Omitting /usr/src & /usr/obj partitions?

[fox2]

Hello folks! Maybe this is a dumb question.. I'm wondering if it's reasonable to save space on and/or omit the /usr/src and /usr/obj paritions completely?

• I'm not planning to add users to the wobj or wsrc groups.
• I'm not planning to compile BSD from source on that system.

That said, can any problems arise from just omitting these two partitions and use the space (several gigabytes in auto-layout for 40GB SSD) for /home or /var ?

Are these partitions needed when upgrading the system using sysupgrade?

Bonus questions:

• Why does auto-layout contain a /usr/X11R6 partition even though I'm answering "no I don't plan to run X on this system" during setup?
• Is there any documentation on the intentions behind the installers recommended partitioning layout and the used file system flags?

Thanks in advance for your help!

[bsd-keith]

The auto setup is just a list of partitions, you can run the system with just a / (root) partition, if you really want, but I'd suggest at least a / & /home for a basic user system, it's what I do, but others recommend other setups.

[vns3]

I usually do one of 3 things.

1. One partition as suggested above.
2. Use the default, expand home, and store my data there (workstaion)
3. Add a new partition and mount (/mystuff or whatever) and store my data there (server)

[Head_on_a_Stick]

Originally Posted by fox2

Is there any documentation on the intentions behind the installers recommended partitioning layout and the used file system flags?

https://www.openbsd.org/faq/faq4.html#Partitioning

[fox2]

Thanks for your feedback.. but I should have been more clearer:

@bsd-keith
@vns3

Sure, I know that I can run everything off a single partition. (Although this is not recommended for reasons like root filling up or suid allowed everywhere..) I'm doing this on some systems. The setup I'm planning at the moment, however, will provide shell access for multiple users, so I'll try to consider security and won't allow suid or wxallow everywhere.

So I guess my question should have been: Am I likely to run into filesystem space shortage on the /usr partition if I allocate the space that is considered for /usr/src and /usr/obj by auto-layout to other partitions like /var or /home? (Provided I'm not planning to compile BSD from source on this system and/ or add users to the wobj & wsrc group.)

I have checked /usr/src and /usr/obj on my other OpenBSDs (web- and DNS-servers) and they are always empty - so I guess there won't be a problem. My personal insecurity here probably arises from the fact that I'm not certain under which circumstances the /usr/src and /usr/obj paths are used. (Just when I want to compile full systems?)

@Head_on_a_Stick

I know faq4.html#Partitioning and it contains a note on wxallow on /usr/local, but nothing regards why /usr/src and /usr/obj have the nosuid flag or why there's relatively much space allocated to them, esp. to /usr/obj. Same for /usr/X11R6. Maybe it's too obvious or documented somewhere else, but at least I could have used a few more words on the auto-layout in this place.


Thank you all very much!

[shep]

OpenBSD targets their own developers and the separate /usr/src/, /usr/obj/ patitions enable members of a specific group to develop without being root.

On an emmc storage limited HP Stream 14, I routinely intervene during setup and remove the /usr/src and /usr/obj partitions and allocate the space to /usr/local and /home..
If I need a custom port (/usr/obj), on another machine I can build the package and transfer it to the Stream 14 for installation.

[fox2]

Originally Posted by shep

OpenBSD targets their own developers and the separate /usr/src/, /usr/obj/ patitions enable members of a specific group to develop without being root.

Thanks @shep! That made it clear to me.

Also.. I should have searched the forum better instead of relying on Google; there's a thread from 2018 that thematizes quite the same: https://daemonforums.org/showthread.php?t=10853

Again, thank you guys!