How to Add Swap Space in Ubuntu VPS

How to Add 1 GB Swap Space in Ubuntu VPS

Adding swap space to your Ubuntu VPS can help improve performance by providing additional virtual memory. Follow these simple steps to add a 1 GB swap file to your server.

Step 1: Create a Swap File

First, create a swap file with 1 GB of space:

sudo fallocate -l 1G /swapfile

If fallocate isn’t available, use:

sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/swapfile bs=1M count=1024

Step 2: Set Correct Permissions

Ensure only root has access to the swap file:

sudo chmod 600 /swapfile

Step 3: Mark the File as Swap Space

Format the file for use as swap space:

sudo mkswap /swapfile

Step 4: Enable the Swap File

Activate the swap file immediately:

sudo swapon /swapfile

Step 5: Make the Swap Permanent

Add the following line to /etc/fstab to make the swap file permanent:

echo '/swapfile none swap sw 0 0' | sudo tee -a /etc/fstab

Step 6: Verify Swap Space

Check if the swap is active:

sudo swapon --show

Or view overall memory usage:

free -h

Optional: Adjust Swappiness

To control how often the system uses swap space, adjust the swappiness value:

sudo sysctl vm.swappiness=10

Make the change permanent by adding this to /etc/sysctl.conf:

echo 'vm.swappiness=10' | sudo tee -a /etc/sysctl.conf

Conclusion

By following these steps, you can easily add and configure a 1 GB swap file on your Ubuntu VPS, helping your server manage memory more efficiently. Happy hosting!