From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Thu Mar 3 23:17:00 2005 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.FreeBSD.org (mx1.freebsd.org [216.136.204.125]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 238F316A4CE for ; Thu, 3 Mar 2005 23:17:00 +0000 (GMT) Received: from mxsf34.cluster1.charter.net (mxsf34.cluster1.charter.net [209.225.28.159]) by mx1.FreeBSD.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id B010A43D54 for ; Thu, 3 Mar 2005 23:16:59 +0000 (GMT) (envelope-from lauasanf@wilderness.homeip.net) Received: from mxip17.cluster1.charter.net (mxip17a.cluster1.charter.net [209.225.28.147])j23NGwpI024419 for ; Thu, 3 Mar 2005 18:16:58 -0500 Received: from 68-185-131-182.midtn.chartertn.net (HELO [192.168.1.6]) (68.185.131.182) by mxip17.cluster1.charter.net with ESMTP; 03 Mar 2005 18:16:57 -0500 X-Ironport-AV: i="3.90,134,1107752400"; d="scan'208"; a="798211581:sNHT22709244" Message-ID: <422792AA.1080301@wilderness.homeip.net> Date: Thu, 03 Mar 2005 16:41:46 -0600 From: Laurence Sanford User-Agent: Mozilla Thunderbird 1.0 (X11/20050112) X-Accept-Language: en-us, en MIME-Version: 1.0 To: jesse@wingnet.net References: In-Reply-To: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: /boot like linux! X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Thu, 03 Mar 2005 23:17:00 -0000 Jesse Guardiani wrote: >Hello, > >I'm a FreeBSD 5.3 user as well as a Gentoo Linux user. >In Gentoo linux, you only have to create 3 partitions: > >/boot >swap >/ > >In FreeBSD, you seem to have to create many more: > >/ >swap >/usr >/var >/tmp > >In particular, it seems that /boot MUST be on the same >partition as /. This stinks, as now you have to create >separate partitions for /usr and /var, which wastes space. > >I tried to make /boot it's own partition, and I succeeded, >to a certain extent. I actually made /boot/boot, because >the FreeBSD 5.3 boot manager wants to look under the /boot >directory for "loader". If /boot is it's own partition, then >you need a /boot/boot/loader. > >Anyway, that worked. The kernel boots now, but it prompts >me at the beginning of the rc process for the root device. >I give it: > >ufs:ad1s1d > >Which is my / partition, and it boots successfully. >Is it possible to automate this process so that the loader >knows to use ad1s1d as my root device? > >Thanks! > > > I'm not sure I understand the problem. If you don't want to create more partitions, then don't. You can make an 80gb (or 300gb, or whatever) drive into two partitions - a swap partition (2gig) and a / partition (78 gig) and install FreeBSD just fine. It's *best* to make more partitions (esp for /var) so that if something goes out of control logging, or you just neglect your logs, it doesn't go and fill up your only (ie / ) partition. Like most *nix OS's, it can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be.