Partition For Settings for gpt/LVM and gpt/LVM/UEFI

[giobaxx]

I'm trying to figure out how the minimun partition scheme requiring when i use BIOS or UEFI, MBR or GPT.....and LVM together because i'm really confused. Below i put the Simplest partition scheme combining together MBR,GPT UEFI and LVM
Could you tell me if what i wrote is correct?

BIOS+MBR



swap
/


BIOS + GPT



Bios-grub
swap
/


UEFI + GPT



EFI boot partition
swap
/


BIOS + LVM i need to set /boot as Standard Partitions to make the linux bootable

1 /boot as standard Partition
2 swap LVM storage
3 / LV Storage


for BIOS with GPT Disk plus LVM? i need just to add the bios-grub partition(to support GPT disk) and the separated standard partition /boot to let linux to boot?



Bios-grub
/boot
swap LVM Storage
/ LVM Storage



UEFI + LVM? just add the EFI partition to support UEFI and /boot standard partittion to let linux to boot or not?



efi
/boot
swap LVM Storage
/ LVM Storage




Any clarification would be great......Tanks in advance

[oldfred]

Looks familiar. :)
https://askubuntu.com/questions/1146591/partitioning-scheme-x-ubuntu

Are you dual booting?
If so Windows defines which partitioning you must use as it only is MBR with BIOS and only gpt with UEFI.
Ubuntu can be BIOS or UEFI boot on gpt and I recommend gpt for all new or reformatted drives, if not using Windows in the now very old BIOS boot mode. I started converting drives to gpt back in 2010 and now only a couple of now tiny flash drives are still MBR.
GPT Advantages (older 2010 but still valid) see post#2 by srs5694:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1457901
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/GUID_Partition_Table#Advantages_of_GPT
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_Extensible_Firmware_Interface

Do not know LVM, but those that do, recommend it. But it really is more for advanced users or servers as it has a lot of features for those users & configurations.

So I am ignoring any MBR configuration.

With gpt you can add both an ESP and a bios_grub, both are small to a drive. I used to always do that, but have now used only UEFI for 5 or 6 years and stopped adding the bios_grub, but it is only 1 or 2MB.

You do not need swap partition as newer versions now use swap file. If you have a swap partition it will be used and I believe LVM still creates a swap partition inside the LVM.

If a newer user, I would not use LVM for now unless you really want full drive encryption. And then you must create really good backup procedures, immediately.

I would also suggest separating system from data or use a /home. But you have to use Something Else install option to create partitions, or use gparted to create them in advance. You still use Something Else to select (change button) which partition is which. I use 25GB for / & rest for my data partition(s).

More info on UEFI install in link in my signature.

My most recent install to flash drive, but I still have an unused bios_grub on this flash drive.


Disk /dev/sdc: 61.9GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: gpt
Disk Flags:

Number Start End Size File system Name Flags
1 1049kB 211MB 210MB fat32 ESP boot, esp
2 211MB 213MB 2097kB bios_grub
3 213MB 22.9GB 22.6GB ext4 mateUSB
4 22.9GB 61.9GB 39.1GB ext4 data

[Dennis N]

BIOS + LVM i need to set /boot as Standard Partitions to make the linux bootable

1 /boot as standard Partition
2 swap LVM storage
3 / LV Storage

Here, you don't need a /boot partition for LVM, just the root logical volume (LV) and one of: swap partition, swap LV, or swap file in the OS.

I'm not clear on what you mean by / LV storage?

For your other cases with LVM: BIOS with GPT Disk plus LVM and UEFI + LVM: no /boot partition required.

[giobaxx]

With LV Storage i mean Logical Volume. Normally we have powerful workstation with two disk and normally what they asked me to do is using LVM to create partitions. I remember a linux guy that was working mainly with Red Hat told me that /boot cannot be within the LVM configuration and it should be in a separated standard partition to let the system boot. is it not true?

[oldfred]

If you do not want encryption, you can skip that part. But it is LVM install in detail.
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ManualFullSystemEncryption/
Full-system encryption with manual control and dual-booting Paddy Landau
https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2357627 &
https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2399092

Not sure about Redhat, Ubuntu used to use /boot partition outside LVM, but now you do not have to have it.

[giobaxx]

@olfred

We don't use dual boot, but we have some powerfull workstation that are almost used as server and they need a more advanced configuration. Sometimes they have raid, other times LVM. They use of LVM is not depends on me, unfortunately :-( is a choice of our sys admin.

If i use LVM or RAID the biosgrup and/or efi partition must be part of LVM Volume/RAID or must be treated as standard partition?

with "Not sure about Redhat, Ubuntu used to use /boot partition outside LVM, but now you do not have to have it." you mean that now we dont need anymore a separate Partition for /boot and i can put inside the LVM

[Dennis N]

With LV Storage i mean Logical Volume. Normally we have powerful workstation with two disk and normally what they asked me to do is using LVM to create partitions. I remember a linux guy that was working mainly with Red Hat told me that /boot cannot be within the LVM configuration and it should be in a separated standard partition to let the system boot. is it not true?

That may have been correct years ago (before I ever used LVM) but not anymore, at least for unencrypted installs. I can't advise on using it with encryption.

No boot partition here:


Model: ATA Samsung SSD 860 (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdb: 500GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: gpt
Disk Flags:

Number Start End Size File system Name Flags
1 1049kB 3146kB 2097kB bios_grub
2 3146kB 44.0GB 44.0GB ext4
3 44.0GB 296GB 252GB lvm


My experience includes Ubuntu (and family), Linux Mint, Fedora, Manjaro and this is true for all of these.

[oldfred]

UEFI cannot read inside LVM, so ESP - efi system partition must be outside the LVM. Same with bios_grub.
Rest I do not know details on LVM, I do not use it and have only seen various installs with it.

LVM Advantages/Disadvantages Post #9
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1586328&p=9917145#post9917145
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Lvm
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/LVM