Swap Partition? Why?

[TotalPenguin]

Why do we need swap space? What is it used for?

[Tor]

It is used as memory, the same as RAM. Only it is slower so the OS moves memory storage to it that isn't used frequently or fast.

[Wanch]

It is to add more memory to your machine. Even Windows has it although it is a swap file and much slower. Using a swap file you can't defrag your entire partition.

[Justice M]

Isn't it also used for dual-booting operating systems? I think I've heard of this term when a friend of mine used Windows Vista and dual-booted Ubuntu Linux on his machine.

[TotalPenguin]

Well it is not used for dual booting, even if you install Ubuntu alone on a machine as far as I know it will still need a SWAP partition.

[LinuxBomber]

So the bigger the SWAP partition the better the performance?

And why is a swap file slower than a swap partition?

[Beryl]

Do all Linux distros need this?

[TotalPenguin]

I think that depends from the kernel, but I think that a swap partition or a swap file is always required, but it seems like linux uses swap partition not files.

[EugenS]

What's the difference, in terms of performance, between a swap partition and a swap file? Why would a partition be faster than a file?