Hello, when setting up a Debian-based system for the first time, what steps should I prioritize? Which settings might cause issues? For example, what are the general recommendations for disk partitioning strategies? Or what fine-tuning with the package manager can improve performance? I’d like to benefit from community experiences.
What should I pay attention to during a Debian installation?
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The biggest headache is usually partitioning, no need to overcomplicate things. If you're using a desktop, simply allocating 30-50GB for `/` (root) and the rest for `/home` is enough. For a server, `/` + `/var` + swap (twice your RAM size) is sufficient, and `/boot` should be between 512MB-1GB. If you're using UEFI, don't forget to allocate a separate 500MB partition for `/boot/efi`, otherwise your bootloader might break.
For the package manager, `apt` is usually enough, but if you want a slight performance boost, use `apt-get` commands instead—especially when installing, it's cleaner to install all packages at once with `| xargs` instead of using the `-y` flag. Also, make it a habit to run `apt --fix-broken install` before `dpkg -i` to avoid manual `dpkg` issues and dependency headaches. If you have plenty of RAM, lowering swappiness to 10 helps—run `sysctl vm.swappiness=10` and add it to `/etc/sysctl.conf`.
When it comes to disk partitioning, I always use **LVM** (Logical Volume Manager), bro. Why? Because when you need to expand your disk later or resize partitions based on different needs, it’s super easy. For example, if `/home` is a separate logical volume, backing up user data becomes a breeze. Also, instead of the old-school "swap partition," you can use a **swap file**, especially on SSDs—it saves you disk space.
But be careful: if you have multiple disks, it’s smart to keep critical directories like `/`, `/boot`, and `/var` on separate partitions. That way, if a file system crashes, it won’t take down the whole disk—just the affected partition.
For package management, you don’t *have* to tweak settings, but cleaning up the **apt cache** or running **autoremove** to delete leftover junk can seriously boost performance. For example, Debian users coming from Ubuntu might need to enable the **non-free** and **contrib** repos in `/etc/apt/sources.list`—especially if you run into driver issues. And with **priority settings** (like `apt-pin`), you can control which version gets installed, helping you avoid unstable packages.
So, tell me—did you set up your disk for **UEFI** or **BIOS/Legacy** mode?