LVM/LVM2 helps reduce this, but I still like to use the approach (except I just don't make spares, I just reserve 15-30% of disk space for LVM/LVM2).

Let me clarify that -- I still put the _whole_ disk under LVM/LVM2 (maybe leaving a legacy BIOS/DOS primary 256MB in a pre-formatted FAT16 if I need it for firmware updates). But instead of pre-allocating "spares" of each size (essential/support/discretionary), I reserve 15-30% of the disk for future allocation by LVM/LVM2.

-- Bryan J. Smith mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org