[techtalk] Disk utilities under Linux

[Caitlyn M. Martin]

Hi, Conor, and everyone else,
> 
> If you are installing your Linux system or are happy to reinstall, you
> could split your disk space into at two or more partitions with, at
> minimum, /home on a seperate partition.  That way, /home fragmentation can
> be dealt with without needing to take down the entire system.  More
> convenient for system upgrades etc also since your data is safe on /home
> when you reformat / at upgrade time...
> 
I wish your e-mail could have been sent through with lots of red stars,
highlighted, flashing, and so on...  Yes, always put /home separate!  Anyone
remember versions of Red Hat or Caldera where the upgrade install didn't
work properly?  I sure do!  While my data was backed up, as were things like
my .netscape, .mail, .profile, and so on, it's sure nice not to have to
restore everything.  Also, if you have a problem with your backup (which
does happen) it's sure nice to have the original intact.

As some of you know, I am also prone to check out different cool-looking
distros.  (FWIW, Mandrake 7.1 is my flavor currently.  Quite nice!)  It's
sure nice that /home doesn't get touched.

Also, going back to the disk utilities question:  most distros I have used
have fsck set to run at every 10th boot or so, which takes care of any
defragmentation necessary on my home systems.  Obviously, any server box
that stays up for long periods needs manual maintenance, as has already been
detailed, but not nearly as often as a Windows box.

Regards,
Caity


-- 
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Caitlyn M. Martin
caitlynmaire at earthlink.net
http://www.angelfire.com/nc/caitmartin
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