Add a discussion about disk partitioning

git-svn-id: http://svn.linuxfromscratch.org/LFS/trunk/BOOK@9189 4aa44e1e-78dd-0310-a6d2-fbcd4c07a689

2 files changed, 89 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/chapter01/changelog.xml b/chapter01/changelog.xml
index b729706db..901a05395 100644
--- a/chapter01/changelog.xml
+++ b/chapter01/changelog.xml
@@ -41,6 +41,10 @@
       <para>2010-02-17</para>
       <itemizedlist>
         <listitem>
+          <para>[bdubbs] Add a discussion about disk partitioning.
+          Fixes <ulink url="&lfs-ticket-root;2582">#2582</ulink>.</para>
+        </listitem>
+        <listitem>
           <para>[bdubbs] Ensure that GDBM is added to the info 'dir' file.
           Thanks to Randy McMurchy for the fix.
           Fixes <ulink url="&lfs-ticket-root;2574">#2574</ulink>.</para>
diff --git a/chapter02/creatingpartition.xml b/chapter02/creatingpartition.xml
index 9127e5e3f..07f61df6e 100644
--- a/chapter02/creatingpartition.xml
+++ b/chapter02/creatingpartition.xml
@@ -62,4 +62,89 @@
   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 size 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 /root 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 recommneded 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 shouuld be to check for
+    an unresonable command such as trying to edit a five gigabyte file.  If
+    swapping becomes a normal occurance, 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 &ndash; 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 &ndash; 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 &ndash; 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 &ndash; 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, five to ten gigabytes is generally adequate.</para>
+      </listitem>
+      
+      <listitem><para>/tmp &ndash; A separate /tmp directory is rare, but
+      useful if coufiguring a thin client.  This partition, if used, will
+      usually not need to exceed a couple of gigabytes.</para></listitem>
+      
+      <listitem><para>/usr/src &ndash; 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>