fs cache

[Vlad GURDIGA]

Hello,

I have FreeBSD 7-CURRENT and Ubuntu on the same computer but Firefox
takes twice as long to start on a fresh boot. I've run some simple
tests:
- on FreeBSD it takes about 7 seconds on the first start and about 3
on subsequent startups;
- on Ubuntu it takes about 3 seconds on the first start and about 1 on
subsequent startups;

The only difference I can see is that on Ubuntu, after first start of
Firefox the memory use for cache is 22% vs. 0% on FreeBSD. My guess is
that this is the cause of slower startups on FreeBSD.

My question is: can I tune UFS2 in such a way that the most frequently
used desktop applications would remain for a longer time in disk
cache?

In both cases I use GNOME 2.18, GNOME System Monitor 2.18, and Firefox 2.
Both FreeBSD 7-CURRENT (src and ports tree) and Ubuntu 7.01
(2.6.20-16-generic kernel) are up to date. Both are SMP and 32bit.
Here is the system configuration:
- Intel DP965LT mother-board;
- dual-core Pentium D 820;
- 1GB of dual-channel-enabled DDR2 PC5300 at 667 MHz;
- Seagate, BARRACUDA 7200.7 Plus, 160GB, ST3160827AS, 8M cache, with NCQ;