http://www.linuxbase.org/betaspecs/fhs/fhs/index.html
"/opt is reserved for the installation of add-on application software packages. A package to be installed in /opt must locate its static files in a separate /opt/<package> or /opt/<provider> directory tree, where <package> is a name that describes the software package and <provider> is the provider's LANANA registered name."
"/usr/lib includes object files and libraries. On some systems, it may also include internal binaries that are not intended to be executed directly by users or shell scripts. Applications may use a single subdirectory under /usr/lib. If an application uses a subdirectory, all architecture-dependent data exclusively used by the application must be placed within that subdirectory."
As for partitioning your drive, I don't do separate partitions for /etc /opt /home. It has been decades since I even heard of anyone recommending doing that.
-LTH
On Sat, Mar 24, 2018 at 11:18 AM, William Morder doctor_contendo@zoho.com wrote:
Okay, so new thread!
As I was repartitioning my hard drive, I was trying to find out the lowdown on this /opt folder. This is a new thing since I have started running Trinity; I never noticed it before when running Kubuntu. Only after I started running the Trinity desktop, that is when I noticed the installation to /opt; and only then I noticed that other programs were installing in that folder.
A friend told me that he creates separate partitions for both /opt and /etc; and then, too, I noticed that the new Icecat browser does something even weirder, which is to install in /usr/lib/icecat, rather than (like other Mozilla browsers) in /home/<USER>/.mozilla/.
My question is really more or less the same for all these items. I want to be able, once I have configured them as I wish, just to clone that directory, so that I don't have to keep reinventing the wheel, over and over again.
When I tried to research the /opt folder, I didn't find out much. If I create a separate partition, will I be able to leave it untouched like my home folder? Will Trinity (and other programs) automatically be installed
there?
I suppose could just back it up regularly, then overwrite it once I have reinstalled, but I would like to treat it like my /home/<USER>/ folder,
and
leave it intact.
The same with Icecat: it seems to run better than Firefox/Iceweasel, but
to
install everything in /usr/lib/icecat seems very irregular. Is there some way to get it to install elsewhere? for example, in /opt?
Bill
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I do recommend using separate partitions for home. The advantage is, if you need to reinstall the os. You need only reformat / (root). /home is left untouched. If you have a computer with a small amount of ram and/or slower CPU, I recommended a swap partition of no more than 2 gigs.
Example: swap (sda1) / (root sda2) /home (sda3)
There have been occasions when it became necessary to reinstall the OS (Ex. crackmonkey decided to make "room" by logging in a root and deleting stuff). Having the sep /home saved all of the user data and settings etc.
My setup I actually have sep hard drives for things like /home /media /software etc.
However, if this is a test machine, I wouldn't bother. No point to it. Kate
On Monday 16 April 2018 07:49:12 Kate Draven wrote:
http://www.linuxbase.org/betaspecs/fhs/fhs/index.html
"/opt is reserved for the installation of add-on application software packages. A package to be installed in /opt must locate its static files in a separate /opt/<package> or /opt/<provider> directory tree, where <package> is a name that describes the software package and <provider> is the provider's LANANA registered name."
"/usr/lib includes object files and libraries. On some systems, it may also include internal binaries that are not intended to be executed directly by users or shell scripts. Applications may use a single subdirectory under /usr/lib. If an application uses a subdirectory, all architecture-dependent data exclusively used by the application must be placed within that subdirectory."
As for partitioning your drive, I don't do separate partitions for /etc /opt /home. It has been decades since I even heard of anyone recommending doing that.
-LTH
Yeah, this guy was a true O.G. (Original Geek), ex-MIT, etc. He still compiles everything from source, and can remember when hackers hacked abandoned buildings instead of computers.
On Sat, Mar 24, 2018 at 11:18 AM, William Morder doctor_contendo@zoho.com
wrote:
Okay, so new thread!
As I was repartitioning my hard drive, I was trying to find out the lowdown on this /opt folder. This is a new thing since I have started running Trinity; I never noticed it before when running Kubuntu. Only after I started running the Trinity desktop, that is when I noticed the installation to /opt; and only then I noticed that other programs were installing in that folder.
A friend told me that he creates separate partitions for both /opt and /etc; and then, too, I noticed that the new Icecat browser does something even weirder, which is to install in /usr/lib/icecat, rather than (like other Mozilla browsers) in /home/<USER>/.mozilla/.
My question is really more or less the same for all these items. I want to be able, once I have configured them as I wish, just to clone that directory, so that I don't have to keep reinventing the wheel, over and over again.
When I tried to research the /opt folder, I didn't find out much. If I create a separate partition, will I be able to leave it untouched like my home folder? Will Trinity (and other programs) automatically be installed
there?
I suppose could just back it up regularly, then overwrite it once I have reinstalled, but I would like to treat it like my /home/<USER>/ folder,
and
leave it intact.
The same with Icecat: it seems to run better than Firefox/Iceweasel, but
to
install everything in /usr/lib/icecat seems very irregular. Is there some way to get it to install elsewhere? for example, in /opt?
Bill
I do recommend using separate partitions for home. The advantage is, if you need to reinstall the os. You need only reformat / (root). /home is left untouched. If you have a computer with a small amount of ram and/or slower CPU, I recommended a swap partition of no more than 2 gigs.
Example: swap (sda1) / (root sda2) /home (sda3)
That is more or less how I do it, except that root and swap are switched. Do you think a smaller swap is better and faster?
And I have never overwritten a home partition since 2006, when I abandoned the rotten Apple and Windoze for good, and moved to Linux. Since then, I have only copied my home partition to an external backup, then recopied it back to new hard drives when I create new systems. I have been using essentially the same home partition and desktop appearance (with improvements, of course) ever since. I discovered KDE3 when using PCLinux, then changed to Kubuntu, and now at last run TDE with Debian Jessie, and it always looks basically the same. This is useful, because I know where to find everything (meaning, my shortcuts, and paths to various places). I don't like having to reinvent the wheel every time I get or build a new computer.
There have been occasions when it became necessary to reinstall the OS (Ex. crackmonkey decided to make "room" by logging in a root and deleting stuff). Having the sep /home saved all of the user data and settings etc.
My setup I actually have sep hard drives for things like /home /media /software etc.
However, if this is a test machine, I wouldn't bother. No point to it. Kate
I don't have a test machine at the moment. I have, let's say, a laptop for backup, and for working remotely; and for whenever I mess up something on my desktop, but need to do something right now.
My interest here is to create a system that I can just clone, and keep cloning, and backup to a flash drive.
I also have a working version of my system, partitioned more or less as described above, which I installed to a 64 gb flash drive; I can boot any compatible computer, and just use the hardware, but work from my own system. My aim is to have my complete system fit into my pocket, and to be able to carry external hard drives in a bag. Then if I ever get stuck somewhere without even a laptop, I can (with permission) use another computer, and boot into my own system.
Where I live, in SF, there is always the vague fear of some disaster, like a fire, or earthquake or tsunami, or my desktop/laptop may get stolen. So this is my backup plan; not just for emergencies or disasters, but also to make system restores quick and easy.
This is why my original question (at the top of this thread, if you've read all the way to this point) about how to partition my system in order to achieve this goal. At present I backup /etc and parts of /opt, so that I can just copy them from an external drive, rather than having to reconfigure my settings and preferences. (I do some kinky stuff like customizing my hosts file, disabling ipv6, etc.) I can restore my settings from a backup file, but all of this takes time.
There used to be a program for backing up an entire working system and creating an installation DVD from it. (I think it was called mondo, but I can't find it any more.) Does anybody know if there is a similar program, or what might be a good plan? Maybe rolling upgrades, and backing up my system to that flash drive?
Thanks for your time and suggestions.
Bill
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William Morder wrote:
I also have a working version of my system, partitioned more or less as described above, which I installed to a 64 gb flash drive; I can boot any compatible computer, and just use the hardware, but work from my own system. My aim is to have my complete system fit into my pocket, and to be able to carry external hard drives in a bag. Then if I ever get stuck somewhere without even a laptop, I can (with permission) use another computer, and boot into my own system.
after reading this and recalling your partitioning scheme I would suggest to encrypt as it is much easier to loose the usb drive or get it stolen.
in this case you need 2 partitions (assuming sda is your drive)
sda1 for boot (512MB) sda2 for rest
sda2 cryptsetup with luks then create logical volumes for your root, home, swap and so on.
Most newer computers manufactured 2010+ have CPU that supports AES, which is making luks transperent
regards
On Monday 16 April 2018 12:55:33 deloptes wrote:
William Morder wrote:
I also have a working version of my system, partitioned more or less as described above, which I installed to a 64 gb flash drive; I can boot any compatible computer, and just use the hardware, but work from my own system. My aim is to have my complete system fit into my pocket, and to be able to carry external hard drives in a bag. Then if I ever get stuck somewhere without even a laptop, I can (with permission) use another computer, and boot into my own system.
after reading this and recalling your partitioning scheme I would suggest to encrypt as it is much easier to loose the usb drive or get it stolen.
in this case you need 2 partitions (assuming sda is your drive)
sda1 for boot (512MB) sda2 for rest
sda2 cryptsetup with luks then create logical volumes for your root, home, swap and so on.
Most newer computers manufactured 2010+ have CPU that supports AES, which is making luks transperent
regards
Yes, this was more or less my plan. It was yourself or another who suggested the logical volumes inside sda2, and yes, I was also planning to encrypt, although I wasn't sure of the method. (I've previously used truecrypt, easycrypt, and variants, but I needed something to encrypt everything from scratch.) I will look into luks.
I ought to say, too, that I intend to backup the contents of my flash drive somewhere secure (say, online ...?), but I haven't quite decided that. My O.G. friend has some kind of secure storage on a server that he has been using since about 1970 or so; I was thinking of some kind of server with an onion address, so that I can go to the library, etc., and download my system to a flash drive.
I believe I have the basic idea for how to partition my hard drives according to my needs from what was said earlier about creating logical volumes inside sda2. The rest is just working out what I want to backup from /opt, /etc, and so on.
Bill
William Morder wrote:
Yes, this was more or less my plan. It was yourself or another who suggested the logical volumes inside sda2, and yes, I was also planning to encrypt, although I wasn't sure of the method. (I've previously used truecrypt, easycrypt, and variants, but I needed something to encrypt everything from scratch.) I will look into luks.
crypt luks layer comes first. look below I post some of my notes - you must update the values to match your setup
I ought to say, too, that I intend to backup the contents of my flash drive somewhere secure (say, online ...?), but I haven't quite decided that. My O.G. friend has some kind of secure storage on a server that he has been using since about 1970 or so; I was thinking of some kind of server with an onion address, so that I can go to the library, etc., and download my system to a flash drive.
why not buy another usb stick and replicate the first one - keep the second at home or wherever is secure
I believe I have the basic idea for how to partition my hard drives according to my needs from what was said earlier about creating logical volumes inside sda2. The rest is just working out what I want to backup from /opt, /etc, and so on.
You don't backup things you can easily recreate (for example default installation and config files). You also design your backup by asking yourself how you would eventually restore. In any case nowdays usb3.1 has amazing speed and I just bought few days ago usb3.1 64GB. I was also thinking to make a rescue system out of it :)
Notes:
CRYPTSETUP
WARNING! The following command will remove all data on the partition that you are encrypting. You WILL lose all your information! So make sure you backup your data to an external source such as NAS or hard disk before typing any one of the following command.
In this example, I'm going to encrpt /dev/sdb7. Type the following command:
# cryptsetup -y -v luksFormat /dev/sdb7
Open the crypted device
# cryptsetup luksOpen /dev/sdb7 backup
LVM setup
Create physical volumes
# pvcreate /dev/mapper/backup
Create a volume group
# vgcreate G750lvm /dev/mapper/backup
Creating a logical volume
# lvcreate -L50G -nroot G750lvm
# lvcreate -L150G -nhome G750lvm
# lvcreate -L2G -nswap1 G750lvm
# lvcreate -L2G -nswap2 G750lvm
After rebooting the system or running vgchange -an, you will not be able to access your VGs and LVs. To reactivate the volume group, run:
# vgchange -a y G750lvm
Check the dm device
# ls -l /dev/mapper/backup
or use following command
# cryptsetup -v status backup
You can dump LUKS headers using the following command:
# cryptsetup luksDump /dev/sdb7
Close a dm device after unmounting it
# cryptsetup luksClose backup
-
deloptes -
Kate Draven -
William Morder