On Mon, 2002-02-25 at 09:42, Riccardo Lancellotti wrote: > on mon, 2002-02-25 at 15:02, Guennadi Liakhovetski wrote: > > ...an idea just occured to me - can there be a filesystem, where identical > > blocks are shared between files > > Such a solution tend to increase file fragmentation, thus increasing the > time to read the file because more disk seeks are needed. This is true, but some of the potential space savings may make it worth the performance hit. Also, some intentional fragmentation may help alleviate disk thrash. I'd thought of this before for managing multiple copies of fairly similar and large source code trees (i.e. linux). The idea is that you could have 15 copies in e.g. /var/src/kernel without using 1GB of disk space, but only having additional space used for changes and a little management info. A kind of 'overlay filesystem'. A filesystem like this might be a great way to research new(er) techniques for cutting down on fragmentation in general while saving a bunch of disk space at the cost of performance. my $.02; -Al ******************************************************************** This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify the Priority Health Information Services Department at (616) 942-0954. ******************************************************************** -- Kernelnewbies: Help each other learn about the Linux kernel. Archive: http://mail.nl.linux.org/kernelnewbies/ IRC Channel: irc.openprojects.net / #kernelnewbies Web Page: http://www.kernelnewbies.org/
