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Ubuntu

Help with partition sizes

suicideking

6/11/23, 8:46 PM

I will be installing Kubuntu (latest LTS) on my laptop. It has a 500GB nvme. A couple questions:

I plan to make most of the drive for the /home partition. I don't plan to install a bunch of programs. So is 55GB enough for root?

It appears that I don't need a swap since it will be on an nvme?

This is just a general use laptop used for browsing the web. I'm going to try to avoid dual booting with Windows. I will probably create a Windows 10 VM in Virtualbox in case I must do something in Windows. I may have other VM's, but will store them all in /home.

System specs:

i5 8000 series 16 GB RAM 500 GB nvme

0 + 0

partitioning

oldfred

6/11/23, 8:53 PM

I used to suggest 25 or 30GB for /, but now Ubuntu uses many snaps. I uninstall all snaps, use .debs for those programs I want and currently use about 10GB in my 25GB /. Your 55 should be plenty as long as VMs are not in /. Default install creates a 2GB swap file. Some still suggest a 4GB partition. But I have not used swap except with old 1.5GB RAM laptop and even then only when loading several larger apps at once. If editing videos or large photos you may need all the RAM or swap.

Nmath

6/11/23, 9:00 PM

What is your justification for needing a separate home partition?

Nmath

6/11/23, 9:44 PM

@C.S. why would it make any difference if home is a folder or a partition in the case of a version upgrade?

C.S.Cameron

6/11/23, 10:31 PM

When re-installing with "Something Else" an existing home partition will persist as long as format is not checked. An existing home folder needs to overwrite the new home directory.

Nmath

6/11/23, 11:13 PM

@C.S. Right... A reinstall not a *version upgrade*... Now if you're reinstalling the same OS, it's usually because there's problems you can't solve, or you've determined you need a clean start. If a bad config in home was the source of the problem that precipitated the reinstall in the first place, then you've just wasted even more time. No matter the reason behind the reinstall, it's still common for configs in an old home folder to have conflicts with the new software and files on the new system partition.

C.S.Cameron

6/12/23, 2:31 AM

My wife has been using the same home partition since 08.04. She updates version every new Ubuntu LTS. She has used the partition on clones to Persistent USB and installs to various laptops and desktops. I have never had a problem reusing home partitions from version to version as long as the Ubuntu flavors are the same.

Score:0

Ubuntu

ChanganAuto

6/11/23, 8:59 PM

I plan to make most of the drive for the /home partition.

Using the default automatic partitioning is perfectly fine. The only advantage of a separated /home partition is that personal files and settings are kept if reinstalling. That said you should have backups anyway and keeping settings is not always a good idea.

In a nutshell, you should avoid the typical newbie mistakes: Over-planning and over-partitioning.

I don't plan to install a bunch of programs. So is 55GB enough for root?

Yes, typically. However, as already commented by @oldfred, "now Ubuntu uses many snaps" and snaps are larger than their .deb counterparts. Again, avoid newbie mistakes.

It appears that I don't need a swap since it will be on an nvme?

You don't need a swap partition because now Ubuntu uses a swapfile by default. NOT because it's NVMe, the storage type has absolutely nothing to do with it.

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waltinator

6/11/23, 9:04 PM

One needs swap to control what happens when your processes use up (allocate) ALL the RAM. Without swap, the OOM-Killer runs, and picks a process to kill. With swap, your system slows down. With enough swap space (same as RAM), one can hibernate.

ChanganAuto

6/11/23, 9:07 PM

@waltinator Yes, of course, but it doesn't have to be a swap partition. Swap works the same way as partition or file. Granted the default swapfile size may not meet the requirements for all usage scenarios but can be easily reconfigured for a larger maximum. A partition can as well but isn't as flexible.

suicideking

6/11/23, 9:14 PM

Mostly was thinking of doing a separate /home so that I can wipe and reload the system and leave my data and preferences in place. I would still back it up. I tend to switch distributions every now and then. I already installed Kubuntu this morning because I couldn't sleep lol. Then I was thinking maybe I should've created a separate /home. As it is now, I just did the guided install and used the whole disk for root (no partitions specified).

ChanganAuto

6/11/23, 9:16 PM

Right, you can do that. Just know it isn't as recommended as it once was and you should plan the size of root file system more generously than before.

suicideking

6/11/23, 9:53 PM

Ok, thanks for all the info! I'll consider leaving it as is and maybe wait until next time to separate /home. That way I can use this version to gauge disk space for next time.

Nmath

6/11/23, 9:53 PM

@suicideking - that's actually not a very good use for a separate home partition anymore. That's exactly why I asked in a comment on the main question. It used to be that you could reuse home with a new installation or with a different distro, but due to the proliferation of Linux software, the diversity between distros and DEs, and the liberal use of configs stored under home; in practice, trying to reuse a home partition on a different system is **not** plug and play and often involves a **lot** of trial and error work to get it working again.

suicideking

6/11/23, 9:58 PM

Good to know. Sounds like leaving it as is and making good backups next time would be preferred. Especially since I tend to jump around a bit with distros. Ubuntu now, could be Manjaro or something else next. With the DE, it usually ends up being one that I wasn't on with my last install. I like to change it up between KDE, Gnome, Cinnamon.

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