general rules for partitioning

[Joel]

> > I'm exploring Fedora Core while using it as a workstation, so I have
> > lots of optional stuff loaded. As a result, I find 8GB for /usr is just
> > barely enough. I tend to install things that are not RPM, and I leave
> > source lying around sometimes, so I give /usr/local 4G or more.
> 
> Oh, if you're doing that, you probably want /usr/local separate too, for the
> same reason you want /home split off. 

Yeah, that's why I give /usr/local 4G or more.

> (In fact, on my own systems, I usually
> make /usr/local a symlink to /home/local.) 

Interesting thought. 

I've done something like that on a Mac. Softlinked /usr/local into a
directory on a UFS volume so I wouldn't have to worry about strange
permissions interactions with forked file systems and software that's
never seen more than one fork.

> > For the various dbs in the system, /var/www, etc., 2GB for /var is also
> > just barely enough. In fact, I like to have at least 1GB for /var/tmp,
> > separately.
> 
> Sure -- if you've got that stuff, you're not a typical desktop system.

What with webdav, it's not that atypical anymore to have apache or
tomcat running on a desktop system.

And then there's /var/lib .

> (And
> this is why there's /srv, by the way. /var/www is icky.)

Why do you think so? 

> > A separate partition for /tmp is usefully when something tries to fill
> > /tmp, because it does not end up filling / . So I like to give it 1GB.
> 
> Careful with that -- you don't want to end up with files from the boot
> process covered up in the /tmp mountpoint....

Oh? Hmm. Thanks for the heads up. I'll have to unmount /tmp and see
what's getting hidden. 

But that sure seems weird, seeing as the whole point of /tmp is to
have a place where temporaries can be written without worrying about
starving the root partition.

(Come to think of it, I've seen enough to recognize that
write-protecting the root partition is going to be less than useless in
Fedora Core.)

> > Speaking of / , I have been giving it a full 1GB. That's convenient for
> > updating the kernel and leaving an old kernel or two behind.
> 
> An old kernel or twenty. :)

   >:-)

About six old kernels had it over half full, but of course there's more
than the kernel in there (including some stuff that, in freebsd, would
be in /var).

Come to think of it, since you mentioned /tmp, I wonder how much of that
disk usage is being hidden under /tmp .

--
Joel Rees   <rees at ddcom.co.jp>
digitcom, inc.   株式会社デジコム
Kobe, Japan   +81-78-672-8800
** <http://www.ddcom.co.jp> **