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@@ -62,4 +62,89 @@
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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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+
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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 size 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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+
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+ <sect3>
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+ <title>The Root Partition</title>
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+
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+ <para>A root LFS partition (not to be confused with the /root 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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+
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+ <sect3>
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+ <title>The Swap Partition</title>
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+
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+ <para>Most distributions automatically create a swap partition. Generally
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+ the recommneded 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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+
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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 shouuld be to check for
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+ an unresonable command such as trying to edit a five gigabyte file. If
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+ swapping becomes a normal occurance, the best solution is to purchase more
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+ RAM for your system.</para> </sect3>
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+
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+ <sect3>
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+ <title>Convenience Partitions</title>
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+
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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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+
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+ <itemizedlist>
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+
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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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+
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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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+
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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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+
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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, five to ten gigabytes is generally adequate.</para>
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+ </listitem>
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+
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+ <listitem><para>/tmp – A separate /tmp directory is rare, but
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+ useful if coufiguring 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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+
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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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+
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+ </itemizedlist>
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+
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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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+
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+ </sect3>
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+ </sect2>
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</sect1>
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Bruce Dubbs