Re: Clean SL 5.4 Install and Anaconda Disk Partitioning Madness
Thanks for all the suggestions. Anaconda still did some rearranging, but I eventually figured out what I needed to do to get what I wanted. I had to use `Edit' to set the starting and ending cylinders as well as use the Primary Partition check box. I had to use `Edit' for all the partitions. I tried `Add' for the last partition and let it go to the end of the drive automatically, but it stopped short of the end, so I had to use `Edit' in order to use the full drive space. I assembled all my partitions into their respective software RAID's, set file system type, mount points, and clicked `Next'. New problem, it now says XFS is not valid for a boot partition. Hogwash! All my systems use XFS for boot partitions. I've got systems running SL 3.0.5, SL 4.5, and one running SL 5.3 all with ONLY XFS files systems including /boot. Any ideas on getting past this new hurdle? Thanks. Oh, in order to get XFS listed as a valid file system, I had to add `xfs' to the `linux' line when I started up the install. -- Brent L. Bates (UNIX Sys. Admin.) M.S. 912 Phone:(757) 865-1400, x204 NASA Langley Research CenterFAX:(757) 865-8177 Hampton, Virginia 23681-0001 Email: b.l.ba...@larc.nasa.govhttp://www.vigyan.com/~blbates/
Clean SL 5.4 Install and Anaconda Disk Partitioning Madness
I've been searching Google for answers and can't find any, so I decided to check here. I'm trying to do a clean install of SL 5.4. I'm booting from an SL 5.4 x86_64 DVD. When I get to the point of custom partitioning my drives, Anaconda makes a mess of things. I have 4 drives and I want 4 partions on each drive. The first partion will be `/boot', next `/', then `/data', and finally a swap partion. As I create each partition on each drive, Anaconda will suddenly rearrange the order of the partions. When I go onto another drive, the order may be different than the last drive I just partitioned. When I try to do the 4th and last partition, I get an `Extended' 4th partion (which is empty) and a real 5th partition, instead of a simple single partition. In the end, what I want is the first partition on each drive combined into a software RAID 1 and be `/boot'. The next 2 sets will be software RAID 0's and `/' `/data'. The final partitions will be 4 separate swap partitions that the OS will take care of. I've tried creating all the partitions on one drive and then moving onto the next one and the next one, but it scrambles things up. I've tried creating the first partition on each drive, then combining them into the RAID 1 md0 device, and specifying the files system type, and mount point `/boot'. Next I go onto the next partition, which I've tried as a software RAID 0 partition and swap at various times. This one usually works, but not always. When I get to the 3rd partition, then it will suddenly rearrange the partitions on that drive. I've even seen it suddenly create a swap partition on a different drive than what I'm actually working on. I've done this with earlier versions of SL, but I don't remember having this much trouble with Anaconda randomly rearranging things and creating an extra unneeded partion. Any insights would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. -- Brent L. Bates (UNIX Sys. Admin.) M.S. 912 Phone:(757) 865-1400, x204 NASA Langley Research CenterFAX:(757) 865-8177 Hampton, Virginia 23681-0001 Email: b.l.ba...@larc.nasa.govhttp://www.vigyan.com/~blbates/
Re: Clean SL 5.4 Install and Anaconda Disk Partitioning Madness
Brent L. Bates wrote: I've been searching Google for answers and can't find any, so I decided to check here. I'm trying to do a clean install of SL 5.4. I'm booting from an SL 5.4 x86_64 DVD. When I get to the point of custom partitioning my drives, Anaconda makes a mess of things. I have 4 drives and I want 4 partions on each drive. The first partion will be `/boot', next `/', then `/data', and finally a swap partion. As I create each partition on each drive, Anaconda will suddenly rearrange the order of the partions. When I go onto another drive, the order may be different than the last drive I just partitioned. When I try to do the 4th and last partition, I get an `Extended' 4th partion (which is empty) and a real 5th partition, instead of a simple single partition. In the end, what I want is the first partition on each drive combined into a software RAID 1 and be `/boot'. The next 2 sets will be software RAID 0's and `/' `/data'. The final partitions will be 4 separate swap partitions that the OS will take care of. I've tried creating all the partitions on one drive and then moving onto the next one and the next one, but it scrambles things up. I've tried creating the first partition on each drive, then combining them into the RAID 1 md0 device, and specifying the files system type, and mount point `/boot'. Next I go onto the next partition, which I've tried as a software RAID 0 partition and swap at various times. This one usually works, but not always. When I get to the 3rd partition, then it will suddenly rearrange the partitions on that drive. I've even seen it suddenly create a swap partition on a different drive than what I'm actually working on. I've done this with earlier versions of SL, but I don't remember having this much trouble with Anaconda randomly rearranging things and creating an extra unneeded partion. Any insights would be greatly appreciated. Thanks I've noticed anaconda likes to try and be smarter than you. Quite annoying. You can probably solve this by specifying things explicitly in a kickstart file, pre-partitioning the disk using fdisk/sfdisk, or fiddling with the force primary partition check box and the order you specify the partitions in anaconda. I've worked in the reverse order over the years, manually tricking anaconda, then forcing an sfdisk dump in, and finally resorted to tailoring a kickstart to do my bidding because disk sizes aren't constant for me. Hope that helps a bit. Cheers, Mark -- Mr. Mark V. Stodola Digital Systems Engineer National Electrostatics Corp. P.O. Box 620310 Middleton, WI 53562-0310 USA Phone: (608) 831-7600 Fax: (608) 831-9591
Re: Clean SL 5.4 Install and Anaconda Disk Partitioning Madness
Brent L. Bates wrote: I've been searching Google for answers and can't find any, so I decided to check here. I'm trying to do a clean install of SL 5.4. I'm booting from an SL 5.4 x86_64 DVD. When I get to the point of custom partitioning my drives, Anaconda makes a mess of things. I have 4 drives and I want 4 partions on each drive. The first partion will be `/boot', next `/', then `/data', and finally a swap partion. As I create each partition on each drive, Anaconda will suddenly rearrange the order of the partions. When I go onto another drive, the order may be different than the last drive I just partitioned. When I try to do the 4th and last partition, I get an `Extended' 4th partion (which is empty) and a real 5th partition, instead of a simple single partition. In the end, what I want is the first partition on each drive combined into a software RAID 1 and be `/boot'. The next 2 sets will be software RAID 0's and `/' `/data'. The final partitions will be 4 separate swap partitions that the OS will take care of. I've tried creating all the partitions on one drive and then moving onto the next one and the next one, but it scrambles things up. I've tried creating the first partition on each drive, then combining them into the RAID 1 md0 device, and specifying the files system type, and mount point `/boot'. Next I go onto the next partition, which I've tried as a software RAID 0 partition and swap at various times. This one usually works, but not always. When I get to the 3rd partition, then it will suddenly rearrange the partitions on that drive. I've even seen it suddenly create a swap partition on a different drive than what I'm actually working on. I've done this with earlier versions of SL, but I don't remember having this much trouble with Anaconda randomly rearranging things and creating an extra unneeded partion. Any insights would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. What *I* would do with something that complicated. I would do a Ctrl-Alt-F2 on the screen before that and do all the partitions by hand. Then on the customizing screen, you just have to link them together. But if you are going to do it by the graphical install, make *sure* that you select Primary Partition for each and every partition. The one partition that you don't do that to is going to get popped over to an extended partition. Troy -- __ Troy Dawson daw...@fnal.gov (630)840-6468 Fermilab ComputingDivision/LSCS/CSI/USS Group __
Re: Clean SL 5.4 Install and Anaconda Disk Partitioning Madness
And when you are doing your custom layout, select RAID rather than New in the menu for making partitions. The RAID option allows you to setup partitions on different disks and then combine them into a software raid. You can select the RAID type, and which partitions go into each RAID device. I have used this many times, and Troy is correct: as long as you use the force primary partition option, the partitions do not get moved around. Eve On Wed, 24 Mar 2010, Troy Dawson wrote: Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2010 13:29:59 -0500 From: Troy Dawson daw...@fnal.gov To: Brent L. Bates blba...@vigyan.com Cc: Scientific Linux Users mailing list scientific-linux-us...@fnal.gov Subject: Re: Clean SL 5.4 Install and Anaconda Disk Partitioning Madness Brent L. Bates wrote: I've been searching Google for answers and can't find any, so I decided to check here. I'm trying to do a clean install of SL 5.4. I'm booting from an SL 5.4 x86_64 DVD. When I get to the point of custom partitioning my drives, Anaconda makes a mess of things. I have 4 drives and I want 4 partions on each drive. The first partion will be `/boot', next `/', then `/data', and finally a swap partion. As I create each partition on each drive, Anaconda will suddenly rearrange the order of the partions. When I go onto another drive, the order may be different than the last drive I just partitioned. When I try to do the 4th and last partition, I get an `Extended' 4th partion (which is empty) and a real 5th partition, instead of a simple single partition. In the end, what I want is the first partition on each drive combined into a software RAID 1 and be `/boot'. The next 2 sets will be software RAID 0's and `/' `/data'. The final partitions will be 4 separate swap partitions that the OS will take care of. I've tried creating all the partitions on one drive and then moving onto the next one and the next one, but it scrambles things up. I've tried creating the first partition on each drive, then combining them into the RAID 1 md0 device, and specifying the files system type, and mount point `/boot'. Next I go onto the next partition, which I've tried as a software RAID 0 partition and swap at various times. This one usually works, but not always. When I get to the 3rd partition, then it will suddenly rearrange the partitions on that drive. I've even seen it suddenly create a swap partition on a different drive than what I'm actually working on. I've done this with earlier versions of SL, but I don't remember having this much trouble with Anaconda randomly rearranging things and creating an extra unneeded partion. Any insights would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. What *I* would do with something that complicated. I would do a Ctrl-Alt-F2 on the screen before that and do all the partitions by hand. Then on the customizing screen, you just have to link them together. But if you are going to do it by the graphical install, make *sure* that you select Primary Partition for each and every partition. The one partition that you don't do that to is going to get popped over to an extended partition. Troy -- __ Troy Dawson daw...@fnal.gov (630)840-6468 Fermilab ComputingDivision/LSCS/CSI/USS Group __ *** Eve Kovacs Argonne National Laboratory, Room E-217, Bldg. 362, HEP 9700 S. Cass Ave. Argonne, IL 60439 USA Phone: (630)-252-6208 Fax: (630)-252-5047 email: kov...@hep.anl.gov ***
