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System Optimizations

Introduction 2026-08-28

Shanios includes extensive performance, gaming, and reliability optimizations out of the box, eliminating the need for manual tweaking. These enterprise-grade optimizations are pre-configured and active from first boot.

Memory & Storage Management

  • ZRAM Compression: Automatic RAM compression using the zstd algorithm provides improved memory efficiency without requiring swap partitions.
  • Optimized Swappiness: Tuned to 133 — encourages the kernel to use compressed ZRAM swap before evicting clean page cache, maintaining system responsiveness under memory pressure.
  • Btrfs Maintenance: Automated filesystem maintenance runs in the background — periodic scrubbing for data integrity, balance operations, and defragmentation. Scheduled to minimize impact on system usage.
  • Continuous Block-Level Deduplication: beesd runs as a background daemon, deduplicating identical data blocks across all Btrfs subvolumes to reduce disk usage.
  • Optimized Page Lock Unfairness: Set to 1 to reduce lock contention and improve multi-threaded application performance, particularly for databases and high-concurrency workloads.

Gaming & Performance

Game Controller Hardware

  • game-devices-udev: Comprehensive udev rules for 8BitDo, PlayStation (DualShock 3/4, DualSense, DualSense Edge), Xbox (360, One, Series), Nintendo Switch Pro, Joy-Cons, GameCube adapter, VR equipment, and more
  • OpenRGB udev rules: RGB control for keyboards, mice, headsets, fans from ASUS Aura, Corsair, Razer, SteelSeries, Logitech G, MSI Mystic Light, Cooler Master, NZXT, and others
  • Racing Wheel Support: Logitech (G25/G27/G29/G920/G923), Thrustmaster (T150/T300RS/T500RS), Fanatec — with full force feedback

Kernel-Level Gaming Optimizations

  • Game Compatibility Kernel Parameters: Increased PID limit (65535), expanded memory map areas (2147483642), enhanced inotify limits
  • Network Optimization: TCP FIN timeout reduced to 5 seconds (Valve SteamOS optimization) — prevents "address already in use" errors in multiplayer games
  • CPU Scheduler Tuning: CFS bandwidth slice: 3000μs; base slice: 3ms; autogroup scheduling enabled
  • MGLRU (Multi-Gen LRU): Enabled with aggressive settings for intelligent memory reclaim
  • Transparent Hugepage: Set to madvise for selective large page usage
  • GameMode Integration: GameMode daemon enabled globally — auto-applies CPU governor, I/O priority, and GPU performance levels when games launch
  • High-Precision Timers: HPET and RTC frequencies increased to 3072 Hz for superior timing accuracy

Process Management & Responsiveness

  • Ananicy-cpp: Automatic process priority management with game-aware rules — background tasks are deprioritized when games or media are active
  • systemd-oomd: System-wide OOM daemon enabled by default to prevent system freezes
  • IRQBalance: Optimizes interrupt distribution across CPU cores
  • Haveged: Hardware entropy daemon enabled by default, keeping /dev/random well-seeded for cryptographic operations without stalling on low-entropy hardware
  • Increased File & Process Limits: Default limits raised to 1,048,576 for open files (NOFILE) and processes (NPROC)
  • Fast Shutdown: Reduced timeout values (10s stop, 10s abort) — services that fail to stop gracefully are automatically killed

Boot & System Efficiency

  • Plymouth (BGRT Theme): Smooth graphical boot experience showing manufacturer's logo
  • Journal Size Limit: systemd journal capped at 128 MB across at most 2 rotated files, to prevent excessive disk usage
  • Reduced Kernel Messages: Console printk level set to 3 (errors and critical messages only)
  • Time Synchronization: systemd-timesyncd enabled by default for automatic NTP synchronization
  • Socket Activation: Many services start on-demand — pcscd, lircd, gpsd, cups, avahi-daemon, saned

Automated Maintenance (Systemd Timers)

TimerAction
btrfs-scrub.timerMonthly scrubbing to detect and repair data corruption
btrfs-balance.timerPeriodic filesystem balancing for optimal performance
btrfs-defrag.timerAutomatic defragmentation on fragmented files
btrfs-trim.timerRegular TRIM operations for SSD optimisation
beesd daemonContinuous background block-level deduplication across all Btrfs subvolumes
flatpak-update-system.timerSystem Flatpak auto-updates every 12 hours
flatpak-update-user.timerPer-user Flatpak auto-updates every 12 hours
shani-update.timer (per-user)Checks for a new OS image every 2 hours and prompts before deploying

All maintenance operations are scheduled during low-usage periods and use minimal system resources.

Verifying the Optimizations

Everything above is observable on a running system:

# ZRAM: compressed in-memory swap
zramctl

# Swappiness and page-lock tuning
sysctl vm.swappiness vm.page_lock_unfairness

# Maintenance timers: when they last ran and what's pending
systemctl list-timers --all | grep -E 'btrfs|flatpak|shani'

# bees deduplication status (unit is keyed by filesystem UUID)
systemctl status 'beesd@*'

# GameMode daemon
systemctl status gamemoded

# Raised limits
ulimit -n && ulimit -u

# MGLRU and hugepage settings
cat /sys/kernel/mm/lru_gen/enabled
cat /sys/kernel/mm/transparent_hugepage/enabled
Note: All these optimizations are pre-configured and active from first boot. No manual configuration, tweaking, or performance tuning required.
For the full security configuration — AppArmor, firewalld, kernel module blacklist, LSM stack, and hardening parameters — see Security Features.

See Also