And when you are doing your custom layout, select RAID rather than New in 
the menu for making partitions. The RAID option allows you to setup 
partitions on different disks and then combine them into a software raid.
You can select the RAID type, and which partitions go into each RAID 
device. I have used this many times, and Troy is correct: as long as you 
use the force primary partition option, the partitions do not get moved around.
Eve

On Wed, 24 Mar 2010, Troy Dawson wrote:

> Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2010 13:29:59 -0500
> From: Troy Dawson <[log in to unmask]>
> To: Brent L. Bates <[log in to unmask]>
> Cc: Scientific Linux Users mailing list <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: Clean SL 5.4 Install and Anaconda Disk Partitioning Madness
> 
> Brent L. Bates wrote:
>>      I've been searching Google for answers and can't find any, so I 
>> decided
>> to check here.
>>
>>      I'm trying to do a clean install of SL 5.4.  I'm booting from an SL 
>> 5.4
>> x86_64 DVD.  When I get to the point of custom partitioning my drives,
>> Anaconda makes a mess of things.  I have 4 drives and I want 4 partions on
>> each drive.  The first partion will be `/boot', next `/', then `/data', and
>> finally a swap partion.  As I create each partition on each drive, Anaconda
>> will suddenly rearrange the order of the partions.  When I go onto another
>> drive, the order may be different than the last drive I just partitioned.
>>  When I try to do the 4th and last partition, I get an `Extended' 4th 
>> partion
>> (which is empty) and a real 5th partition, instead of a simple single
>> partition.
>>
>>      In the end, what I want is the first partition on each drive combined
>> into a software RAID 1 and be `/boot'.  The next 2 sets will be software 
>> RAID
>> 0's and `/' & `/data'.  The final partitions will be 4 separate swap
>> partitions that the OS will take care of.
>>
>>      I've tried creating all the partitions on one drive and then moving 
>> onto
>> the next one and the next one, but it scrambles things up.  I've tried
>> creating the first partition on each drive, then combining them into the 
>> RAID
>> 1 md0 device, and specifying the files system type, and mount point 
>> `/boot'.
>>  Next I go onto the next partition, which I've tried as a software RAID 0
>> partition and swap at various times.  This one usually works, but not 
>> always.
>>  When I get to the 3rd partition, then it will suddenly rearrange the
>> partitions on that drive.  I've even seen it suddenly create a swap 
>> partition
>> on a different drive than what I'm actually working on.
>>
>>      I've done this with earlier versions of SL, but I don't remember 
>> having
>> this much trouble with Anaconda randomly rearranging things and creating an
>> extra unneeded partion.  Any insights would be greatly appreciated. 
>> Thanks.
>> 
>
> What *I* would do with something that complicated.
> I would do a <Ctrl>-<Alt>-F2 on the screen before that and do all the 
> partitions by hand.  Then on the customizing screen, you just have to link 
> them together.
>
> But if you are going to do it by the graphical install, make *sure* that you 
> select "Primary Partition" for each and every partition.  The one partition 
> that you don't do that to is going to get popped over to an extended 
> partition.
>
> Troy
> -- 
> __________________________________________________
> Troy Dawson  [log in to unmask]  (630)840-6468
> Fermilab  ComputingDivision/LSCS/CSI/USS Group
> __________________________________________________
>

***************************************************************
Eve Kovacs
Argonne National Laboratory,
Room E-217, Bldg. 362, HEP
9700 S. Cass Ave.
Argonne, IL 60439 USA
Phone: (630)-252-6208
Fax:   (630)-252-5047
email: [log in to unmask]
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