Datasheet

“main” (Installation and Administration) — 2004/6/25 — 13:29 — page 20 — #46

Minimal System with Graphical Interface: 700 MB

This includes the X Window System and some applications.

Default System: 1.5 GB This includes a modern desktop environment,

like KDE or GNOME, and also provides enough space for large appli-

cation suites like Netscape or Mozilla.

Full Installation: 2.5 GB All the packages included with SUSE LINUX can

be installed.

Depending on the amount of space and how the computer will be used, ad-

just the distribution of the available disk space. These are some basic guide-

lines for partitioning:

Up to 4 GB: One partition for the swap space and one root partition (/). In

this case, the root partition must allow for those directories that often

reside on their own partitions if more space is available.

4 GB or More: A swap partition, a root partition (1 GB), and one partition

each for the following directories as needed: /usr (4 GB or more),

/opt (4 GB or more), and /var (1 GB). The rest of the available space

can be used for /home.

Depending on the hardware, it may also be useful to create a boot parti-

tion (/boot) to hold the boot mechanism and the Linux kernel. This par-

tition should be located at the start of the disk and should be at least 8 MB

or 1 cylinder. As a rule of thumb, always create such a partition if it was

included in YaST’s original proposal. If you are unsure about this, create a

boot partition to be on the safe side.

You should also be aware that some (mostly commercial) programs install

their data in /opt. Therefore, you may either want to create a separate par-

tition for /opt or make the root partition large enough.

Partitioning with YaST

When you select the partitioning item in the suggestion window for the

ﬁrst time, YaST displays a dialog listing the partition settings as currently

proposed. Accept these current settings without change or change them

before continuing. Alternatively, discard all the settings and start over from

scratch.

Nothing in the partitioning setup is changed if you select ‘Accept Sug-

gested Partitioning Setup’. If you select ‘Change Suggested Partitioning

1.7. Installation Suggestion