Red Hat ENTERPRISE LINUX 3 - INTRODUCTION TO SYSTEM ADMINISTRATION Administration Manual page 101

Chapter 5. Managing Storage
5.7.4.1.2. Partitioning
Once the disk drive has been installed, it is time to create one or more partitions to make the space
available to your operating system. Although the tools vary depending on the operating system, the
basic steps are the same:
1. Select the new disk drive
2. View the disk drive's current partition table, to ensure that the disk drive to be partitioned is, in
fact, the correct one
3. Delete any unwanted partitions that may already be present on the new disk drive
4. Create the new partition(s), being sure to specify the desired size and partition type
5. Save your changes and exit the partitioning program
Warning
When partitioning a new disk drive, it is vital that you are sure the disk drive you are about to partition
is the correct one. Otherwise, you may inadvertently partition a disk drive that is already in use,
resulting in lost data.
Also make sure you have decided on the best partition size. Always give this matter serious thought,
because changing it later is much more difficult than taking a bit of time now to think things through.
5.7.4.1.3. Formatting the Partition(s)
At this point, the new disk drive has one or more partitions that have been created. However, before
the space contained within those partitions can be used, the partitions must first be formatted. By
formatting, you are selecting a specific file system to be used within each partition. As such, this is a
pivotal time in the life of this disk drive; the choices you make now cannot be changed later without
going through a great deal of work.
The actual process of formatting is done by running a utility program; the steps involved in this
vary according to the operating system. Once formatting is complete, the disk drive is now properly
configured for use.
Before continuing, it is always best to double-check your work by accessing the partition(s) and
making sure everything is in order.
5.7.4.1.4. Updating System Configuration
If your operating system requires any configuration changes to use the new storage you have added,
now is the time to make the necessary changes.
At this point you can be relatively confident that the operating system is configured properly to auto-
matically make the new storage accessible every time the system boots (although if you can afford a
quick reboot, it would not hurt to do so — just to be sure).
The next section explores one of the most commonly-forgotten steps in the process of adding new
storage.
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