GNU Linux has implemented efficient memory management algorithms & tools which gives you the power & flexibility to control both the physical & virtual memory on your system.

Clear Cache

There are 3 options to clear cache without interrupting any processes or services:

• Clear page cache:

  # echo 1 > /proc/sys/vm/drop_cache
  

• Clear dentries and inodes

  # echo 2 > /proc/sys/vm/drop_cache
  

• Clear PageCache, dentries and inodes

  # echo 3 > /proc/sys/vm/drop_cache
  

Clear Swap Space

• Clearing swap space is as easy as disabling & re-enabling the devices/files used for swaping.

  # swapoff -a && swapon -a
  

Further Reading

1. What is a Superblock, Inode, Dentry and a File?