Date: Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:11:59 -0800 From: Devin Teske <devin.teske@fisglobal.com> To: "'Chuck Swiger'" <cswiger@mac.com> Cc: 'FreeBSD -' <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org> Subject: RE: One or Four? Message-ID: <021501ccedd1$ef4201d0$cdc60570$@fisglobal.com> In-Reply-To: <290E977C-E361-4C7D-8F1E-C1D6D03BAD63@mac.com> References: <4F3ECF23.5000706@fisglobal.com> <20120217234623.cf7e169c.freebsd@edvax.de> <20120217225329.GB30014@gizmo.acns.msu.edu> <021101ccedc9$89445cf0$9bcd16d0$@fisglobal.com> <290E977C-E361-4C7D-8F1E-C1D6D03BAD63@mac.com>
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> -----Original Message----- > From: Chuck Swiger [mailto:cswiger@mac.com] > Sent: Friday, February 17, 2012 3:56 PM > To: Devin Teske > Cc: FreeBSD - > Subject: Re: One or Four? > > On Feb 17, 2012, at 3:11 PM, Devin Teske wrote: > [snip] > > I'd argue that there should never be a single-"/" unless you are prepared to > > deal with a truly 100%-full filesystem problem (especially considering that > > Desktop users whom select the default-everything are often not skilled enough > to > > deal with that situation). If someone truly wants a single "/" and nothing else, > > there's manual partitioning (which should prove pretty easy in the event that > > you're only creating one partition and nothing else). > > > More sophisticated partition schemes certainly can have value in terms of better > isolation from unexpected logfile growth (etc), a separation of OS-provided files > from user content, a separation of stuff which doesn't change often versus stuff > that does, and so forth. > > However, for whatever reasons, the overwhelming majority of folks using MacOS > X don't have problems using a single root partition, and while they sometimes do > fill up their disks, that's a situation which they should be able to recover from > without needing expert assistance. I don't recall having unusual issues in running > a partition out of space under FreeBSD, either, or difficulty fixing things > afterwards-- Recipe for disaster: 1. You have a cron-job that pulls down /etc/master.passwd daily 2. Your cron-job also runs pwd_mkdb after "SUP"ing down /etc/master.passwd 3. A program fills "/" 4. cron fires 5. pwd_mkdb can't generate databases because not enough room on filesystem 6. System can no longer be logged into 7. System is rebooted 8. Can't log in (not even as root) 9. Go into single-user mode 10. No space to work in Sure... you can call it an "edge-case," but it's pretty common and this is only one of a myriad of ways we can reproduce the problem of filling-up "/" to cause major headaches. For example, let's say you don't have a cron-job that runs pwd_mkdb etc. Let's say you're just blissfully unaware of your disk space (or lack thereof) and you execute "vipw". Exiting the program after making changes invokes pwd_mkdb and if there isn't enough disk space to accommodate the database, you're hosed. -- Devin _____________ The information contained in this message is proprietary and/or confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, please: (i) delete the message and all copies; (ii) do not disclose, distribute or use the message in any manner; and (iii) notify the sender immediately. In addition, please be aware that any message addressed to our domain is subject to archiving and review by persons other than the intended recipient. Thank you.
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