Btrfs ?

[ndrancs]

Hi all
Can we add a btrfs to tc v4.5.3?
if can how to compile it?

[bmarkus]

As far as I know brtfs is not stable in 3.0 kernel, better to build a custom 3.3 or 3.4 kernel.

[Laudan]

As far as I know brtfs is not stable in 3.0 kernel, better to build a custom 3.3 or 3.4 kernel.

Yes, I had seen that already. I was hoping for some more up-to-date stuff.

I think it is not wrong promoting Btrfs in TinyCore, because this filesystem is said to be the next big thing in Linux, about to displace the ext family.

Cheers

[ndrancs]

any btrfs information update? 

[Juanito]

there is a request for features for the kernel for the next major version of tinycore - you could add your request for btrfs to the list:

http://forum.tinycorelinux.net/index.php/topic,14983.0.html

[curaga]

Even in latest 3.9-rc1, btrfs is still marked as having unstable disk format.

[Rich]

Hi Laudan

because this filesystem is said to be the next big thing in Linux, about to displace the ext family.

Sorry, but when I read a statement phrased that way, two words come to mind, buzz and fad. As far as I'm
concerned, file systems are no place for the latest fad just because some people may be buzzing about it.
Just my 2 cents.

[bmarkus]

Lets go back to the basics. Why do we need brtfs in Core? What brts offers (in the future) for a typical Core use what other file systems don't? Or it's just fun?

[Rich]

Hi bmarkus
Very good questions and right on the mark. Quoting from: https://btrfs.wiki.kernel.org/index.php/Main_Page

Linux has a wealth of filesystems from which to choose, but we are facing a number of challenges with scaling to the large storage subsystems that are becoming common in today's data centers. Filesystems need to scale in their ability to address and manage large storage, and also in their ability to detect, repair and tolerate errors in the data stored on disk.

I would hazard to guess that the majority of Tinycore installations are not running   "large storage subsystems"   in
"data centers"   but rather run on desktop, laptop, or portable USB installations and have no need for this, though
I could be mistaken. Having said that, there's probably no harm in including that option provided it is clearly marked
as   "experimental and possibly unstable, may cause data corruption, use at your own risk"   or something similar.
This would allow those individuals who are interested to experiment with it.

[Lee]

As I tend to lag a little behind the state of the art, especially in hardware, I may be a little out of date.  What constitutes a "large storage subsystem" these days?  Does that mean a 1 TB single drive, or something bigger, maybe with RAID?

The biggest single device I have (at home) is a 1 TB SATA drive which I partitioned into two big partitions and a third very small partition, all formatted with ext2.  Not withstanding that I probably should have used something with journaling, is there something lacking in ext2 that would be provided by btrfs (when stable)?

[tinypoodle]

Having said that, there's probably no harm in including that option provided it is clearly marked
as   "experimental and possibly unstable, may cause data corruption, use at your own risk"   or something similar.

...and besides from all of the above has no convincingly sufficient fsck utility as of yet.
(Though same would be the case for ntfs-3g/ntfsprogs, but there it is assumed users could access a different OS with such capabilities).

[bmarkus]

The biggest single device I have (at home) is a 1 TB SATA drive which I partitioned into two big partitions and a third very small partition, all formatted with ext2.  Not withstanding that I probably should have used something with journaling, is there something lacking in ext2 that would be provided by btrfs (when stable)?

All with ext2? A production system with no journaling fs? You are a brave guy!

[Rich]

Hi Lee

What constitutes a "large storage subsystem" these days?

Kept in context with   "data centers"   I'm guessing something that requires its own circuit breaker.

[Lee]

You are a brave guy!

No - probably just dumb.     

Shall I take that as a recommendation to update to ext4?

Kept in context with   "data center"   I'm guessing something that requires its own circuit breaker.

Well... I call it my "data center", but only tongue-in-cheek - its my basement.  On the other hand, that -is- where I learned how to install new circuit breakers... Who knew it was that easy?  I had a 30x25 foot cellar with a whopping -two- electrical outlets!

[bmarkus]

You are a brave guy!

Shall I take that as a recommendation to update to ext4?

Yes. A journaling file system like ext4 can recover you file system after after loss of power of pusing reset button at 3 A.M accidently for example without loosing data. ext2 can't.