Re: Bug#652275: Guided partitioning should not offer separate /usr, /var, and /tmp partitions; leave that to manual partitioning

[Josh Triplett <josh@joshtriplett.org>]

Russ Allbery wrote:
>Josh Triplett <josh@joshtriplett.org> writes:
>> In all of the recent discussions about separate /usr partitions, most
>> people seem to acknowledge them as unusual, special-purpose
>> configurations, even those who use them.  To the extent they have a use
>> at all, they primarily have a use for people who have very specific
>> reasons for wanting them, and all of those people will know how to
>> handle partitioning.  To a lesser extent, that holds true for having
>> separate partitions for /var, /tmp, or other top-level directories.  It
>> seems likely that any such setup will have custom requirements.
> 
> I don't think these things are alike.  Separating /var and /tmp from the
> rest of the file systems is done because those partitions contain varying
> amounts of data and often fill if something goes wrong, but can fill
> without impacting the rest of the system and allowing easy recovery if
> they're not on the same partition as everything else.

Exactly what I had in mind when I said "To a lesser extent". :)

I still think the general statement applies: "It seems likely that any
such setup will have custom requirements.".  Anyone installing a server
probably either wants one of the two other guided setups (all-in-one or
separate /home) or wants the manual partitioner because they have
specific ideas about which partitions and sizes they want.  Thus, I
think the guided partitioner shouldn't offer a generic
pile-o'-partitions option, and particularly not one with a separate
/usr.

- Josh Triplett