Partitioning Schemes for Arch Linux

Laptop 1: hp-4540s-i5 (BIOS/MBR)

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$ sudo dmidecode | grep -A3 '^System Information'

System Information
	Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard
	Product Name: HP ProBook 4540s
	Version: A1018C1100

	Memory Size - 16 GB

	Disk Size - 500 GB

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$ sudo dnf install lshw

Intel Core i5 -3230M @ 2.60 GHz

$ sudo lshw -short

Graphics Card

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$ lspci | grep -e VGA -e 3D
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 3rd Gen Core processor Graphics Controller (rev 09)
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] Thames [Radeon HD 7550M/7570M/7650M]

As you can see from above, I have 2 graphics cards for this laptop.

Laptop 2: hp-450g3-i7 (UEFI/GPT)

Product Name : HP ProBook 450 G3 Processor 1 Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 - 6500U CPU @ 2.50 GHz Memory Size 8192 MB (8 GB)

Disk Size 1TB = 1000 GB approx. - 900 GB

Graphics Card

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$ lspci | grep -e VGA -e 3D
VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Skylake GT2 (HD Graphics)

partitioning tools

I will be using

1. fdisk -l - check my partitions

2. fdisk /dev/sda - to do the actual partition

So the partitioning command

$ fdisk /dev/sda

where /dev/sda/ is the disk we are partitioning.

Partition Scheme for 4540s (Legacy System)

This will be a single boot (Arch Linux). The partition is to be observed in the order shown Disk Size - 500 GB

Disk Drive - /dev/sda

Using cfdisk make dev/sda1 bootable.shown by an asterisk.

Use partprobe to update partition tables,if you happen to make changes

# partprobe /dev/sda

Partition Scheme for 450 G3 (UEFI system)

This will be a dual boot(Arch Linux + Windows). The partition is to be observed in the order shown

Disk Size HDD - 1000 GB = 1TB

fdisk -l

To wipe dev/sda for UEFI System

 #parted /dev/sda -s mklabel gpt

To wipe dev/sda for Legacy System

 #parted /dev/sda -s mklabel msdos

Disk Drive - /dev/sda - fdisk /dev/sda

Use t - to change partition type

/var - for docker containers /swap - 2 * RAM

Why this partition scheme?

• Personal preference - need for speed!

• /var is after boot because we want to start docker containers automatically. The other reasoning behind this partition is disk space, we want them(docker containers), to be on their own partition for performance. The size of /var usually reflects the intended purpose of the machine.Obviuosly mine is intended for development and as we know docker containers tend to grow in size and numbers and having this default docker directory a separate partition will greatly improve performance of my laptops and also iwill be protecting my root partition - / for running out of space.

• /boot - the boot partition should be within the first 1024 cylinders, coz you never know when a kernel update or disk deframentation may occur making you system completely unbootable. -as a matter of fact I will be installing the rolling release and the stable release linux firmwares for Arch Linux.

• /swap - i did put it at the outer track still,so that when an hibernating/putting my laptop to sleep, on wake up it is easier to find it. Hard disks are usually faster on the outer tracks.

• /home - Personal files.I don’t have to be worried about losing my files in case of OS updates.

• / - Root partition - other software installation goes here.

Actually if you create many partitions instead of one / root partition,upgrades becomes easier.

The mountable partitions here will be: /home,/,& /var.

For instance this command will suffice:

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root@archiso ~$ mount /dev/sda3  /mnt

root@archiso # arch-chroot /mnt

References

• https://www.dell.com/support/article/en-us/sln152018/the-types-and-definitions-of-ubuntu-linux-partitions-and-directories-explained?lang=en