64bit or 32bit Linux system?
- by Milan Babuškov
I have a server that has 4GB of RAM. On it, I have installation of 32bit Slackware Linux 12.1. Of course, it is not using all of 4GB of RAM. I'd soon like to increase the RAM to 8GB, and am looking for a way for the system to use it. The system is used as a database server and is under high load during the day.
AFAICT, I have two options: stay with 32bit and rebuild the kernel and lose some performance. Or go with 64bit and reinstall everything. Looking at 64bit versions of Slackware, I could run -current or Slamd64.
Now, on to the questions:
Should I stay with 32bit or go with 64bit?
If I go 64bit, should I use -current or Slamd64?
P.S. I hope to get answers from someone actually using any of these configurations in production, not just copy/paste something I could find myself via Google.