default partition scheme without /home - why ?

[Chris Snook]

Valent Turkovic wrote:
> Chris Snook wrote:
>> Valent Turkovic wrote:
>>> 2008/3/10 Paul W. Frields <stickster at gmail.com>:
>>>> On Mon, 2008-03-10 at 15:56 +0100, Valent Turkovic wrote:
>>>>  > 2008/3/10 Paul W. Frields <stickster at gmail.com>:
>>>>  > > On Mon, 2008-03-10 at 14:19 +0100, Valent Turkovic wrote:
>>>>  > >  > 2008/3/10 Jesse Keating <jkeating at redhat.com>:
>>>>  > >  > > On Mon, 2008-03-10 at 13:34 +0100, Valent Turkovic wrote:
>>>>  > >  > >  > Is that on purpose and if it why?
>>>>  > >  > >
>>>>  > >  > >  Guessing how much space you'll need in your non /home 
>>>> partitions over
>>>>  > >  > >  time is difficult.  Only you know how your install will 
>>>> be used.  That's
>>>>  > >  > >  why the installer defaults to the easiest thing to 
>>>> guess;  How much boot
>>>>  > >  > >  space you'll need, and how much swap space.  However 
>>>> since you know how
>>>>  > >  > >  your install is going to be used, you are best to make 
>>>> those estimations
>>>>  > >  > >  and setup your /home as you want it.
>>>>  > >  > >
>>>>  > >  > >  --
>>>>  > >  > >  Jesse Keating
>>>>  > >  > >  Fedora -- All my bits are free, are yours?
>>>>  > >  >
>>>>  > >  > Fedora Live CD target audience are desktop users, right? I as a
>>>>  > >  > desktop user haven't seen any need for / partiton over 8-10 GB.
>>>>  > >  > Servers, and other fedora usages may need some other 
>>>> partition schemes
>>>>  > >  > but a default home user has huge benefits from a dedicated 
>>>> /home
>>>>  > >  > partition.
>>>>  > >  >
>>>>  > >  > It is probable that new users aren't aware that /home 
>>>> partition as a
>>>>  > >  > dedicated partition has advantages and it would be best if 
>>>> anaconda
>>>>  > >  > makes the "smart" partition scheme in which /home is a separate
>>>>  > >  > partition in LVM volume, or a logical partition. Separate 
>>>> home has
>>>>  > >  > lots of advantages that you are aware of, so why not just 
>>>> change the
>>>>  > >  > partition scheme to take advantage of that?
>>>>  > >
>>>>  > >  Those users could read the Installation Guide, which talks 
>>>> about this
>>>>  > >  exact situation and how to set up partitions that make sense.  
>>>> I don't
>>>>  > >  think it's unreasonable to expect that new users who are going to
>>>>  > >  install should read the document that tells them how to do 
>>>> it.  There's
>>>>  > >  not a lot we can do for people who won't read.
>>>>  >
>>>>  > Where on the Live CD can I see the Installation Guide?
>>>>
>>>>  Putting the IG on the Live Image isn't a good answer.  Carrying all 
>>>> the
>>>>  languages we'd need to make that a good solution would knock other 
>>>> stuff
>>>>  off the already cramped space.  However, we should link to the IG from
>>>>  the site where the Live Image is downloaded.  People can download a 
>>>> copy
>>>>  to read offsite, or read it off the Web.  I've already made a note 
>>>> on my
>>>>  draft for the new download workflow, at
>>>>  http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/PaulWFrields/Drafts/NewGetFedora .  
>>>> And of
>>>>  course, whether we link or provide it directly probably doesn't impact
>>>>  whether people actually *read* it.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>  --
>>>>  Paul W. Frields                                
>>>> http://paul.frields.org/
>>>>   gpg fingerprint: 3DA6 A0AC 6D58 FEC4 0233  5906 ACDB C937 BD11 3717
>>>>   http://redhat.com/   -  -  -  -   http://pfrields.fedorapeople.org/
>>>>   irc.freenode.net: stickster @ #fedora-docs, #fedora-devel, #fredlug
>>>>
>>>> -- 
>>>>  fedora-devel-list mailing list
>>>>  fedora-devel-list at redhat.com
>>>>  https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-devel-list
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> IG is a monster to read :)
>>> Has there been a initiative to make "guick install guide" or something
>>> like that?
>>>
>>> Valent
>>>
>>
>> Actually, this reminds me of something else that I think Fedora could 
>> do much better, namely, providing recommended kickstart configurations 
>> for various uses.  It would be dirt cheap to populate the LiveCD and 
>> the base install media with a few different kickstart profiles, 
>> including a "desktop novice" profile.  This wouldn't change the 
>> default behavior (and thus would not piss off lots of people) but 
>> would still accomplish your goal.
>>
>>     -- Chris
>>
> 
> This sounds like a great ides. Where can I look for info regarding 
> kickstart files, what are they, how are they used in fedora, etc...
> 
> Valent.
> 

system-config-kickstart generates kickstart files, and I believe cobbler 
does as well.  /root/anaconda-ks.cfg shows the kickstart file generated 
by the interactive installer to set up your system.  As far as 
documentation goes, I think there's some Fedora-specific documentation 
somewhere, but the best resource I know of is here:

http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/enterprise/RHEL-5-manual/en-US/RHEL510/Installation_Guide/pt-install-advanced-deployment.html

-- Chris