Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2008 23:23:45 +0100 From: Polytropon <freebsd@edvax.de> To: "Jonatan Evald Buus" <jonatan.buus@cellpointmobile.com> Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: FreeBSD 7.0 fdisk issue during installation Message-ID: <20081121232345.84ca4659.freebsd@edvax.de> In-Reply-To: <113ce31b0811211341s10a602bfu5289a7116b024551@mail.gmail.com> References: <113ce31b0811211103w22b2108emf6a376a402d7fa60@mail.gmail.com> <20081121195524.GB43897@gizmo.acns.msu.edu> <113ce31b0811211341s10a602bfu5289a7116b024551@mail.gmail.com>
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
On Fri, 21 Nov 2008 22:41:07 +0100, "Jonatan Evald Buus" <jonatan.buus@cellpointmobile.com> wrote: > If I understand you correctly, then I should only create 1 slice of the > entire disk (seeing as FreeBSD will be the only OS) using fdisk and then > partition the slice using bsdlabels from sysinstall? Yes, that's the usual way. Sysinstall suggest this way, too, but you can use fdisk and bsdlabel "manually", if you want. > Previously I was aiming for 5 slices, each of which had a single partition > as described below. Not neccessary, as you see. By the way, if you would want to have one disk (harddisk) for your home directories, you wouldn't make any slice on it, you could create just one partition there, for example: /dev/ad0s1b = swap /dev/ad0s1a = / /dev/ad0s1d = /tmp /dev/ad0s1e = /var /dev/ad0s1f = /usr /dev/ad2 = /home > From your explanation I take it that "slices" are what Windows refers to as > "Primary Partitions"? Yes. > If that's the case then I understand the behaviour I experienced. You understood it correctly. > Is it possible to make a slice non-bootable? Yes, by not setting the bootable flag in the slice editor. > And would there be any benefits (less fragmentation, faster access time > etc.) in using slices rather than partitions to layout the harddrive or > should slices only be used to represent a physical harddrive? I don't think it will give you any speed gains when you have, let's say, /dev/ad[0s[12345]c instead of /dev/ad0s1[adefg]. Speed limitations usually occur according to the order harddisks are placed on the (P)ATA bus and how you copy data from one partition to another, for example, a master -> slave copy usually is slower than a master -> master copy; copies between partitions on the same drive tend to be slower than copies between two physical drives. In daily use, I don't think your suggestion would be of a significant benefit - if it was, it would have been done this way for years already. :-) -- Polytropon >From Magdeburg, Germany Happy FreeBSD user since 4.0 Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, ...
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?20081121232345.84ca4659.freebsd>