Create a backup of both your system and data using System+System Backup. However, the backup created by the module does not include the entire system. The system is backed up by saving important storage areas on your hard disk that may be crucial when trying to restore a system, such as the partition table or master boot record (MBR). It can also include the XML configuration acquired from the installation of the system, which is used for AutoYaST. Data is backed up by saving changed files of packages accessible on installation media, entire packages that are unaccessible (such as online updates), and files not belonging to packages, such as many of the configuration files in /etc or the directories under /home.

With System+System Restoration, restore your system from a backup archive created with System Backup. First, specify where the archives are located (removable media, local hard disks, or network file systems). Click Next to view the description and contents of the individual archives and select what to restore from the archives.

You can also uninstall packages that were added since the last backup and reinstall packages that were deleted since the last backup. These two steps enable you to restore the exact system state at the time of the last backup.

	System Restoration
Because this module normally installs, replaces, or uninstalls many packages and files, use it only if you have experience with backups. Otherwise you may lose data.

To configure booting for systems installed on your computer, use the System+Boot Loader module. A detailed description of how to configure the boot loader with YaST is available in Section 18.3, “Configuring the Boot Loader with YaST”.

The logical volume manager (LVM) is a tool for custom partitioning of hard disks with logical drives. Find information about LVM in Section 7.1, “LVM Configuration”.

With the expert partitioner, shown in Figure 8.6, “The YaST Partitioner”, manually modify the partitioning of one or several hard disks. Partitions can be added, deleted, resized, and edited. Also access the soft RAID and LVM configuration from this YaST module.

	Repartitioning the Running System
Although it is possible to repartition your system while it is running, the risk of making a mistake that causes data loss is very high. Try to avoid repartitioning your installed system and always do a complete backup of your data before attempting to do so.

Figure 8.6. The YaST Partitioner

All existing or suggested partitions on all connected hard disks are displayed in the list of the YaST Expert Partitioner dialog. Entire hard disks are listed as devices without numbers, such as /dev/hda or /dev/sda. Partitions are listed as parts of these devices, such as /dev/hda1 or /dev/sda1. The size, type, file system, and mount point of the hard disks and their partitions are also displayed. The mount point describes where the partition appears in the Linux file system tree.

If you run the expert dialog during installation, any free hard disk space is also listed and automatically selected. To provide more disk space to SUSE Linux Enterprise®, free the needed space starting from the bottom toward the top of the list (starting from the last partition of a hard disk toward the first). For example, if you have three partitions, you cannot use the second exclusively for SUSE Linux Enterprise and retain the third and first for other operating systems.

More Partitioning Tips

The following section comprises a few hints and tips on partitioning that should help you in taking the right decisions while setting up your system.

	Cylinder Numbers
Note, that different partitioning tools may start counting the cylinders of a partition with 0 or with 1. When calculating the number of cylinders, you should always use the difference between the last and the first cylinder number and add one.

If the partitioning is performed by YaST and other partitions are detected in the system, these partitions are also added to the /etc/fstab file to enable easy access to this data. This file contains all partitions in the system with their properties, such as the file system, mount point, and user permissions.

Example 8.1. /etc/fstab: Partition Data

/dev/sda1    /data1    auto      noauto,user 0 0
/dev/sda5    /data2    auto      noauto,user 0 0 
/dev/sda6    /data3    auto      noauto,user 0 0
   

The partitions, regardless of whether they are Linux or FAT partitions, are specified with the options noauto and user. This allows any user to mount or unmount these partitions as needed. For security reasons, YaST does not automatically enter the exec option here, which is needed for executing programs from the location. However, to run programs from there, you can enter this option manually. This measure is necessary if you encounter system messages such as “bad interpreter” or “Permission denied”.

Partitioning and LVM

From the expert partitioner, access the LVM configuration with LVM (see Section 7.1, “LVM Configuration”). However, if a working LVM configuration already exists on your system, it is automatically activated as soon as you enter the LVM configuration for the first time in a session. In this case, any disks containing a partition belonging to an activated volume group cannot be repartitioned because the Linux kernel cannot reread the modified partition table of a hard disk when any partition on this disk is in use. However, if you already have a functioning LVM configuration on your system, physical repartitioning should not be necessary. Instead, change the configuration of the logical volumes.

At the beginning of the physical volumes (PVs), information about the volume is written to the partition. To reuse such a partition for other non-LVM purposes, it is advisable to delete the beginning of this volume. For example, in the VG system and PV /dev/sda2, do this with the command dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda2 bs=512 count=1.

	File System for Booting
The file system used for booting (the root file system or /boot) must not be stored on an LVM logical volume. Instead, store it on a normal physical partition.

Each kernel driver contains a list of device IDs of all devices it supports. If a new device is not in any driver's database, the device is treated as unsupported, even if it can be used with an existing driver. With this YaST module from System section, you can add PCI IDs. Only advanced users should attempt to use this YaST module.

Figure 8.7. Adding a PCI ID

To add an ID, click Add and select how to assign it: by selecting a PCI device from a list or by manually entering PCI values. In the first option, select the PCI device from the provided list then enter the driver or directory name. If the directory is left empty, the driver name is used as the directory name. When assigning PCI ID values manually, enter the appropriate data to set up a PCI ID. Click OK to save your changes.

To edit a PCI ID, select the device driver from the list and click Edit. Edit the information and click OK to save your changes. To delete an ID, select the driver and click Delete. The ID immediately disappears from the list. When finished, click OK.

The System+Power Management module helps you work with saving energy technologies. It is especially important on laptops to extend their operational time. Find detailed information about using this module in Section 28.6, “The YaST Power Management Module”.

Powertweak is a SUSE Linux utility for tweaking your system to peak performance by tuning some kernel and hardware configurations. It should be used only by advanced users. After starting it with System+Powertweak, it detects your system settings and lists them in tree form in the left frame of the module. You can also use Search to find a configuration variable. Select the option to tweak to display it on the screen along with its directory and settings. To save the settings, click Finish then confirm it by clicking OK.

Create, manage, and switch among system configurations with System+Profile Management, the YaST system configuration profile management (SCPM) module. This is especially useful for mobile computers that are used in different locations (in different networks) and by different users. Nevertheless, this feature is useful even for stationary machines, because it enables the use of various hardware components or test configurations. For more information about SCPM basics and handling, refer to Chapter 27, System Configuration Profile Management.

Configure runlevels and the services that start in them with System+System Services (Runlevel). For more information about the runlevels in SUSE Linux Enterprise and a description of the YaST runlevel editor, refer to Section 17.2.3, “Configuring System Services (Runlevel) with YaST”.

The directory /etc/sysconfig contains the files with the most important settings for SUSE Linux Enterprise. Use System+/etc/sysconfig Editor to modify the values and save them to the individual configuration files. Generally, manual editing is not necessary, because the files are automatically adapted when a package is installed or a service is configured. More information about /etc/sysconfig and the YaST sysconfig editor is available in Section 17.3.1, “Changing the System Configuration Using the YaST sysconfig Editor”.

The time zone is initially set during installation, but you can change it with System+Date and Time. Also use this to change the current system date and time.

To change the time zone, select the region in the left column and the location or time zone in the right column. With Hardware Clock Set To, set whether the system clock should use Local Time or UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). UTC is often used in Linux systems. Machines with additional operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows, mostly use local time.

Set the current system time and date with Change. In the dialog that opens, modify the time and date by entering new values or adjusting them with the arrow buttons. Press Apply to save the changes.

The primary and secondary languages for your system are set during installation. However, they can be changed at any time using System+Language. The primary language set in YaST applies to the entire system, including YaST and the desktop environment. This is the language you expect to use most of the time. Secondary languages are languages that are sometimes needed by users for a variety of purposes, such as desktop language or word processing.

Figure 8.8. Setting the Language

Select the main language to use for your system in Primary Language. To adjust the keyboard or time zone to this setting, enable Adapt Keyboard Layout or Adapt Time Zone.

Set how locale variables are set for the root user with Details. Also use Details to set the primary language to a dialect not available in the main list. These settings are written into the file /etc/sysconfig/language.