Re: Partition Scheme
David Sanders wrote:
I am installing Debian 3.0 Woody on a new machine with a 80GB hard drive and
512MB of RAM. It will be used as a workstation. I have read the
installation manual, but still have questions about partitioning the disk.
Minimum values are usually given, but no discussion of max or optimal sizes.
The following are given in
http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/i386/ch-partitioning.en.html
/ 100MB
/usr 500MB
/home 100MB per user
/var 300-500MB
/tmp 20-50MB
What would be the appropriate and desirable scheme for an 80GB disk?
David
David,
I wish I had your "problem" ... <grin>.
IMHO, the "optimum" partitioning schema is entirely up to you. There is
no one perfect answer to all situations, and the best solution is highly
dependent upon just how you are going to use the computer. A
"workstation" for a person doing lots of writing is something quite
different from someone doing lots of graphics work. A "musical"
workstaion is yet another thing, as is an "Engineering" workstation.
Here are some considerations that come to me at this moment. There are
probably a dozen (thousands??) more.
1. A "fresh" workstation install of Debian including all the needed
directories will fit within 2 Gigs quite nicely. This is the figure I
use for doing test installs for evaluations. I can literally go for
months within this limit doing the "usual" stuff you would see in a home
LAN environment...emails, a few mpg3 files, home book-keeping, letters,
etc. I have a "workstation" install on a 8.7 Gig single partition that
I have had for over 2 years and it currenly is only 40% "full". I have
NOT been particualarly agressive in cleaning out old files, and I tend
to be a "pack-rat" when it comes to saving d/l files and e-mails. With
this in mind, you probably have LOTS of room for growth!!
2. Depending on your particualar usage, certain of the sub-directories
found under the root directory will tend to "grow" with time. The /var
will accumulate log messages in /var/log, and if you are running a
mail-server the mail spool logs can get quite large depending on the
number of accounts you have. Most of the files I save wind up in /home
and this is another that tends to grow with time. The /usr/local
directory can experience a modest growth with time if you add a lot of
non-debian packages. The rest of the directories seem to be relatively
static, or grow rather slowly over time. If you have a particular need
to segregate file-types (mpg3 or graphics) you can always set up another
directory to hold these. You are NOT limited to just those direcories
that come with a standard workstation install. An example of this is a
"public" directory you want to share with others where you can store
certain files & packages so others can get to them.
3. You don't HAVE to have lots of partitions! You can do quite well
with just one swap and one Linux partition. Unless you have a pressing
need to keep certain files separated by partition boundaries (another OS
perhaps?) it is definately easier to just create these two and let the
FS handle the allocation of space. Those directories that will grow
will take space from the unused "pool" as needed. I would carefully
examine your needs for more than two partitions and weigh the costs
verses the benefits to see if it makes sense. Setting up and managing
multiple partitions takes a little extra work, and probably isn't
something I would want to do in my situation.
4. The one advantage of multiple partitons is that they can be spread
over several different HDs. This reduces the possibility of losing
everyting if you have a single HD failure. In your case, multiple
partions wouldn't gain you anything from this angle since you have only
one HD. You still have a "single-point-failure" mode of operation.
As you may infer, I am a "one swap, one Linux partition" guy. This is
the "best" for me, but may not be the "best" for you, and certainly
isn't the "best" for a Linux box working in a commercial environment
such as an ISP. The "best" for you is totally dependent upon you!
Submitted for you consideration...
Cheers,
-Don Spoon-
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