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David
David
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Hi all.

I have an HP Microserver Gen10, a 256GB Samsung 860 Pro SSD and two WD Red 6TB HDD and I am not sure how I should and do set up the mounting and partitioning.

Obviously I intend to boot from the SSD so I put "/boot" on there at 500MiB which I got from the automatic partitioning, and I want "/home" and "/var/flexshare/shares" to go on the HDD in a level 1 RAID.

I am not sure about the rest.

Apparently the swap partition should be the same size as the amount of RAM but it doesn't like that exact amount so I guess I should go for a little bit more. Is this alright?

On the location of the swap partition: should I put it on the SSD or the HDD? I would put it on the SSD but I am aware SSD have a limited amount of writing that can be done to them so I was thinking HDD.

Regarding the level 1 RAID: should I use software RAID or hardware RAID?

What is the /store/data0 directory and where should it go? It is mentioned briefly on the Configuring Partitions and RAID page but not much is said about it.

Do I need to specify an amount of storage space for all partitions other than "/"? It is a bit difficult to predict how much will be required for the "/home" and "/var/flexshare/shares" directories so I would like them to share the same space. Perhaps I should specify lots of other directories on the SSD and put the "/" partition on the RAID. What do you reckon?

Apologies for the amount of questions.

Help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.
Monday, January 06 2020, 11:31 AM
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  • Accepted Answer

    Monday, January 06 2020, 12:36 PM - #Permalink
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    Lots of questions and I've never used manual partitioning for configuring a RAID. Putting /boot on an SSD is almost a waste, but it is minute. You only boot every few months so the saving is trivial. If you did not want the resilliance of RAID on your system drive, I'd put the whole of your OS on the SSD. Then you can sort out the RAID post-install. Alternatively, if you get the option during install, for the moment put everything except /home on the SSD and set up the RAID for /home at the same time. You can put the flexshare there later on.

    The concept of /store/data0 is to create a generic store and is good for LVM. Under that you could put /home and /flexshare but that it up to you. Alternatively you could leave them at the top level of your RAID which is what I'd do.

    On a Gen10 Microserver, I don't think ClearOS will recognise a hardware RAID. In general, if it is a motherboard RAID it is best avoided. If you lose you motherboard, unless you find a replacement, you may lose your RAID. It is better to go for the software RAID.

    Swap sizing is not too important. Make it similar may be the recommendation, but if you have heaps of memory there is not much point in making it too big as it will rarely get used. I'd put it on the SSD, especially if you have plenty of memory.

    One thing I'd do if you have an SSD is turn off auditing. If you sit in the IP settings screen it will write 8MB of audit logs every few minutes. You can do this by adding a boot parameter "audit=0" to the linuxefi line (for UEFI boot) or the linux16 line (for BIOS boot). Google the correct way of updating grub2 (use the key word centos as well). Alternatively add the line:
    auditctl -e 0
    to /etc/rc.d/rc.local and make the file executable. This is slightly less effective as auditing will happen during boot until this file is read but the difference is trivial.
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  • Accepted Answer

    David
    David
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    Tuesday, January 07 2020, 01:51 AM - #Permalink
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    Thanks a lot, Nick; that is very helpful. I just have two more questions:

    I think I should use LVM for the remaining space on the SSD (which is where I am mounting /) and for the HDD so I can mount flexshares on the HDD. Is this right?

    Also: I was trying to use encryption but if you use encryption does that mean you have to have a keyboard and monitor plugged in when rebooting so you can enter the password?

    Thanks
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  • Accepted Answer

    Tuesday, January 07 2020, 08:20 AM - #Permalink
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    You don't need the LVM at all. If you create one big storage pool with the remaining space on the SSD and the RAID then you won't know where the data is. I'd keep them separate.

    Although it is not brilliant, and I don't think it can manage RAID formatting, once the RAID is set up, you can use the Storage Manager to create bind mounts between /home and your RAID and also from /var/flexshare/shares, but be careful. you need to move your data first to the location on the RAID or it will become invisible once you create the bind mount.

    If you use encryption, to first access the file system, yes, you need a keyboard and screen. This obviously applies on boot.
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  • Accepted Answer

    David
    David
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    Friday, January 10 2020, 01:38 AM - #Permalink
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    Thanks, Nick. It is up and running with /home on the RAID but how do I put flexshares on the RAID?
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  • Accepted Answer

    Friday, January 10 2020, 09:28 AM - #Permalink
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    It is not the bes app in the world, but you can to an extent use the Storage Manager app. First of all, is the whole of the RAID mounted into /home? I hope not but it can be worked round. What is the contents of /etc/fstab?

    You should be able to manually create a folder on the RAID called something like /flexsharebind (I would call it /flexshare but I've made it something different to help with this post). Move all the folder /var/flexshare/shares into /flexsharebind and give it the same permissions as /var/flexshare. You may need to stop windows Networking if you already have a flexshare. with an open file. Then from the storage manager, create a Bind Directory Mapping with a Source Mount Point of /flexsharebind and a Target Folder or /var/flexshare. Now, if you put a file into /var/flexshare/shares you should be able to see it under both /var/flexshare/shares and /flexsharebind/shares.
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  • Accepted Answer

    David
    David
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    Friday, January 10 2020, 09:39 AM - #Permalink
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    Thanks, Nick.

    I had a look for Storage Manager on Marketplace but I couldn't find it. Am I looking in the wrong place?
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  • Accepted Answer

    Friday, January 10 2020, 09:56 AM - #Permalink
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    You can install it from the command line with:
    yum install app-storage
    I am not sure it is deemed good enough to put it in the Marketplace. It can be done from the command line, but I have to pop out now.
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