From 1ea73eea5ecc6a8ed901316049259aee737ee554 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Joey Hess Date: Fri, 7 Oct 2005 19:51:38 +0000 Subject: move manual to top-level directory, split out of debian-installer package --- da/partitioning/device-names.xml | 161 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ da/partitioning/partition-programs.xml | 182 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ da/partitioning/partition/alpha.xml | 56 ++++++++++ da/partitioning/partition/hppa.xml | 22 ++++ da/partitioning/partition/i386.xml | 86 ++++++++++++++++ da/partitioning/partition/ia64.xml | 129 +++++++++++++++++++++++ da/partitioning/partition/mips.xml | 17 +++ da/partitioning/partition/powerpc.xml | 55 ++++++++++ da/partitioning/partition/sparc.xml | 33 ++++++ da/partitioning/partitioning.xml | 13 +++ da/partitioning/schemes.xml | 84 +++++++++++++++ da/partitioning/sizing.xml | 52 ++++++++++ da/partitioning/tree.xml | 135 ++++++++++++++++++++++++ 13 files changed, 1025 insertions(+) create mode 100644 da/partitioning/device-names.xml create mode 100644 da/partitioning/partition-programs.xml create mode 100644 da/partitioning/partition/alpha.xml create mode 100644 da/partitioning/partition/hppa.xml create mode 100644 da/partitioning/partition/i386.xml create mode 100644 da/partitioning/partition/ia64.xml create mode 100644 da/partitioning/partition/mips.xml create mode 100644 da/partitioning/partition/powerpc.xml create mode 100644 da/partitioning/partition/sparc.xml create mode 100644 da/partitioning/partitioning.xml create mode 100644 da/partitioning/schemes.xml create mode 100644 da/partitioning/sizing.xml create mode 100644 da/partitioning/tree.xml (limited to 'da/partitioning') diff --git a/da/partitioning/device-names.xml b/da/partitioning/device-names.xml new file mode 100644 index 000000000..354845a93 --- /dev/null +++ b/da/partitioning/device-names.xml @@ -0,0 +1,161 @@ + + + + + + Device Names in Linux + + +Linux disks and partition names may be different from other operating +systems. You need to know the names that Linux uses when you create +and mount partitions. Here's the basic naming scheme: + + + + + +The first floppy drive is named /dev/fd0. + + + + +The second floppy drive is named /dev/fd1. + + + + +The first SCSI disk (SCSI ID address-wise) is named +/dev/sda. + + + + +The second SCSI disk (address-wise) is named +/dev/sdb, and so on. + + + + +The first SCSI CD-ROM is named /dev/scd0, also +known as /dev/sr0. + + + + +The master disk on IDE primary controller is named +/dev/hda. + + + + +The slave disk on IDE primary controller is named +/dev/hdb. + + + + +The master and slave disks of the secondary controller can be called +/dev/hdc and /dev/hdd, +respectively. Newer IDE controllers can actually have two channels, +effectively acting like two controllers. + + +The letters may differ from what shows in the mac program pdisk +(i.e. what shows up as /dev/hdc on pdisk may show +up as /dev/hda in Debian). + + + + + + +The first XT disk is named /dev/xda. + + + + +The second XT disk is named /dev/xdb. + + + + +The first ACSI device is named /dev/ada, the +second is named /dev/adb. + + + + + + + +The first DASD device is named +/dev/dasda. + + + + +The second DASD device is named +/dev/dasdb, and so on. + + + + + + +The partitions on each disk are represented by appending a decimal +number to the disk name: sda1 and +sda2 represent the first and +second partitions of the first SCSI disk drive in your system. + + + +Here is a real-life example. Let's assume you have a system with 2 +SCSI disks, one at SCSI address 2 and the other at SCSI address 4. +The first disk (at address 2) is then named sda, +and the second sdb. If the +sda drive has 3 partitions on it, these will be +named sda1, sda2, and +sda3. The same applies to the +sdb disk and its partitions. + + + +Note that if you have two SCSI host bus adapters (i.e., controllers), +the order of the drives can get confusing. The best solution in this +case is to watch the boot messages, assuming you know the drive models +and/or capacities. + + + +Linux represents the primary partitions as the drive name, plus the +numbers 1 through 4. For example, the first primary partition on the +first IDE drive is /dev/hda1. The logical partitions are +numbered starting at 5, so the first logical partition on that same +drive is /dev/hda5. Remember that the extended +partition, that is, the primary partition holding the logical +partitions, is not usable by itself. This applies to SCSI disks as +well as IDE disks. + + + +VMEbus systems using the TEAC FC-1 SCSI floppy drive will see it as normal +SCSI disk. To make identification of the drive simpler the installation +software will create a symbolic link to the appropriate device and name +it /dev/sfd0. + + + +Sun disk partitions allow for 8 separate partitions (or slices). The +third partition is usually (and is preferred to have) the ``Whole Disk'' +partition. This partition references all of the sectors of the disk, and +is used by the boot loader (either SILO, or Sun's). + + + +The partitions on each disk are represented by appending a decimal +number to the disk name: dasda1 and +dasda2 represent the first and +second partitions of the first DASD device in your system. + + + diff --git a/da/partitioning/partition-programs.xml b/da/partitioning/partition-programs.xml new file mode 100644 index 000000000..e346349e2 --- /dev/null +++ b/da/partitioning/partition-programs.xml @@ -0,0 +1,182 @@ + + + + + Debian Partitioning Programs + + +Several varieties of partitioning programs have been adapted by Debian +developers to work on various types of hard disks and computer +architectures. Following is a list of the program(s) applicable for +your architecture. + + + + + + +partman + + +Recommended partitioning tool in Debian. This swiss army knife can +also create filesystems (format in +Windows speak) and assign them to the mountpoints. + + + + + +fdisk + + + The original Linux disk partitioner, good for gurus; read the +fdisk manual page . + + + +Be careful if you have existing FreeBSD partitions on your machine. +The installation kernels include support for these partitions, but the +way that fdisk represents them (or not) can make the +device names differ. See the +Linux+FreeBSD HOWTO + + + + + +cfdisk + + +A simple-to-use, full-screen disk partitioner for the rest of us; read +the cfdisk manual page. + + + +Note that cfdisk doesn't understand FreeBSD +partitions at all, and, again, device names may differ as a result. + + + + + +atari-fdisk + + +Atari-aware version of fdisk; read the +atari-fdisk manual page. + + + + + +amiga-fdisk + + +Amiga-aware version of fdisk; read the +amiga-fdisk manual page. + + + + + +mac-fdisk + + +Mac-aware version of fdisk; read the +mac-fdisk manual page. + + + + + +pmac-fdisk + + +PowerMac-aware version of fdisk, also used by BVM +and Motorola VMEbus systems; read the +pmac-fdisk manual page. + + + + + +fdasd + + +&arch-title; version of fdisk; Please read the +fdasd manual page or chapter 13 in + +Device Drivers and Installation Commands for details. + + + + + + + +One of these programs will be run by default when you select +Partition a Hard Disk. If the one which is run by default isn't +the one you want, quit the partitioner, go to the shell +(tty2) by pressing Alt +and F2 keys together, and manually type in the +name of the program you want to use (and arguments, if any). Then +skip the Partition a Hard Disk step in +debian-installer and continue to the next step. + + + +If you will be working with more than 20 partitions on your ide disk, +you will need to create devices for partitions 21 and beyond. The next +step of initializing the partition will fail unless a proper device is +present. As an example, here are commands you can use in +tty2 or under Execute A Shell to add a device +so the 21st partition can be initialized: + + +cd /dev +mknod hda21 b 3 21 +chgrp disk hda21 +chmod 660 hda21 + + +Booting into the new system will fail unless proper devices are present +on the target system. After installing the kernel and modules, execute: + + +cd /target/dev +mknod hda21 b 3 21 +chgrp disk hda21 +chmod 660 hda21 + + + + +Remember to mark your boot partition as ``Bootable''. + + + +See the +mac-fdisk manual page for +information on how to create partitions. One key point, is that the +swap partition is identified on Mac type disks by its name; it must be +named `swap'. All Mac linux partitions are the same partition type, +Apple_UNIX_SRV2. Please read the fine manual. We also suggest reading the +mac-fdisk Tutorial, which +includes steps you should take if you are sharing your disk with +MacOS. + + + +&partition-alpha.xml; +&partition-hppa.xml; +&partition-i386.xml; +&partition-ia64.xml; +&partition-mips.xml; +&partition-powerpc.xml; +&partition-sparc.xml; + + + + + + diff --git a/da/partitioning/partition/alpha.xml b/da/partitioning/partition/alpha.xml new file mode 100644 index 000000000..a925db8ab --- /dev/null +++ b/da/partitioning/partition/alpha.xml @@ -0,0 +1,56 @@ + + + + + Partitioning for &arch-title; + + +If you have chosen to boot from the SRM console, you must use +fdisk to partition your disk, as it is the only +partitioning program that can manipulate the BSD disk labels required +by aboot (remember, the SRM boot block is +incompatible with MS-DOS partition tables - see +). +debian-installer will run fdisk +by default if you have not booted from MILO. + + + +If the disk that you have selected for partitioning already contains a +BSD disk label, fdisk will default to BSD disk +label mode. Otherwise, you must use the `b' command to enter disk +label mode. + + + +Unless you wish to use the disk you are partitioning from Tru64 Unix +or one of the free 4.4BSD-Lite derived operating systems (FreeBSD, +OpenBSD, or NetBSD), it is suggested that you do +not make the third partition contain the whole +disk. This is not required by aboot, and in fact, +it may lead to confusion since the swriteboot +utility used to install aboot in the boot sector +will complain about a partition overlapping with the boot block. + + + +Also, because aboot is written to the first few +sectors of the disk (currently it occupies about 70 kilobytes, or 150 +sectors), you must leave enough empty space at +the beginning of the disk for it. In the past, it was suggested that +you make a small partition at the beginning of the disk, to be left +unformatted. For the same reason mentioned above, we now suggest that +you do not do this on disks that will only be used by GNU/Linux. + + + +For ARC installations, you should make a small FAT partition at the +beginning of the disk to contain MILO and +linload.exe - 5 megabytes should be sufficient, see +. Unfortunately, making FAT +file systems from the menu is not yet supported, so you'll have to do +it manually from the shell using mkdosfs before +attempting to install the boot loader. + + + \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/da/partitioning/partition/hppa.xml b/da/partitioning/partition/hppa.xml new file mode 100644 index 000000000..c9c1c7ff4 --- /dev/null +++ b/da/partitioning/partition/hppa.xml @@ -0,0 +1,22 @@ + + + + + Partitioning for &arch-title; + + +PALO, the HPPA boot loader, requires a partition of type F0 somewhere +in the first 2GB. This is where the boot loader and an optional kernel +and RAMdisk will be stored, so make it big enough for that -- at least +4Mb (I like 8-16Mb). An additional requirement of the firmware is that +the Linux kernel must reside within the first 2GB of the disk. This +is typically achieved by making the root ext2 partition fit entirely +within the first 2GB of the disk. Alternatively you can create a small +ext2 partition near the start of the disk and mount that on +/boot, since that is the directory where the Linux +kernel(s) will be stored. /boot needs to be big enough +to hold whatever kernels you might wish load; 8-16MB is generally +sufficient. + + + diff --git a/da/partitioning/partition/i386.xml b/da/partitioning/partition/i386.xml new file mode 100644 index 000000000..1b2794b45 --- /dev/null +++ b/da/partitioning/partition/i386.xml @@ -0,0 +1,86 @@ + + + + + Partitioning for &arch-title; + + +The PC BIOS generally adds additional constraints for disk +partitioning. There is a limit to how many primary and +logical partitions a drive can contain. Additionally, with pre +1994-98 BIOS, there are limits to where on the drive the BIOS can boot +from. More information can be found in the + Linux Partition HOWTO and the +Phoenix BIOS FAQ, but +this section will include a brief overview to help you plan most +situations. + + + +Primary partitions are the original partitioning scheme for PC +disks. However, there can only be four of them. To get past this +limitation, extended and logical partitions were invented. By +setting one of your primary partitions as an extended partition, you +can subdivide all the space allocated to that partition into logical +partitions. You can create up to 60 logical partitions per extended +partition; however, you can only have one extended partition per +drive. + + + +Linux limits the partitions per drive to 15 partitions for SCSI disks +(3 usable primary partitions, 12 logical partitions), and 63 +partitions on an IDE drive (3 usable primary partitions, 60 logical +partitions). However the normal &debian; system provides +only 20 devices for partitions, so you may not install on partitions +higher than 20 unless you first manually create devices for those +partitions. + + + +If you have a large IDE disk, and are using neither LBA addressing, +nor overlay drivers (sometimes provided by hard disk manufacturers), +then the boot partition (the partition containing your kernel image) +must be placed within the first 1024 cylinders of your hard drive +(usually around 524 megabytes, without BIOS translation). + + + +This restriction doesn't apply if you have a BIOS newer than around +1995-98 (depending on the manufacturer) that supports the Enhanced +Disk Drive Support Specification. Both Lilo, the Linux loader, and +Debian's alternative mbr must use the BIOS to read the +kernel from the disk into RAM. If the BIOS int 0x13 large disk access +extensions are found to be present, they will be utilized. Otherwise, +the legacy disk access interface is used as a fall-back, and it cannot +be used to address any location on the disk higher than the 1023rd +cylinder. Once Linux is booted, no matter what BIOS your computer +has, these restrictions no longer apply, since Linux does not use the +BIOS for disk access. + + + +If you have a large disk, you might have to use cylinder translation +techniques, which you can set from your BIOS setup program, such as +LBA (Logical Block Addressing) or CHS translation mode (Large). +More information about issues with large disks can be found in the +Large Disk HOWTO. If you +are using a cylinder translation scheme, and the BIOS does not support +the large disk access extensions, then your boot partition has to fit +within the translated representation of the +1024th cylinder. + + + +The recommended way of accomplishing this is to create a small (5-10MB +should suffice) partition at the beginning of the disk to be used as +the boot partition, and then create whatever other partitions you wish +to have, in the remaining area. This boot partition +must be mounted on /boot, +since that is the directory where the Linux kernel(s) will be stored. +This configuration will work on any system, regardless of whether LBA +or large disk CHS translation is used, and regardless of whether your +BIOS supports the large disk access extensions. + + + diff --git a/da/partitioning/partition/ia64.xml b/da/partitioning/partition/ia64.xml new file mode 100644 index 000000000..aa0742356 --- /dev/null +++ b/da/partitioning/partition/ia64.xml @@ -0,0 +1,129 @@ + + + + + Partitioning for &arch-title; + + + +The partman disk partitioner is the default +partitioning tool for the installer. +It manages the set of partitions and their mount points to ensure +that the disks and filesystems is properly configured for a successful +installation. It actually uses the parted to +do the on-disk partitioning. + + + + + EFI Recognized Formats + + +The IA64 EFI firmware supports two partition table (or disk label) +formats, GPT and MS-DOS. MS-DOS, the format typically used on i386 +PCs, is no longer recommended for IA64 systems. Although +the installer also provides the cfdisk, +you should only use the +parted because only it can manage both GPT +and MS-DOS tables correctly. + + + + + +The automatic partitioning recipes for partman +allocate an EFI partition as the first partition on the disk. +You can also set up the partition under the Guided +partitioning from the main menu in a manner similar to +setting up a swap partition. + + + +The partman partitioner will handle most disk +layouts. +For those rare cases where it is necessary to manually set up a disk, +you can use the shell as described above and run the +parted utility directly using its command line interface. +Assuming that you want to erase your whole disk and create a GPT table +and some partitions, then something similar to the following command +sequence could be used: + + + + + mklabel gpt + mkpartfs primary fat 0 50 + mkpartfs primary linux-swap 51 1000 + mkpartfs primary ext2 1001 3000 + set 1 boot on + print + quit + + + + +This creates a new partition table, and three partitions to be used as +an EFI boot partition, swap space, and a root file system. Finally it +sets the boot flag on the EFI partition. Partitions are specified in +Megabytes, with start and end offsets from the beginning of the disk. +So, for example, above we created a 1999MB ext2 file system starting +at offset 1001MB from the start of the disk. Note that formatting swap +space with parted can take a few minutes to +complete, as it scans the partition for bad blocks. + + + + + Boot Loader Partition Requirements + + + +ELILO, the ia64 boot loader, requires a partition containing a FAT +file system with the boot flag set. +The partition must be big enough to hold the boot loader and any +kernels or RAMdisks you may wish to boot. A minimum size would be +about 20MB, but if you expect to run with multiple kernels, then +128MB might be a better size. + + + +The EFI Boot Manager and the EFI Shell fully support the GPT table +so the boot partition does not necessarily have to be the first +partition or even on the same disk. +This is convenient if you should forget to allocate the partition and +only find out after you have formatted the other partitions on your disk(s). +The partman partitioner checks for an EFI partition +at the same time it checks for a properly set up root +partition. +This gives you an opportunity to correct the disk layout before the +package install begins. +The easiest way to correct this omission is to shrink the last partition +of the disk to make enough free space for adding an EFI partition. + + + +It is strongly recommended that you allocate the EFI boot partition +on the same disk as the root filesystem. + + + + + + EFI Diagnostic Partitions + + + +The EFI firmware is significantly more sophisticated than the usual +BIOS seen on most x86 PCs. +Some system vendors take advantage of the ability of the EFI to +access files and run programs from a hard disk filesystem to store diagnostics +and EFI based system management utilities on the hard disk. +This is a separate FAT format filesystem on the system disk. +Consult the system documentation and accessories that come with the +system for details. +The easiest time to set up a diagnostics partition is at the same time you +set up the EFI boot partition. + + + + diff --git a/da/partitioning/partition/mips.xml b/da/partitioning/partition/mips.xml new file mode 100644 index 000000000..760156368 --- /dev/null +++ b/da/partitioning/partition/mips.xml @@ -0,0 +1,17 @@ + + + + + Partitioning for &arch-title; + + +SGI Indys require an SGI disk label in order to make the system bootable +from hard disk. It can be created in the fdisk expert menu. The thereby +created volume header(partition number 9) should be at least 3MB large. +In order to be able to store several different kernels in it a size of +10MB is recommended. If the volume header created is too small, you can +simply delete partition number 9 and re-add it with a different size. Note +that the volume header must start at sector 0. + + + \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/da/partitioning/partition/powerpc.xml b/da/partitioning/partition/powerpc.xml new file mode 100644 index 000000000..729f1ba75 --- /dev/null +++ b/da/partitioning/partition/powerpc.xml @@ -0,0 +1,55 @@ + + + + + Partitioning Newer PowerMacs + + +If you are installing onto a NewWorld PowerMac you must create a +special bootstrap partition to hold the boot loader. The size of this +partition must be 800KB and its partition type must be +Apple_Bootstrap. If the bootstrap partition is +not created with the Apple_Bootstrap type your +machine cannot be made bootable from the hard disk. This partition +can easily be created in mac-fdisk using the +b command. + + + +The special partition type Apple_Bootstrap is required to prevent +MacOS from mounting and damaging the bootstrap partition, as there are +special modifications made to it in order for OpenFirmware to boot it +automatically. + + + +Note that the bootstrap partition is only meant to hold 3 very small +files: the yaboot binary, its configuration +yaboot.conf, and a first stage OpenFirmware +loader ofboot.b. It need not and must not be +mounted on your file system nor have kernels or anything else copied +to it. The ybin and mkofboot +utilities are used to manipulate this partition. + + + +In order for OpenFirmware to automatically boot &debian; the bootstrap +partition should appear before other boot partitions on the disk, +especially MacOS boot partitions. The bootstrap partition should be +the first one you create. However, if you add a bootstrap partition +later, you can use mac-fdisk's +r command to reorder the partition map so the +bootstrap partition comes right after the map (which is always +partition 1). It's the logical map order, not the physical address +order, that counts. + + + +Apple disks normally have several small driver partitions. If you +intend to dual boot your machine with MacOSX, you should retain these +partitions and a small HFS partition (800k is the minimum size). That +is because MacOSX, on every boot, offers to initialize any disks which do +not have active MacOS partitions and driver partitions. + + + \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/da/partitioning/partition/sparc.xml b/da/partitioning/partition/sparc.xml new file mode 100644 index 000000000..f4996a519 --- /dev/null +++ b/da/partitioning/partition/sparc.xml @@ -0,0 +1,33 @@ + + + + + Partitioning for &arch-title; + + +Make sure you create a Sun disk label on your boot disk. This is +the only kind of partition scheme that the OpenBoot PROM understands, +and so it's the only scheme from which you can boot. The +s key is used in fdisk to +create Sun disk labels. + + + +Furthermore, on &arch-title; disks, make sure your first partition on +your boot disk starts at cylinder 0. While this is required, it also +means that the first partition will contain the partition table and +the boot block, which are the first two sectors of the disk. You must +not put swap on the first partition of the boot +drive, since swap partitions do not preserve the first few sectors of +the partition. You can put Ext2 or UFS partitions there; these will +leave the partition table and the boot block alone. + + + +It is also advised that the third partition should be of type Whole +disk (type 5), and contain the entire disk (from the first cylinder +to the last). This is simply a convention of Sun disk labels, and +helps the SILO boot loader keep its bearings. + + + \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/da/partitioning/partitioning.xml b/da/partitioning/partitioning.xml new file mode 100644 index 000000000..1ac85cf9b --- /dev/null +++ b/da/partitioning/partitioning.xml @@ -0,0 +1,13 @@ + + + + +Partitioning for Debian + +&sizing.xml; +&tree.xml; +&schemes.xml; +&device-names.xml; +&partition-programs.xml; + + diff --git a/da/partitioning/schemes.xml b/da/partitioning/schemes.xml new file mode 100644 index 000000000..9e6284b37 --- /dev/null +++ b/da/partitioning/schemes.xml @@ -0,0 +1,84 @@ + + + + + + Recommended Partitioning Scheme + + +For new users, personal Debian boxes, home systems, and other +single-user setups, a single / partition (plus +swap) is probably the easiest, simplest way to go. However, if your +partition is larger than around 6GB, choose ext3 as your partition +type. Ext2 partitions need periodic file system integrity checking, +and this can cause delays during booting when the partition is large. + + + +For multi-user systems or systems with lots of disk space, it's best +to put /usr, /var, +/tmp, and /home each on +their own partitions separate from the / +partition. + + + +You might need a separate /usr/local partition if +you plan to install many programs that are not part of the Debian +distribution. If your machine will be a mail server, you might need +to make /var/mail a separate partition. Often, +putting /tmp on its own partition, for instance +20 to 50MB, is a good idea. If you are setting up a server with lots +of user accounts, it's generally good to have a separate, large +/home partition. In general, the partitioning +situation varies from computer to computer depending on its uses. + + + +For very complex systems, you should see the + +Multi Disk HOWTO. This contains in-depth information, mostly +of interest to ISPs and people setting up servers. + + + +With respect to the issue of swap partition size, there are many +views. One rule of thumb which works well is to use as much swap as +you have system memory. It also shouldn't be smaller than 16MB, in +most cases. Of course, there are exceptions to these rules. If you +are trying to solve 10000 simultaneous equations on a machine with +256MB of memory, you may need a gigabyte (or more) of swap. + + + +On the other hand, Atari Falcons and Macs feel pain when swapping, so +instead of making a large swap partition, get as much RAM as possible. + + + +On 32-bit architectures (i386, m68k, 32-bit SPARC, and PowerPC), the +maximum size of a swap partition is 2GB. That should be enough for +nearly any installation. However, if your swap requirements are this +high, you should probably try to spread the swap across different +disks (also called spindles) and, if possible, different SCSI or +IDE channels. The kernel will balance swap usage between multiple +swap partitions, giving better performance. + + + +As an example, an older home machine might have 32MB of RAM and a +1.7GB IDE drive on /dev/hda. There might be a +500MB partition for another operating system on +/dev/hda1, a 32MB swap partition on +/dev/hda3 and about 1.2GB on +/dev/hda2) as the Linux partition. + + + +For an idea of the space taken by tasks +you might be interested in adding after your system installation is +complete, check . + + + + diff --git a/da/partitioning/sizing.xml b/da/partitioning/sizing.xml new file mode 100644 index 000000000..3a7441dc6 --- /dev/null +++ b/da/partitioning/sizing.xml @@ -0,0 +1,52 @@ + + + + + + Deciding on Debian Partitions and Sizes + + +At a bare minimum, GNU/Linux needs one partition for itself. You can +have a single partition containing the entire operating system, +applications, and your personal files. Most people feel that a +separate swap partition is also a necessity, although it's not +strictly true. Swap is scratch space for an operating system, +which allows the system to use disk storage as virtual +memory. By putting swap on a separate partition, Linux can make much +more efficient use of it. It is possible to force Linux to use a +regular file as swap, but it is not recommended. + + + +Most people choose to give GNU/Linux more than the minimum number of +partitions, however. There are two reasons you might want to break up +the file system into a number of smaller partitions. The first is for +safety. If something happens to corrupt the file system, generally +only one partition is affected. Thus, you only have to replace (from +the backups you've been carefully keeping) a portion of your +system. At a bare minimum, you should consider creating what is +commonly called a root partition. This contains the most essential +components of the system. If any other partitions get corrupted, you +can still boot into GNU/Linux to fix the system. This can save you the +trouble of having to reinstall the system from scratch. + + + +The second reason is generally more important in a business setting, +but it really depends on your use of the machine. For example, a mail +server getting spammed with e-mail can easily fill a partition. If you +made /var/mail a separate partition on the mail +server, most of the system will remain working even if you get spammed. + + + +The only real drawback to using more partitions is that it is often +difficult to know in advance what your needs will be. If you make a +partition too small then you will either have to reinstall the system +or you will be constantly moving things around to make room in the +undersized partition. On the other hand, if you make the partition too +big, you will be wasting space that could be used elsewhere. Disk +space is cheap nowadays, but why throw your money away? + + + diff --git a/da/partitioning/tree.xml b/da/partitioning/tree.xml new file mode 100644 index 000000000..bf8bf825b --- /dev/null +++ b/da/partitioning/tree.xml @@ -0,0 +1,135 @@ + + + + + + The Directory Tree + + +&debian; adheres to the +Filesystem Hierarchy Standard +for directory and file naming. This standard allows users and software +programs to predict the location of files and directories. The root +level directory is represented simply by the slash +/. At the root level, all Debian systems include +these directories: + + + + + + DirectoryContent + + + + + + bin + Essential command binaries + + boot + Static files of the boot loader + + dev + Device files + + etc + Host-specific system configuration + + home + User home directories + + lib + Essential shared libraries and kernel modules + + mnt + Mount point for mounting a file system temporarily + + proc + Virtual directory for system information + + root + Home directory for the root user + + sbin + Essential system binaries + + tmp + Temporary files + + usr + Secondary hierarchy + + var + Variable data + + opt + Add-on application software packages + + + + + + +The following is a list of important considerations regarding +directories and partitions. + + + + + +The root partition / must always physically +contain /etc, /bin, +/sbin, /lib and +/dev, otherwise you won't be able to boot. +Typically 100 MB is needed for the root partition, but this may vary. + + + + +/usr: all user programs +(/usr/bin), libraries +(/usr/lib), documentation +(/usr/share/doc), etc., are in this +directory. This part of the file system needs most of the space. You +should provide at least 500 MB of disk space. If you want to install +more packages you should increase the amount of space you give this +directory. + + + + +/home: every user will put his data into a +subdirectory of this directory. The size of this depends on how many +users will be using the system and what files are to be stored in +their directories. Depending on your planned usage you should reserve +about 100 MB for each user, but adapt this value to your needs. + + + + +/var: all variable data like news articles, +e-mails, web sites, the packaging system cache, etc. will be placed +under this directory. The size of this directory depends greatly on +the usage of your computer, but for most people will be dictated by +the package management tool's overhead. If you are going to do a full +installation of just about everything Debian has to offer, all in one +session, setting aside 2 or 3 gigabytes of space for +/var should be sufficient. If you are going to +install in pieces (that is to say, install services and utilities, +followed by text stuff, then X, ...), you can get away with 300 - 500 +megabytes in /var. If hard drive space is at a +premium and you don't plan on doing major system updates, you can get +by with as little as 30 or 40 megabytes in /var. + + + + +/tmp: if a program creates temporary data it will +most likely go in /tmp. 20-50 MB should usually +be enough. + + + + + -- cgit v1.2.3