Disk Partitioning Concepts

Disk partitioning on a cluster is essentially no different than partitioning on any stand-alone computer, with a few exceptions.

On a stand-alone computer or server, the disk drive's file system(s) divide the storage available on the disk into different sections that are configured in ways and sizes to meet your particular needs. Each partition is a segment that can be accessed independently, like a separate disk drive. The partitions are configured and determined by the partition table contained on each disk.

Each partition table entry contains information about the locations on the disk where the partition starts and ends, the state of the partition (active or not), and the partition's type. Many partition types exist, such as Linux native, AIX, DOS, etc.. The cluster administrator can determine the appropriate partition types for his/her own system.

Disk partitioning on a cluster is very much determined by the cluster system hardware and the requirements of the application(s) that will be running on the cluster, for instance:

• Some applications are very process intensive but not very data intensive. In such instances, the cluster may best utilize a RAM disk in the default partitioning scheme. The speed of the RAM will provide better performance, and not having a hard drive will provide some cost savings.

• Some applications are very data intensive but not very process intensive. In these cases, a hard disk is either required (given the size of the data set the application is working with) and/or is a very inexpensive solution over purchasing an equivalent amount of memory.

The hard drive partitioning scheme is very dependent on the application needs, the other tools that will interface with the data, and the preferences of the end-user.