Install Ubuntu 18.04 with 16 GB disk space

[sygma-x64]

Hello,

I have a Windows 10 Laptop with a SSD 16 GB, currently useless for me...

I would like to make a dual boot W10/Ubuntu 18.04 by installing Ubuntu system on the SSD 16 GB and create several partitions on HDD 1 TB for /var /home /tmp and /usr. Can I install the system with only 16 GB ? Can it have performance or mounting problems ? Will I have the advantages of the SSD (speed) for my system and applications ?

I heard that it is recommended to seperate /var and /tmp because of the multiple writes on disk but in my case with 16 GB, must I also create a partition /usr on HDD ?

Thanks in advance.

[The Cog]

My desktop has a root partition that holds everything except /home, and only uses 8G (out of 20G). So unless you are using server type apps that put a lot of data in /var, /tmp or /usr I don't think it is worth separating them out.

[sygma-x64]

Thank you for your response ;) I want to be sure I can install and use Ubuntu 18.04 on my 16 GB SSD.
Are you using a SSD ? I saw on different forums, it is not recommended for /var and /tmp to be on the SSD because there is a lot of writings and that reduces the life of SSD because a SSD will die earlier than a HDD and it is recommended to limit writings.

[oldfred]

Depends on SSD.
But now SSD life is considered to be similar to hard drive life.
Some last and some do not.
hard drive life
https://www.backblaze.com/blog/hard-drive-stats-for-q1-2018/
(https://www.backblaze.com/blog/hard-drive-stats-for-q1-2018/)
SSD life test 2015 final
http://techreport.com/review/27909/the-ssd-endurance-experiment-theyre-all-dead

You can change settings to use noatime setting in fstab, so just reading a file does not cause a write of a time stamp.
You can put /tmp into RAM if you have lots of RAM.

Similar to what I do, except I do use ext4 , I use a daily cron task for TRIM,
and I have Firefox on hard drive so no issues with cache. Swap is also on hard drive, but never used. No installs now use swap file, but still never used, if lots of RAM.
https://sites.google.com/site/easylinuxtipsproject/ssd

Do SSD need customization?
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1981478
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Solid_State_Drives
https://wiki.debian.org/SSDOptimization
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2003022


(https://www.backblaze.com/blog/hard-drive-stats-for-q1-2018/)

[sygma-x64]

Thanks ;)

So, I can install Ubuntu 18.04 on my SSD 16 GB. I think to use RAM for /tmp as you said, I have 8 GB but it should be enough, I will not use it intensively.
Except /home, I can put everything (/var, /usr, ...) on 16 GB space ?

[oldfred]

I have multiple installs on my SSD and not all space used. But all data and some larger hidden folders normally in /home on my HDD like Firefox & Thunderbird profiles. But every thing else in /home is also in SSD. Including /home in / I show 7.2GB used. I put all data folders in a /mnt/data partition and link all the normal folders back to /home. So then my /home is tiny as it really is just configuration files. Any app like Thunderbird that may store lots of data in hidden folder in /home, get moved to my data partition.

I do try to houseclean regular to remove old logs and other cruft.


fred@Bionic-Z170N:~$ df -h
Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on
udev 7.8G 0 7.8G 0% /dev
tmpfs 1.6G 2.2M 1.6G 1% /run
/dev/sda4 25G 7.2G 17G 31% /
tmpfs 7.8G 65M 7.8G 1% /dev/shm
tmpfs 5.0M 4.0K 5.0M 1% /run/lock
tmpfs 7.8G 0 7.8G 0% /sys/fs/cgroup
/dev/sda1 50G 77M 50G 1% /boot/efi
tmpfs 7.8G 64K 7.8G 1% /tmp
/dev/sdb6 202G 68G 124G 36% /mnt/data
tmpfs 1.6G 16K 1.6G 1% /run/user/119
tmpfs 1.6G 200K 1.6G 1% /run/user/1000
/dev/sdb4 49G 11G 37G 22% /media/fred/backup_b
/dev/sdb3 49G 1.8G 45G 4% /media/fred/ISO_b