What It Is and Why You Should Make Home Pasties
When installing the Linux operating system on your device, you will be advised to create three partitions for the required device. The partitions are partitions root (/) for system files, partitions swap and partition for home.
Among the three partitions, partition root (/) is the most important partition which is where all system files will be stored. While partition swap a partition that serves as virtual memory, It’s highly recommended that you create this partition, but Linux will still work if you don’t create a partition swaps.
Another one is the partition for home, this partition is the partition that is most often ignored by users compared to the previous two partitions. Many users neglect to create this partition because it is considered unimportant.
Even on some Linux distributions such as Ubuntu, default during the installation process, the system will not request or create partitions for home. You have to make it yourself if you want home has its own partition.
Why is that? What exactly home and what does it do? What if you don’t create your own partition for home?
What is Home?
Home is a directory that serves to hold all files or data from user on the Linux operating system. On home this, the data of all user what you have will be saved. When you make a usera new folder for user it will also be created on home.
In each folder user there is sub folders such as Downloads, Documents, Music, Pictures and Videos which are used to store data or files of each user.
In addition to the folder home will also save the system configuration file of each users. The configuration file automatically default will be hidden so you can’t see it when you use it normally.
Advantages of Having a Partition for Home
If you do not create a partition for home, then folder home will be created and reside on the partition root (/) or system files. Which means data or files owned by users will be on the same partition as the file system of the operating system.
By creating your own partition for home, You can separate your files or data with system files from the operating system. That way, you can do management data or files more easily.
So when you want to do a system update by doing upgrade right away, you don’t have to worry about possible errors that can make your files or data lost because they are on the same partition as the system files of the operating system.
File home won’t be lost because home has its own partition and will not be touched during processing upgrades.
Moreover, if you want to re-install your Linux distro, you don’t have to do that backup first your data or files in the folder home, because home yours has its own partition, so it shouldn’t be a problem if the system files have to be formatted for reinstallation.
All data from all users will remain safe. Not just data like Documents, Downloads, Music, Videos, and Pictures. But also the configuration file data owned by user will remain secure, so this will allow you to use the same configuration as before after reinstalling.
In the case of upgrade and this reinstallation, has its own partition for home will be profitable.
Another advantage of having a partition home is when your system suddenly crashes forcing you to do a re-installation. If you create a partition for home you can immediately re-install without the need to do backup first.
Whereas if home you are on the same partition as the system files, you have to do backup first the data or files that are on the home, while the system is crashing and won’t allow you to log in. You have to do backup with system live.
How Big is the Size for a Home Partition?
How big is the ideal size for the partition home very relative. This depends on the users and their usage requirements. If you only use one operating system or one Linux distribution. You can create partitions home with all the remaining space from the allocation for the partition root (/) and partition swap.
But it’s different if you use more than one operating system or use more than one Linux distribution. Maybe you can calculate for yourself what size you need to work and save files on the system you are using.
Because maybe you don’t use partition home This is for the main storage media, for example you also use the Windows operating system and create a special partition on the Windows operating system as the main storage media.
So you can set the partition size home according to usage and needs.
