Hi Bob,

> I certainly don't want to start any flame wars about choosing 
> between ext3 of XFS. One reason I was thinking of using XFS was 
> because recently when I set up an ext3 system, during the setup a 
> note popped up that an fsck would be forced on the file system after 
> 180 days. Having to take down a crucial resource for a long period 
> to do an fsck on 2TB of ext3 file system every 1/2 year is certainly 
> unattractive! I know there are ways to change this default using 
> tune2fs but I am uncertain what the implications of doing so are. My 

There is nothing wrong with extending the mount and disk check times using
tune2fs, especially in production.

Consider though, that as with any journaling filesystem, just because it's
journaled doesn't mean it's consistent. I personally extend the lengths of
checks using tune2fs on production servers but I always allow an fsck to run
at some stage (either manually when I'm organising a boot or organising
downtime at some stage with the customer).

fsck checks many aspects of the filesystem and should be run.. eventually. 

> previous experience with AFS file servers has been with AIX3.x - 
> AIX4.x and Solaris 9 and I essentially turned the systems on and 
> left them alone for years (literally - they went down whenever the 
> building power failed for some reason or other). I am hoping that 
> XFS would have similar characteristics.

Some advice, do a web search of people that have had problems with XFS in
large environments (maybe do the same with ext3), and then make your decision.
But remember one important note, when using a Red Hat based system, Red Hat
themselves don't recommend XFS, they don't test it, they don't run it, so
getting any type of support if you had problems with XFS on SL is just that
much more difficult.

Regards,

Michael.

> -- 
> Bob Barton <[log in to unmask]>
> Local Area Administrator (780) 492-5160
> 7-095 ECERF
> Chemical & Materials Engineering
> University of Alberta,
> Edmonton Alberta, T6G 2V4
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