From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Received: from pigeon.gentoo.org ([208.92.234.80] helo=lists.gentoo.org) by finch.gentoo.org with esmtp (Exim 4.60) (envelope-from ) id 1RFtO4-0002Is-3L for garchives@archives.gentoo.org; Mon, 17 Oct 2011 20:02:16 +0000 Received: from pigeon.gentoo.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by pigeon.gentoo.org (Postfix) with SMTP id C8DE221C108; Mon, 17 Oct 2011 20:02:06 +0000 (UTC) Received: from smtp.gentoo.org (smtp.gentoo.org [140.211.166.183]) by pigeon.gentoo.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 876A221C102 for ; Mon, 17 Oct 2011 20:01:36 +0000 (UTC) Received: by smtp.gentoo.org (Postfix, from userid 617) id E5B7C1B4003; Mon, 17 Oct 2011 20:01:35 +0000 (UTC) Date: Mon, 17 Oct 2011 20:01:35 +0000 From: Sven Vermeulen To: gentoo-dev@lists.gentoo.org Subject: Re: [gentoo-dev] supporting /usr on separate partition Message-ID: <20111017200135.GA27806@gentoo.org> Mail-Followup-To: gentoo-dev@lists.gentoo.org References: <1318518871.3885.3.camel@TesterBox.tester.ca> <20111013180547.4973defa@googlemail.com> <4416149.yvcg9DIAd9@pc> <4E994AEF.5030002@mailstation.de> <4E9A0414.7030603@gentoo.org> <4E9AD392.30503@gentoo.org> <4E9B261B.1010304@gentoo.org> <4E9C51A9.1080006@gentoo.org> <4E9C64BD.7070008@gentoo.org> Precedence: bulk List-Post: List-Help: List-Unsubscribe: List-Subscribe: List-Id: Gentoo Linux mail X-BeenThere: gentoo-dev@lists.gentoo.org Reply-to: gentoo-dev@lists.gentoo.org MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-15 Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: User-Agent: Mutt/1.5.21 (2010-09-15) X-Archives-Salt: X-Archives-Hash: a00e7d412cb062e155994a17e762bf91 On Mon, Oct 17, 2011 at 01:50:04PM -0400, Ian Stakenvicius wrote: > > If someone wants to take on the burden of maintaining an init wrapper > > like that, then I guess that's fine. However, I wouldn't consider it to > > be an absolute requirement. I think it would be fine (maybe preferable) > > to simply provide a doc that describes how to mount /usr via an > > initramfs or linuxrc init wrapper. Such a doc would only be needed by > > those users who require that /usr be on a separate partition. > > This makes sense. So the Handbook could be updated with a caveat after > the large partition example to say something like "/usr on it's own > partition needs special consideration, please see XXXXX" ... this$ > works. (Ian, it's a general reply, not specific to your e-mail) I've updated the Gentoo Handbook just a few moments ago to mention something like this in the introduction of the partition section "How Many and How Big": --Snippet from the commit result:

However, multiple partitions have disadvantages as well. If not configured properly, you will have a system with lots of free space on one partition and none on another. Another nuisance is that separate partitions - especially for important mountpoints like /usr or /var - often require the administrator to boot with an initramfs to mount the partition before other boot scripts start. This isn't always the case though, so YMMV.

There is also a 15-partition limit for SCSI and SATA unless you use GPT labels.

--End Snippet Now, I must say I find it strange that people think that the Gentoo Handbook suggests users to use a separate /usr partition. It does not. The default partitioning that we use is a separate /boot (yes, this can and has been debated in the past, I'm not going to change this) and / with a separate swap partition. Nothing more, nothing less. There are a few code listings where an example output is given which holds a separate /usr but I hope all those listings are clear that they are examples. It also states that this is an example we use in the Gentoo Handbook and that it depends on the user how he wants his partition scheme layed out. I'm hoping that the above update clarifies this sufficiently so that huge threads like this one don't need to reappear again ;-) If you think it is still unclear or needs improvements left or right, don't hesitate to mail me or, even better, file a bugreport (I act better on bug reports than on e-mails). Oh, and I use a separate /usr with no initramfs (yet), with software raid and lvm2. /me quickly hides Wkr, Sven Vermeulen