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17.11. Disk Partitioning Setup

Partitioning allows you to divide your storage drive(s) into isolated sections, where each section behaves as its own drive. Partitioning is particularly useful if you run multiple operating systems, or wish to enforce a logical or functional distinction between your storage partitions (such as a /home partition that persistently contains user information).
On this screen you can choose to create the default layout or choose to manual partition using the 'Create custom layout' option of Disk Druid.
The first three options allow you to perform an automated installation without having to partition your drive(s) yourself. If you do not feel comfortable with partitioning your system, it is recommended that you do not choose to create a custom layout and instead let the installation program partition for you.
You can configure an zFCP LUN for installation, or disable a dmraid device from this screen by clicking on the 'Advanced storage configuration' button. For more information refer to Section 17.12, “ Advanced Storage Options ”.

Warning

The default layout uses all devices made available to the installer. This includes any temporary storage devices such as vdisks or tdisks. If temporary storage devices are used with the default layout, the system might become inaccessible when these devices are redefined and the device contents are lost (for example, on logoff and relogon of z/VM guests). Review the partition layout and if temporary devices are included, go back and choose Create custom layout to exclude these devices from being used for permanent system data.

Warning

The Update Agent downloads updated packages to /var/cache/yum/ by default. If you partition the system manually, and create a separate /var/ partition, be sure to create the partition large enough (3.0 GB or more) to download package updates.
Disk Partitioning Setup

Figure 17.7. Disk Partitioning Setup

If you choose to create a custom layout using Disk Druid, refer to Section 17.14, “Partitioning Your System”.

Warning

If you receive an error after the Disk Partitioning Setup phase of the installation saying something similar to:
"The partition table on device dasda was unreadable. To create new partitions it must be initialized, causing the loss of ALL DATA on this drive."
you may not have a partition table on that drive or the partition table on the drive may not be recognizable by the partitioning software used in the installation program.
No matter what type of installation you are performing, backups of the existing data on your systems should always be made.

Important

To install Red Hat Enterprise Linux on a network device accessible through multiple paths, deselect all local storage in the Select the drive(s) to use for this installation window, and select a device labeled mapper/mpath instead.
Note that migrating the root file system of an existing Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation from single path storage to multipath storage is not supported. You must perform a new installation to move the root file system to a multipath storage device. Therefore you should plan your installation accordingly. See https://access.redhat.com/site/solutions/66501 for more information.