15.1. | FreeBSD a lot of swap space even when the computer has free memory left. Why? | ||||||
FreeBSD will proactively move entirely idle, unused pages of main memory into swap in order to make more main memory available for active use. This heavy use of swap is balanced by using the extra free memory for cacheing. Note that while FreeBSD is proactive in this regard, it does not arbitrarily decide to swap pages when the system is truly idle. Thus you will not find your system all paged out when you get up in the morning after leaving it idle overnight. | |||||||
15.2. | Why does | ||||||
The simple answer is that free memory is wasted memory.
Any memory that your programs do not actively allocate is
used within the FreeBSD kernel as disk cache. The values shown
by top(1) labeled as | |||||||
15.3. | Why will | ||||||
Symlinks do not have permissions, and by default,
chmod(1) will follow symlinks to change the
permissions on the source file, if possible. So if you have a file,
% chmod g-w bar However, the permissions on When changing modes of the file hierarchies rooted in the
files instead of the files themselves,
you have to use either Warning:
% chmod 555 foo/ With the trailing slash, chmod(1) will follow the
symlink, | |||||||
15.4. | Can I run DOS binaries under FreeBSD? | ||||||
Yes, you can use If doscmd will not suffice,
the add-on utility You may also try | |||||||
15.5. | What do I need to do to translate a FreeBSD document into my native language? | ||||||
See the Translation FAQ in the FreeBSD Documentation Project Primer. | |||||||
15.6. | Why does my email to any address at | ||||||
The
Other advice to help your mail reach its destination include:
If you still have trouble with email infrastructure at
| |||||||
15.7. | Where can I find a free FreeBSD account? | ||||||
While FreeBSD does not provide open access to any of their servers, others do provide open access UNIX® systems. The charge varies and limited services may be available. Arbornet, Inc, also known as M-Net, has been providing open access to UNIX® systems since 1983. Starting on an Altos running System III, the site switched to BSD/OS in 1991. In June of 2000, the site switched again to FreeBSD. M-Net can be accessed via telnet and SSH and provides basic access to the entire FreeBSD software suite. However, network access is limited to members and patrons who donate to the system, which is run as a non-profit organization. M-Net also provides an bulletin board system and interactive chat. | |||||||
15.8. | What is the cute little red guy's name? | ||||||
He does not have one, and is just called “the BSD daemon”. If you insist upon using a name, call him “beastie”. Note that “beastie” is pronounced “BSD”. You can learn more about the BSD daemon on his home page. | |||||||
15.9. | Can I use the BSD daemon image? | ||||||
Perhaps. The BSD daemon is copyrighted by Marshall Kirk McKusick. You will want to check his Statement on the Use of the BSD Daemon Figure for detailed usage terms. In summary, you are free to use the image in a tasteful
manner, for personal use, so long as appropriate credit is
given. If you want to use him commercially, you must
contact Kirk McKusick | |||||||
15.10. | Do you have any BSD daemon images I could use? | ||||||
You will find eps and Xfig drawings under
| |||||||
15.11. | I have seen an acronym or other term on the mailing lists and I do not understand what it means. Where should I look? | ||||||
Please see the FreeBSD Glossary. | |||||||
15.12. | Why should I care what color the bikeshed is? | ||||||
The really, really short answer is that you should not. The somewhat longer answer is that just because you are capable of building a bikeshed does not mean you should stop others from building one just because you do not like the color they plan to paint it. This is a metaphor indicating that you need not argue about every little feature just because you know enough to do so. Some people have commented that the amount of noise generated by a change is inversely proportional to the complexity of the change. The longer and more complete answer is that after a very
long argument about whether sleep(1) should take
fractional second arguments, Poul-Henning Kamp
|
This, and other documents, can be downloaded from http://ftp.FreeBSD.org/pub/FreeBSD/doc/
For questions about FreeBSD, read the
documentation before
contacting <questions@FreeBSD.org>.
For questions about this documentation, e-mail <doc@FreeBSD.org>.