I have a machine with two 20GB drives and I'm going to be installing Linux (openSuSE 10.2 downloading ISO right now) as the only operating system on the machine. I just read about partitioning and I think I have a good scheme but I just want to check with some Linux users on the forums first before I run the installer. All units are in megabytes. Oh, and the partitions are listed from first to last on the drive. Drive 1: / - 9128 swap - 128 /home - 9128 swap - 128 /tmp - 300 Drive 2: /usr - 9128 swap - 128 /usr/local - 9128 swap - 128 /var - 300 I'm not sure if putting multiple swap partitions between other partitions is common practice, but I think that it'll make the machine slightly faster as the head doesn't have to travel as far to get to a swap partition (because there will always be one right next to the partition currently being accesed). -iam The answer to all of the questions you don't want to answer: Bad Command or File Name

I am not a big fan of partitions. Why not let suse do what it wants. Unless you are going to need another OS or XEN or Solaris containers or other real special reasons then I can't see why you'd need more than a swap file if even that. I read it wrong and answer it wrong too. So get off my case you goober.

I have used Linux since 1998 and the most useful bit of wisdom I have ever received was direction to remember the kiss principle (usually a programmers axiom). KISS is an acronym for Keep It Simple Sam (you can use any word starting with the letter S to replace Sam if you are so inclined). In the spirit of that wisdom, I use a root partition, a swap partition, and a /home partition. If I were to put any other part of the file system on a separate partition, it would be /opt, but only if I intended to install software not included with my distribution. Since you have two 20GB drives, you would do well to create a "/" partition (7 GB), a swap partition (512 MB), and a third partition consuming the remaining space on the first drive. Create a /home partition using the entire space on the second drive. Install your Linux distribution using the "/" and /home partitions described above. After installation create a directory under your user account's home directory (perhaps named storage) and mount the partition consuming the remaining space on the first drive to it. This will make over 32GB storage space available for your user account. I do not think you will achieve a significant improvement in performance (or even a noticable one) by using multiple swap partitions. Remember, each partition requires space for the partition table so more partitions equals less storage space. You should always have a valid reason for creating additional partitions. As an example, using a /home partition allows you to install a new release of your chosen Linux distribution when one becomes available without having to wory about losing your user configurations or any original files you have stored in your user account's home directory. The "/" partition can be formatted and your /home partition remains undisturbed. I hope this is helpful, Ernie Registered Linux User 247790 ICQ 41060744

You are going to get a different opinion from each and every Linux Admin here. :-) For example, in you original layout I personally am opposed to /home being where it is. And I would move /usr back to drive 1. (Let it hang under /). But your ideas will work. Only actual use and experience can tell you whether you 'guessed' right. One important note: if this is a 'throw away' system, where you might be frequently reinstalling etc .... you should consider the idea posed by another poster to just let the install do what it wants to. You can fix that up later. But if it will be an environment where you want to or must preserve user data across different installs, you have the right idea.