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I am going to install Debian on our new dedicated server and I have a chance to set up hard drive partitions.
The server has two 750GB drives configured as RAID 1. We are going to have 10 Postgresql databases, where each database will be about 2 GB. There will be of course Apache/PHP on this server too. We'll use the server for only our own web applications.
The hosting company strongly recommends to create separate two partitions. First small one for "/" and second very big for the "/home". But I have some doubts about this. I have a feeling that one big partition for "/" directory is just fine. Answers to this question suggest also that it doesn't make sense to divide the disk into several partitions.
Is disk partitioning still relevant in such cases?
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Partitioning your drive can also keep your data safer from malware attacks, in theory. If ransomware lands on your Windows partition, it may have a lesser chance of locking your personal files on another partition. To remove the malware, you can easily nuke the OS partition and reinstall Windows, per above.
Your data is often protected when in its own partition. And this can be very helpful in the event of a hard drive or system failure. Even if you need to reinstall your OS, your partitioned personal data will be there when the install is complete.
It reduces overall disk performance on systems where data is accessed regularly and in parallel on multiple partitions, because it forces the disk's read/write head to move back and forth on the disk to access data on each partition.
Finally, partitioning lets you try out other operating systems–like Linux, for example. Generally, two operating systems can't coexist on the same volume without stepping on one another's toes, so you won't be able to dual-boot Linux or ease into Windows 7 if you're on a single-volume system.
It is relevant if you have a place where data may fill up the partition and prevent something else from running; application log files may fill up a partition and leave no tmp space for other apps to write to, or the OS to write to, so yes, there are still relevant reasons to partition. Just look at what you need and decide if anything could prevent the rest of the system from being used. If so, you want to partition that off so if it does max out space, it only harms itself.
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