Following Default ESX Partitioning Scheme:
| Mount Point* Name | Type | Size |
| /boot | Ext3 | 100MB |
| / | Ext3 | 5000MB (5GB) |
| (none) | Swap | 544MB |
| /var/log | Ext3 | 2000MB (2GB) |
| (none) | vmkcore | 100MB |
| (none) | VMFS3 | Varies |
Although the default partitions created are good enough or ESX server 3.x to run properly, but there is a lot of room for customization in order to enhance performance, stability and extendibility. Following are some recommendations with their supportive reasons:
The /boot Partition
the default size of 100MB is ample space for the necessary files. This 100MB size, however is twice the size of the default boot partition created during the installation of the ESX2. Thus recommendation is to use 200MB for /boot partition in anticipation of future increase.
The / Partition
The minimum size for this partition is 2.5GB and as VMware has already chosen the double of the same as the default partition size, it should be ok. But we need to consider the fact this is the partition where third party applications/tools would also install by default and definitely they will require their own space. Thus the recommendation is to use 20GB – 25GB for the / (root) partition. Still the most important factor is is to choose a size that fits the comfort for growth.
The SWAP Partition
As we all know, general rule is to create SWAP partition is two provide it with a size equal to two times of the memory allocated to the operating system. The same holds true for the ESX server as well because by default Service Console in ESX 3.x is allocated with 272 MB of RAM and thus SWAP is by default 544MB which is OK). Now the point of consideration is if third party applications are going to install they will also require additional RAM, and than in result Service console will require additional RAM. Here the limit for RAM allocation to service console is 800MB, so if the Service Console is to be adjusted up to the 800MB max, than the SWAP partition should be 1600MB.
The /Var/Log Partition
It’s Typically safe value for this partition, however there is a recommendation. ESX Server user /var partition during the patch management tasks. Since the default partition is /var/log, this means that the /var partition is still under the / (root) partition. Therefore the space consumed in /var is space consumed in / (root). Therefore it is recommended to change the mount point* to /var instead of /var/log and increase the size of space to a larger value like 12GB-15GB.
The VMKCORE Partition
It is the dump partition where ESX server writes/dumps information about a system halt/hang. Size of this partition doesn’t require any alteration.
The VMFS3 Partition
ESX server creates all the other partitions first and than uses the remaining free space for this partition as local VMFS storage, thus it doesn’t require any alteration or considerations.
Therefore the following is the recommended ESX Partitioning Scheme is as follows:
| Mount Point* Name | Type | Size |
| /boot | Ext3 | 200MB |
| / | Ext3 | 25000MB (25GB) |
| (none) | Swap | 1600MB |
| /var/log | Ext3 | 12000MB (12GB) |
| (none) | vmkcore | 100MB |
| (none) | VMFS3 | Varies |
*Mount Point: In Unix-like systems, the mount point is the location in the operating system's directory structure where a mounted file system appears. Mount Point involves the association of a directory with a partition on the physical disk.
Thanks to VMware forums, Chris McCain, Google and various other authors who shared this information on the internet and by the means of various guides and books available on VMware Infrastructure 3.
