Minimum System Requirement for Linux Suse - comp.os.linux.misc

Message from discussion Minimum System Requirement for Linux Suse

Douglas Mayne

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More options Mar 11 2006, 11:16 am

Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.misc

From: Douglas Mayne <d...@localhost.localnet>

Date: Sat, 11 Mar 2006 09:16:48 -0700

Local: Sat, Mar 11 2006 11:16 am

Subject: Re: Minimum System Requirement for Linux Suse

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On Fri, 10 Mar 2006 23:10:29 -0800, arkentoss wrote:

> Douglas Mayne wrote:
>> On Fri, 10 Mar 2006 07:48:25 -0800, arkentoss wrote:

>> > Hi

>> > i want to know minimum system requirement requirement for linux suse.
>> > i have 40GB HD, with four partition Windows XP 14 GB, Win 98 9 GB & two
>> > logical partitions of 9 GB & about 5 GB... 14 GB & 5 GB partions are of
>> > NTFS. whereas other two are FAT32.

>> > Will Linux Suse can be installed on 5 GB partition? & which file system
>> > did it use?

>> > i'm a new to linux., pls advice where to look for good
>> > information/literature for linux suse on internet..

>> > thanX in advance

>> > Arkentos

>> Caveat: I am not using Suse. My guess is you can install with 5 GB, but
>> it would be happier with 8 GB. The website associated with your distro of
>> choice should hold a mature set of documentation for your review.

>> You have asked a FAQ. You could easily review posts on this topic using
>> the friendly google. Groups: comp.os.linux.setup, comp.os.linux.misc,
>> alt.os.linux.suse.

>> Also, the wikipedia is your friend.
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SUSE

>> I proceed here giving you a few more hints. There are exceptions to every
>> rule, but here are some rules.

>> 1. GNU/Linux uses its own filesystem. GNU/Linux can use a variety of
>> filesystems. ext2 is the old standard, with ext3 being a new
>> journaled filesystem. Other choices are ReiserFS, XFS, and maybe others.

>> 2. A GNU/Linux systems needs (probably) two partitions at a minimum: a
>> root and a swap partition. These partitions are allocated from
>> free space somewhere on your disc. If there is no free space, then you'll
>> need to free some- possibly making backups beforehand. Knowing the rules
>> for disc partitioning in the PC world is the fundamental basis.

>> 3. The boot loader is an important part of dual boot systems. If you are
>> keeping Windows, I suggest you do a little work in advance understanding
>> the what the bootloader's job is all about. I use the grub loader.

>> 4. Suppose that you had a computer which did not have important data-
>> that you could sacrifice during the GNU/Linux setup procedure, then you
>> could run the distribution's setup program immediately without worring
>> about the steps above. Some setup programs are designed to be as newbie
>> friendly as possible and do things automatically for you. But, on the
>> other hand, if you can't afford to lose what is on your computer now, then
>> its your responsibility to know what you're doing. In any case, these
>> setup programs advise you to backup first.

>> --
>> Douglas Mayne

> Thank you Douglas,

> I'll do my homework before i start.
> I can free up still 4-5 GB for another partition. i'have partition
> magic to do it.
> Pls guide me as how should i distribute space among them,.. root & swap
> partitions..
> & which file system should i use... u metioned too much.... which will
> be best for me..?

> Thanx in advance
> Arkentos

You should make a table similar to the one below (on paper) which you can
refer to during your install. You should correct the table below for
your system- verify (via some method) the contents. Partition Magic
will be able to help you verify your assumptions are correct. You don't
want any surprises later.

Partition Used for Size or % Comments
--------- ----------- ---------- ---------------------
MBR boot loader 512 bytes Use grub
1 Windows ? Windows likes to be on part. 1
2 Suse Swap ? size relative to RAM (1x - 2x)
3 Suse root ? probably 4-8G minimum

Here are the basic rules for disc partitioning (in the PC world):
1. There can be a maximum of 4 primary partitions.
2. Windows likes to be on partition 1
3. A primary partition can be assigned to be an "extended partition."
4. An extended partiton can contain more partition entries (not limited
to 4).
4.A. Partitions within the extended partition are referred
to as "logical partitions."
4.B. The first logical partition is always the number 5
because the first 4 numbers are reserved for primary partitions.

The above is a simple scheme. You can get more fancy than that, and there are
good reasons too use more elaborate schemes (as noted by John-Paul Stewart on
this thread).

Here is another simple case:
Partition Used for Size or % Comments
--------- ----------- ---------- ---------------------
MBR boot loader 512 bytes Use grub
1 Windows ? Windows likes to be on part. 1
2 Suse boot 50M some small amount, use ext2 fs
3 extended ? Extened partition uses remainder
5 Suse swap 1.2G size relative to RAM (1x - 2x)
6 Suse root 7.8G use adv. fs: xfs, ext3, reiserfs

It's a good idea to use an advanced journalling filesystem on larger
partitions. I don't use Suse, so I am not sure of the support for xfs in
the installer, but that is the filesystem I use. AFAIK, ext3 is the most
popular. ext3 is backward compatible with ext2. ext2 is the most
compatible in the PC world; for example, Partition Magic has tools to work
with it. I also use ext2, but the scheduled fsck disk checks can
really take a long time to complete on larger partitions (>25G).

Are you starting to get the point I was making in step 4 above? You can do it,
but are you sure you wouldn't like it done for you automatically the first
time?

--
Douglas Mayne

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