Date: Tue, 21 Nov 2000 12:33:11 -0800 From: Cy Schubert - ITSD Open Systems Group <Cy.Schubert@uumail.gov.bc.ca> To: Cy Schubert - ITSD Open Systems Group <Cy.Schubert@osg.gov.bc.ca> Cc: stable@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Removal of Disklabel Message-ID: <200011212033.eALKXxk25460@cwsys.cwsent.com> In-Reply-To: Your message of "Tue, 21 Nov 2000 12:23:26 PST." <200011212023.eALKNwF25397@cwsys.cwsent.com>
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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 <xzpn1etf7st.fsf@flood.ping.uio.no>, Dag-Erling Smorgrav > writes: > > FreeBSD <freebsd@KIWI-Computer.com> 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
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