[opensuse] Maximum number of partitons

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Istvan Gabor

11 Jan 2010 11 Jan '10

19:38

Hello: What is the maximum number of partitions that can reside on a hard disk and/or can be handled by openSUSE? (I know that max 4 primary, of which one can be extended, and the extended one has logical partitions.) I read somewhere that some version of openSUSE can handle only a limited number of partitons (~10-12) if a given driver (libata or not the libata or ?) is choosen to handle disks. But I can't recall where I read this and in what extent it is correct. I've read the release notes of 11.0, 11.1 and 11.2 but did not find anything related. I am planning to make more than 10 partitions and I would like to see clearly. I am using openSUSE 10.3 and experimenting with 11.1 and 11.2. Thanks in advance, Istvan -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

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Anton Aylward

11 Jan 11 Jan

20:50

New subject: [Bulk] [opensuse] Maximum number of partitons

Istvan Gabor said the following on 01/11/2010 02:38 PM:

...

Hello:

What is the maximum number of partitions that can reside on a hard disk and/or can be handled by openSUSE? (I know that max 4 primary, of which one can be extended, and the extended one has logical partitions.) I read somewhere that some version of openSUSE can handle only a limited number of partitons (~10-12) if a given driver (libata or not the libata or ?) is choosen to handle disks. But I can't recall where I read this and in what extent it is correct. I've read the release notes of 11.0, 11.1 and 11.2 but did not find anything related. I am planning to make more than 10 partitions and I would like to see clearly. I am using openSUSE 10.3 and experimenting with 11.1 and 11.2.

Your best approach is to set up a basic boot partition and then a LVM partition. You can then create, dynamically, without even needing to reboot, as many partitions in the LVM as you wish. If you run out of space then you can add another drive and add that the the LVM and try things like mirroring, striping and so forth. -- "Context is everything" -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

Istvan Gabor

12 Jan 12 Jan

09:51

New subject: [Bulk] [opensuse] Maximum number of partitons

2010. január 11. 21:50 napon Anton Aylward írta: [snip]

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Your best approach is to set up a basic boot partition and then a LVM partition. You can then create, dynamically, without even needing to reboot, as many partitions in the LVM as you wish. If you run out of space then you can add another drive and add that the the LVM and try things like mirroring, striping and so forth.

Thanks. I will condiser using LVM but as I never used it and do not know anything about it I have to collect some information first. Istvan -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

Carlos E. R.

21:13

New subject: [Bulk] [opensuse] Maximum number of partitons

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On Tuesday, 2010-01-12 at 10:51 +0100, Istvan Gabor wrote:

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Thanks. I will condiser using LVM but as I never used it and do not know anything about it I have to collect some information first.

Then don't :-) - -- Cheers, Carlos E. R. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v2.0.9 (GNU/Linux) iEYEARECAAYFAktM5fIACgkQtTMYHG2NR9VuTACeLVT9IVuo83fshnHTcwOV/82V 22IAniqnfAvzco3Vx+ZnhH0E4w8Dhlfi =zN0s -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

Felix Miata

11 Jan 11 Jan

22:03

New subject: [opensuse] Maximum number of partitions

On 2010/01/11 20:38 (GMT+0100) Istvan Gabor composed:

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What is the maximum number of partitions that can reside on a hard disk and/or can be handled by openSUSE? (I know that max 4 primary, of which one can be extended, and the extended one has logical partitions.) I read somewhere that some version of openSUSE can handle only a limited number of partitons (~10-12) if a given driver (libata or not the libata or ?) is choosen to handle disks. But I can't recall where I read this and in what extent it is correct. I've read the release notes of 11.0, 11.1 and 11.2 but did not find anything related. I am planning to make more than 10 partitions and I would like to see clearly. I am using openSUSE 10.3 and experimenting with 11.1 and 11.2.

Using the openSUSE legacy (IDE) storage driver appropriate for your chipset, you can have up to 62 partitions with filesystems, plus the extended which has no filesystem, for a total of 63, in all openSUSE versions through 11.2. How exactly to select use of the legacy driver during installation varies according to openSUSE version. Docs to tell how are on the published installation instructions. Using the newer libata storage driver, the limit is 14(+1) using stock kernels up through 11.2. As of 2.6.28 kernels, the 14(+1) libata limit has been lifted, but I don't know whether to 62(+1) or 254(+1) or more. As a consequence, using the default libata driver in current Factory (and in the upcoming 11.3) each HD can have more partitions than most people can deal with. I have several HDs with in excess of 30 partitions each, spread among various puters. -- "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." John Adams, 2nd US President Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409 Felix Miata *** http://fm.no-ip.com/ -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

Carlos E. R.

23:49

New subject: [opensuse] Maximum number of partitions

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On Monday, 2010-01-11 at 17:03 -0500, Felix Miata wrote: ...

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As a consequence, using the default libata driver in current Factory (and in the upcoming 11.3) each HD can have more partitions than most people can deal with.

And in the current 11.2. - -- Cheers, Carlos E. R. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v2.0.9 (GNU/Linux) iEYEARECAAYFAktLuO8ACgkQtTMYHG2NR9XqYACfdGkhAJpVf5k3ZISWY1U9dnXF UmUAniwg0DhCW3HgF6xY3ePVKyHi5/Uf =bHnW -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

Felix Miata

23:58

New subject: [opensuse] Maximum number of partitions

On 2010/01/12 0:49 (GMT+0100) Carlos E. R. composed:

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On Monday, 2010-01-11 at 17:03 -0500, Felix Miata wrote:

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As a consequence, using the default libata driver in current Factory (and in the upcoming 11.3) each HD can have more partitions than most people can deal with.

...

And in the current 11.2.

How, with device mapper? Normal people aren't going to figure out how to configure device mapper to do it. With non-stock kernel? Stock 11.2 kernel is 2.6.27. Libata's limit was lifted in 2.6.28. Please explain how those using SATA can do it in 11.2. -- "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." John Adams, 2nd US President Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409 Felix Miata *** http://fm.no-ip.com/ -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

Tejas Guruswamy

12 Jan 12 Jan

00:02

New subject: [opensuse] Maximum number of partitions

On 11/01/10 23:58, Felix Miata wrote:

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How, with device mapper? Normal people aren't going to figure out how to configure device mapper to do it. With non-stock kernel? Stock 11.2 kernel is 2.6.27. Libata's limit was lifted in 2.6.28. Please explain how those using SATA can do it in 11.2.

At least on my systems, 11.2 came with 2.6.31 ... Regards, Tejas -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

Felix Miata

01:00

New subject: [opensuse] Maximum number of partitions

On 2010/01/12 00:02 (GMT) Tejas Guruswamy composed:

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Felix Miata wrote:

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How, with device mapper? Normal people aren't going to figure out how to configure device mapper to do it. With non-stock kernel? Stock 11.2 kernel is 2.6.27. Libata's limit was lifted in 2.6.28. Please explain how those using SATA can do it in 11.2.

...

At least on my systems, 11.2 came with 2.6.31 ...

Egad it's a good thing I post replies to the list instead of to where Henne would rather they go so the rest can catch brain farts like this. Hard to figure how I got a less than two month old release using a year old kernel. :-p -- "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." John Adams, 2nd US President Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409 Felix Miata *** http://fm.no-ip.com/ -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

Per Jessen

06:45

New subject: [opensuse] Maximum number of partitions

Felix Miata wrote:

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On 2010/01/12 0:49 (GMT+0100) Carlos E. R. composed:

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On Monday, 2010-01-11 at 17:03 -0500, Felix Miata wrote:

...
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As a consequence, using the default libata driver in current Factory (and in the upcoming 11.3) each HD can have more partitions than most people can deal with.

...
And in the current 11.2.

How, with device mapper? Normal people aren't going to figure out how to configure device mapper to do it.

Normal people don't need a lot of partitions. :-) /Per -- Per Jessen, Zürich (-2.0°C) -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

Carlos E. R.

20:54

New subject: [opensuse] Maximum number of partitions

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On Monday, 2010-01-11 at 18:58 -0500, Felix Miata wrote:

...

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On Monday, 2010-01-11 at 17:03 -0500, Felix Miata wrote:

...
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As a consequence, using the default libata driver in current Factory (and in the upcoming 11.3) each HD can have more partitions than most people can deal with.

...
And in the current 11.2.

How, with device mapper? Normal people aren't going to figure out how to configure device mapper to do it. With non-stock kernel? Stock 11.2 kernel is 2.6.27. Libata's limit was lifted in 2.6.28. Please explain how those using SATA can do it in 11.2.

No, simply install 11.2, it works out of the box. It recognized my existing partitions in this machine (pata), I have 20 on hda (sda on 11.2). I also installed a new machine with sata, and tested it creating 23 extended partitions. It is not using devmap. Didn't you know? I discovered it on last beta cycle. - -- Cheers, Carlos E. R. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v2.0.9 (GNU/Linux) iEYEARECAAYFAktM4W4ACgkQtTMYHG2NR9VsewCeLlp6vwCBOL/vCYOQcmoN6N2s c5AAn1qoIjEE//NVFU2jPLSPc5Va+iLm =k9Kg -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

Istvan Gabor

10:19

New subject: [opensuse] Maximum number of partitions

2010. január 11. 23:03 napon Felix Miata írta:

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On 2010/01/11 20:38 (GMT+0100) Istvan Gabor composed:

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What is the maximum number of partitions that can reside on a hard disk and/or can be handled by openSUSE? (I know that max 4 primary, of which one can be extended, and the extended one has logical partitions.) I read somewhere that some version of openSUSE can handle only a limited number of partitons (~10-12) if a given driver (libata or not the libata or ?) is choosen to handle disks. But I can't recall where I read this and in what extent it is correct. I've read the release notes of 11.0, 11.1 and 11.2 but did not find anything related.

I found the reference in the meantime, it is openSUSE 10.3 release notes. It says: "libata uses /dev/sda for the first harddisk instead of /dev/hda. Disks with more than 15 partitions are not handled automatically right now. You can disable libata support by booting with the following kernel parameter: hwprobe=-modules.pata"

...

Using the openSUSE legacy (IDE) storage driver appropriate for your chipset, you can have up to 62 partitions with filesystems, plus the extended which has no filesystem, for a total of 63, in all openSUSE versions through 11.2.

How exactly to select use of the legacy driver during installation varies according to openSUSE version. Docs to tell how are on the published installation instructions.

I checked openSUSE 11.0, 11.1 and 11.2 documentation: In 11.0 and 11.1 the same kernel parameter is used as in 10.3. In 11.2 no kernel parameter required. (At least the doc [Reference guide] does not mention it.)

...

Using the newer libata storage driver, the limit is 14(+1) using stock kernels up through 11.2. As of 2.6.28 kernels, the 14(+1) libata limit has been lifted, but I don't know whether to 62(+1) or 254(+1) or more.

11.2 Reference guide says (Chapter 2.1.1): "The maximumnumber of logical partitions is 15 on SCSI, SATA, and Firewire disks and 63 on (E)IDE disks."

...

As a consequence, using the default libata driver in current Factory (and in the upcoming 11.3) each HD can have more partitions than most people can deal with.

Thanks, Istvan -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

Felix Miata

11:14

New subject: [opensuse] Maximum number of partitions

On 2010/01/12 11:19 (GMT+0100) Istvan Gabor composed:

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I found the reference in the meantime, it is openSUSE 10.3 release notes. It says:

...

"libata uses /dev/sda for the first harddisk instead of /dev/hda. Disks with more than 15 partitions are not handled automatically right now. You can disable libata support by booting with the following kernel parameter: hwprobe=-modules.pata"

Note that libata is generally the superior performer, performance not exclusively meaning I/O speed. At some point prior to 10.3 release at least the parameter was brokenmodules=<actual libata driver>, e.g. brokenmodules=ata_piix for Intel.

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I checked openSUSE 11.0, 11.1 and 11.2 documentation: In 11.0 and 11.1 the same kernel parameter is used as in 10.3. In 11.2 no kernel parameter required. (At least the doc [Reference guide] does not mention it.)

That part of the guide got an update it needed for 11.2. AFAIR, it's still possible to use IDE instead of libata in 11.2, but I don't think any compelling reasons to remain. For some multidisk users I suppose there may be some benefit to being able to stick to the legacy hda, hdb, hdc & hdd device names.

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11.2 Reference guide says (Chapter 2.1.1): "The maximumnumber of logical partitions is 15 on SCSI, SATA, and Firewire disks and 63 on (E)IDE disks."

This part of the doc didn't get the update it needed. 11.2 has a 2.6.31 kernel. The post 11.1/2.6.27 kernels lifted the libata (necessary for SCSI, SATA, Firewire) restriction from 15 to (AFAIK) 63. Don't forget though in case you care that 11.2 has no supported KDE 3. -- "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." John Adams, 2nd US President Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409 Felix Miata *** http://fm.no-ip.com/ -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

Steffen Winterfeldt

13:09

New subject: [opensuse] Maximum number of partitions

On Tue, 12 Jan 2010, Felix Miata wrote:

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On 2010/01/12 11:19 (GMT+0100) Istvan Gabor composed:

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11.2 Reference guide says (Chapter 2.1.1): "The maximumnumber of logical partitions is 15 on SCSI, SATA, and Firewire disks and 63 on (E)IDE disks."

This part of the doc didn't get the update it needed. 11.2 has a 2.6.31 kernel. The post 11.1/2.6.27 kernels lifted the libata (necessary for SCSI, SATA, Firewire) restriction from 15 to (AFAIK) 63.

There is no longer a partition limit. It's really unlimited (for most practical purposes) now. E.g. on my test disk I have: brw-rw---- 1 root disk 259, 301 Jan 12 14:50 /dev/sda204 Partitions just get free minor numbers assigned dynamically. Steffen -- Das Nichtrauchen entfernt uns von der Zivilisation und setzt den Mann mit seinem Dackel gleich. -- J. C. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

Carlos E. R.

11 Jan 11 Jan

23:47

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On Monday, 2010-01-11 at 20:38 +0100, Istvan Gabor wrote:

...

What is the maximum number of partitions that can reside on a hard disk and/or can be handled by openSUSE? (I know that max 4 primary, of which one can be extended, and the extended one has logical partitions.) I read somewhere that some version of openSUSE can handle only a limited number of partitons (~10-12) if a given driver (libata or not the libata or ?) is choosen to handle disks. But I can't recall where I read this and in what extent it is correct. I've read the release notes of 11.0, 11.1 and 11.2 but did not find anything related. I am planning to make more than 10 partitions and I would like to see clearly. I am using openSUSE 10.3 and experimenting with 11.1 and 11.2.

In 10.3 you have unlimited (meaning 63) number of partitions (only four primary), if you use the traditional library with IDE disks (PATA), which gives names like hda, hdb, hdc, etc. If you use the new library (sda, sdb, sdc...), which emulates scsi, you have partitions 1..15, that's all. For SATA drives you need the new library, no choice. However, in 11.2 you have again unlimited (AFAIK, really unlimited) number of partitions with scsi names, ie, the new library. This is new, and I understand, pushed by suse/novell on the kernel :-) Then, if you use LVM, you can have many partitions. - -- Cheers, Carlos E. R. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v2.0.9 (GNU/Linux) iEYEARECAAYFAktLuH4ACgkQtTMYHG2NR9XYigCfXETApcXrfzmYQEwrJY7/iZWR aqEAn0rg2cyf28pvI6TAZUOl5tkTpSx8 =3eyR -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

Istvan Gabor

12 Jan 12 Jan

10:44

2010. január 12. 0:47 napon "Carlos E. R." írta:

...

On Monday, 2010-01-11 at 20:38 +0100, Istvan Gabor wrote:

...
What is the maximum number of partitions that can reside on a hard disk and/or can be handled by openSUSE?

[snip]

...

In 10.3 you have unlimited (meaning 63) number of partitions (only four primary), if you use the traditional library with IDE disks (PATA), which gives names like hda, hdb, hdc, etc. If you use the new library (sda, sdb, sdc...), which emulates scsi, you have partitions 1..15, that's all. For SATA drives you need the new library, no choice.

This means if I use SATA disk (no matter which driver I select at boot since for SATA the new driver is used), I will not see more than 15 partitions on the SATA disk. On parellel ATA disk I will see all the partitions (up to 63) if I use the old driver. This applies to SUSE 10.3, 11.0 and 11.1 (kernel version < 2.28). Is this correct? What is the case with pre 10.3 systems? They use the old driver and see all IDE partitions, but how they handle SATA disks?

...

However, in 11.2 you have again unlimited (AFAIK, really unlimited) number of partitions with scsi names, ie, the new library. This is new, and I understand, pushed by suse/novell on the kernel :-)

But openSUSE 11.2 reference guide says (in chapter 2.1.1 Partition Types): "The maximum number of logical partitions is 15 on SCSI, SATA, and Firewire disks and 63 on (E)IDE disks." Which one is correct? Thanks, Istvan -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

Felix Miata

11:22

On 2010/01/12 11:44 (GMT+0100) Istvan Gabor composed:

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What is the case with pre 10.3 systems? They use the old driver and see all IDE partitions, but how they handle SATA disks?

Until the 2.6.28 kernel, which means release of 11.2 with its 2.6.31, SATA/SCSI/Firewire users were limited to 14 partitions with filesystems per HD.

...

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However, in 11.2 you have again unlimited (AFAIK, really unlimited) number of partitions with scsi names, ie, the new library. This is new, and I understand, pushed by suse/novell on the kernel :-)

Some other distros wanted upgraders to be forced to move to LVM if they wanted more than 14 partitions/HD. Novell was in fact a proponent of a less intrusive upgrade path, and instrumental in its implementation in libata.

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But openSUSE 11.2 reference guide says (in chapter 2.1.1 Partition Types): "The maximum number of logical partitions is 15 on SCSI, SATA, and Firewire disks and 63 on (E)IDE disks."

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Which one is correct?

That part of the guide didn't get an update it needed. -- "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." John Adams, 2nd US President Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409 Felix Miata *** http://fm.no-ip.com/ -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

Greg Freemyer

14:38

On Tue, Jan 12, 2010 at 5:44 AM, Istvan Gabor wrote:

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2010. január 12. 0:47 napon "Carlos E. R." írta:

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On Monday, 2010-01-11 at 20:38 +0100, Istvan Gabor wrote:

...
What is the maximum number of partitions that can reside on a hard disk and/or can be handled by openSUSE?

[snip]

...
In 10.3 you have unlimited (meaning 63) number of partitions (only four primary), if you use the traditional library with IDE disks (PATA), which gives names like hda, hdb, hdc, etc. If you use the new library (sda, sdb, sdc...), which emulates scsi, you have partitions 1..15, that's all. For SATA drives you need the new library, no choice.

This means if I use SATA disk (no matter which driver I select at boot since for SATA the new driver is used),

False (see below)

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I will not see more than 15 partitions on the SATA disk.

False, only true if you select libata and you use a 11.1 or older distribution (see below)

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On parellel ATA disk I will see all the partitions (up to 63) if I use the old driver.

True as far as it goes (see below)

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This applies to SUSE 10.3, 11.0 and 11.1 (kernel version < 2.28). Is this correct?

yes

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What is the case with pre 10.3 systems? They use the old driver and see all IDE partitions, but how they handle SATA disks?

With the old ide you had to set the controller to :"legacy mode" even when talking to sata drives. == more detail The old ide driver basically supports everything it ever did. So if it supported your hardware in 10.2 or before, it probably still does. If not, it is a regression and the kernel team will likely work to fix it. ie. The old ide driver is still supported for regressions. The old ide driver supports the "legacy controller interface". The legacy interface can be used by the controller to talk to both IDE and SATA drives, thus the old driver can be used with SATA drives and it always could be. ie. In legacy mode the controller pretends to be a IDE controller, so the old ide driver just worked automatically. Thus if your brand new motherboard with sata only connectors offers a legacy mode in bios _and_ you have it selected, you can likely use the old ide driver even for brand new sata drives. I don't know if add-in controller cards tend to offer a legacy mode or not, but I assume they do. The new libata driver uniquely supports the newer controller interfaces. Specifically AHCI is very common and only the new libata driver supports it. So if you set your controller to AHCI mode you have to use the new libata driver. fyi: I'm pretty sure the AHCI is only used to talk to SATA drives.

...

From a performance perspective I believe AHCI is better than legacy, but I don't know any details.

Also in the last year or two (or three) the new libata driver has been growing "legacy controller" support. Thus for most legacy controllers you now have the option of using either the old ide or the new libata. (Some macintosh controllers are an exception. Only the old ide currently has support. Work is underway to resolve that.) I don't think libata with legacy controllers performs any better than the old ide driver. So if you only have legacy controllers, or controllers set in bios to act as legacy controllers, then you could flip a coin as to which driver to use. fyi: even now discussions of removing the old ide driver from the vanilla kernel make it sound years away. The issue is embedded computers. The old ide driver uses less resources than libata and embedded computers typically like to have as small a kernel as they can. fyi2: That does not mean the opensuse will continue to compile in the old ide driver for those same years. I know nothing about the plans for that. Greg -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

Carlos E. R.

21:12

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Content-ID: On Tuesday, 2010-01-12 at 11:44 +0100, Istvan Gabor wrote:

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2010. január 12. 0:47 napon "Carlos E. R." <> írta:

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On Monday, 2010-01-11 at 20:38 +0100, Istvan Gabor wrote:

...
What is the maximum number of partitions that can reside on a hard disk and/or can be handled by openSUSE?

[snip]

...
In 10.3 you have unlimited (meaning 63) number of partitions (only four primary), if you use the traditional library with IDE disks (PATA), which gives names like hda, hdb, hdc, etc. If you use the new library (sda, sdb, sdc...), which emulates scsi, you have partitions 1..15, that's all. For SATA drives you need the new library, no choice.

This means if I use SATA disk (no matter which driver I select at boot since for SATA the new driver is used), I will not see more than 15 partitions on the SATA disk. On parellel ATA disk I will see all the partitions (up to 63) if I use the old driver. This applies to SUSE 10.3, 11.0 and 11.1 (kernel version < 2.28). Is this correct?

Yes. You can, I think, use the old driver on sata machines by selecting legacy or compatible mode in the bios, if it supports it.

...

What is the case with pre 10.3 systems? They use the old driver and see all IDE partitions, but how they handle SATA disks?

I don't know how it handles sata (I don't remember, I didn't have a sata machine then). I think it was being actively developed at the time, and changing. By the way. The typical wording is 16 partitions maximum. Or perhaps 15. It is less, in fact. The limit is that you can have partitions numbers 1 through 15 (0 means the whole disk). Numbers 1 to 4 are primary, and one of those primaries has to be an extended partitions. Thus you get 3 primaries and 5..15 logical, ie, 11 logical. Total: 14 partitions, as Felix says.

...

...
However, in 11.2 you have again unlimited (AFAIK, really unlimited) number of partitions with scsi names, ie, the new library. This is new, and I understand, pushed by suse/novell on the kernel :-)

But openSUSE 11.2 reference guide says (in chapter 2.1.1 Partition Types): "The maximum number of logical partitions is 15 on SCSI, SATA, and Firewire disks and 63 on (E)IDE disks."

Which one is correct?

The doc is incorrect. Devs got ahead of documentators ;-) Really, 11.2 is a very nice distro. Try it - unless you need kde3, that is. - -- Cheers, Carlos E. R. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v2.0.9 (GNU/Linux) iEYEARECAAYFAktM5aQACgkQtTMYHG2NR9UGUQCdFrS6bOI43LhU7UOMlamIif9Q 5ZYAoIZu4uf6MxMkTxTi4Uv7gs/Ik/4p =2J7E -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

Per Jessen

22:20

Carlos E. R. wrote:

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By the way. The typical wording is 16 partitions maximum. Or perhaps 15. It is less, in fact. The limit is that you can have partitions numbers 1 through 15 (0 means the whole disk). Numbers 1 to 4 are primary, and one of those primaries has to be an extended partitions. Thus you get 3 primaries and 5..15 logical, ie, 11 logical. Total: 14 partitions, as Felix says.

Isn't that only with the DOS partition table? A GPT setup will AFAIK offer a lot more. /Per -- Per Jessen, Zürich (-2.0°C) -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

Carlos E. R.

13 Jan 13 Jan

00:19

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On Tuesday, 2010-01-12 at 23:20 +0100, Per Jessen wrote:

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Carlos E. R. wrote:

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By the way. The typical wording is 16 partitions maximum. Or perhaps 15. It is less, in fact. The limit is that you can have partitions numbers 1 through 15 (0 means the whole disk). Numbers 1 to 4 are primary, and one of those primaries has to be an extended partitions. Thus you get 3 primaries and 5..15 logical, ie, 11 logical. Total: 14 partitions, as Felix says.

Isn't that only with the DOS partition table? A GPT setup will AFAIK offer a lot more.

Er... no. The "clasical" partition table is not limited⁽¹⁾; it is the operating system which has limits. In linux the limit was due to using a combination of major/minor number for the /dev directory, using only a byte. ⁽¹⁾ Being strict, the partition table is limited to 4 partitions. As that is not enough, somebody invented the trick of using one fake partition (extended p) containing a chained list of partitions (logical partitions) which is unlimted, being a linked list. - -- Cheers, Carlos E. R. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v2.0.9 (GNU/Linux) iEYEARECAAYFAktNEaUACgkQtTMYHG2NR9WeBQCfXa+Hw1ll9r+SlP35nO7DNllB q+sAn2aJvzwfqDMK4TvuG9BXi1oEyjbt =BqAE -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

Istvan Gabor

12 Jan 12 Jan

22:23

2010. január 12. 22:12 napon "Carlos E. R." írta:

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On Tuesday, 2010-01-12 at 11:44 +0100, Istvan Gabor wrote:

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2010. január 12. 0:47 napon "Carlos E. R." <> írta:

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On Monday, 2010-01-11 at 20:38 +0100, Istvan Gabor wrote:

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What is the maximum number of partitions that can reside on a hard disk and/or can be handled by openSUSE?

[snip]

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In 10.3 you have unlimited (meaning 63) number of partitions (only four primary), if you use the traditional library with IDE disks (PATA), which gives names like hda, hdb, hdc, etc. If you use the new library (sda, sdb, sdc...), which emulates scsi, you have partitions 1..15, that's all. For SATA drives you need the new library, no choice.

This means if I use SATA disk (no matter which driver I select at boot since for SATA the new driver is used), I will not see more than 15 partitions on the SATA disk. On parellel ATA disk I will see all the partitions (up to 63) if I use the old driver. This applies to SUSE 10.3, 11.0 and 11.1 (kernel version What is the case with pre 10.3 systems? They use the old driver and see all IDE partitions, but how they handle SATA disks?

I don't know how it handles sata (I don't remember, I didn't have a sata machine then). I think it was being actively developed at the time, and changing. Never mind. I do not want to go back to pre-10.3. Was only theoretical question.

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By the way. The typical wording is 16 partitions maximum. Or perhaps 15. It is less, in fact. The limit is that you can have partitions numbers 1 through 15 (0 means the whole disk). Numbers 1 to 4 are primary, and one of those primaries has to be an extended partitions. Thus you get 3 primaries and 5..15 logical, ie, 11 logical. Total: 14 partitions, as Felix says.

Yes, I see this. Numbering goes up to 15.

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However, in 11.2 you have again unlimited (AFAIK, really unlimited) number of partitions with scsi names, ie, the new library. This is new, and I understand, pushed by suse/novell on the kernel :-)

But openSUSE 11.2 reference guide says (in chapter 2.1.1 Partition Types): "The maximum number of logical partitions is 15 on SCSI, SATA, and Firewire disks and 63 on (E)IDE disks."

Which one is correct?

The doc is incorrect. Devs got ahead of documentators ;-)

Really, 11.2 is a very nice distro. Try it - unless you need kde3, that is.

Actually I have installed KDE3 from build repo, and it is working. I even don't have any KDE4 package installed. Thank you all for your help. Istvan -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

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Anton Aylward
Carlos E. R.
Felix Miata
Greg Freemyer
Istvan Gabor
Per Jessen
Steffen Winterfeldt
Tejas Guruswamy