The main reason for running a separate /boot, AFAIK, is to minimize the chance of damaging your boot files through a system or human error. Once the machine is booted, /boot is unmounted.
--Dwight Tuinstra On Fri, 21 Feb 2003, Hall, Ken (ECSS) wrote: | Nobody said you had to. Intel-based linux loaders allow you to select a kernel |configuration at boot time, so you can keep multiple versions available. zipl |doesn't let you do this (yet), so you | need a kludge to make two kernels available. | | My point was just that having a separate /boot doesn't buy you much. The space |saving is minimal. If you're running two kernel versions they should be just that: |Two separate versions, with | different image names, and different module directories. Even if you're testing a |new config of the same kernel version, this can be done with the VERSION and |EXTRAVERSION variables in the kernel | makefile (as long as you load the IBM OCO modules with insmod -f, and the timer |option matches). | | > -----Original Message----- | > From: Post, Mark K [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] | > Sent: Thursday, February 20, 2003 1:03 PM | > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | > Subject: Re: [LINUX-390] R/O Linux guest? | > | > | > /lib is, and must be, part of the root file system (unless | > you're willing to | > play the games that I am not). I'm not going to replace my | > entire root file | > system just to upgrade a kernel. So, no problem. | > | > Mark Post | > | > -----Original Message----- | > From: Hall, Ken (ECSS) [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] | > Sent: Thursday, February 20, 2003 12:58 PM | > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | > Subject: Re: R/O Linux guest? | > | > | > What about /lib (and particularly /lib/modules)? You can't | > just switch | > kernels without having the corresponding modules available. | > | > Not to mention /var, and all of the RPM database stuff. | > | > Splitting off /boot seems to be mainly a relic from the days | > when Linux | > wouldn't boot if the root filesystem was bigger than 500mb. | > (or whatever) on | > Intel boxen. I haven't seen a good reason to do it | > for a long time. If it's too big, it's a waste of space, and | > if it's too | > small, you can't keep the multiple kernels you want there. | > | > > -----Original Message----- | > > From: Post, Mark K [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] | > > Sent: Thursday, February 20, 2003 12:13 PM | > > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | > > Subject: Re: [LINUX-390] R/O Linux guest? | > > | > > | > > Having /boot separate allows you to decide which volume you | > > want to IPL | > > from. It also allows you to have multiple IPL volumes | > > available. I also | > > have a /boot1, /boot2.4, etc. /root is root's home directory | > > and it forces | > > me to be careful with how much junk I put there. If it were | > > part of /, then | > > I could conceivably fill it up by being careless. | > > | > > In my particular case, /usr, /opt, are shared read-only with | > > other systems. | > > | > > I'm not sure what you mean by a kernel upgrade forcing me to replace | > > multiple minidisks. Most of the stuff that would need to be | > > upgraded along | > > with the kernel typically lives in /usr. | > > | > > Mark Post | > > | > > -----Original Message----- | > > From: Chet Norris [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] | > > Sent: Thursday, February 20, 2003 7:24 AM | > > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | > > Subject: Re: R/O Linux guest? | > > | > > | > > Per the below (03/12/02) response, what devices are Read-Only and | > > shared? It seems to me that only /usr and /usr/src could | > be. Then why | > > separate /root and /boot? I know you had a good reason, and | > I'm in the | > > process of re-mapping my file structures. Also, doesn't a kernel | > > upgrade force you to roll out multiple minidisk replacements? | > > Too bad we can't map it the same as USS with a separate /etc | > > per image. | > > | > > From Archives Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2002 18:38:59 -0800 | > > Mark Post wrote: | > > >/boot, /var and /tmp do _not_ have to be on the root file system. | > > >Mine aren't. Unless you play some games, /bin, /dev, /etc, /lib, | > > >and /sbin have to be part of the root file system. Anything else | > > >can be easily put on a different one. | > > >~ > df | > > >Filesystem 1k-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on | > > >/dev/dasdb1 52284 35868 13720 72% / | > > >/dev/dasdc1 1062992 388560 620436 39% /tmp | > > >/dev/dasdd1 1417324 1337424 7904 99% /usr | > > >/dev/dasde1 111572 50520 55296 48% /var | > > >/dev/dasdf1 104596 73036 26164 74% /opt | > > >/dev/dasdg1 10432 1756 8140 18% /boot | > > >/dev/dasdh1 52284 4936 44652 10% /root | > > >/dev/dasdi1 24384 12912 10216 56% /home | > > >/dev/dasdj1 921228 773876 100556 89% /usr/src | > > | > > Mark Post | > > | > > | > | > |
