[CentOS] CentOS 6 Partitioning Help

[Always Learning]

On Wed, 2011-08-31 at 21:41 -0400, Jonathan Vomacka wrote:

> Also, any help you can give me regarding a partition map would be great.

I'm probably different to many of the others who seem to have fixed
ideas. I'm relatively new to Linux but not to computers.

I assume your machine is a single user machine. If so, I would suggest

3 primary partitions (if the partition table is MS-DOS) each about 10
GB. These can be used for different operating systems, Centos, BSD etc.
because the machine will multi-boot.

A fourth partition made into an extended partition. The extended
partition then made into several logical partitions to provide you with
all the space you need. You do not need to use all the space in the
extended partition and can keep the unused and unallocated extra space
for future requirements.

In the main Centos partition you can mount, using the entries
in /etc/fstab, the logical partitions from the extended partition and
attach them to whatever place you wish. Centos is very flexible. I mount
extended (from the same HDD) and external (from other HDDs) partitions
in /ax.

I store confidential data on extended partitions and use LUKS to encrypt
the entire extended partition. I also use LUKS on laptops and netbooks.

This is my personal preference. I like the idea of having space for
other operating systems in the 3 primary partitions. One can also use
some of the space in the extended partition for more logical partitions
to contain more operating systems. You can access data files stored on
extended partitions from any of the operating system partitions (after
being mounted of course)

Centos 5.6 takes, depending on install options, between about 3.5 and 4
and a bit GB.  

Having everything in one big super partition on a end-user machine makes
handling awkward. Breaking it down into manageable chunks is my
preference. Remember it is your machine so you can be as flexible or as
inflexible as you wish.

I am sure some will have their own preferences totally radically
different from mine.


Best regards,

Paul.