Re: Partition size
----- Original Message -----
From: "Richard Hector" <rhector@actrix.gen.nz>
To: "Debian-User" <debian-user@lists.debian.org>
Sent: Wednesday, November 27, 2002 5:05 PM
Subject: Re: Partition size
> On Thu, 2002-11-28 at 10:43, Mark L. Kahnt wrote:
> > On Wed, 2002-11-27 at 16:39, Mike Dresser wrote:
> > > On 27 Nov 2002, Mark L. Kahnt wrote:
> > >
> > > > rather than Linux itself. That said, do you split it into several
> > > > partitions and use RAID on them - I can't see that as providing a
hint
> > > > of a fraction of the actual disk operation performance ;)
> > >
> > > Erm, raid on the same drive?
> > >
> > > I guess if you had a bad sector and it couldn't be remapped that this
> > > might save you a bit.
> > >
> > > But you're going to absolutely kill your performance, cause you'll be
> > > seeking all over the place to the two partitions.
> >
> > Yes - that was the point I was seeking to make - if we shouldn't go over
> > 6 GB/partition, how the heck are we ever going to use the bulk of these
> > 80GB+ drives on the market? ;)
>
> You could use the linear version, where you just concatenate the
> partitions together. That shouldn't take any longer to seek over than
> one big one - each byte is still only in one place.
>
> Richard
>
>
>
> --
Users-
There are several reasons to have multiple partitions, and there are also
reasons about what data should be placed into each partition according to
its placement on the disk itself. What I mean by this is having several
partitions offers several advantages:
1. Even if you don't use images for disaster recovery, it helps to have a
separate
partition dedicated for your Operating System .. for those times when you
want
(or need) to re-format your system drive. A separate partition allows you to
re-format your system partition without wiping out everything on the drive.
2. If you create a partition at the outer/leading edge of your drive, and
install your operating system & applications there .. and use the
inner/slower parts of the disk for storing files that don't require access
during normal system operating (i.e. downloads, drivers, back-ups, etc.) ..
you'll limit/restrict your drive's seeks to the fastest part of the drive.
Example of #2.
A drive with a larger capacity will notice a more dramatic 'truncating'
effect. For example, 8 gigs is roughly 40% of a 20-gig drive. But it's only
10% of a 80-gig drive. In other words, you can limit your drive's travel
(seeks) to the fastest 10% of a 80-gig drive by creating an 8-gig partition
and storing only your operating system & applications there. It's common
knowledge that a drive with the same amount of data will 'feel' more
responsive on a *larger* drive than a smaller one .. even tho both drives
may have *identical* manufacturer's performance specs.
There are more reasons for multi and size limiting partition schemes,
possibly too many to name.
With the advent of ext3 and ReiserFS multi-partitions within a certain size
have become less important. Now it is more a question of what the drive and
the machine will be doing. If you are doing video or music work then I
suggest you make as large a partition as you possibly can, because there is
always the opprotunity when working in those medias to have files that are
10-40GB's. The joy here is that it is up to the user and recommendations
will only get you so far.
**Format, install, benchmark. Then repeat. That's my suggestion.**
Also RAID means "Redundant Array of Individual Disks"
The following standard RAID specifications exist:
RAID 0Non-redundant striped array (requires a minimun of
2 disks)
RAID 1Mirrored arrays (requires a
minimun of 2 disks)
RAID 2Parallel array with ECC (requires a minimun
of 2 disks)
RAID 3Parallel array with parity (requires a
minimun of 3 disks)
RAID 4Striped array with parity (requires a
minimun of 3 disks)
RAID 5Striped array with rotating parity (requires a minimun
of 3 disks)
RAID 6Independant disks Parity Schemes (requires a minimun of 3
disks)
RAID 7Optimized Asynchrony for High I/O (requires a minimun of 3
disks)
RAID 10Mirror and Striping (requires a
minimun of 4 disks)
RAID 53RAID 3 Layer with Striping Layer (requires a minimun of 5
disks)
RAID 0+12 Set Stripped Array w/ Mirroring (requires a minimun of 4
disks)
So you see if you are to use a RAID then you need multiple disks. I realize
that a couple of you said this, I merely place this information here for
others who may not have been sure.
Jerry A.
www.manicsession.com
email : (anything you want) @manicsession.com
Registered Linux User : 295219
AIM : manicsession, bucketOlinux
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