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Partitioning a Linux Dedicated Server with Two Hard Drives

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Last Updated: November 10, 2008 9:58 AM

If your Linux server is configured with two hard disks, you will need to prepare the secondary hard disk before you can use it. Before you can use a secondary hard disk, you need to:

  • Partition the secondary hard disk.
  • Create a file system for the new partition.
  • Mount the partition to make it accessible.

These instructions are specific to servers setup after July 15, 2005, for servers prior to this, the path in the following steps will need to be modified slightly. The 'df' command will show you how the current filesystem is mounted, normally /dev/hdc was used for the new partition. For more advanced partitioning and mounting options, please see the vendor provided documentation for your Operating System.

NOTE: This article assumes you are working with a new, un-formatted disk. If this procedure is followed on a disk that contains data, the data will be destroyed.

To Create a Hard Disk Partition

  1. Log in to your dedicated server as "root."
  2. Type fdisk /dev/sdb, and then press Enter.

    NOTE: If your server still has the IDE drive and no SATA support and you reprovision your server, SATA support will be enabled.

  3. Type n to create a new partition.
  4. For extended or Primary (1-4), type p.
  5. Accept the defaults for the partition size.
  6. Accept the default for the first cylinder.
  7. Accept the default for last cylinder.
  8. Type w and press Enter to write partition information.

To Create a File System

  1. Type mkfs -t ext3 /dev/sdb1 and press Enter. It will take a few minutes to create the new file system on your secondary hard drive.

To Mount the File System

  1. Type cd /sbin.
  2. Type mkdir /mnt/disk2.
  3. Type chmod 777 /mnt/disk2.
  4. Type mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt/disk2, and then press Enter.
  5. To ensure that your dedicated server mounts the new file system after each reboot, you need to add the command to mount the new file system to /etc/mtab.
  6. Type /dev/sdb1 /mnt/disk2 ext3 defaults 0 0. Press Enter.