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If you have a SCSI disk the device name will be /dev/sda
and if you have an IDE disk it will be /dev/hda. If you're looking
for high performance and stability, a SCSI disk is highly recommended.
Linux refers to disk partitions using a combination of letters and numbers. It uses a naming scheme that
is more flexible and conveys more information than the approach used by other operating systems.
Here is a summary:
Disk naming convention
- First Two Letters
The first two letters of the partition name indicate the type of device on which the
partition resides. You'll normally see either hd (for IDE
disks), or sd (for SCSI disks).
- The Next Letter
This letter indicates which device the partition is on. For example: /dev/hda
(the first IDE hard disk) and /dev/hdb (the second
IDE disk).
Swap partitions are used to support virtual memory. If your computer has 16 MB of RAM or less, you must create
a swap partition. Even if you have more memory, a swap partition is still recommended. The minimum size of your
swap partition should be equal to your computer's RAM or 16 MB (whichever is larger). The
largest useable swap partition is roughly 1 GB, since 2.2 kernel, 1 GB swap file are supported so making a
swap partition larger than that will result in wasted space. Note, however, that you can create and use more than
one swap partition although this is usually only necessary for very large server installations.
Try to put your swap partitions near the beginning of your drive. The beginning of the drive is physically
located on the outer portion of the cylinder, so the read/write head can cover much more ground per revolution.
