Partitioning Disks

You can divide a NetWare server hard disk into units called disk partitions. You can also leave free (unassigned) space on a disk.

NOTE:  A NetWare disk partition is not related to an NDS^® partition.

One of the server's hard disks must contain a DOS partition. This is the primary boot partition where server.exe is stored. You need only one boot partition per server. You also need to keep a SYS: volume. The file system creates this volume automatically when you install NetWare.

A hard disk can contain as many as four partitions, including a DOS partition, multiple NetWare partitions, or non-NetWare partitions (such as Windows* NT* or UNIX). The disk can also contain free space assigned to the Novell Storage Services (NSS) file system.

A NetWare partition consists of a data area and can also contain a Hot Fix^TM Redirection Area used for disk sector sparing (maintaining a spare sector per track in case another sector becomes defective). The logical sector 0 of a NetWare partition is the first sector of the data area available to applications, such as the traditional NetWare file system. This data area is referred to as a logical partition. See Logical Partitions .

The following figures illustrate some of the ways hard disks can be partitioned.

Figure 2
NetWare and DOS Partitions on One Disk

Figure 3
DOS Partition on First Disk, NetWare and Non-NetWare Partitions on Second Disk

Figure 4
Disk with One NetWare Partition and Free Space Assigned to NSS