mirror of https://github.com/tLDP/LDP
162 lines
7.8 KiB
XML
162 lines
7.8 KiB
XML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
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<!DOCTYPE sect1 PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.5//EN"
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"http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.5/docbookx.dtd" [
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<!ENTITY % general-entities SYSTEM "../general.ent">
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%general-entities;
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]>
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<sect1 id="space-creatingpartition">
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<?dbhtml filename="creatingpartition.html"?>
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<title>Creating a New Partition</title>
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<para>Like most other operating systems, LFS is usually installed on a
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dedicated partition. The recommended approach to building an LFS system
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is to use an available empty partition or, if you have enough unpartitioned
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space, to create one.</para>
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<!--
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<para>It is possible to install an LFS system (in fact even multiple LFS
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systems) on a partition already occupied by another
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operating system and the different systems will co-exist peacefully. The
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document <ulink url="&hints-root;lfs_next_to_existing_systems.txt"/>
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contains notes on how to implement this. This document was last updated
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in 2004. It has not been updated since and it has not been tested with
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recent versions of this LFS book. The document is more than likely not
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usable as-is and you will need to account for changes made to the LFS
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procedures since it was written. This is only recommended for expert LFS
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users.</para>
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-->
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<para>A minimal system requires a partition of around 4 gigabytes (GB).
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This is enough to store all the source tarballs and compile the packages.
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However, if the LFS system is intended to be the primary Linux system,
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additional software will probably be installed which will require additional
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space. A 10 GB partition is a reasonable size to provide for growth. The LFS
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system itself will not take up this much room. A large portion of this
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requirement is to provide sufficient free temporary storage. Compiling
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packages can require a lot of disk space which will be reclaimed after the
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package is installed.</para>
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<para>Because there is not always enough Random Access Memory (RAM) available
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for compilation processes, it is a good idea to use a small disk partition as
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<systemitem class="filesystem">swap</systemitem> space. This is used by the
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kernel to store seldom-used data and leave more memory available for active
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processes. The <systemitem class="filesystem">swap</systemitem> partition for
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an LFS system can be the same as the one used by the host system, in which
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case it is not necessary to create another one.</para>
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<para>Start a disk partitioning program such as <command>cfdisk</command>
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or <command>fdisk</command> with a command line option naming the hard
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disk on which the new partition will be created—for example
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<filename class="devicefile">/dev/sda</filename> for the primary Integrated
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Drive Electronics (IDE) disk. Create a Linux native partition and a
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<systemitem class="filesystem">swap</systemitem> partition, if needed. Please
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refer to <filename>cfdisk(8)</filename> or <filename>fdisk(8)</filename> if
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you do not yet know how to use the programs.</para>
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<note><para>For experienced users, other partitioning schemes are possible.
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The new LFS system can be on a software <ulink
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url="&blfs-book;postlfs/raid.html">RAID</ulink> array or an <ulink
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url="&blfs-book;postlfs/aboutlvm.html">LVM</ulink> logical volume.
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However, some of these options require an <ulink
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url="&blfs-book;postlfs/initramfs.html">initramfs</ulink>, which is
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an advanced topic. These partitioning methodologies are not recommended for
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first time LFS users.</para></note>
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<para>Remember the designation of the new partition (e.g., <filename
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class="devicefile">sda5</filename>). This book will refer to this as
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the LFS partition. Also remember the designation of the <systemitem
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class="filesystem">swap</systemitem> partition. These names will be
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needed later for the <filename>/etc/fstab</filename> file.</para>
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<sect2>
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<title>Other Partition Issues</title>
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<para>Requests for advice on system partitioning are often posted on the LFS mailing
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lists. This is a highly subjective topic. The default for most distributions
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is to use the entire drive with the exception of one small swap partition. This
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is not optimal for LFS for several reasons. It reduces flexibility, makes
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sharing of data across multiple distributions or LFS builds more difficult, makes
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backups more time consuming, and can waste disk space through inefficient
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allocation of file system structures.</para>
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<sect3>
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<title>The Root Partition</title>
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<para>A root LFS partition (not to be confused with the
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<filename class="directory">/root</filename> directory) of
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ten gigabytes is a good compromise for most systems. It provides enough
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space to build LFS and most of BLFS, but is small enough so that multiple
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partitions can be easily created for experimentation.</para> </sect3>
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<sect3>
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<title>The Swap Partition</title>
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<para>Most distributions automatically create a swap partition. Generally
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the recommended size of the swap partition is about twice the amount of
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physical RAM, however this is rarely needed. If disk space is limited,
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hold the swap partition to two gigabytes and monitor the amount of disk
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swapping.</para>
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<para>Swapping is never good. Generally you can tell if a system is
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swapping by just listening to disk activity and observing how the system
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reacts to commands. The first reaction to swapping should be to check for
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an unreasonable command such as trying to edit a five gigabyte file. If
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swapping becomes a normal occurrence, the best solution is to purchase more
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RAM for your system.</para> </sect3>
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<sect3>
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<title>Convenience Partitions</title>
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<para>There are several other partitions that are not required, but should
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be considered when designing a disk layout. The following list
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is not comprehensive, but is meant as a guide.</para>
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<itemizedlist>
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<listitem><para>/boot – Highly recommended. Use this partition to
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store kernels and other booting information. To minimize potential boot
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problems with larger disks, make this the first physical partition on
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your first disk drive. A partition size of 100 megabytes is quite
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adequate.</para></listitem>
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<listitem><para>/home – Highly recommended. Share your home
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directory and user customization across multiple distributions or LFS
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builds. The size is generally fairly large and depends on available disk
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space.</para></listitem>
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<listitem><para>/usr – A separate /usr partition is generally used
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if providing a server for a thin client or diskless workstation. It is
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normally not needed for LFS. A size of five gigabytes will handle most
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installations.</para></listitem>
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<listitem><para>/opt – This directory is most useful for
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BLFS where multiple installations of large packages like Gnome or KDE can
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be installed without embedding the files in the /usr hierarchy. If
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used, 5 to 10 gigabytes is generally adequate.</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem><para>/tmp – A separate /tmp directory is rare, but
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useful if configuring a thin client. This partition, if used, will
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usually not need to exceed a couple of gigabytes.</para></listitem>
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<listitem><para>/usr/src – This partition is very
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useful for providing a location to store BLFS source files and
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share them across LFS builds. It can also be used as a location
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for building BLFS packages. A reasonably large partition of 30-50
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gigabytes allows plenty of room.</para></listitem>
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</itemizedlist>
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<para>Any separate partition that you want automatically mounted upon boot
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needs to be specified in the <filename>/etc/fstab</filename>. Details
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about how to specify partitions will be discussed in <xref
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linkend="ch-bootable-fstab"/>. </para>
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</sect3>
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</sect2>
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</sect1>
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