Hi, this is my first post at LQ, i really just need a simple and straightforward answer.

If i want to install a linux distro with the following seperate partitions

/boot
/tmp
/var

How big should each be ?

I'm mainly interested in the size of the /var partition

I would give /boot 512 mb, /tmp 4.5 GB (needed for burning DVDs), how much space should i give the /var partition ?

NOTE: I am already using fedora 7 (but without the /var partition, i want to add it) so i am not a total linux noob

NOTE2: I am using my computer as a desktop, not a server

So, how much space does /var need ?

It all depends on your usage of this particular Linux PC. My suggestion would be to run
du -hs /var

and expand the figure by 25%.

Yves.

Make sure to have a root ("/") partition as well. As for the size of Var, it depends on a number of factors, including how big you expect your logs to get, whether you are running a webserver (and thus having your web files in /var, et cetera). Boot you can get away with <20mb. Temp, I don't know as I regularly clear out all tmp directories.

Thanks for the responses!

I have run du -hs /var (what a neat little command) and this was the output:

So, I should be fine with a 512 MB sized /var partition, right ?

If you can spare the space, I would make it at least 1GB. In fact, I always make mine 2 to 3GB. It means I have to clean it out less often. As for boot, I always reserve 128MB and that is still plenty. You can even drop boot altogether - it will simply be placed on your / partition. I do recommend a separate, ext3 formatted boot if you intend to use the xfs filesystem for /.

Interesting. Given the inordinately low (update) traffic on a typical /boot, why the need for a journal ???.

A journaled fs means less frequent fscks. Does it matter? Well, on a partition that small it may be hardly relevant so I guess it's ultimately more of an "aesthetic" argument: if all the rest is journaled, why not make that one partition journaled as well if it doesn't hurt.
What I really meant to say, in fact, was that the boot partition is best not formatted to xfs.

Ahhh - o.k. then; wasn't the way I read your post originally.

As for the ext2/3 thing, for the partition sizes you're talking not an issue - but I've seen questions from people allocating 32Meg, then wanting to use ext3 ....

Ok, thanks for the answers..

How about any other folders in / that would be nice in their own partition ?

Any suggestions ?

That depends on the intended use. Most people don't even need a separate tmp or var partition and even boot can placed under / as long as you use ext2/ext3. If you multi-boot Linux systems, you may even want to leave /home under / and reserve one partition to store the personal data from all of your distros.