firsly hi guys, is the directory structure of linux partitionable (e.g. /var/, /usr/, /lib/, /boot/ etc. etc are actually logical partitions, if so, how many logical partitions do i need to separate 2 distros (mandriva & kubuntu for example) presumably - /var/ = variables /usr/ = user settings /lib/ = library files /boot/ = containts boot info /dev/ = devices /bin/ = binary files /sbin/ = unknown /etc/ = unknown /proc/ = unknown things like /mnt/ & /opt/ are not included because they are obviously /mnt/ = locally mounted filesystems /opt/ = options am i right of wrong about my presumptions ? is the directory structure of linux partitionable ? TYIA
/opt is not necessarily for options, but an extra place where programs can store data. For example, OpenOffice sometimes stores data in this directory. /etc (ette see), is used to store configuration information, for example, /etc/lilo.conf, /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etcresolv.conf Unix/Linux have a special way of manipulating/storing information about the system. The /proc directory contains virtual files. These can be to do with the hardware, for example, /proc/partitions. They are not actual files on disk, it is a virtual filesystem. Some drivers use /proc to communicate with the programs, e.g. a driver such as the Acer Hotkeys driver uses a directory like /proc/acerhk/wirelessled. Writing a 1 to that file activates the wireless LED (or its supposed to, but doesn't work with me). /sbin contains programs for the superuser. Programs like lilo are stored here, or ifconfig.
I am not a big linux wiz but no, those are directories and not partitions. Very absractly, Linux works with two partitions (although it can do with just one): Swap - used roughly as Windows pagefile Main (not called that...) - where the OS, and programs live (within all those directories you have listed) There is no absolute rule as to how many actual partitions you can have on one drive (apart from minimum partition size and the actual size of your drive) but I think that each distro has to live on its own partition. Each distro will need a minimum size to house the OS so you need to pay attention to that. Most distros I have seen to date have default sizes which you can set your self as the installer does it's thang. Swap will normaly (maybe has to be) be logical and the main primary. Some distros would suggest where to locate the swap (beginning or end) while partition tools like in Mandriva will give you total freedom with your choices (did I mentioned that Mandriva has the best partitioning tool ever? ) Hope this helps and that I got his right.... hah:
Although you can mount different directories into their own partitions, doing so is almost pointless for the average home user. With the exception of: SWAP partition /home - for user's documents /usr - for program files /tmp - for temporary files. You cannot mount /boot into it's own partition. From memory, this is what the directories contain (i might be and probably am wrong ) * /var/ = Log files * /usr/ = Program files (binaries for these program files goes in /usr/bin among others) * /lib/ = library files * /boot/ = containts boot info * /dev/ = devices * /bin/ = UNIX command line binary files (such as tar, etc) * /sbin/ = Super User's command line tools (require ROOT privileges) * /etc/ = Configuration files * /proc/ = devices * /mnt/ = locally mounted filesystems (not used much anymore - most newer distros use /media instead) * /media = Mount points for CD-ROMs, hard drives etc * /opt/ = Unknown - in all the distros I have used, I have never seen this directory in use!
On home desktops, I usually do something like this: /............This is where the kernel, modules, and software are installed. swap......Linux needs this but rarely uses it. Your OS'es can share this. /home....Where you keep your user files and individualized settings. ...on a server or a production desktop I would have a more complex partitioning scheme, but I think that is more than adequate for a typical home desktop. In this case, the beauty of isolating / from /home for each installation is that you can install a new version of Linux in / and yet keep your content in /home without a backup. [ot]Not that I'm soliciting not making backups just 'cause you run Linux, as HDD's do fail from time to time. But that will save you from having to backup whenever you want to try a different distro, or even overinstall an existing one (which I did very often when I was a novice).[/ot] So, your partition table might look something like this: [OS #1] /............root partition for OS 1. /home...home partition for OS 1. swap......swap for OSes 1 and 2. [OS #2] /............root partition for OS 2. /home...home partition for OS 2.
