6.2.2. GUID Partitioning Table (GPT) Segment Manager
The GUID Partitioning Table (GPT) Segment Manager handles the new GPT partitioning scheme on IA-64 machines. The Intel Extensible Firmware Interface Specification requires that firmware be able to discover partitions and produce logical devices that correspond to disk partitions. The partitioning scheme described in the specification is called GPT due to the extensive use of Globally Unique Identifier (GUID) tagging. GUID is a 128 bit long identifier, also referred to as a Universally Unique Identifier (UUID). As described in the Intel Wired For Management Baseline Specification , a GUID is a combination of time and space fields that produce an identifier that is unique across an entire UUID space. These identifiers are used extensively on GPT partitioned disks for tagging entire disks and individual partitions. GPT partitioned disks serve several functions, such as:
keeping a primary and backup copy of metadata
replacing msdos partition nesting by allowing many partitions
using 64 bit logical block addressing
tagging partitions and disks with GUID descriptors
The GPT Segment Manager scales better to large disks. It provides more redundancy with added reliability and uses unique names. However, the GPT Segment Manager is not compatible with DOS, OS/2, or Windows®.
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