Re: Partitions, mount points and sizes
Eduardo,
> From: Eduardo Hidalgo Contreras <eduardo@tij.cetys.mx>
>
> I am going to install Debian and right now I have Slackware. One of the
> questions I have not found a straight answer to is this one:
> I am a home user, I'm not planning to make my box a web server or news
> server. I'm going to use it for software development, normal applications,
> browse the internet and to play games. Can somebody tell me what are the
> normal size requirements for the partitions, and if you can recommend where
> to split off the directory tree structure (ie. mount points). I have 5 GB
> for Linux (out of a 20 GB disk), including for the swap partition.
>
> Right now on slackware I have:
> hda5 329.02 MB swap
> hda6 271.44 /
> hda7 4647.29 /usr
>...
>
> Should I put my /home directory on another partition, can somebody tell me
> their configuration, or direct me to a how-to where I can get some answers.
You might want to split off the directory structure between system
directories (those that get changed by upgrades or switching to a
different distribution) and user directories (those you want to keep
intact even if you switch to a different distribution).
I usually put /usr/local on a separate partition, and make /home be
a symbolic link to /usr/local/home.
The main system (/ except for /usr/local and /home) is on another
partition.
If you do that, then if you have an additional partition, you can
try upgrading or try another distribution without breaking your
existing setup.
I also reserve a second system partition.
If I want to try another distribution, I can install its system on the
second system partition (mounting my already-created /usr/local partition
and linking the new systems's /home to my /usr/local/home). I can dual-
boot and compare, and I can always return to my original, working
installation.
It also works for upgrading if I want to be sure that the upgrade doesn't
break anything. I copy the system directories over to the second system
partition, adjust /etc/fstab and LILO, boot from the second system,
and then upgrade that second system. If anything goes wrong, I can always
go back to booting from the original system partition and try again.
¡Buena suerte!
Daniel
--
Daniel Barclay
dsb@smart.net
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