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- <!DOCTYPE sect1 PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.5//EN"
- "http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.5/docbookx.dtd" [
- <!ENTITY % general-entities SYSTEM "../general.ent">
- %general-entities;
- ]>
- <sect1 id="space-creatingpartition">
- <?dbhtml filename="creatingpartition.html"?>
- <title>Creating a New Partition</title>
- <para>Like most other operating systems, LFS is usually installed on a
- dedicated partition. The recommended approach to building an LFS system
- is to use an available empty partition or, if you have enough unpartitioned
- space, to create one.</para>
- <!--
- <para>It is possible to install an LFS system (in fact even multiple LFS
- systems) on a partition already occupied by another
- operating system and the different systems will co-exist peacefully. The
- document <ulink url="&hints-root;lfs_next_to_existing_systems.txt"/>
- contains notes on how to implement this. This document was last updated
- in 2004. It has not been updated since and it has not been tested with
- recent versions of this LFS book. The document is more than likely not
- usable as-is and you will need to account for changes made to the LFS
- procedures since it was written. This is only recommended for expert LFS
- users.</para>
- -->
- <para>A minimal system requires a partition of around 6 gigabytes (GB).
- This is enough to store all the source tarballs and compile the packages.
- However, if the LFS system is intended to be the primary Linux system,
- additional software will probably be installed which will require additional
- space. A 20 GB partition is a reasonable size to provide for growth. The LFS
- system itself will not take up this much room. A large portion of this
- requirement is to provide sufficient free temporary storage as well as
- for adding additional capabilities after LFS is complete. Additionally, compiling
- packages can require a lot of disk space which will be reclaimed after the
- package is installed.</para>
- <para>Because there is not always enough Random Access Memory (RAM) available
- for compilation processes, it is a good idea to use a small disk partition as
- <systemitem class="filesystem">swap</systemitem> space. This is used by the
- kernel to store seldom-used data and leave more memory available for active
- processes. The <systemitem class="filesystem">swap</systemitem> partition for
- an LFS system can be the same as the one used by the host system, in which
- case it is not necessary to create another one.</para>
- <para>Start a disk partitioning program such as <command>cfdisk</command>
- or <command>fdisk</command> with a command line option naming the hard
- disk on which the new partition will be created—for example
- <filename class="devicefile">/dev/sda</filename> for the primary Integrated
- Drive Electronics (IDE) disk. Create a Linux native partition and a
- <systemitem class="filesystem">swap</systemitem> partition, if needed. Please
- refer to <filename>cfdisk(8)</filename> or <filename>fdisk(8)</filename> if
- you do not yet know how to use the programs.</para>
- <note><para>For experienced users, other partitioning schemes are possible.
- The new LFS system can be on a software <ulink
- url="&blfs-book;postlfs/raid.html">RAID</ulink> array or an <ulink
- url="&blfs-book;postlfs/aboutlvm.html">LVM</ulink> logical volume.
- However, some of these options require an <ulink
- url="&blfs-book;postlfs/initramfs.html">initramfs</ulink>, which is
- an advanced topic. These partitioning methodologies are not recommended for
- first time LFS users.</para></note>
- <para>Remember the designation of the new partition (e.g., <filename
- class="devicefile">sda5</filename>). This book will refer to this as
- the LFS partition. Also remember the designation of the <systemitem
- class="filesystem">swap</systemitem> partition. These names will be
- needed later for the <filename>/etc/fstab</filename> file.</para>
- <sect2>
- <title>Other Partition Issues</title>
- <para>Requests for advice on system partitioning are often posted on the LFS mailing
- lists. This is a highly subjective topic. The default for most distributions
- is to use the entire drive with the exception of one small swap partition. This
- is not optimal for LFS for several reasons. It reduces flexibility, makes
- sharing of data across multiple distributions or LFS builds more difficult, makes
- backups more time consuming, and can waste disk space through inefficient
- allocation of file system structures.</para>
- <sect3>
- <title>The Root Partition</title>
- <para>A root LFS partition (not to be confused with the
- <filename class="directory">/root</filename> directory) of
- ten gigabytes is a good compromise for most systems. It provides enough
- space to build LFS and most of BLFS, but is small enough so that multiple
- partitions can be easily created for experimentation.</para> </sect3>
- <sect3>
- <title>The Swap Partition</title>
- <para>Most distributions automatically create a swap partition. Generally
- the recommended size of the swap partition is about twice the amount of
- physical RAM, however this is rarely needed. If disk space is limited,
- hold the swap partition to two gigabytes and monitor the amount of disk
- swapping.</para>
- <para>Swapping is never good. Generally you can tell if a system is
- swapping by just listening to disk activity and observing how the system
- reacts to commands. The first reaction to swapping should be to check for
- an unreasonable command such as trying to edit a five gigabyte file. If
- swapping becomes a normal occurrence, the best solution is to purchase more
- RAM for your system.</para> </sect3>
- <sect3>
- <title>Convenience Partitions</title>
- <para>There are several other partitions that are not required, but should
- be considered when designing a disk layout. The following list
- is not comprehensive, but is meant as a guide.</para>
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem><para>/boot – Highly recommended. Use this partition to
- store kernels and other booting information. To minimize potential boot
- problems with larger disks, make this the first physical partition on
- your first disk drive. A partition size of 100 megabytes is quite
- adequate.</para></listitem>
- <listitem><para>/home – Highly recommended. Share your home
- directory and user customization across multiple distributions or LFS
- builds. The size is generally fairly large and depends on available disk
- space.</para></listitem>
- <listitem><para>/usr – A separate /usr partition is generally used
- if providing a server for a thin client or diskless workstation. It is
- normally not needed for LFS. A size of five gigabytes will handle most
- installations.</para></listitem>
- <listitem><para>/opt – This directory is most useful for
- BLFS where multiple installations of large packages like Gnome or KDE can
- be installed without embedding the files in the /usr hierarchy. If
- used, 5 to 10 gigabytes is generally adequate.</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem><para>/tmp – A separate /tmp directory is rare, but
- useful if configuring a thin client. This partition, if used, will
- usually not need to exceed a couple of gigabytes.</para></listitem>
- <listitem><para>/usr/src – This partition is very
- useful for providing a location to store BLFS source files and
- share them across LFS builds. It can also be used as a location
- for building BLFS packages. A reasonably large partition of 30-50
- gigabytes allows plenty of room.</para></listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- <para>Any separate partition that you want automatically mounted upon boot
- needs to be specified in the <filename>/etc/fstab</filename>. Details
- about how to specify partitions will be discussed in <xref
- linkend="ch-bootable-fstab"/>. </para>
- </sect3>
- </sect2>
- </sect1>
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