Fedora 18 existing /usr partition -- need to merge into rootfs?

[Robert Nichols]

On 04/01/2013 07:47 AM, Noah Cutler wrote:
> Hey all.
>
> I'm confused over the whole separate /usr partition is broken thing:
> http://freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/systemd/separate-usr-is-broken
>
>  From an email in current fedora-user thread we have:
> "That should not be necessary.  And would break a very normal system
> setup of using separate drives, *even more so than the blasted can't have
> a separate /usr thing that happened recently*."
>
> During Fedora 18 fresh install with custom partitioning chosen, Anaconda
> autocompletes mount points so I went with /boot, /, /user, /var, and /home
> partitions.
>
> Everything appears to work swimmingly here after 1 month of use -- separate /usr
> partition does not appear to be broken...anymore??
>
> Just trying to future proof my setup; if it's better to merge /usr into rootfs,
> so be it, better to do it early days with the new system.
>
> Otherwise, if someone can chime in here with some sage partitioning advice as to
> how to proceed moving forward with Fedora, that would be much appreciated.

If you really want to keep a separate /usr (I do, mounted read-only and
located on an SSD) you just need to arrange to have /usr mounted by dracut
early in the boot sequence. It's not hard:

1. Copy the /usr line from your /etc/fstab into a (probably new) file
    /etc/fstab.sys .

2. Edit the file /etc/dracut.conf and change the line
         #add_dracutmodules+=""
    to read
         add_dracutmodules+="fstab-sys"

3. IMPORTANT: In /etc/fstab, disable the automatic fsck for /usr by
    putting a zero in field 6.

4. Run dracut to remake the initramfs in /boot.

That's it.  Now your /usr gets mounted early in the boot sequence.
It is available when needed, and you can ignore the warning from systemd.
You will have to make your own arrangement for fsck on your /usr.  If
you allowed the automatic fsck to run, it would be guaranteed to fail
since the filesystem is mounted.  (The special handling for the root
filesystem is hard-coded into fsck and would not apply to a pre-mounted
/usr.)

-- 
Bob Nichols     "NOSPAM" is really part of my email address.
                 Do NOT delete it.