Would also like to chime in...
I keep a Linux 1.3.60 128MB P5-90 (P6-200 on order) running round-
the-clock research jobs up to 450MB in size. The larger ones page
_very_ poorly. In some cases (linear pass through a large array),
I only get 2% user cpu time. I also do my interactive work on the
same machine.
Kswap appears to have helped interactive performance during swapping,
but I have no data on the effect on the large job itself.
I too would like to second the suggestion that some form of
improved swapping for single large jobs be considered in the
not-too-distant future.
Certainly appreciate the effort so far--thanks to all who have
contributed.
Doug