Re: Partitioning of new machine
On Fri, 08 Aug 2014, B. M. wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> While I'm waiting for the components of my new machine
> (testing/jessie) I'm thinking about the optimal partitioning scheme
> which should last for the next 10 years :-)
10 years might be an overly optimistic expectation unless you plan on
upgrading a lot. 7 years is more realistic otherwise.
My current desktop system -- built Dec 2006 -- is pushing 8 years for
the oldest parts. but it's been upgraded numerous times over those 8
years: 3 CPUs (single to dual to quad-core, all 3.0 GHz), more RAM (2 to
4 to 8 GB), 3 graphics cards, added a new HD just a couple months ago
and transferred OS to it -- original one is still working and in the
case, just not being used; 4 monitors, 3 keyboards, 3 mouses, 4
operating systems (Fedora 6, 9, 12 and Wheezy, all 64-bit), and 2
motherboards. Original one bit-the-dust after 3 years.
> The system looks like:
> Haswell 3.4 GHz
> 8 GB RAM (later upgradeable up to 32 GB)
> 250 GB SSD
> 2 TB HDD
>
> What do you think about the following:
>
> === SSD: ===
> /boot unencrypted, 300 MB
> / ext4, encrypted, 25-30 GB
> /home ext4, encrypted, keyfile, 220-225 GB
> User data for two users
I wouldn't put /home on the SSD. With all the writes involved,
better to put it on a spinning disk. And by doing that, you don't need
such a huge SSD. 64 to 100GB will more than do with just /boot and /
on it.
>
> === HDD (in this order for performance reasons): ===
> /var HDD, ext4, encrypted, keyfile, 25 GB
> It's so large because I want to add a directory /var/src below /var
> to compile a kernel on the HDD if necessary
>
> /databases HDD, ext4, encrypted, keyfile, barrier=0, 10 GB
> Used for the db's of digikam (1 user), akonadi and amarok
> (2 users each)
>
> swap HDD, swapfs, encrypted, 5 GB (not hibernation)
Believe or not, I'd put swap on the SSD for speed. It won't be used all
that often, so there won't be excessive writes. My 8GB system rarely
uses it, and as a pro photographer, I batch process hundreds of images
each 16 to 24 MB at time on an almost daily basis.
>
> /video HDD, btrfs, 560 GB
> Subvolumes:
> /video/editing
> /video/series
> => for video editing or series, no backup, not encrypted
>
> /data HDD, btrfs, encrypted, keyfile, RAID1 (2 x 700 GB).
> With subvolumes for digikam archive, movie archive and music
I wouldn't use btrfs. It's not ready for primetime, yet. Maybe, in a
few years. Stick with ext4. It's proven and rock solid. If you want
to "play" with brtfs, okay, but don't put any important files on it.
Also ... You're RAID 1-ing two partitions on the SAME physical drive?
For "auto-backup," I assume? Bad idea. If your one hard drive fails,
both those RAIDed partitions are toast. Put one of those partitions on
another HD.
You might also look into using LVM instead of traditional
partitioning, particularly if you plan on adding more hard drives.
B
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