ESX paritioning

[radiolandog]

I am looking over ESX / service console partitions, and it's somewhat confusing.

According to the the ESX and vCenter Server Installation Guide, these are the required partitions:
   /boot
   /
   swap
   vmkcore
   vmfs

The / and swap are partitions in the Service Console VMDK.

These other partitions (part of the Service Console VMDK) are optional and can be created during or after the install:

     /home
     /tmp
     /usr
     /var/log

However, when I do an ESX install and take the defaults, a 2GB /var/log is created.

So, can I conclude that by taking the defaults, I am creating an optional /var/log partition? 

I guess I see my confusion, now.  There is a difference between "required" and "default" partitions...

Thanks,

-dog

[a_p_]

Yes, the /var/log filesystem will be created with 2GB by default. However, the recomendation is to create the /var (4GB) instead to prevent the / (root) file system from filling up.

see e.g.

http://www.yellow-bricks.com/2008/09/29/partitioning-esx-during-installations/

http://vmetc.com/2009/07/22/best-practices-for-vsphere-esx-4-service-console-partitions/

http://www.yellow-bricks.com/2009/05/27/partitioning-your-esx-host-part-ii/

André

[bulletprooffool]

As always - Andre is correct - though I would ask the question . . .why are you installing ESX? - ESX will soon be end of lifed and ESXi will be the only option going forward. If you are doing fresh installations, it really is worth considering going straight to ESXi - to save yourself the pain of a migration in future. (there is no direct upgrade from ESX to ESXi - it will be a rebuild)

Also, the ESXi install is very quick and easy.

[scott28tt · Accepted solution]

The VCP exam asks questions about both ESX and ESXi, so it is absolutely the right thing to do in preparation for the exam to study both of them.

Scott.

[radiolandog]

Yep - preparing again for the VCP.

Thanks for your replies!