Hello, I've just built a file server and it's time now to install Debian.

I'm rather new to Linux and compared to Windows installations this really does seem pretty difficult to complete.

I've done reading and found there are lots of different things to consider, such as space allocated for a swap file and ram. Separate space for users and installation/boot (where all of these would be combined on a single partition in Windows).

I would really appreciate it if someone could please help me to decide what's best in terms of partition creation.

Basically, I've got a 500GB SATA HDD which I am going to use to run the OS and install programs onto, keep backup images of the OS on the laptop and pc connecting to the file server and image files of the OS on file server itself. The other computers in the network are running Windows Vista; the idea is that instead of document folders (such as pictures and music) being located in C:\Users\JonDoe.My-PC\Music and C:\Users\JonDoe.My-PC\Documents and so on respectively, they are pointed to the network drive instead.

Then I have three 1TB HDDs which will be used to store documents; music, photos, videos etc with read/write access across the network. These will be configured in RAID 5? I think. For data security, the file server will be connected to an identical set of drives in an identical configuration in an external NAS creating a mirror of the other drives.

The file server will be in a hard-to-access location so I will also need to control it remotely using any computer connected to the network - or any computer outside of the network whilst working on a presentation or word document in the library for instance. The PC will be connected using RJ45 cable to receive a direct connection from the file server and the laptop wirelessly.

I would be extremey grateful if anyone could please help me with this setup.

Thank you.

For your OS drive, it depends how you configure software as to where the data needs to go. Backup area, wherever you want that would probably deserve half the drive, maybe more... depends how mch you want to backup, and with say, 200gb left you could do...

/boot /100mb
/ 10gb
/usr 20gb
/var 20gb
/tmp /10gb
swap 2gb

Basically you have loads of space, more than an OS in itself needs, so the size of partitions can be generous for sure. depending on what you're running, maybe you want an /opt for monolithic apps like oracle, websphere or such like.


For your RAID drives, (which appears to be for /home..?), well if you have an external box i wouldn't bother using RAID at all. more likely I'd do an LVM instance across them all. If you want some redunancy in the system then, you can mirror the data within the LVM, no need for RAID - and I find RAID5 pretty unattractive normally. You get some benefit of raid without 1:1 mirroring, but it's not that fun to try to rescue if it does choke.

Thank you for your response. You are right about the backup area requiring at least half the HDD space. Thanks for the partition structure suggestion. Never heard of /opt before, do you think I will need it to access my files across the internet if I wish to work in the library for example?

What you suggest regarding RAID is completely new to me, having spoken to various people and having completely different answers. Without using RAID is it still possible to utilise the space of all three 1TB HDDs as one giant 3TB HDD?

How do I go about configuring the installation so that /home is found on the 3x1TB array?

I was going to use softRAID as opposed to hardware RAID. I'm a little confused why you would recommend this instead though.

If I create the following partitions:

/boot @ 100MB
/ @ 20GB
/var @20GB
/tmp @ 10GB
SWAP @ 2GB

Debian is installed in "/"? What is the difference between that and /boot?

Please could you also tell me what specifically is the need for /usr?

In Linux, everything starts a the root (i.e. / ) of the tree. That includes the data needed to successfully boot your machine, of which the core apps reside in /boot. Setting up a separate partition for /boot reduces the risk of terminal data loss in case of a disk failure. The /usr dir contains programs installed by a user. This is a legacy of Linux' heritage in Unix. Although not strictly necessary anymore, it's a good convention for vendors to standardize on this dir for programs to install to. Sometimes these programs can clog the directory (mostly because of erroneous config files) which, if /usr resides on the same partition as /, can result in a frozen system.

For a novice, LVM is complicated. But so is a RAID setup. However, if you install Webmin, creating either should go relatively easy. My advise is to install Debian on the system disk first, including a temporary /home dir. Then install Webmin and use that to configure RAID or LVM. After that, remove the /home dir from the system disk by pointing it in /etc/fstab to the new RAID/LVM setup.

Hello Dutch Master, thank you very much for your response. Could you please tell me, which do I make the primary partition and logical partition out of "/" and "/home"? I select "/" when I install Debian?

I'll take a look at Webmin, see what it offers.

I'm guessing that the primary partition is "/" as this is the root for Debian.

I'm now on this screen:

Do I keep the file system mentioned above? Are these settings okay?

Will I need to choose any other settings for the other partitions?

yeah that's fine for all the partitions you'll create. If you're looking at a HUGE partition on your raid disks, xfs might be a better choice.

The array will be 3TB, do you consider that huge? :P

yeah, big enough.

Thank you, I will look into it for the array then.

I'm looking to control the file server remotely and access it as a network drive locally and via the internet in such a way that I can save my progress when working on a word document etc from a remote location (like a public library) with ease and minimal messing about/fuss. Obviously it's going to need to be pretty secure.

I'm wondering how easy it would be to use the file server as a hardware firewall and what I need to do to configure softRAID?

I've mounted the partitions and installed Lenny successfully. I tried to access the internet using a Netgear WN111 USB Wireless Adapter but unfortunately I couldn't find compatible drivers. I installed Wine, tried the installer and had no luck. I will be wiring it up eventualy, but that's not possible yet. Additionally, I've got some RJ45 cat5e cable and plugs, but I'm not sure how to wire them up.

I've also got another problem. When I enter the BIOS and at POST, one of my 1TB HDDs (ripped from my PC) is listed as being in a RAID. I've removed all the partitions from that drive, but it's still listed as RAID. I don't know what to do, I've entered the hardware RAID manager and it picks up that drive but states there is no RAID picked up.

pretty secure, yet you want to also use it as its own firewall AND use wireless? Can't see much security there. Sounds like you want to implement a decent VPN solution, potentially with something like openswan or openvpn. Or a hardware based solution, maybe in line with the hardware firewall you should now go and buy.

software raid - http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Software-RAID-HOWTO.html

Thank you for your suggestions, I'd just like to clarify that wireless is a temporary option.

Hello, I'd just like to say that I am still intending on getting this system up and running.

I've had a very busy few months, various holidays and trips to see family.

Anyone had any thoughts since I last posted? I've tried to get wireless internet access working, but can't get the WN111 v2 to work! Any ideas? The disc contains only an executable for Windows, there is nothing to extract, no .ini files.