[KLUG Members] Re: Defrag'ing ext3 filesystems?

[Bryan J. Smith]

Quoting Jim C <jcllings@tsunamicomm.net>:
> OK, then what I would like to see is a comparison/discussion of the 
> various file systems available in a Mandrake distrobution.

First off, I consider Mandrake to be a "feature-leading" distribution, not a
"well QA-tested" distribution.  Which leads me to my second comment ...

Secondly, IMHO, a filesystem is only good as your data on it.  If a filesystem
puts your data at risk, it's not worth choosing.  Which leads me to say
"maturity" is the _most_important_ feature of a filesystem.  "Performance" is
secondary.

Third, SGI only supports XFS on RedHat, and I followed early Mandrake kernel
releases with XFS and they didn't do a "good job" of matching some of the
patches and tools IMHO.  I haven't looked at their latest releases though.

> What file systems are superior to ext2/3 and why do you think so?

"Superior" is a relative word.

For example, Ext2 has a 7-year "proven" record of being 100% fsck-recoverable to
me.  Since Ext3 is based on Ext2, is very "anal" about _always_ dropping down to
a full Ext2 fsck whenever it "smells something funny" with the journal, I
consider that a "superior" quality.  There _are_ performance patches for Ext2/3
that have been implemented in the 2.4.x kernel series that still make it
"competitive."

SGI's XFS is _true_ 64-bit filesystem that is a _direct_ port from Irix, where
it has 8-years of "proven" quality and repair tools.  About the only thing
they've found so far in the Linux port was one major bug -- not bad compared to
the others.  XFS also has some of the best large file performance.  Although it
does have some performance issues with lots of little, random file writes, but
not enough to outway its maturity and other features.

I also need full legacy compatibility, which includes NFS and official quota
support.  RedHat's #1 server focus seems to be on _both_ Samba _and_ NFS quality
-- including NFS serving to non-Linux platforms.  Mandrake, SuSE and many others
have pretty poor track records there -- especially in earlier 2.4.x kernels (as
well as the 2.2.x series).  SGI's XFS is right there with Ext3.

And the last time I looked, only Ext2/3 and XFS have full POSIX ACL/EA support.
 This is important for mapping in SMB (Samba) ACLs.

-- 
Bryan J. Smith, E.I.            Contact Info:  http://thebs.org
A+/i-Net+/Linux+/Network+/Server+ CCNA CIWA CNA SCSA/SCWSE/SCNA
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