From owner-freebsd-stable Tue Nov 21 12:35:13 2000 Delivered-To: freebsd-stable@freebsd.org Received: from point.osg.gov.bc.ca (point.osg.gov.bc.ca [142.32.102.44]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id D71F837B4CF for ; Tue, 21 Nov 2000 12:35:08 -0800 (PST) Received: (from daemon@localhost) by point.osg.gov.bc.ca (8.8.7/8.8.8) id MAA20001; Tue, 21 Nov 2000 12:35:07 -0800 Received: from passer.osg.gov.bc.ca(142.32.110.29) via SMTP by point.osg.gov.bc.ca, id smtpda19993; Tue Nov 21 12:35:02 2000 Received: (from uucp@localhost) by passer.osg.gov.bc.ca (8.11.1/8.9.1) id eALKYvG02387; Tue, 21 Nov 2000 12:34:57 -0800 (PST) Received: from cwsys9.cwsent.com(10.2.2.1), claiming to be "cwsys.cwsent.com" via SMTP by passer9.cwsent.com, id smtpdXd2384; Tue Nov 21 12:33:59 2000 Received: (from uucp@localhost) by cwsys.cwsent.com (8.11.1/8.9.1) id eALKXxk25460; Tue, 21 Nov 2000 12:33:59 -0800 (PST) Message-Id: <200011212033.eALKXxk25460@cwsys.cwsent.com> Received: from localhost.cwsent.com(127.0.0.1), claiming to be "cwsys" via SMTP by localhost.cwsent.com, id smtpdi25450; Tue Nov 21 12:33:11 2000 X-Mailer: exmh version 2.2 06/23/2000 with nmh-1.0.4 Reply-To: Cy Schubert - ITSD Open Systems Group From: Cy Schubert - ITSD Open Systems Group X-OS: FreeBSD 4.1.1-RELEASE X-Sender: cy To: Cy Schubert - ITSD Open Systems Group Cc: stable@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Removal of Disklabel In-reply-to: Your message of "Tue, 21 Nov 2000 12:23:26 PST." <200011212023.eALKNwF25397@cwsys.cwsent.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Date: Tue, 21 Nov 2000 12:33:11 -0800 Sender: owner-freebsd-stable@FreeBSD.ORG Precedence: bulk X-Loop: FreeBSD.ORG I see that my table didn't format properly. Regards, Phone: (250)387-8437 Cy Schubert Fax: (250)387-5766 Team Leader, Sun/DEC Team Internet: Cy.Schubert@osg.gov.bc.ca Open Systems Group, ITSD, ISTA Province of BC In message <200011212023.eALKNwF25397@cwsys.cwsent.com>, Cy Schubert - ITSD Ope n Systems Group writes: > In message , Dag-Erling Smorgrav > writes: > > FreeBSD writes: > > > The problem with the fdisk slices is that there is only room for 4 ... > > > disklabel gives us 8, no wait.. 6 if you have a swap and 5 if you don't. > > > > Six (a, d, e, f, g, h) plus swap (b), and there's nothing that says b > > has to be a swap partition, so make that seven. There's nothing that > > says a swap partition has to be partition b either, BTW. > > > > Technically, you can use c as well, but that's playing with fire. > > I'm on tangent mode this afternoon, so this is not a direct reply. > > The use of various slices, e.g. "c" for the whole disk, is steeped in > tradition, when some sites would use a dd(1) command to backup disks to > tape or to other disks. Similarly slice "a" was used for the root > partition and slice "b" was used for swap, and "g" & "h" were used for > /usr and /export -- at least that's the say Sun sets up their systems. > The "d" and "e" slices were used to divide the disk in half, if you > didn't want to use any of the others. > > For the newbies out there, read Evi Nemith's UNIX System Administration > Handbook. The first edition had a good explanation of this topic with > pictures. > > For you newbies out there, the concept of slices and partitions in the > same breath may seem overwhelming, however here is how it works. > > FreeBSD partitions a disk using the classic PC fdisk partitions (slices > in FreeBSD speak), so that a disk may be shared with non-FreeBSD > operating systems. Disklabel partitions (partitions in FreeBSD speak) > are the native BSD and UNIX way of partitioning a disk. As FreeBSD is > only supposed (logically from our point of view) to see the FreeBSD > partition and ignore the rest (non-FreeBSD slices for all intents and > purposes don't exist when we're running FreeBSD just like FreeBSD > slices don't exist when you're running NT), the partitions within a > slice mimic the traditional partitions on a disk on other UNIX systems, > e.g. Suns. You newbies can consider FreeBSD partitions as > Microsoft/IBM extended partitions. > > The other thing you newbies will notice is the word partition and slice > being used interchangeably. BSD documentation uses the word partition > to describe a partition in the context of disklabel. Of course IBM and > Microsoft also use that word to describe fdisk partitions (slices in > FreeBSD speak). To add to the confusion, Sun and AT&T used the word > slices to describe their version of disklabel partitions, created by a > format(8) command. This confusion of terms even confuses me who has > been working on UNIX for quite some time. Just as everything else in > UNIX-land is supposed to be standard, every vendor and author of > software in this business recycles terms for their use. > > Here's a Rosetta Stone for all you newbies who may be terribly confused > by all this partitions and slices speak. > > Unit FreeBSD Speak M$/IBM Speak > Sun/AT&T > ~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~ > ~~~~~~~~ > fdisk partition slice partition - > disklabel partition partition extended partition slice > > Of course Microsoft used AT&T's term slice to denote a disklabel > partition when they marketed Xenix. > > Hence once again confusion reigns in the IT industry. (Don't even get > me started about the telecommunications industry). > > For you newbies, if you use the above table, hopefully you'll be less > confused. > > > Regards, Phone: (250)387-8437 > Cy Schubert Fax: (250)387-5766 > Team Leader, Sun/DEC Team Internet: Cy.Schubert@osg.gov.bc.ca > Open Systems Group, ITSD, ISTA > Province of BC > > > > > > To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org > with "unsubscribe freebsd-stable" in the body of the message To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-stable" in the body of the message