Ext3 adds journaling support to the ext2 file system, allowing for improved data consistency and recoverability in the event of unexpected power loss or system crashes.
The ext3 filesystem is an extension of the ext2fs that includes journaling capabilities. Journaling is a feature that allows you to avoid running file system consistency checks (fsck) after a system crash. Essentially, ext3 tracks changes to the file system in a journal so it can easily recover and fix any issues upon remounting.
The software works by journaling changes to a file on the journaled filesystem, including data updates and all VFS operations, such as quota management. This allows for automatic recovery after a crash, with minimal data loss.
However, there are still some features that need improvement. The software lacks quota support for non-data-journaled filesystems and journaling to an off-filesystem device, such as NVRam. Additionally, the software could benefit from better documentation and some internal cleanups, such as migrating extra buffer_head fields to a separate jfs_buffer_info field.
This latest release includes several updates and bug fixes. In particular, a missing byte-endian conversion has been fixed, which could cause issues during recovery. Similarly, the software now prevents confusion between active filesystems when running shared mmaped files on ext3 with more than one ext3 filesystem active.
Updates include new debugging checks, improved transaction handling, and a fix for a bug that prevented write larger than 4k from being coalesced into a single transaction. The confusingly-named "tid_ge" function has been renamed to "tid_gt" for improved clarity. The README has also been updated to describe the new features of the current e2fsprogs.
The software works by journaling changes to a file on the journaled filesystem, including data updates and all VFS operations, such as quota management. This allows for automatic recovery after a crash, with minimal data loss.
However, there are still some features that need improvement. The software lacks quota support for non-data-journaled filesystems and journaling to an off-filesystem device, such as NVRam. Additionally, the software could benefit from better documentation and some internal cleanups, such as migrating extra buffer_head fields to a separate jfs_buffer_info field.
This latest release includes several updates and bug fixes. In particular, a missing byte-endian conversion has been fixed, which could cause issues during recovery. Similarly, the software now prevents confusion between active filesystems when running shared mmaped files on ext3 with more than one ext3 filesystem active.
Updates include new debugging checks, improved transaction handling, and a fix for a bug that prevented write larger than 4k from being coalesced into a single transaction. The confusingly-named "tid_ge" function has been renamed to "tid_gt" for improved clarity. The README has also been updated to describe the new features of the current e2fsprogs.
What's New
Version 0.0.7a: N/A