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Simple partition table format

This document specifies a general partition table format suitable for both unmanaged disks, and tapes.

Partition table

The partition table resides at the end of the disk - the last sector of the disk, for several reasons:

Ease of implementation for firmware to load from first partition
Compatibility with existing partition table formats

The partition table takes one sector (512 bytes) and is divided into 16 entries, 32 bytes each.

Partition entry

Each entry consists of:

A 20 byte name field, padded with null characters.
A 4 byte type field. This can be used either as a number or a string.
A 4-byte start sector field.
A 4-byte length field.

Any entry with no name should be ignored.

Tape considerations

It may prove easier to use a tape if one were to implement a virtual drive component that maps to the data on a tape.

Booting

It is suggested that firmware loads and runs the first partition with type "boot". More advanced booting logic may be implemented if desired.