If we had just created a partition that is intended to be used as a swap device, we would initialize it by using the mkswap command, specifying the partition block device as an argument:

# mkswap /dev/hdc6

Unlike regular filesystems, swap partitions aren't mounted. Instead, they are enabled using the swapon command:

# swapon /dev/hdc6

Normally, your Linux system's startup scripts will take care of automatically enabling your swap partitions. Therefore, the swapon command is generally only needed when you need to immediately add some swap that you just created. To view the swap devices currently enabled, type cat /proc/swaps.