Deflated
Deflated
Data compression costs virtually no computing power today. Why not save some space by putting data compression techniques to work on RAM and cache memory?
Random access memory (RAM) is used to store data for ongoing operations. RAM has an ultra-short access time, but it is comparatively expensive to buy. Moreover, you cannot extend RAM infinitely, because the board can only take a certain size and only offers a fixed number of slots for it. Additionally, memory modules for older devices are sometimes difficult to obtain.
Instead of adding more RAM to the computer, another approach is to make more data fit in the RAM you already have. Current computers are fast enough that on-the-fly data compression hardly makes a difference to the total execution time. Data compression started as a technology for archiving data on hard disks, but you can also use compression for data in RAM memory.
The three methods, zram, zswap, and zcache, provide three implementations that extend content compression to RAM. These features made it into the main kernel branch [1] in the 3.14 kernel, but haven't received much everyday use. Only Android 4.4 and Knoppix 7 or higher activate zram by default.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Kali Linux 2025.3 Released with New Hacking Tools
If you're a Kali Linux fan, you'll be glad to know that the third release of this famous pen-testing distribution is now available with updates for key components.
-
Zorin OS 18 Beta Available for Testing
The latest release from the team behind Zorin OS is ready for public testing, and it includes plenty of improvements to make it more powerful, user-friendly, and productive.
-
Fedora Linux 43 Beta Now Available for Testing
Fedora Linux 43 Beta ships with Gnome 49 and KDE Plasma 6.4 (and other goodies).
-
USB4 Maintainer Leaves Intel
Michael Jamet, one of the primary maintainers of USB4 and Thunderbolt drivers, has left Intel, leaving a gaping hole for the Linux community to deal with.
-
Budgie 10.9.3 Now Available
The latest version of this elegant and configurable Linux desktop aligns with changes in Gnome 49.
-
KDE Linux Alpha Available for Daring Users
It's official, KDE Linux has arrived, but it's not quite ready for prime time.
-
AMD Initiates Graphics Driver Updates for Linux Kernel 6.18
This new AMD update focuses on power management, display handling, and hardware support for Radeon GPUs.
-
AerynOS Alpha Release Available
With a choice of several desktop environments, AerynOS 2025.08 is almost ready to be your next operating system.
-
AUR Repository Still Under DDoS Attack
Arch User Repository continues to be under a DDoS attack that has been going on for more than two weeks.
-
RingReaper Malware Poses Danger to Linux Systems
A new kind of malware exploits modern Linux kernels for I/O operations.