I am a relative Linux newbie so forgive my question if it has been discussed
many times. What are the usual Linux directory structures which can be
shared between different distributions ? I want to set up more than one
distribution from different vendors on my machine and I want to partition my
hard drives so that each distribution will naturally boot into its own
partition but also that non-system directories can be shared between
distributions. Also can a swap file partition be shared by different
distributions or does each distribution need its own area ? I will be using
each distribution separately and I would rather share areas between
distributions which can be shared rather than have redundancies between
different systems. Pointing me to any discussion about this would also be
helpful to me.

On Wed, 15 Dec 2004 01:44:02 GMT, Edward Diener wrote:
> I am a relative Linux newbie so forgive my question if it has been discussed
> many times. What are the usual Linux directory structures which can be
> shared between different distributions ?

I only share swap and my own partition with my own code and downloads.
I load each distro in a 6 gig partition and use the same boot loader.
That way I cut/paste the stanza from each install into one loader.

> Pointing me to any discussion about this would also be helpful to me.

Please bookmark the following, very large,
Frequently Asked Questions (faq) Search engine:

http://groups.google.com/advanced_group_search
key word(s) in the first box
*linux* in Newsgroup box. You need to use the two
asterisks around linux, pick English

Edward:
Each distro has it's own directory structure.
I have many time loaded different rev levels of one distro on a hard drive
and shared swap. It also helps if both are going to use the same file
system. I have found that the auto detect installation can recognize a swap
partition (on the same drive). This is not true of multiple drive setups.
Good luck, FXS

Edward Diener wrote:

> I am a relative Linux newbie so forgive my question if it has been
> discussed many times. What are the usual Linux directory structures which
> can be shared between different distributions ? I want to set up more than
> one distribution from different vendors on my machine and I want to
> partition my hard drives so that each distribution will naturally boot
> into its own partition but also that non-system directories can be shared
> between distributions. Also can a swap file partition be shared by
> different distributions or does each distribution need its own area ? I
> will be using each distribution separately and I would rather share areas
> between distributions which can be shared rather than have redundancies
> between different systems. Pointing me to any discussion about this would
> also be helpful to me.

Edward Diener wrote:

> I am a relative Linux newbie so forgive my question if it has been discussed
> many times. What are the usual Linux directory structures which can be
> shared between different distributions ?


.... i wouldnt. well, with some exceptions: swap and
maybe some data partitions. for example, i have my
VMWARE image files on a their own partition.
--
<< http://michaeljtobler.homelinux.com/ >>
If you can't learn to do it well, learn to enjoy doing it badly.

Edward Diener wrote:

> I am a relative Linux newbie so forgive my question if it has been
> discussed many times. What are the usual Linux directory structures which
> can be shared between different distributions ? I want to set up more than
> one distribution from different vendors on my machine and I want to
> partition my hard drives so that each distribution will naturally boot
> into its own partition but also that non-system directories can be shared
> between distributions. Also can a swap file partition be shared by
> different distributions or does each distribution need its own area ? I
> will be using each distribution separately and I would rather share areas
> between distributions which can be shared rather than have redundancies
> between different systems. Pointing me to any discussion about this would
> also be helpful to me.

I've got more than 10 distros working on one PC.
The way I do it is distro gets its own partition.
Any shared data is left in a partition of its own.

Notes
-----
1. I use grub to do up the booting. I used Mepis LiveCD
distros that install grub from the LiveCD.
I just maintain one /boot/grub/menu.lst file for all
the distros that I boot up. I use QtParted to do all the work
usually the Knoppix one
http://www.frozentech.com/content/livecd.php

2. Remember you can only have 4 primary partitions on a hard disk.
Make one of those swap.
Make one those an extended partition.
Then you are left with 2 primary partitions to play with.
Inside the extended partition
you can have as many logical partitions as you want,
but with the caveat that if one logical partition's partition
data is destroyed by some accident, then further logical
partitions down the chain are lost.

3. You can install and boot up windopes as well - I normally
put that in the first partition and format it fat32.
The commands to boot windopey stuff from grub's menu.lst file is

title Windopes ExPeehee at hda1
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
chainloader +1
savedefault

You find when doing this kind of stuff windopes takes up all your
time, as it generally fscks up your hard disk no end.
So to minimise that, put GNU/Linux in second partition
and update the menu.lst file like above to boot windopes.
You can boot GNU/Linux from LiveCD to get acess to linux partitions
and install Grub after windopes wipes it.

4. Once up and running with multiple distros,
you can zip up and back up entire partitions

change to /mnt/hda1 or whatever your hard disk is..
to zip up into one file*** tar -cfzv <filename.gz> .

likewise when restoring go to the correct drive like /mnt/hda1 or whatever,
and then to unzip the files** tar -zpvf <filename.gz>

7 wrote:

> I've got more than 10 distros working on one PC.
> The way I do it is distro gets its own partition.
> Any shared data is left in a partition of its own.

Ooopps. Meant to say each distro gets its own parition.

Frank Scully wrote:
> Edward:
> Each distro has it's own directory structure.

Aren't there common directories for a given user that can be shared between
distros ? What I was trying to get at was which user common directories I
can put in a shared ext2 partition which different distributions can
recognize. I am a developer, so that I want to keep a common set of user
source files for all distros so that when I choose to access those source
files I do not have to repeat the same files in different distros and keep
them in sync.

As far as booting multiple distros, while I know that Linux has a tool to do
this, called grub I believe, I already have System Commander on my machine
which is more than adequate. I am just looking for information which will
enable me to install different distros so that I can share a common
partition which has my own developer sources and other files.

> I have many time loaded different rev levels of one distro on a hard
> drive and shared swap. It also helps if both are going to use the
> same file system.

I was under the impression that all major distros adhere to a common Linux
filesystem standard, with some extra particular directories of their own.
Naturally any system directories can't be shared, since each set has its own
rev levels, but perhaps user directories can.

> I have found that the auto detect installation can
> recognize a swap partition (on the same drive). This is not true of
> multiple drive setups. Good luck, FXS

If auto-detection can not do it, it seems like I should be able to change it
once I am booted into a distro to point to a swap partition on another
drive. Are swap partitions always shareable ? Is data left in a swap
partition when I log off from a particular distro ? If so, does that left
data affect another distro in any way when I boot it up and it is using the
same swap partition ?

>
> Edward Diener wrote:
>
>> I am a relative Linux newbie so forgive my question if it has been
>> discussed many times. What are the usual Linux directory structures
>> which can be shared between different distributions ? I want to set
>> up more than one distribution from different vendors on my machine
>> and I want to partition my hard drives so that each distribution
>> will naturally boot into its own partition but also that non-system
>> directories can be shared between distributions. Also can a swap
>> file partition be shared by different distributions or does each
>> distribution need its own area ? I will be using each distribution
>> separately and I would rather share areas between distributions
>> which can be shared rather than have redundancies between different
>> systems. Pointing me to any discussion about this would also be
>> helpful to me.

On Wed, 15 Dec 2004 20:33:40 -0500, Edward Diener wrote:


> What I was trying to get at was which user common directories I
> can put in a shared ext2 partition which different distributions can
> recognize.

Hey, window 3.1, win95, XP, NT,... have common directory names, would you
want to make them common?

>I am a developer, so that I want to keep a common set of user
> source files for all distros so that when I choose to access those source
> files I do not have to repeat the same files in different distros and keep
> them in sync.

As a developer you should know about different release levels for link
libraries, kernel/os, user applications, ....


> As far as booting multiple distros, while I know that Linux has a tool to do
> this, called grub I believe,

Or lilo, both are boot loaders.

> I already have System Commander on my machine which is more than
> adequate.

Then you better find out how to replace if if it gets wipped out
when you fail to read and understand your linux install instructions
or assume you know what you are doing on the 5'th, 6'th linux distro install.

> I am just looking for information which will
> enable me to install different distros so that I can share a common
> partition which has my own developer sources and other files.

Then create a partition called /mystuff

> I was under the impression that all major distros adhere to a common Linux
> filesystem standard, with some extra particular directories of their own.

True but the contents can be different. Trust us, just use swap.

> If auto-detection can not do it, it seems like I should be able to change it
> once I am booted into a distro to point to a swap partition on another
> drive.

I usually identify the partitions during install, saves having to do
the work later.

Bit Twister wrote:
> On Wed, 15 Dec 2004 20:33:40 -0500, Edward Diener wrote:
>
>
>> What I was trying to get at was which user common directories I
>> can put in a shared ext2 partition which different distributions can
>> recognize.
>
> Hey, window 3.1, win95, XP, NT,... have common directory names, would
> you want to make them common?

Good point.

>
>> I am a developer, so that I want to keep a common set of user
>> source files for all distros so that when I choose to access those
>> source files I do not have to repeat the same files in different
>> distros and keep them in sync.
>
> As a developer you should know about different release levels for link
> libraries, kernel/os, user applications, ....

True.

>
>
>> As far as booting multiple distros, while I know that Linux has a
>> tool to do this, called grub I believe,
>
> Or lilo, both are boot loaders.
>
>> I already have System Commander on my machine which is more than
>> adequate.
>
> Then you better find out how to replace if if it gets wipped out
> when you fail to read and understand your linux install instructions
> or assume you know what you are doing on the 5'th, 6'th linux distro
> install.

I already do. Booting from a System Commander boot diskette allows System
Commander to take over again no matter who writes their record in the mbr.
Once System Commander takes over again it immediately figures out what other
OSs are installed and where, and presents the user with an appropriate
graphical menu to choose what to boot into.. Needless to say System
Commander allows any mix of Windows, Linux, and nearly any other
micro-computer OS on the same machine. I am sure the Linux multi-booters are
good but System Commander is exceptional from my experience.

>
>> I am just looking for information which will
>> enable me to install different distros so that I can share a common
>> partition which has my own developer sources and other files.
>
> Then create a partition called /mystuff

I get the idea.

>
>> I was under the impression that all major distros adhere to a common
>> Linux filesystem standard, with some extra particular directories of
>> their own.
>
> True but the contents can be different. Trust us, just use swap.

Will do.

>
>> If auto-detection can not do it, it seems like I should be able to
>> change it once I am booted into a distro to point to a swap
>> partition on another drive.
>
> I usually identify the partitions during install, saves having to do
> the work later.

I agree but if the installation can not understand a common swap partition
on another drive, then I need to point to it after I am booted in. I am sure
there must be a way to do this as Linux is very flexible.

Thanks for your help.

>>>>> "Edward" == Edward Diener <eldiener@earthlink.net> writes:

Edward> What are the usual Linux directory structures which can be
Edward> shared between different distributions ?

/home (eliminates the needs to duplicate user data on each distro)
/tmp (I recommend using tmpfs with very big swap space)
swap partition(s)


Edward> I want to set up more than one distribution from different
Edward> vendors on my machine and I want to partition my hard
Edward> drives so that each distribution will naturally boot into
Edward> its own partition but also that non-system directories can
Edward> be shared between distributions.

So, you only need to identify the non-system directories. /home is
the most important one. What else? You won't want to share /etc,
because different distro would fight for that space. Neither /var.
/boot could be shared, if you're familiar with the boot loader. I
myself like to share /boot and use grub. But if you're not familiar
with grub/lilo, then avoid having a dedicated and shared /boot.


Edward> Also can a swap file partition be shared by different
Edward> distributions or does each distribution need its own area?

Data on swap PARTITIONS are abandoned after a reboot (unless you use
swsusp). So, there is no harm to share them among different distros.
Swap files? I'd recommend against them. Why not use swap partitions?


Edward> I will be using each distribution separately and I would
Edward> rather share areas between distributions which can be
Edward> shared rather than have redundancies between different
Edward> systems.

If you have the habit of installing self-compiled programs (i.e. not
distro-packaged software) in /opt or /usr/local, then those are also
candidates for sharing. You may then manually add symlinks from /bin
or /usr/bin of each distro to the excutables in those directories.




--
Lee Sau Dan §õ¦u´° ~{@nJX6X~}

E-mail: danlee@informatik.uni-freiburg.de
Home page: http://www.informatik.uni-freiburg.de/~danlee