Re: Partition Scheme for installing Debian Squeeze

[Linux-Fan <Ma_Sys.ma@web.de>]

On 10/10/2012 07:33 PM, Wally Lepore wrote:
> On 10/10/2012 03:22 AM, Wally Lepore wrote:
>>> Based on the above, can a directory/partition be named  /usr/local  ?
>>> and  /var/mail ? I thought a directory can have only one name (i.e.
>>> /usr -or-  /local -or-  /var -or-  /mail).
> 
> On Wed, Oct 10, 2012 at 2:17 AM, Linux-Fan <Ma_Sys.ma@web.de> wrote:
>> You can have /var on your "main" partition (which also contains "/") and
>> mount another partition in the subdirectory "/var/mail".
> 
> Hi Linux-Fan,
> 
> Appreciate the help. I have to read-up on the file structure in Linux.
> I totally understand the concept in windows. But when you said,
> 
>> "You can have /var on your "main" partition (which also contains "/")and mount >another partition in the subdirectory "/var/mail".
> 
> Can you give me an example please (in a file tree format) such as below?
> 
> /var
> /var/mail

In Linux, directories can be used as "mount-points" that look like
normal folders but represent a different filesystem on another partition
or even on another hard drive (Windows also has this for NTFS, but it is
hidden somewhere in the Volume Manager).

For example if you connect a USB Stick to your computer that has only
one partition it might get the device name /dev/sdc1. You could mount
that device in a directory (graphical Desktop Environments will usually
do this for you and create a directory named /media/something that
provides the mount-point for your removable device).

This means a folder's contents in a linux system can exist on a
different device than you would expect them to be:

/var can be on /dev/sdb1 (your root partition where /bin, /etc, /usr and
all the others are also located) and the contents of the subdirectory
/var/mail can be on a different partition (e.g. /dev/sdb2).

You could have something like that
	/         on /dev/sdb1 (which I called "main" partition before)
	/boot     on /dev/sdb2
	/var      on /dev/sdb1
	/var/mail on /dev/sdb3
	/home     on /dev/sdb4

While your original idea was to have (if I got it correctly)
	/         on /dev/sdb1
	/boot     on /dev/sdb2
	/var      on /dev/sdb1
	/var/mail on /dev/sdb1
	/home     on /dev/sdb3

I have not read it completely but this could probably help (If I was not
able to claify this completely):

http://www.linfo.org/mounting.html


> Thank you