3.6. Allocating Disk Space
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## 3.6. Allocating Disk Space

The first task is to allocate disk space for FreeBSD, and label that space so that sysinstall(8) can prepare it. In order to do this you need to know how FreeBSD expects to find information on the disk.

### 3.6.1. BIOS Drive Numbering

Before installing and configuring FreeBSD it is important to be aware how FreeBSD deals with BIOS drive mappings.

In a PC running a BIOS-dependent operating system such as Microsoft® Windows®, the BIOS is able to abstract the normal disk drive order and the operating system goes along with the change. This allows the user to boot from a disk drive other than the "primary master". This is especially convenient for users buy an identical second hard drive, and perform routine copies of the first drive to the second drive. If the first drive fails, is attacked by a virus, or is scribbled upon by an operating system defect, they can easily recover by instructing the BIOS to logically swap the drives. It is like switching the cables on the drives, without having to open the case.

Systems with SCSI controllers often include BIOS extensions which allow the SCSI drives to be re-ordered in a similar fashion for up to seven drives.

A user who is accustomed to taking advantage of these features may become surprised when the results with FreeBSD are not as expected. FreeBSD does not use the BIOS, and does not know the “logical BIOS drive mapping”. This can lead to perplexing situations, especially when drives are physically identical in geometry and have been made as data clones of one another.

When using FreeBSD, always restore the BIOS to natural drive numbering before installing FreeBSD, and then leave it that way. If drives need to be switched around, take the time to open the case and move the jumpers and cables.

### 3.6.2. Creating Slices Using FDisk

After choosing to begin a standard installation in sysinstall(8), this message will appear:

Message In the next menu, you will need to set up a DOS-style ("fdisk") partitioning scheme for your hard disk. If you simply wish to devote all disk space to FreeBSD (overwriting anything else that might be on the disk(s) selected) then use the (A)ll command to select the default partitioning scheme followed by a (Q)uit. If you wish to allocate only free space to FreeBSD, move to a partition marked "unused" and use the (C)reate command. [ OK ] [ Press enter or space ]

Press Enter and a list of all the hard drives that the kernel found when it carried out the device probes will be displayed. Figure 3.13, “Select Drive for FDisk” shows an example from a system with two IDE disks called `ad0` and `ad2`.

Figure 3.13. Select Drive for FDisk

Note that `ad1` is not listed here.

Consider two IDE hard disks where one is the master on the first IDE controller and one is the master on the second IDE controller. If FreeBSD numbered these as `ad0` and `ad1`, everything would work.

But if a third disk is later added as the slave device on the first IDE controller, it would now be `ad1`, and the previous `ad1` would become `ad2`. Because device names are used to find filesystems, some filesystems may no longer appear correctly, requiring a change to the FreeBSD configuration.

To work around this, the kernel can be configured to name IDE disks based on where they are and not the order in which they were found. With this scheme, the master disk on the second IDE controller will always be `ad2`, even if there are no `ad0` or `ad1` devices.

This configuration is the default for the FreeBSD kernel, which is why the display in this example shows `ad0` and `ad2`. The machine on which this screenshot was taken had IDE disks on both master channels of the IDE controllers and no disks on the slave channels.

Select the disk on which to install FreeBSD, and then press [ OK ]. FDisk will start, with a display similar to that shown in Figure 3.14, “Typical Default FDisk Partitions”.

The FDisk display is broken into three sections.

The first section, covering the first two lines of the display, shows details about the currently selected disk, including its FreeBSD name, the disk geometry, and the total size of the disk.

The second section shows the slices that are currently on the disk, where they start and end, how large they are, the name FreeBSD gives them, and their description and sub-type. This example shows two small unused slices which are artifacts of disk layout schemes on the PC. It also shows one large FAT slice, which appears as `C:` in Windows®, and an extended slice, which may contain other drive letters in Windows®.

The third section shows the commands that are available in FDisk.

Figure 3.14. Typical Default FDisk Partitions

This step varies, depending on how the disk is to be sliced.

To install FreeBSD to the entire disk, which will delete all the other data on this disk, press A, which corresponds to the Use Entire Disk option. The existing slices will be removed and replaced with a small area flagged as `unused` and one large slice for FreeBSD. Then, select the newly created FreeBSD slice using the arrow keys and press S to mark the slice as being bootable. The screen will then look similar to Figure 3.15, “Fdisk Partition Using Entire Disk”. Note the `A` in the `Flags` column, which indicates that this slice is active, and will be booted from.

If an existing slice needs to be deleted to make space for FreeBSD, select the slice using the arrow keys and press D. Then, press C to be prompted for the size of the slice to create. Enter the appropriate value and press Enter. The default value in this box represents the largest possible slice to make, which could be the largest contiguous block of unallocated space or the size of the entire hard disk.

If you have already made space for FreeBSD then you can press C to create a new slice. Again, you will be prompted for the size of slice you would like to create.

Figure 3.15. Fdisk Partition Using Entire Disk

When finished, press Q. Any changes will be saved in sysinstall(8), but will not yet be written to disk.

### 3.6.3. Install a Boot Manager

The next menu provides the option to install a boot manager. In general, install the FreeBSD boot manager if:

- There is more than one drive and FreeBSD will be installed onto a drive other than the first one.

- FreeBSD will be installed alongside another operating system on the same disk, and you want to choose whether to start FreeBSD or the other operating system when the computer starts.

If FreeBSD is going to be the only operating system on this machine, installed on the first hard disk, then the Standard boot manager will suffice. Choose None if using a third-party boot manager capable of booting FreeBSD.

Make a selection and press Enter.

Figure 3.16. Sysinstall Boot Manager Menu

The help screen, reached by pressing F1, discusses the problems that can be encountered when trying to share the hard disk between operating systems.

### 3.6.4. Creating Slices on Another Drive

If there is more than one drive, it will return to the Select Drives screen after the boot manager selection. To install FreeBSD on to more than one disk, select another disk and repeat the slice process using FDisk.

### Important:

If installing FreeBSD on a drive other than the first drive, the FreeBSD boot manager needs to be installed on both drives.

Figure 3.17. Exit Select Drive

Use Tab to toggle between the last drive selected, [ OK ], and [ Cancel ].

Press Tab once to toggle to [ OK ], then press Enter to continue with the installation.

### 3.6.5. Creating Partitions Using Disklabel

Next, create some partitions inside each slice. Remember that each partition is lettered, from `a` through to `h`, and that partitions `b`, `c`, and `d` have conventional meanings that should be adhered to.

Certain applications can benefit from particular partition schemes, especially when laying out partitions across more than one disk. However, for a first FreeBSD installation, do not give too much thought to how to partition the disk. It is more important to install FreeBSD and start learning how to use it. You can always re-install FreeBSD to change the partition scheme after becoming more familiar with the operating system.

The following scheme features four partitions: one for swap space and three for filesystems.

Table 3.2. Partition Layout for First Disk

Partition | Filesystem | Size | Description
--- | --- | --- | ---
`a` | `/` | 1 GB | This is the root filesystem. Every other filesystem will be mounted somewhere under this one. 1 GB is a reasonable size for this filesystem as user files should not be stored here and a regular FreeBSD install will put about 128 MB of data here.

`b`

N/A

2-3 x RAM

The system's swap space is kept on the `b` partition. Choosing the right amount of swap space can be a bit of an art. A good rule of thumb is that swap space should be two or three times as much as the available physical memory (RAM). There should be at least 64 MB of swap, so if there is less than 32 MB of RAM in the computer, set the swap amount to 64 MB. If there is more than one disk, swap space can be put on each disk. FreeBSD will then use each disk for swap, which effectively speeds up the act of swapping. In this case, calculate the total amount of swap needed and divide this by the number of disks to give the amount of swap to put on each disk.

`e`

`/var`

512 MB to 4096 MB

`/var` contains files that are constantly varying, such as log files and other administrative files. Many of these files are read from or written to extensively during FreeBSD's day-to-day running. Putting these files on another filesystem allows FreeBSD to optimize the access of these files without affecting other files in other directories that do not have the same access pattern.

`f` | `/usr` | Rest of disk (at least 8 GB) | All other files will typically be stored in `/usr` and its subdirectories.

### Warning:

The values above are given as example and should be used by experienced users only. Users are encouraged to use the automatic partition layout called `Auto Defaults` by the FreeBSD partition editor.

If installing FreeBSD on to more than one disk, create partitions in the other configured slices. The easiest way to do this is to create two partitions on each disk, one for the swap space, and one for a filesystem.

Table 3.3. Partition Layout for Subsequent Disks

Partition | Filesystem | Size | Description
--- | --- | --- | ---
`b` | N/A | See description | Swap space can be split across each disk. Even though the `a` partition is free, convention dictates that swap space stays on the `b` partition.

`e`

/disk`n`

Rest of disk

The rest of the disk is taken up with one big partition. This could easily be put on the `a` partition, instead of the `e` partition. However, convention says that the `a` partition on a slice is reserved for the filesystem that will be the root (`/`) filesystem. Following this convention is not necessary, but sysinstall(8) uses it, so following it makes the installation slightly cleaner. This filesystem can be mounted anywhere; this example mounts it as `/disk`n``, where `n` is a number that changes for each disk.

Having chosen the partition layout, create it using sysinstall(8).

Message Now, you need to create BSD partitions inside of the fdisk partition(s) just created. If you have a reasonable amount of disk space (1GB or more) and don't have any special requirements, simply use the (A)uto command to allocate space automatically. If you have more specific needs or just don't care for the layout chosen by (A)uto, press F1 for more information on manual layout. [ OK ] [ Press enter or space ]

Press Enter to start the FreeBSD partition editor, called Disklabel.

Figure 3.18, “Sysinstall Disklabel Editor” shows the display when Disklabel starts. The display is divided into three sections.

The first few lines show the name of the disk being worked on and the slice that contains the partitions to create. At this point, Disklabel calls this the `Partition name` rather than slice name. This display also shows the amount of free space within the slice; that is, space that was set aside in the slice, but that has not yet been assigned to a partition.

The middle of the display shows the partitions that have been created, the name of the filesystem that each partition contains, their size, and some options pertaining to the creation of the filesystem.

The bottom third of the screen shows the keystrokes that are valid in Disklabel.

Figure 3.18. Sysinstall Disklabel Editor

Disklabel can automatically create partitions and assign them default sizes. The default sizes are calculated with the help of an internal partition sizing algorithm based on the disk size. Press A to see a display similar to that shown in Figure 3.19, “Sysinstall Disklabel Editor with Auto Defaults”. Depending on the size of the disk, the defaults may or may not be appropriate.

### Note:

The default partitioning assigns `/tmp` its own partition instead of being part of the `/` partition. This helps avoid filling the `/` partition with temporary files.

Figure 3.19. Sysinstall Disklabel Editor with Auto Defaults

To replace the default partitions, use the arrow keys to select the first partition and press D to delete it. Repeat this to delete all the suggested partitions.

To create the first partition, `a`, mounted as `/`, make sure the proper disk slice at the top of the screen is selected and press C. A dialog box will appear, prompting for the size of the new partition, as shown in Figure 3.20, “Free Space for Root Partition”. The size can be entered as the number of disk blocks to use or as a number followed by either `M` for megabytes, `G` for gigabytes, or `C` for cylinders.

Figure 3.20. Free Space for Root Partition

The default size shown will create a partition that takes up the rest of the slice. If using the partition sizes described in the earlier example, delete the existing figure using Backspace, and then type in `512M`, as shown in Figure 3.21, “Edit Root Partition Size”. Then press [ OK ].

Figure 3.21. Edit Root Partition Size

After choosing the partition's size, the installer will ask whether this partition will contain a filesystem or swap space. The dialog box is shown in Figure 3.22, “Choose the Root Partition Type”. This first partition will contain a filesystem, so check that FS is selected and press Enter.

Figure 3.22. Choose the Root Partition Type

Finally, tell Disklabel where the filesystem will be mounted. The dialog box is shown in Figure 3.23, “Choose the Root Mount Point”. Type `/`, and then press Enter.

Figure 3.23. Choose the Root Mount Point

The display will then update to show the newly created partition. Repeat this procedure for the other partitions. When creating the swap partition, it will not prompt for the filesystem mount point. When creating the final partition, `/usr`, leave the suggested size as is to use the rest of the slice.

The final FreeBSD DiskLabel Editor screen will appear similar to Figure 3.24, “Sysinstall Disklabel Editor”, although the values chosen may be different. Press Q to finish.

Figure 3.24. Sysinstall Disklabel Editor

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