. The system memory limitation is largely due to the fact that many operating systems simply do not support large quantities of system memory (not large enough for big RAM drives). Windows vista as an example limits system memory to 8GB with the high end of the OS release. Physical RAM drives on the other hand such as the HyperDrive IV and GigaByte I-RAM have their own RAM on board and the memory limits are dependant on the manufacture. Capacities can vary between 4GB and 16GB. It’s important to note, since most RAM drives act identically to normal hard drives, that you can place RAM drives into a RAID configuration in order to extend the space available or protect data with mirroring. Enhancements in data thru put should not be expected in a RAM drive RAID configuration because the data bottle neck for RAM drives is the BUS architecture and not the speed of the drives. Another complication with RAM drives is the manor in which they retain data. When the system is shut down or when a power outage occurs RAM normally loses all stored data because RAM must be continually powered to hold data. Manufactures of RAM Drives utilize a battery that can keep the memory active but most systems can not keep memory active for more than 16 hours without power. It is recommended by some professionals that you utilize a UPS system with such system configurations to lower the chances of data loss. Another important safety tip for those using RAM drives is to regularly copy the RAM drive image to a local magnetic hard drive particularly before shutting down the system.
[edit] Name
http://www.eniro.se/cgi-bin/popularimeter.cgi?kl=sv&q1=%22RAM+disk%22&q2=RAM-disk&q3=RAMdisk&q4=RAM-drive&q5=%22RAM+drive%22&what=web&search=S%F6kningen+p%E5g%E5r... I think "RAM-disk" seems to be the most widely used name.
[edit] Virtual RAM Drive vs. RAM Drive
[edit] Linux / Windows
The Article and all the links seem very much Linux-centric. I don't have a problem with that, (although I came here specifically to learn about the current status of Ramdisks in Windows, so I think it would be nice to include that also) but it should be made clear in the article that most of that which is said applies only to a certain kind of OS.--BjKa 09:53, 30 July 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Sources?
This article contains no references to sources... Sources showing appropriate info needs to be added. 71.178.208.209 (talk) 01:12, 11 January 2008 (UTC)
