Author: bdubbs
Date: 2010-02-17 19:19:31 -0700 (Wed, 17 Feb 2010)
New Revision: 9189
Modified:
trunk/BOOK/chapter01/changelog.xml
trunk/BOOK/chapter02/creatingpartition.xml
Log:
Add a discussion about disk partitioning
Modified: trunk/BOOK/chapter01/changelog.xml
===================================================================
--- trunk/BOOK/chapter01/changelog.xml 2010-02-17 23:34:36 UTC (rev 9188)
+++ trunk/BOOK/chapter01/changelog.xml 2010-02-18 02:19:31 UTC (rev 9189)
@@ -41,6 +41,10 @@
<para>2010-02-17</para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
+ <para>[bdubbs] Add a discussion about disk partitioning.
+ Fixes <ulink url="&lfs-ticket-root;2582">#2582</ulink>.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
<para>[bdubbs] Ensure that GDBM is added to the info 'dir' file.
Thanks to Randy McMurchy for the fix.
Fixes <ulink url="&lfs-ticket-root;2574">#2574</ulink>.</para>
Modified: trunk/BOOK/chapter02/creatingpartition.xml
===================================================================
--- trunk/BOOK/chapter02/creatingpartition.xml 2010-02-17 23:34:36 UTC (rev
9188)
+++ trunk/BOOK/chapter02/creatingpartition.xml 2010-02-18 02:19:31 UTC (rev
9189)
@@ -62,4 +62,89 @@
class="filesystem">swap</systemitem> partition. These names will be
needed later for the <filename>/etc/fstab</filename> file.</para>
+ <sect2>
+ <title>Other Partition Issues</title>
+
+ <para>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.</para>
+
+ <sect3>
+ <title>The Root Partition</title>
+
+ <para>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.</para> </sect3>
+
+ <sect3>
+ <title>The Swap Partition</title>
+
+ <para>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.</para>
+
+ <para>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.</para> </sect3>
+
+ <sect3>
+ <title>Convenience Partitions</title>
+
+ <para>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.</para>
+
+ <itemizedlist>
+
+ <listitem><para>/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.</para></listitem>
+
+ <listitem><para>/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.</para></listitem>
+
+ <listitem><para>/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.</para></listitem>
+
+ <listitem><para>/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.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem><para>/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.</para></listitem>
+
+ <listitem><para>/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.</para></listitem>
+
+ </itemizedlist>
+
+ <para>Any separate partition that you want automatically mounted upon boot
+ needs to be specified in the <filename>/etc/fstab</filename>. Details
+ about how to specify partitions will be discussed in <xref
+ linkend="ch-bootable-fstab"/>. </para>
+
+ </sect3>
+ </sect2>
</sect1>
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