Re: Reasonably simple setup for 1TB HDD and 250GB M.2 NVMe SSD
On 12/14/21 9:39 AM, Jorge P. de Morais Neto wrote:
Hello!
Em [2021-12-08 qua 22:05:50-0800], David Christensen escreveu:
I would remove the 1 TB HDD, install the 250 GB NVMe SSD, and do a fresh
install of Debian 11 with MBR partitioning, 1E+9 byte boot partition
(ext4)
Why MBR partitioning
So that you can boot the system drive in old and new computers -- e.g.
MBR is "lowest common denominator".
and why a separate boot partition?
To boot the system when root is encrypted.
I would put the 1 TB HDD into an external HDD enclosure and use it to
store system images (e.g. partition table, boot, swap, and root).
I already have a 1.5 TB external HDD. And I intend to use GPT
partitioning, which (I've read) stores checksummed copies of the
partition table.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_integrity
I keep records of how I partition each disk, so I can easily recreate a
damaged partition table. Alternatively, or in addition, there are tools
for backing up and restoring partition tables. The monthly images that
I take include the partition table, boot partition, swap partition, and
root partition.
I suggest that you look at Btrfs and/or ZFS for filesystem, metadata,
and data integrity. Btrfs is available in the Debian installer and can
be used for boot, root, and data; but may require manual maintenance.
ZFS is a package, and readily used for data; but boot and root are
advanced use-cases.
For the actual data, I have weekly backups to the
external HDD, and I intend to have daily rsync of some of the SSD data
to the internal HDD. Would not that be safe enough?
Only you can decide what is "safe enough".
I recommend a file server or NAS for bulk data -- downloads, music,
photographs, videos, etc..
I would like to setup a home server, but probably not very soon.
Setting up a Samba server is an ideal use-case for Debian. So is
setting up a Git repository. Save up for a real server with Xeon CPU(s)
and ECC memory (used hardware shipped to Brasil starts around US$250 on
eBay).
I recommend a version control server for user project files and system
configuration files.
I store my dotfiles (and some other data) in a git repository in my
notebook.
Good.
I hope that duplicity is correctly backing up that git
repository,
Do not hope; validate.
but I admit I have not tested it.
Install Debian onto a good USB 3.0 flash drive. Install your favorite
troubleshooting and backup tools. Backup your laptop as usual. Use the
USB Debian drive to do a restore onto alternate media. Use the USB
Debian drive to verify that the restore matches the original.
David
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