LINUX STORAGE & SYSTEMS ENGINEERING

Linux partitioning, storage & filesystem architecture

Technical guides and reference manuals for disk partitioning, GUID Partition Tables (GPT), Linux filesystems (Ext4, Btrfs, XFS), memory-backed swap architectures, and persistent block device management.

Core documentation

Linux Partition HOWTO (Overview)

Comprehensive reference for planning, sizing, and configuring storage layouts across NVMe, SSD, and hard drives. Covers UEFI ESP, subvolumes, and recovery workflows.

Read Guide →

Partition Types & GPT GUIDs

Detailed reference of 128-bit GPT Type GUIDs, the Discoverable Partitions Specification (DPS), and legacy MBR type codes.

View Partition Types →

Partition Requirements & Sizing

Storage architecture requirements for servers and workstations, EFI System Partition sizing, directory isolation, and Btrfs subvolume strategies.

View Sizing Guide →

Partitioning with fdisk & gdisk

Step-by-step terminal tutorial for partitioning NVMe drives, ensuring 1MiB sector alignment, and creating UEFI-bootable drive layouts.

Follow Tutorial →

Setting Up Swap Space & zram

How to deploy in-memory compressed swap with systemd-zram-generator (zstd), configure Btrfs NOCOW swapfiles, and set swap priority.

Configure Swap →

Filesystem Labels & UUIDs

Configure persistent mounting with UUID, PARTUUID, and volume labels in /etc/fstab across Ext4, XFS, and Btrfs.

Manage Device Labels →

RAM Disks, initramfs & tmpfs

Memory-backed storage in Linux: configuring tmpfs mounts, dracut initramfs generation, and Unified Kernel Images (UKI).

Explore RAM Disks →

Changing User UIDs on Linux & macOS

Procedures for updating numeric UIDs and GIDs for NFS and directory integration using usermod, groupmod, find, and macOS dscl.

Read Migration Guide →

Storage architecture reference

Component	Standard Implementation	Key characteristics
Partition Table	GUID Partition Table (GPT)	128+ primary partitions, 64-bit LBA addressing, backup header at end of disk with CRC32 verification.
Device Identification	`UUID=` and `PARTUUID=`	Deterministic block device mounting across bus changes, controller reordering, and hotplug events.
Boot Firmware	UEFI + systemd-boot / GRUB 2	Dedicated VFAT EFI System Partition (ESP), Unified Kernel Images (UKI), and Secure Boot support.
Swap Management	`zram` (zstd) + swapfile	High-throughput compressed memory swap with optional secondary file-backed storage on disk.
Temporary Storage	`tmpfs` in RAM	Dynamically allocated memory filesystem for `/tmp` and `/run` with automatic clearing on reboot.