There was a recent irc discussion concerning swap activation for a live session, with mixed results
Using the latest "daily build" from usb with nothing modified (don't have a cd to test this just now) this is what happens here:
If "swapon" is added to cmdline, an existing swap partition is automatically detected, configured and used. <free> shows available memory, ram and swap individually. If swapon is set it should also show in /etc/fstab.
It is also possible to add swap after boot, (su)<swapon /dev/sdax>
"swapon" is actually a live-boot option although <man live-boot> doesn't say so. Without it, swap does not autoactivate. The relevent files are:
/usr/share/initramfs-tools/scripts/live
/usr/share/initramfs-tools/scripts/live-bottom/12fstab
which are built into the initrd
A swap partition on usb may be more difficult, possibly needing additions in /usr/share/initramfs-tools/scripts/live-premount/modules (also built into initrd)
http://lists.debian.org/debian-live/201 ... 00064.htmlNo idea about swapfiles
Useful to know, if you don't run a high-spec machine. You might need <swapoff -a> before disk partitioning.