+++ /dev/null
-<!doctype linuxdoc system>
-
-<!--
-The line above starts a comments section
-
-
-A changelog is useful if you don't use cvs etc.
-
-%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
-Changelog:
- 010200: Created this Template for big HOWTOs
- 070500: Continued writing, no release yet.
- 280500: Released. Added examples for diagrams
- 050600: Clarified intent, added acknowledgements and note on conventions, moved samples to the end, added table sample, added small section on style
- 190600: Updated and corrected copyright section
- 240700: Added Troubleshooting section, cleaned up Getting Help and Bits and Pieces, fixed typo
-
-The line below ends the comments section.
- -->
-
-
-<article>
-
-
-<title>HOWTO-template for big HOWTOs <!-- insert your title here -->
-<author>Stein Gjoen, <tt/sgjoen@nyx.net/ <!-- insert your name here -->
-<date>v0.05, 24 July 2000 <!-- always have a version number and a date -->
-<abstract> <!-- the abstract: a short and precise description -->
-<nidx>template</nidx> <!-- add indexing keywords as you go along -->
- <!-- nidx means the indexed word is not in output of main text, only in the index -->
-This is a fully working template for big HOWTOs. The source contains
-fully described slots to make a convenient framework for you to fill in
-for making your own HOWTO, suggesting some names, conventions and contents
-for the chapters.
-</abstract>
-
-
-
-<!-- Table of contents -->
-<toc>
-
-<!-- Begin the document -->
-
-
-<sect>Introduction
-
-<p>
-<nidx>template!introduction</nidx> <!-- here introduction is a sub entry of template, exclamationamrk is separator -->
-<em>My comments to the reader is in this style (emphasized)</em>.
-Example lines are in plain roman style.
-<em>Note that extra comments and advice is found in comments
-within the SGML source.</em> <!-- such as this comment -->
-
-For various reasons this brand new release is codenamed
-the <bf/release/ release.
-
-New code names will appear as per industry standard guidelines
-to emphasize the state-of-the-art-ness of this document.
-
-<p>
-This document was written when I read a feedback asking for a
-template to fill in to make new HOWTOs. This template is made
-by extracting the skeletal structure of the Multi Disk HOWTO
-which is a rather large HOWTO.
-
-<em>This Template is a suggestion and a starting point, a check list
-and examples for authors; it is not a requirement to be followed
-slavishly. Over time HOWTOs might also outgrow any template since
-in the end the goal is to inform readers efficiently.</em>
-
-Stating the background is a simple way to getting started
-writing the intro.
-
-First of all we need a bit of legalese. Recent development shows it is
-quite important.
-
-<sect1>Copyright
-<p>
-<em>Copyright is a source of much and continuous debate on the
-LDP mailing list. For more in depth information please consult
-the Manifesto at the </em>
-<url url="http://www.LinuxDoc.org/"
- name="LinuxDoc">
-site.
-<em>
-The purpose of having a license is to allow appropriate distribution.
-You can use any license that meets the Manifesto.
-What follows is a boilerplate licence.
-</em>
-
-<!--
-This HOWTO is copyrighted 2000 Stein Gjoen. <em>Replace with your name
-when you use this skeleton for a new HOWTO</em>
-
-Unless otherwise stated, Linux HOWTO documents are copyrighted by their
-respective authors. Linux HOWTO documents may be reproduced and distributed
-in whole or in part, in any medium physical or electronic, as long as
-this copyright notice is retained on all copies. Commercial redistribution
-is allowed and encouraged; however, the author would like to be notified of
-any such distributions.
-
-All translations, derivative works, or aggregate works incorporating
-any Linux HOWTO documents must be covered under this copyright notice.
-That is, you may not produce a derivative work from a HOWTO and impose
-additional restrictions on its distribution. Exceptions to these rules
-may be granted under certain conditions; please contact the Linux HOWTO
-coordinator at the address given below.
-
-In short, we wish to promote dissemination of this information through as
-many channels as possible. However, we do wish to retain copyright on the
-HOWTO documents, and would like to be notified of any plans to redistribute
-the HOWTOs.
-
-If you have questions, please contact
-at linux-howto@metalab.unc.edu via email.
-
--->
-
-
-Copyright (c) 2000 by John Doe (change to your name)
-<P>
-Please freely copy and distribute (sell or give away) this document in
-any format. It's requested that corrections and/or comments be fowarded
-to the document maintainer. You may create a derivative work and distribute
-it provided that you:
-
-<itemize>
-<item>
-Send your derivative work (in the most suitable format such as
-sgml) to the LDP (Linux Documentation Project) or the like for posting
-on the Internet. If not the LDP, then let the LDP know where it is
-available.
-<item>
-License the derivative work with this same license or use GPL.
-Include a copyright notice and at least a pointer to the license used.
-<item>
-Give due credit to previous authors and major contributors.
-</itemize>
-
- <P>
-If you're considering making a derived work other than a translation,
-it's requested that you discuss your plans with the current maintainer.
-
-
-
-<sect1>Disclaimer
-<p>
-
-Use the information in this document at your own risk. I disavow any
-potential liability for the contents of this document. Use of the
-concepts, examples, and/or other content of this document is entirely
-at your own risk.
-
-All copyrights are owned by their owners, unless specifically noted
-otherwise. Use of a term in this document should not be regarded as
-affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark.
-
-Naming of particular products or brands should not be seen as endorsements.
-
-You are strongly recommended to take a backup of your system before
-major installation and backups at regular intervals.
-
-
-<sect1>News
-<p>
-<nidx>(your index root)!news on</nidx>
-<em>This is where you make a summary of what it news. When a HOWTO exceeds
-20 pages it takes more than a casual read to find the updates. This is
-where you help your readers with that, alerting them to specific and
-important news.</em>
-
-This is the second release featuring more samples and an improved structure.
-<!-- This is the first release. No news yet. -->
-<!-- Note that you might wish to keep old news commented out for reference
-and perhaps state news as latest and next to latest update. -->
-
-<em>Tell people where the document home page is so the very newest
-release could be found in case of problems with the main
-<url url="http://www.linuxdoc.org/"
- name="Linux Documentation Project">
-homepage.
-</em>
-
-The latest version number of this document can be gleaned from my
-plan entry if you <!-- do "finger sgjoen@nox.nyx.net" -->
-<url url="http://www.cs.indiana.edu/finger/nox.nyx.net/sgjoen"
- name="finger"> my Nyx account.
-
-<em>If you have the capacity it would be nice to make the HOWTO
-available in a number of formats.</em>
-
-Also, the latest version of the Template will be available on
-my web space on Nyx in a number of formats:
-<itemize>
-<item>
-<url url="http://www.nyx.net/˜sgjoen/template.html"
- name="HTML">.
-
-<item>
-<url url="http://www.nyx.net/˜sgjoen/template.txt"
- name="plain ASCII text">.
-
-<!-- consider PostScript and perhaps also PDF formates
-<item>
-<url url="http://www.nyx.net/˜sgjoen/disk-US.ps.gz"
- name="compressed postscript US letter format">.
-
-<item>
-<url url="http://www.nyx.net/˜sgjoen/disk-A4.ps.gz"
- name="compressed postscript European A4 format">.
--->
-<item>
-<url url="http://www.nyx.net/˜sgjoen/template.sgml"
- name="SGML source">.
-</itemize>
-
-<em>Note that paper sizes vary in the world, A4 and US letter differ
-significantly.</em>
-
-<sect1>Credits
-<p>
-<em>It is always nice to acknowledge people who help you with inputs, it
-is also regarded by many as important in the Linux world new economy</em>
-
-In this version I have the pleasure of acknowledging
-
-<tscreen><verb>
-corff (at) ZEDAT.FU-Berlin.DE
-dwood (at) plugged.net.au
-lcl (at) spiretech.com
-kgh12351 (at) nifty.ne.jp
-dave (at) lafn.org
-name (at) site.org
-</verb></tscreen>
-
-<em>Scramble the addresses so email harvesters cannot get
-addresses from your HOWTO and then spam people. That has
-happened in the past.</em>
-
-
-<sect1>Translations
-<p>
-Not everyone speaks English, pointers to translations are nice.
-Also your translators tend to give very important inputs.
-<itemize>
-<item><url url="http://linuxdoc.org/"
- name="German Translation"> by <tt/someone (at) somewhere.de/
-
-<item><url url="http://www.swe-doc.linux.nu"
- name="Swedish Translation "> by <tt/someone (at) somewhere.se/
-
-<item><url url="http://linuxdoc.org/"
- name="French Translation"> by <tt/someone (at) somewhere.fr/
-
-<item><url url="http://linuxdoc.org/"
- name="Chinese Translation"> by <tt/someone (at) somewhere.cn/
-
-<item><url url="http://linuxdoc.org/"
- name="Italian Translation"> by <tt/someone (at) somewhere.it/
-</itemize>
-
-
-
-
-Also Somecompany is acknowledged for sending me documentation
-on their gizmos as well as permission to quote from the material.
-These quotes have been approved before appearing here and will
-be clearly labelled.
-
-Any comments or suggestions can be mailed to my mail address on Nyx:
-<htmlurl url="mailto:sgjoen@nyx.net/"
- name="sgjoen@nyx.net">.
-
-
-<p>
-
-
-<!--
-%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
- -->
-
-
-<sect>Structure
-<p>
-<em>A quick overview on how all parts fit together in the structure.
-Here I use an example from my Multi Disk HOWTO.</em>
-
-As this type of document is supposed to be as much for learning
-as a technical reference document I have rearranged the structure
-to this end. For the designer of a system it is more useful to
-have the information presented in terms of the goals of this exercise
-than from the point of view of the logical layer structure of the
-devices themselves. Nevertheless this document would not be complete
-without such a layer structure the computer field is so full of, so
-I will include it here as an introduction to how it works.
-
-<sect1>Logical structure
-<p>
-<nidx>disk!structure, I/O subsystem</nidx>
-This is based on how each layer access each other, traditionally
-with the application on top and the physical layer on the bottom.
-It is quite useful to show the interrelationship between each of
-the layers used in controlling drives.
-<tscreen><verb>
- ___________________________________________________________
- |__ File structure ( /usr /tmp etc) __|
- |__ File system (ext2fs, vfat etc) __|
- |__ Volume management (AFS) __|
- |__ RAID, concatenation (md) __|
- |__ Device driver (SCSI, IDE etc) __|
- |__ Controller (chip, card) __|
- |__ Connection (cable, network) __|
- |__ Drive (magnetic, optical etc) __|
- -----------------------------------------------------------
-
-</verb></tscreen>
-
-In the above diagram both volume management and RAID and concatenation
-are optional layers. The 3 lower layers are in hardware.
-All parts are discussed at length later on in this document.
-
-<sect1>Document structure
-<p>
-Most users start out with a given set of hardware and some plans on
-what they wish to achieve and how big the system should be. This is
-the point of view I will adopt in this document in presenting the
-material, starting out with hardware, continuing with design constraints
-before detailing the design strategy that I have found to work well.
-I have used this both for my own personal computer at home, a multi
-purpose server at work and found it worked quite well. In addition my
-Japanese co-worker in this project have applied the same strategy on
-a server in an academic setting with similar success.
-
-Finally at the end I have detailed some configuration tables for use
-in your own design. If you have any comments regarding this or notes
-from your own design work I would like to hear from you so this
-document can be upgraded.
-
-<sect1>Reading plan
-<p>
-<em>As you go beyond 50 pages or so there will be a lot of text that
-experts and even the experienced do not need to read. Keeping in mind
-that we wish to care for all kinds of people in the Linux world we
-might have to make a reading plan. Again example follows from my
-HOWTO.</em>
-
-Although not the biggest HOWTO it is nevertheless rather big already
-and I have been requested to make a reading plan to make it possible
-to cut down on the volume
-
-<descrip>
-<tag/Expert/ (aka the elite). If you are familiar with Linux as well
-as disk drive technologies you will find most of what you need in the
-appendices. Additionally you are recommended to read the FAQ and the
-<ref id="bits-n-pieces" name="Bits'n'pieces">
-chapter.
-
-<tag/Experienced/ (aka Competent). If you are familiar with computers
-in general you can go straight to the chapters on
-<ref id="technologies" name="technologies">
-and continue from there on.
-
-<tag/Newbie/ (mostly harmless). You just have to read the whole thing.
-Sorry. In addition you are also recommended to read all the other disk
-related HOWTOs.
-</descrip>
-
-
-<sect>Technologies <label id="technologies">
-<p>
-<nidx>(your index root)!technologies</nidx>
-<em>Introduction of technology for the newbie with a few
-references to detailled works. Remember that not everyone
-has Internet access so you have to explain in sufficient
-details so even the newbie can get by.</em>
-
-
-<sect>Implementation
-<p>
-<nidx>(your index root)!implementation</nidx>
-<em>Now your readers should have a sufficient knowledge of what
-this is about and now we come to the hands on of implementing
-your clever scheme.</em>
-
-
-<sect>Maintenance
-<p>
-<nidx>(your index root)!maintenance</nidx>
-<em>Few systems and designs are maintenance free, here you explain
-how to keep the system running.</em>
-
-
-<sect>Advanced Issues
-<p>
-<nidx>(your index root)!advanced topics</nidx>
-<em>You can get most things up and running in a quick and dirty
-fashion, useful for testing and getting used to how things work.
-For more serious use you would need to be a little more advanced.
-This is the place to explain it all, if applicable.</em>
-
-
-<sect>Troubleshooting <label id="troubleshooting">
-<p>
-<nidx>(your index root)!troubleshooting</nidx>
-<em>Many problems can be solved by a simple structured approach,
-analysing the symptoms, finding the cause and determining the
-solution. The following is an exerpts from the Multi Disk HOWTO.</em>
-
-<sect1>During Installation
-
-<sect2>Locating Disks
-<p>
-<descrip>
-<tag/Symptoms/Cannot find disk
-<tag/Problem/How to find what drive letter corresponds to what disk/partition
-<tag/Solution/Remember Linux does not use drive letters but device names. More
-information can be found in section "Drive names".
-</descrip>
-<p>
-<descrip>
-<tag/Symptoms/Cannot partition disk
-<tag/Problem/Most likely wrong input to the command line for <tt/fdisk/ or similar tool.
-<tag/Solution/Remember to use <tt>/dev/hda</tt> rather than just <tt>hda</tt>. Also
-do not use numbers behind <tt>hda</tt>, those indicate partitions.
-</descrip>
-
-
-<sect2>Formatting
-<p>
-<descrip>
-<tag/Symptoms/Cannot format disk.
-<tag/Problem/Strictly speaking you format partitions not disks.
-<tag/Solution/Make sure you add the partition number after the device name
-of the disk, for instance <tt>/dev/hda1</tt> to the command line.
-</descrip>
-
-
-<sect>Further Information
-<p>
-<nidx>(your index root)!information resources</nidx>
-<em>A HOWTO cannot describe everything, some times the user
-has to venture out on th enet to get more information or just
-updates. Here is the place to tell where and how. Again examples
-from my HOWTO, replace as needed.</em>
-There is wealth of information one should go through when setting up a
-major system, for instance for a news or general Internet service provider.
-The FAQs in the following groups are useful:
-
-<sect1>News groups
-<p>
-<nidx>disk!information resources!news groups</nidx>
-Some of the most interesting news groups are:
-<itemize>
-<item><url url="news:comp.arch.storage" name="Storage">.
-<item><url url="news:comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage" name="PC storage">.
-<item><url url="news:alt.filesystems.afs" name="AFS">.
-<item><url url="news:comp.periphs.scsi" name="SCSI">.
-<item><url url="news:comp.os.linux.setup" name="Linux setup">.
-</itemize>
-
-Most newsgroups have their own FAQ that are designed to answer most of your
-questions, as the name Frequently Asked Questions indicate. Fresh versions
-should be posted regularly to the relevant newsgroups. If you cannot find it
-in your news spool you could go directly to the
-<url url="ftp://rtfm.mit.edu"
- name="FAQ main archive FTP site">. The WWW versions can be browsed at
-<url url="http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/FAQ-List.html"
- name="FAQ main archive WWW site">.
-
-Some FAQs have their own home site, of particular interest here are
-<itemize>
-<item><url url="http://www.paranoia.com/˜filipg/HTML/LINK/F_SCSI.html"
- name="SCSI FAQ"> and
-<item><url url="http://alumni.caltech.edu/˜rdv/comp_arch_storage/FAQ-1.html"
- name="comp.arch.storage FAQ">.
-</itemize>
-
-
-<sect1>Mailing Lists
-<p>
-<nidx>disk!information resources!mailing lists</nidx>
-These are low noise channels mainly for developers. Think
-twice before asking questions there as noise delays the development.
-Some relevant lists are <tt/linux-raid/, <tt/linux-scsi/ and <tt/linux-ext2fs/.
-Many of the most useful mailing lists run on the <tt>vger.rutgers.edu</tt> server
-but this is notoriously overloaded, so try to find a mirror. There are some lists mirrored at
-<url url="http://www.redhat.com"
- name="The Redhat Home Page">.
-Many lists are also accessible at
-<url url="http://www.linuxhq.com/lnxlists"
- name="linuxhq">,
-and the rest of the web site is a gold mine of useful information.
-
-If you want to find out more about the lists available you can send a message
-with the line <tt/lists/ to the list server at vger.rutgers.edu (
-<htmlurl url="mailto:majordomo@vger.rutgers.edu"
- name="majordomo@vger.rutgers.edu">).
-If you need help on how to use the mail server just send the line <tt/help/
-to the same address.
-Due to the popularity of this server it is likely it takes a bit to time before
-you get a reply or even get messages after you send a <tt/subscribe/ command.
-
-There is also a number of other majordomo list servers that can be of interest
-such as the EATA driver list (
-<htmlurl url="mailto:linux-eata@mail.uni-mainz.de"
- name="linux-eata@mail.uni-mainz.de">)
-and the Intelligent IO list
-<htmlurl url="mailto:linux-i2o@dpt.com"
- name="linux-i2o@dpt.com">.
-
-Mailing lists are in a state of flux but you can find links to a number of
-interesting lists from the
-<url url="http://metalab.unc.edu/LDP/"
- name="Linux Documentation Homepage">.
-
-
-<sect1>HOWTO
-<p>
-<nidx>disk!information resources!HOWTOs</nidx>
-These are intended as the primary starting points to
-get the background information as well as show you how to solve
-a specific problem.
-Some relevant HOWTOs are <tt/Bootdisk/, <tt/Installation/, <tt/SCSI/ and <tt/UMSDOS/.
-The main site for these is the
-<url url="http://metalab.unc.edu/LDP/"
- name="LDP archive">
-at Metalab (formerly known as Sunsite).
-
-There is a a new HOWTO out that deals with setting up a
-DPT RAID system, check out the
-<url url="http://www.ram.org/computing/linux/dpt_raid.html"
- name="DPT RAID HOWTO homepage">.
-
-
-
-<sect1>Mini-HOWTO
-<p>
-<nidx>disk!information resources!mini-HOWTOs</nidx>
-These are the smaller free text relatives to the HOWTOs.
-Some relevant mini-HOWTOs are
-<tt/Backup-With-MSDOS/, <tt/Diskless/, <tt/LILO/, <tt/Large Disk/,
-<tt/Linux+DOS+Win95+OS2/, <tt/Linux+OS2+DOS/, <tt/Linux+Win95/,
-<tt/NFS-Root/, <tt/Win95+Win+Linux/, <tt/ZIP Drive/ .
-You can find these at the same place as the HOWTOs, usually in a sub directory
-called <tt/mini/. Note that these are scheduled to be converted into SGML and
-become proper HOWTOs in the near future.
-
-The old <tt/Linux Large IDE mini-HOWTO/ is no longer valid, instead read
-<tt>/usr/src/linux/drivers/block/README.ide</tt> or
-<tt>/usr/src/linux/Documentation/ide.txt</tt>.
-
-<sect1>Local Resources
-<p>
-<nidx>disk!information resources!local</nidx>
-In most distributions of Linux there is a document directory installed,
-have a look in the
-<htmlurl url="file:///usr/doc"
- name="/usr/doc"> directory.
-where most packages store their main documentation and README files etc.
-Also you will here find the HOWTO archive (
-<htmlurl url="file:///usr/doc/HOWTO"
- name="/usr/doc/HOWTO">)
-of ready formatted HOWTOs
-and also the mini-HOWTO archive (
-<url url="file:///usr/doc/HOWTO/mini"
- name="/usr/doc/HOWTO/mini">)
-of plain text documents.
-
-Many of the configuration files mentioned earlier can be found in the
-<htmlurl url="file:///etc"
- name="/etc">
-directory. In particular you will want to work with the
-<htmlurl url="file:///etc/fstab"
- name="/etc/fstab">
-file that sets up the mounting of partitions
-and possibly also
-<htmlurl url="file:///etc/mdtab"
- name="/etc/mdtab">
-file that is used for the <tt/md/ system to set up RAID.
-
-The kernel source in
-<url url="file:///usr/src/linux"
- name="/usr/src/linux">
-is, of course, the ultimate documentation. In other
-words, <em>use the source, Luke</em>.
-It should also be pointed out that the kernel comes not only with
-source code which is even commented (well, partially at least)
-but also an informative
-<url url="file:///usr/src/linux/Documentation"
- name="documentation directory">.
-If you are about to ask any questions about the kernel you should
-read this first, it will save you and many others a lot of time
-and possibly embarrassment.
-
-Also have a look in your system log file (
-<htmlurl url="file:///var/log/messages"
- name="/var/log/messages">)
-to see what is going on and in particular how the booting went if
-too much scrolled off your screen. Using <tt>tail -f /var/log/messages</tt>
-in a separate window or screen will give you a continuous update of what is
-going on in your system.
-
-You can also take advantage of the
-<htmlurl url="file:///proc"
- name="/proc">
-file system that is a window into the inner workings of your system.
-Use <tt/cat/ rather than <tt/more/ to view the files as they are
-reported as being zero length. Reports are that <tt/less/ works well here.
-
-
-<sect1>Web Pages
-<p>
-<nidx>disk!information resources!WWW</nidx>
-<nidx>disk!information resources!web pages</nidx>
-There is a huge number of informative web pages out there and by their very
-nature they change quickly so don't be too surprised if these links become
-quickly outdated.
-
-A good starting point is of course the
-<url url="http://www.linuxdoc.org/"
- name="Linux Documentation Project"> home page,
-an information central for documentation, project pages and much, much more.
-
-Please let me know if you have any other leads that can be of interest.
-
-
-<sect>Getting Help
-<p>
-<nidx>(your index root)!assistance, obtaining</nidx>
-<em>Your reader might still end up in a situation where extra help is
-needed from someone else, perhaps on the net. In order to get fast and
-efficient help it is best first to get some details on your system.
-What details matter depends on type of problem. For disk problems you
-need to know the disk controllers etc, for networking problems you
-have to know what ethernet card is used and version of drivers etc.
-Here is the place to suggest what details to have ready when asking
-for help.</em>
-
-In the end you might find yourself unable to solve your problems and need
-help from someone else. The most efficient way is either to ask someone
-local or in your nearest Linux user group, search the web for the nearest
-one.
-
-Another possibility is to ask on Usenet News in one of the many, many
-newsgroups available. The problem is that these have such a high
-volume and noise (called low signal-to-noise ratio) that your question
-can easily fall through unanswered.
-
-No matter where you ask it is important to ask well or you will not be
-taken seriously. Saying just <it/my disk does not work/ is not going
-to help you and instead the noise level is increased even further and if
-you are lucky someone will ask you to clarify.
-
-Instead describe your problems in some detail that
-will enable people to help you. The problem could lie somewhere you did
-not expect. Therefore you are advised to list up the following information
-on your system:
-
-<descrip>
-<tag/Hardware/
-<itemize>
-<item>Processor
-<item>DMA
-<item>IRQ
-<item>Chip set (LX, BX etc)
-<item>Bus (ISA, VESA, PCI etc)
-<item>Expansion cards used (Disk controllers, video, IO etc)
-</itemize>
-
-<tag/Software/
-<itemize>
-<item>BIOS (On motherboard and possibly SCSI host adapters)
-<item>LILO, if used
-<item>Linux kernel version as well as possible modifications and patches
-<item>Kernel parameters, if any
-<item>Software that shows the error (with version number or date)
-</itemize>
-
-<tag/Peripherals/
-<itemize>
-<item>Type of disk drives with manufacturer name, version and type
-<item>Other relevant peripherals connected to the same busses
-</itemize>
-
-</descrip>
-
-Remember that booting text is logged to <tt>/var/log/messages</tt> which can
-answer most of the questions above. Obviously if the drives fail you might not
-be able to get the log saved to disk but you can at least scroll back up the
-screen using the <tt/SHIFT/ and <tt/PAGE UP/ keys. It may also be useful to
-include part of this in your request for help but do not go overboard, keep
-it <em/brief/ as a complete log file dumped to Usenet News is more than a
-little annoying.
-
-
-<sect>Concluding Remarks
-<p>
-<nidx>(your index root)!conclusion</nidx>
-<em>Just summing up... Also a place for general recommendations.</em>
-
-
-<sect>Questions and Answers
-<p>
-<nidx>(your index root)!FAQ</nidx>
-<nidx>(your index root)!frequently asked questions</nidx>
-<em>Check the newsgroups and try to determine some frequent
-problems and cover them here. Again an example from my HOWTO.</em>
-
-This is just a collection of what I believe are the most common
-questions people might have. Give me more feedback and I will
-turn this section into a proper FAQ.
-
-<itemize>
-
-<item>Q:How many physical disk drives (spindles) does a Linux system need?
-<p>
-A: Linux can run just fine on one drive (spindle). Having enough
-RAM (around 32 MB, and up to 64 MB) to support swapping is a
-better price/performance choice than getting a second disk.
-(E)IDE disk is usually cheaper (but a little slower) than SCSI.
-
-<item>Q: Are there any disadvantages in this scheme?
-<p>
-A: There is only a minor snag: if even a single partition overflows
-the system might stop working properly. The severity depends of course
-on what partition is affected. Still this is not hard to monitor, the
-command <tt/df/ gives you a good overview of the situation. Also check
-the swap partition(s) using <tt/free/ to make sure you are not about
-to run out of virtual memory.
-
-<item>Q: OK, so should I split the system into as many partitions
-as possible for a single drive?
-<p>
-A: No, there are several disadvantages to that. First of all maintenance
-becomes needlessly complex and you gain very little in this. In fact if your
-partitions are too big you will seek across larger areas than needed.
-This is a balance and dependent on the number of physical drives you have.
-
-</itemize>
-<em>(rest deleted.)</em>
-
-<sect>Bits and Pieces <label id="bits-n-pieces">
-<p>
-<nidx>disk!miscellaneous</nidx>
-<em>This is basically a section where I stuff all the bits I have not yet
-decided where should go, yet that I feel is worth knowing about. It is
-a kind of transient area.</em>
-
-<sect>Examples
-<p>
-<nidx>(your index root)!examples</nidx>
-<em>Example designs and sample configuration files and other
-relevant details is always handy. Keep large samples at the
-end to avoid breaking the flow of the HOWTO reading. Small
-samples are useful within the main body of the HOWTO.</em>
-
-
-<sect>Samples <label id="samples">
-<p>
-<em>This section gives some simple SGML examples you could copy.
-Read the source to see how it was done.</em>
-
-<!-- you can also have comments in the SGML source -->
-
-<sect1>Lists
-<p>
-<em>Lists appears many times, in a number of formats:</em>
-<p>
-Unlisted bullets:
-<p>
-<itemize>
-<item>Apples
-<item>Oranges
-<item>Bananas
-</itemize>
-<p>
-Tagged lists
-<p>
-<descrip>
-<tag/Fruits/ such as apples, oranges, and more.
-<tag/Nuts/ Don't eat too many; you are what you eat.
-<tag/Vegetables/ Potatos are spelled with care.
-</descrip>
-
-
-<sect1>Links
-<p>
-<em>Links can be used within your documents
-to refer to different sections and chapters or
-to refer to documents external to yours.</em>
-<p>
-Internal links
-<p>
-Click on
-<ref id="samples" name="this">
-link to jump to the top of this chapter. Note the
-anchor at the section tag.
-
-<p>
-External links
-<p>
-Click on
-<url url="http://www.LinuxDoc.org/"
- name="this">
-link to jump to the LDP site.
-Note you can use http, ftp, news and other protocols
-in the locator if required.
-Note that the character ˜ has to be escaped, see the source
-for details.
-<!-- ˜ is the way of writing the tilde character -->
-
-<sect1>Images
-<p>
-<em>Avoid diagrams if possible as this cannot be rendered in the
-ascii outputs which are still needed by many around the world.</em>
-
-<figure loc="tbp">
-<eps file="somegraphics.eps">
-<img src="somegraphics.jpg">
-<caption>Graphics Test Image</caption>
-</figure>
-
-<!-- <img file="/usr/src/linux/logo.gif"> -->
-
-
-<sect>Table Samples <label id="tblsamples">
-<p>
-<em>This section gives an example of writing a table.</em>
-
-<table loc=p>
-<tabular ca="rll">
-Line No.<colsep>Country <colsep>Capital <rowsep><hline>
-1 <colsep>Norway <colsep>Oslo <rowsep>
-2 <colsep>Japan <colsep>Tokyo <rowsep>
-3 <colsep>Finland <colsep>Helsinki <rowsep>
-</tabular>
-<caption>Some capitals</caption>
-</table>
-
-
-<sect>Notes on Style <label id="style">
-<p>
-<em>
-Not much here yet but I would like to suggest a few points.
-</em>
-
-
-<descrip>
-<tag/Tags/ Try to use tags extensively
-<tag/Types/ Try using functional tags such as em rather than it.
-<tag/Files/ Try using functional links to files such as
-<tt><htmlurl url="file:///usr/doc" name="/usr/doc"></tt>
-rather than just /usr/doc.
-<tag/Commands/ Try to refer to man pages including section number
-<tt>df (1)</tt> rather than just df.
-</descrip>
-
-
-</article>
projects / fspm_howto / blobdiff