Seeking a concise Linux installation checklist

Tue Mar 6 14:15:39 MST 2012

Define "thin"?

I install and wrap up an ubuntu server package with a 4gb lvm pv that I 
deploy with esx.  For server, with a full default install (plus 
likewise, vmtools, snmpd, vim, and some other defaults) it fits snugly 
at 800mb on all lvm's.  I split the 4gb disk hard provision /boot now to 
a 200mb (used to 100mb, upgrades kill this) and rest as a lvm pv, 
splitting it 300mb to /var/log, rest to root (or whatever your app 
requires).  Works quite dandy for most purpose-built systems, and "thin" 
as far as things go in modern times.

This is a basic production ubu 10.04 server install with procmail for 
smtp relay:

UC\mb at relay0:~$ df -kh
Filesystem            Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/mapper/vg0-root  2.2G  757M  1.4G  36% /
none                  181M  176K  181M   1% /dev
none                  186M     0  186M   0% /dev/shm
none                  186M   56K  186M   1% /var/run
none                  186M     0  186M   0% /var/lock
none                  186M     0  186M   0% /lib/init/rw
/dev/sda1              89M   16M   68M  19% /boot
/dev/mapper/vg0-varlog
                       276M   13M  248M   5% /var/log

I'll add /media/ext0 for bulk data stores or /opt/application0 for more 
purpose-built storage and replication.

Desktop images I manage much differently, usually 8g or 16g systems 
virtual machine disk as a base, or whatever disk.  I break down 
partition structure more delicately with more lv's comprising the fs, 
but I always leave space to lvextend it larger if needed (/var comes to 
mind with dist-upgrades needing sometimes 1.2g of free space and 
overly-chatty logs).  Allocate free space with lvextend where necessary 
as you learn.

A heavily-used/modified/upgraded (i.e. my desktop rig) base uses very 
little still imho:

mb at host:~$ df -kh
Filesystem            Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/mapper/vg0-root  2.0G  1.3G  711M  64% /
udev                  3.9G  4.0K  3.9G   1% /dev
tmpfs                 3.9G  9.1M  3.9G   1% /tmp
tmpfs                 1.6G 1000K  1.6G   1% /run
none                  5.0M     0  5.0M   0% /run/lock
none                  3.9G  1.4M  3.9G   1% /run/shm
/dev/md/boot           97M   61M   32M  67% /boot
/dev/mapper/vg0-var   2.5G  1.3G  1.2G  54% /var
/dev/mapper/vg0-usr    10G  5.0G  4.6G  52% /usr

These are personally large spaces that usually replicate/symlink 
generously between them and nfs network storage (read: important stuff):

/dev/mapper/vg0-ext0   32G   16G   15G  53% /media/ext0
/dev/mapper/vg0-home   32G   28G  3.1G  90% /home

Keeps the base disposable for the most part.  Rest is essentially where 
you dump your "stuff".  Only other thing I backup is the /etc 
directories for posterity (and my crazy xorg configs).

Still pretty "thin" in my book as far as an os, especially when win7/2k8 
wants 20-25g just to install the bloody pig.  XP needed at least 8gb to 
run/grow any, so 8g is fair to linux desktop, which it can make much 
more use of out of box.

BTRFS is basically my eventual hope to reduce complication between 
ssd/trim, md, luks, lvm, and traditional fs' to make use of space 
effectively.

-mb

On 03/06/2012 12:02 PM, keith smith wrote:
>
> I'm curious. What is your old reliable?
>
> I agree with bloat. Seems Linux just keeps on growing. I had not
> pondered this much, except recently when I replace a Fedora Core 2
> server with CentOS 6. I ran the Fedora box for 5 years as a local LAMP
> dev box.
>
> I wonder if there is a "thin" Linux. Of course right out of the box. I
> have no time to optimize Linux or M$.
>
> I have to upgrade occasionally since I am building apps that run on a
> relatively recent release.
>
> I sometime think of the good old days when Linux fit on a handful of
> 1.44MB micro floppies. It now comes on a handful of CD's or a DVD.
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------
> Keith Smith
>
> --- On *Tue, 3/6/12, joe at actionline.com /<joe at actionline.com>/* wrote:
>
>
>     From: joe at actionline.com <joe at actionline.com>
>     Subject: Re: Seeking a concise Linux installation checklist
>     To: "Main PLUG discussion list" <plug-discuss at lists.plug.phoenix.az.us>
>     Date: Tuesday, March 6, 2012, 10:13 AM
>
>
>     Eric Shubes wrote, in part:
>      > ok to ... dual boot XP/Linux, running VBox on Linux
>      > Then you introduced dual booting multiple linux distros along
>     with XP.
>      > Not a good idea in this day and age.
>      > I think your objective should be to get to the point of having a
>     single
>      > linux boot, with VBox running whatever other OSs you want from there,
>      > including XP. Forget about dual booting unless it's absolutely
>     necessary
>      > to get from here to there.
>     [snipped]
>
>     Thanks Eric. I certainly do always trust your counsel.
>
>     Since I need to be unavailable much of the time until May, I'll have to
>     come back to this later. But I just wanted to explain why I had proposed
>     the multiple boot scenario.
>
>     I really do detest xp and everything M$ and I rarely use it; however,
>     since it is on the system and I have way more HD space than I need, I
>     thought I might just leave it there and make the proposed triple boot to
>     be able to access two different Linux installations for this reason:
>
>     Every time I have ever "updated" a Linux distro, it has caused problems,
>     and it seems to me that the newer Linux distros have become more
>     bloatware
>     and a whole lot less reliable than my "old reliable" system which I
>     *never* update and which *never* fails to perform flawlessly
>     (although it
>     does have some obvious limitations). Therefore, I would like to install
>     that "old reliable" system as one of two Linux options.
>
>     In the second Linux installation, I hope to install VirtualBox with
>     xp as
>     a virtual option. But it is because I am apprehensive because of my
>     universal and uniform past experience with newer distros that I
>     would like
>     to keep that "fall-back" option of "old reliable." Thus the triple-boot
>     notion.
>
>
>
>
>
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