Userspace Software Suspend is an alternative to the default hibernation method in the Linux kernel. It adds several interesting features like compression, encryption… Compression allows for hibernation with a smaller Swap partition. It also decreases the wake up time of your system!
Here is how to install USwSusp on Ubuntu Karmic. Should also work with a recent Debian.
Install the uswsusp package:
aptitude install uswsusp
You can now hibernate with the s2disk command as root.
To hibernate from Ubuntu menu or by key shortcut, then change the following line in the /etc/pm/config.d/00sleep_module file:
SLEEP_MODULE=uswsusp
And test your hibernation!!
Links: