This theme/thread is being started for the sharing of technicalities, uses and advantages of deploying GrandOrgue using the LINUX Operating System. My next post is being compiled in Google DOCS and I expect to upload it in the next day or two. Meanwhile, I want to share some Memory Management details for LINUX as a result of my interrogation of the Gemini AI system:
Here's the question posed to Gemini, followed by AI's answer:
I have 64GB DRAM in my computer and am running LINUX Mint 22 OS. I have a dedicated 32GB Swap File. My Swappiness is set at 5. Putting into Perspective - I currently have three organs open in three separate workspaces, playable by themselves or in any mixed combination. All organs are loaded with settings of 48K, 1024 buffers, 5ms desired latency, and All Loops and All Attacks.
With several open running programs, if System monitor still shows zero Swap File usage and for the RAM Memory shows 6.8GB (10.1%) of 67GB used with 58.8GB cached, could you tell me what this actually means?
"Here is what those numbers mean and why your system is behaving the way it is:
1. Active Memory vs. Page Cache
- 6.8 GB (10.1%) Used: This is the actual memory being actively used by your running applications (web browsers, Linux Mint desktop environment, background services, etc.). Your applications are comfortably fitting inside less than 10% of your total physical RAM.
- 58.8 GB Cached: Linux adheres to the principle that "free RAM is wasted RAM." Rather than leaving your remaining ~57 GB sitting empty, the Linux kernel automatically uses almost all of your idle memory as a high-speed disk cache (Page Cache). It stores recently read/written files, library dependencies, and application data directly in RAM. If an app needs that data again, reading it from cached RAM is orders of magnitude faster than reading it from disk.
- Dynamic Reclamation: If you launch a memory-heavy application that needs 30 GB of RAM, the Linux kernel instantly reclaims and frees up that 58.8 GB cache in milliseconds without any performance hit to your applications.
2. Why Your Swap Usage is Zero
- Swappiness = 5: The vm.swappiness setting controls how aggressively the Linux kernel swaps memory pages out of RAM and into your 32 GB Swap File. The default value in Linux Mint is usually 60. Setting it to 5 tells the kernel: "Do not write to swap unless memory pressure is extremely high."
- Zero Swap Usage: Because you have 64 GB of RAM and your active application usage is only 6.8 GB, your system is under zero memory pressure. The kernel has zero reason to move anything to disk, which is ideal—it keeps all app execution strictly in high-speed DRAM.
Summary
Your setup is performing exactly as intended for a system with 64 GB of RAM. Your running software takes up ~6.8 GB, while Linux is intelligently using the remaining ~58.8 GB as a temporary speed booster for disk access, while keeping your swap file on standby in case of extreme workload spikes."