[SGVLUG] Linux Partitioning for Server

[matti]

>.. Between
> the / and SWAP I only need about 30GB max.  That leaves
> 290GB (or 610GB with 2 drives) of space wasted.  The server
> can only physically support 4 drives because it's only
> got 4 drive bays and using an external array or fibre
> channel is out of the question for this server.

this certainly is one of the bigger challenges with larger
drives, wasted space vs. performance from using separate
"spindles" (drives)

I've heard of good things about LVM..

you may want to setup the drives as mirrored/RAID 1
(2 sets and use LVM to partition across those sets)
or RAID 0+1 ( strip 2 sets of drives and then
mirror them.)

I know a number of database system admins were
complaining about this years back... I would
think solid state drives will solve some of their
performance issues.

I used to do a lot of detailed partition management
mounting some as read only and restricting the sizes
on others. But then I haven't done that much about
it anymore as drives are fairly large and I've got
less concerns about the /var partition filling up the
drive (and causing a denial of service.)

still it may not be a bad idea to keep the /var
partition separate, as if you fill up your OS HD
your system may no longer boot!! ( well, thankfully, 
it's been awhile since I've experienced that..)

best
matti