[comp.sys.ibm.pc] Advantages/Disadvantages to multiple logical drives

Usenet_area_"Cs.I.Pc"@watmath.waterloo.edu (01/07/88)

From Usenet: gargoyle!ihnp4!ihlpa!jimx
From: jimx@ihlpa.ATT.COM (Harris)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Advantages/Disadvantages to multiple logical drives
Keywords: hard disk partitioning,80386
Message-ID: <6768@ihlpa.ATT.COM>
Date: 7 Jan 88 21:24:13 GMT
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories - Naperville, Illinois
Lines: 18

I have an 80386 machine with a 130-Meg hard drive that I am about
to set up as a 3COM PC Server.  What I would like to know is if
there is any advantage to setting up multiple logical drives
(D:, E:, f:, G:...) as opposed to just one or two (my initial
thought is to have C: for system and shared application files,
and D: for general user directories).  On the other hand, are
there disadvantages, obvious or otherwise, to the multiple drive
arrangement (or two drive, for that matter)?  Would the several
drives make disk access any faster?

This is the first time for me, setting this up, so if anyone has
any particular hints and suggestions, I would not mind receiving
those as well.  We are using 3COM 3+ Share, Mail, etc.

If the responses warrant, I will post a summary.  Thanks in advance,

Jim Harris
ihnp4!ihlpa!jimx

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 * Origin: watmath (221/163)

jimx@ihlpa.ATT.COM (Harris) (01/08/88)

I have an 80386 machine with a 130-Meg hard drive that I am about
to set up as a 3COM PC Server.  What I would like to know is if
there is any advantage to setting up multiple logical drives
(D:, E:, f:, G:...) as opposed to just one or two (my initial
thought is to have C: for system and shared application files,
and D: for general user directories).  On the other hand, are
there disadvantages, obvious or otherwise, to the multiple drive
arrangement (or two drive, for that matter)?  Would the several
drives make disk access any faster?

This is the first time for me, setting this up, so if anyone has
any particular hints and suggestions, I would not mind receiving
those as well.  We are using 3COM 3+ Share, Mail, etc.

If the responses warrant, I will post a summary.  Thanks in advance,

Jim Harris
ihnp4!ihlpa!jimx

markd@wolf.UUCP (Mark Divecchio) (01/10/88)

In article <6768@ihlpa.ATT.COM>, jimx@ihlpa.ATT.COM (Harris) writes:
> I have an 80386 machine with a 130-Meg hard drive that I am about
> to set up as a 3COM PC Server.  What I would like to know is if
> there is any advantage to setting up multiple logical drives
> (D:, E:, f:, G:...) as opposed to just one or two 

I have a 70meg HD partitioned into two logical drives. The first is
C: and contains all my DOS software, compilers, editors etc. The
second is D: and contains all my in-process work.

Yesterday, a program which I was working on took a WAB (Wild A** Branch)
and wrote all over track 0 thus killing the boot sector and the
FATs for part of the C: logical Unit.

I used the MACE utility to put the boot sector back and the  D: logical
drive was alive and intact. So all I really lost was my DOS unit. I
formated the C: unit and restored it from backup and I was ready to go.

I, of course (!), had everything backedup but this saved me a couple of
hours since I didn't have to restore the entire disk.
-- 
---------------------------------
Mark C. DiVecchio 10435 Mountain Glen Terrace, San Diego, CA 92131
K3FWT			Home of PC-VT and LPTx		619-549-4056
sdcsvax!man!wolf!markd                   Bulletin Board 619-549-3927

holtz@beowulf.ucsd.edu (Fred Holtz) (01/10/88)

In article <6768@ihlpa.ATT.COM>, jimx@ihlpa.ATT.COM (Harris) writes:
> I have an 80386 machine with a 130-Meg hard drive that I am about
> to set up as a 3COM PC Server.  What I would like to know is if
> there is any advantage to setting up multiple logical drives
> (D:, E:, f:, G:...) as opposed to just one or two...

The major advantage of multiple logical drives becomes apparent when
it is time to back up the disk.  If you put everything that doesn't
change on one logical drive,  then that portion of the disk need only
be backed up once  (in theory - I would recommend once every few months
just in case the backups go sour.)  You can then divide the rest of
the disk up into areas with different priorities for backups - one area
that is to be done every night,  a once a week area,  etc.

I am not sure how having multiple logical drives affects the effeciency
of disk requests,  but for my own work the advantages would outweigh
anything but a noticable delay  (and I have never noticed any :-)


Fred Holtz
holtz@sdcsvax.UCSD.EDU