Swap space is a section of the hard disk that is used as virtual memory by the operating system. When the computer runs out of physical memory (RAM), it moves some of the less-used pages of memory to the swap space to make room for more active pages. This process is called “swapping.” Checking swap space is a useful way to monitor the health of a computer system, as it can help identify potential performance issues.
There are a few different ways to check swap space in Unix. One common method is to use the “free” command. The “free” command will display information about the amount of physical and swap memory that is available on the system, as well as the amount of memory that is being used. Another method for checking swap space is to use the “vmstat” command. The “vmstat” command will display information about the virtual memory activity on the system, including the amount of swap space that is being used.