From 44917f19a0dca1dc72625ecfafb30cb550d1f58f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Bruce Dubbs Date: Thu, 18 Feb 2010 02:19:31 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] Add a discussion about disk partitioning git-svn-id: http://svn.linuxfromscratch.org/LFS/trunk/BOOK@9189 4aa44e1e-78dd-0310-a6d2-fbcd4c07a689 --- chapter01/changelog.xml | 4 ++ chapter02/creatingpartition.xml | 85 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 2 files changed, 89 insertions(+) diff --git a/chapter01/changelog.xml b/chapter01/changelog.xml index b729706db..901a05395 100644 --- a/chapter01/changelog.xml +++ b/chapter01/changelog.xml @@ -40,6 +40,10 @@ 2010-02-17 + + [bdubbs] Add a discussion about disk partitioning. + Fixes #2582. + [bdubbs] Ensure that GDBM is added to the info 'dir' file. Thanks to Randy McMurchy for the fix. diff --git a/chapter02/creatingpartition.xml b/chapter02/creatingpartition.xml index 9127e5e3f..07f61df6e 100644 --- a/chapter02/creatingpartition.xml +++ b/chapter02/creatingpartition.xml @@ -62,4 +62,89 @@ class="filesystem">swap partition. These names will be needed later for the /etc/fstab file. + + Other Partition Issues + + Requests for advice on system partitioning are often posted on the LFS mailing + lists. This is a highly subjective topic. The default size for most distributions + is to use the entire drive with the exception of one small swap partition. This + is not optimal for LFS for several reasons. It reduces flexibility, makes + sharing of data across multiple distributions or LFS builds more difficult, makes + backups more time consuming, and can waste disk space through inefficient + allocation of file system structures. + + + The Root Partition + + A root LFS partition (not to be confused with the /root directory) of + ten gigabytes is a good compromise for most systems. It provides enough + space to build LFS and most of BLFS, but is small enough so that multiple + partitions can be easily created for experimentation. + + + The Swap Partition + + Most distributions automatically create a swap partition. Generally + the recommneded size of the swap partition is about twice the amount of + physical RAM, however this is rarely needed. If disk space is limited, + hold the swap partition to two gigabytes and monitor the amount of disk + swapping. + + Swapping is never good. Generally you can tell if a system is + swapping by just listening to disk activity and observing how the system + reacts to commands. The first reaction to swapping shouuld be to check for + an unresonable command such as trying to edit a five gigabyte file. If + swapping becomes a normal occurance, the best solution is to purchase more + RAM for your system. + + + Convenience Partitions + + There are several other partitions that are not required, but should + be considered when designing a disk layout, The following list + is not comprehensive, but is meant as a guide. + + + + /boot – Highly recommended. Use this partition to + store kernels and other booting information. To minimize potential boot + problems with larger disks, make this the first physical partition on + your first disk drive. A partition size of 100 megabytes is quite + adequate. + + /home – Highly recommended. Share your home + directory and user customization across multiple distributions or LFS + builds. The size is generally fairly large and depends on available disk + space. + + /usr – A separate /usr partition is generally used + if providing a server for a thin client or diskless workstation. It is + normally not needed for LFS. A size of five gigabytes will handle most + installations. + + /opt – This directory is most useful for + BLFS where multiple installations of large packages like Gnome or KDE can + be installed without embedding the files in the /usr hierarchy. If + used, five to ten gigabytes is generally adequate. + + + /tmp – A separate /tmp directory is rare, but + useful if coufiguring a thin client. This partition, if used, will + usually not need to exceed a couple of gigabytes. + + /usr/src – This partition is very + useful for providing a location to store BLFS source files and + share them across LFS builds. It can also be used as a location + for building BLFS packages. A reasonably large partition of 30-50 + gigabytes allows plenty of room. + + + + Any separate partition that you want automatically mounted upon boot + needs to be specified in the /etc/fstab. Details + about how to specify partitions will be discussed in . + + +