swapfs_minfree

Description

Amount of physical memory that is desired be kept free for the rest of the system. Attempts to reserve memory for use as swap space by any process that causes the system's perception of available memory to fall below this value are rejected. Pages reserved in this manner can only be used for locked-down allocations by the kernel or by user-level processes.

Data Type

Unsigned long

Default

The larger of 2 Mbytes and 1/8th of physical memory

Range

1 to amount of physical memory

Units

Pages

Dynamic?

No

Validation

None

When to Change

When processes are failing because of an inability to obtain swap space, yet the system has memory available.

Commitment Level

Unstable