[lug] Linux Memory Usage

[Jim Buzbee]

I'm trying to get an accurate account of the memory usage on a minimal Linux
box, and I can't seem to account for all memory.  I have a box loaded with a
_very_ minimal Slackware distribution (A series).  The box has been throttled
down to 8 meg's of RAM, no swap, and very little is running. Here's what "free"
reports :

	total	used	free	shared	buffers	cached
Mem:	6132	5629	512	1688	484	3288
-/+ buffers/cache:	1848	4284
Swap:	0	0	0

I know that the difference between the 8 Meg in the system and the 6132K
reported is accounted for in the kernel image itself, but I can't seem to get
anything to count up to 5629K.  When I run "top" and add up all of the %MEM
column, I get around 60%.  Where is the rest?  The buffers (disk?) in the above
free statement doesn't seem to account for all of it.  Anyone have any insight
here? (I just know this is a FAQ somewhere... )

Thanks,
Jim Buzbee