Getting ready for ext4

iBertus · 2009-01-02 02:28:24

I suppose you could just skip the drive prep step and do it manually. I'm going to try this in a few minutes.

jpe30 · 2009-01-02 04:10:51

EDIT: So I went through it all again, because the install CD does not use the 2.6.28 kernel it can't install anything to the ext4 partition. Looks like we'll just have to wait for the new kernel to go live.

Last edited by jpe30 (2009-01-02 04:30:32)

kishd · 2009-01-05 19:25:52

Managed to install e4defrag and defragged my / partition to convert all files to using extents. Although it seems that some files might not have been converted from the output of e4defrag

I grabbed the following file

http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/ … ut.tar.bz2

Extract the file and edit the series file in the broken-out directory to comment out the "delalloc-debug-ioctl" patch by placing a # before it.
Uncomment all the defrag patches (0-8)
Do not uncomment "defrag-09-online-defrag-command" "patch"

recreate the bzip file by tarring up the broken-out directory and running bzip2

Copy the defrag-09-online-defrag-command to any other directory and edit it. Delete the first 17 lines and save it as e4defrag.c and then compile the e4defrag binary with

gcc -Wall e4defrag.c -o e4defrag

Copy e4defrag to /usr/bin for easy access.

Add broken-out.tar.bz2 to the sources and

Add the following lines to the PKGBUILD after the arch patch

mv ${srcdir}/broken-out ${srcdir}/linux-2.6.28/patches
quilt push -a
(install quilt if not already installed.)

After installing the patched kernel and a reboot e4defrag should work.

Inspired by the information provided here:-
http://polishlinux.org/apps/cli/ext4-de … -e4defrag/ [-]

[edit:/]
After testing on my machine. I seems that e4defrag only works with files that are already converted. I ran ck's defrag script a couple of times on my partitions and then used e4defrag. e4defrag now actually defragmented the files.

Last edited by kishd (2009-01-07 17:47:01)

dhave · 2009-01-05 19:52:58

kishd wrote:

Managed to install e4defrag and defragged my / partition to convert all files to using extents.

Admirable courage.

iBertus · 2009-01-05 21:46:45

I used tpowa's archboot 2008.12 to install my system yesterday. You'll just have to setup networking and install the latest e2fsprogs first and format the partitions manually. Then, mount them accordingly in /tmp/install before starting the installer. Now, skip the portion of the installer that would normally format disks. You should be able to use the installer like normal now. Just remember to use the mkfs.ext4dev program to format or the 2.6.27 kernel won't mount them. Also, add rootfstype=ext4dev and the module ext4dev to mkinitcpio.conf. Reboot.

You can keep it like this until 2.6.28 is pushed from [testing] and then just change all the ext4dev's to ext4.

denisius_maximus · 2009-01-07 18:56:53

Is there any posibility to move all files from root to another partition ext4 partition? And change "root" parameter in menu.lst... I tried to use cp -a ... but it doesnt work... As I understand if you want to have normal files in ext4 fs you have to create new files, that's why I decided move files to another partition...

kishd · 2009-01-08 04:51:20

I patched the kernel and installed e4defrag which was supposed to convert all files to using extents. However this did not seem to work. I then used con kolivas script to defragment my partitions (http://ck.kolivas.org/apps/defrag/defrag-0.06/defrag). This effectively copied and moved more than 90% of the files on my disk. When I checked with e4fdefrag all the moved files had been converted to using extents.

Perhaps this would be an easier way to get all the files converted.

skottish · 2009-01-08 17:52:48

kishd wrote:

...snip...
This effectively copied and moved more than 90% of the files on my disk. When I checked with e4fdefrag all the moved files had been converted to using extents.

What happened to the other 10%?

Wintervenom · 2009-01-08 19:08:13

zhuqin wrote:

Zibi1981 wrote:
Have anybody run into some tests comparing JFS vs. Ext4? I'm using the first one at the moment and I'm just curious is it worthy to give Ext4 a chance
I didn't do any test yet, but I did convert all my JFS partitions to EXT4, you will find it totally worths it.
You can feel that it reads/writes faster and almost the same cpu usage.

Phoronix's Real-World Ext4 Benchmarks.

EDIT: Oops, I didn't realize there was a second page.

Last edited by Wintervenom (2009-01-08 19:43:36)

kishd · 2009-01-08 19:10:48

@skottish I assume that the files that were not converted were not copied and moved like the rest. Probably running defrag a couple of times might move all the files resulting in a 100% conversion.

iBertus · 2009-01-08 21:18:52

zhuqin wrote:

Zibi1981 wrote:
Have anybody run into some tests comparing JFS vs. Ext4? I'm using the first one at the moment and I'm just curious is it worthy to give Ext4 a chance
I didn't do any test yet, but I did convert all my JFS partitions to EXT4, you will find it totally worths it.
You can feel that it reads/writes faster and almost the same cpu usage.

All of my bonnie++ tests show that JFS is still somewhat faster than ext4 when used on my MD RAID5 array, even with proper stride and stripe-width settings passed to mkfs.ext4. Regardless, I've installed with ext4 as the filesystem so that I can take full advantage of the flexibility that LVM provides to resize my logical volumes. Also, I'm hoping that ext4 performance stays consistent for longer than JFS when e4defrag is in mainstream.

Another key point is that IBM has all but abandoned JFS since ext4 has come along. Many more eyes are now looking over the ext4 code than probably ever did the JFS code. So, if you're at all interested in having an actively developed filesystem, go with ext4.

edit: Forgot to mention that the system is very fast with ext4 filesystem over software RAID5. I cannot tell a difference between this and my older RAID10,f2 setup with JFS. I needed the extra space for additional files and reluctantly switched over to RAID5 and decided to make the FS switch while I was doing it.

Last edited by iBertus (2009-01-08 21:21:57)

skottish · 2009-01-08 21:31:46

kishd wrote:

@skottish I assume that the files that were not converted were not copied and moved like the rest. Probably running defrag a couple of times might move all the files resulting in a 100% conversion.

Thanks for the response. I want to do the conversion, but until I'm sure I can get it right, I'm holding off. So, more information is better.

kishd · 2009-01-09 17:49:23

When carefully checking the output of e4defrag it seems that after running ck's defrag on a directory all the files are in fact converted to using extents and the files reported by e4defrag as "not a regular file [NG]" are the directory entries.

I would recommend using ck's defrag on any ext3 partition that has been converted to ext4. I do not think it worth it to apply the patches and get e4defrag working as presently it does not seem to convert any files to using extents. It does however defrag the drive after the files have already been converted.

Last edited by kishd (2009-01-09 17:53:11)

foutrelis · 2009-01-09 18:59:58

kishd wrote:

I would recommend using ck's defrag on any ext3 partition that has been converted to ext4. I do not think it worth it to apply the patches and get e4defrag working as presently it does not seem to convert any files to using extents. It does however defrag the drive after the files have already been converted.

I ran ck's defrag yesterday and to my surprise, the non-contiguous value reported by fsck.ext4 rose from ~3% to ~10%. Does this make any sense? The partition in question was migrated to ext4 from ext3 a few days back, hosts a few big files (iso and vmware images) and has plenty of free space available (df -h displays: /dev/sdb4 423G 88G 314G 22% /home).

dr/owned · 2009-01-11 20:34:53

dhave wrote:

zhuqin wrote:
kensai wrote:
with the current software in testing as of now, it should be possible to boot a root ext4 partition with no problem and be autodetected as ext4, no more attaching rootfstype=ext4 to the kernel line or such. Will be testing this as I get home, but well, just wanted to let you know guys.
It is true, no more rootfstype, no more ext4 module in the mkinitcpio.conf, each partition can be ext4 now, the only thing you need to do is to generate a new img after update (maybe kernel26 does that for you).
O.K., in case anybody is still trying to follow the steps listed near the beginning of this thread, I edited them to say that if you're using these more recent (testing) versions of mkinitcpio and klibc, you don't need to add rootfstype=ext4 to the kernel line for grub or list the ext4 module in mkinitcpio.conf. I specified the version numbers in my edits.
Thanks for the updated info.

So just to be clear. At this point we just need to change ext3 to ext4 in /etc/fstab to get ext4 up and running? [Assuming you're getting updates from the testing repos]

Edit: I just did that and have no problems. My fstab

# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# <file system> <mount point>   <type>  <options>       <dump>  <pass>

#Entry for /dev/sda6 :
UUID=47b0a658-c792-4ecc-a7c7-250fd98675e8    /    ext4    defaults    0    1
#Entry for /dev/sda2 :
UUID=BC804AA4804A64CC    /media/Personal_Data    ntfs-3g    defaults,locale=C    0    0
#Entry for /dev/sda1 :
UUID=D094BF0F94BEF756    /media/Windows_Vista    ntfs    defaults,nls=utf8,umask=0222    0    0
#Entry for /dev/sda7 :
UUID=CC809CF5809CE76C    /media/Windows_XP    ntfs    defaults,nls=utf8,umask=0222    0    0
none    /dev/pts    devpts    defaults    0    0
none    /dev/shm    tmpfs    defaults    0    0
/dev/cdrom    /media/cdrom    auto    ro,user,noauto,unhide    0    0
/dev/dvd    /media/dvd    auto    ro,user,noauto,unhide    0    0
#Entry for /dev/sda5 :
UUID=6debc664-5152-48f7-8686-af46fb663fc5    swap    swap    defaults    0    0

Last edited by dr/owned (2009-01-11 20:55:29)

zhuqin · 2009-01-11 21:12:11

Yes you can, but you won't get all the exciting features brought by ext4 in this way.

tetonedge · 2009-01-16 17:40:46

I followed the directions given in dhave's post and worked excellent on upgrading my filesystem to ext4, maybe someone should write a wiki entry on this for everybody else.

jelly · 2009-01-16 22:02:25

Kernel 2.6.28 is now in core , but how should i convert my ext3 filesystem to ext4, wait for the new arch install cd or use the current cd, and don't make a new fs but convert the fs?

Xi0N · 2009-01-16 23:46:18

I am still waiting for the new instal cd... but nobody gives any date .....
Im really anxious for using the new ext4 filesystem .... but dont want to go through all the process of transforming my ext3 partitions.....
Thanks!!

canen · 2009-01-17 02:23:01

I followed dhave's instructions and it seems to work. I needed to use the fallback kernel and then regenerate the default though.

skottish · 2009-01-17 15:10:19

tetonedge wrote:

I followed the directions given in dhave's post and worked excellent on upgrading my filesystem to ext4, maybe someone should write a wiki entry on this for everybody else.

+1 for the wiki entry.

pointone · 2009-01-17 16:45:43

I was planning on doing just that today, as a section in <http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Cre … _Partition>. Hope no one else has started working on another version!

pointone · 2009-01-17 18:15:33

Done!

Please give my section a once-over for correctness.

http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Cre … t3_to_ext4

Myav · 2009-01-17 21:56:23

I was using ext3 for a long time, but now it's time to make jump to ext4

I'm going to format all my partitions, using:

mke2fs -t ext4 /path/to/partition

But there is a question: should I use "-j" option to enable journal or it will be done by default?

bluewind · 2009-01-17 22:34:35

Just my experiences http://flo.server-speed.net/wordpress/2 … t4-or-not/

Arch Linux

#76 2009-01-02 02:28:24

Re: Getting ready for ext4

#77 2009-01-02 04:10:51

Re: Getting ready for ext4

#78 2009-01-05 19:25:52

Re: Getting ready for ext4

#79 2009-01-05 19:52:58

Re: Getting ready for ext4

#80 2009-01-05 21:46:45

Re: Getting ready for ext4

#81 2009-01-07 18:56:53

Re: Getting ready for ext4

#82 2009-01-08 04:51:20

Re: Getting ready for ext4

#83 2009-01-08 17:52:48

Re: Getting ready for ext4

#84 2009-01-08 19:08:13

Re: Getting ready for ext4

#85 2009-01-08 19:10:48

Re: Getting ready for ext4

#86 2009-01-08 21:18:52

Re: Getting ready for ext4

#87 2009-01-08 21:31:46

Re: Getting ready for ext4

#88 2009-01-09 17:49:23

Re: Getting ready for ext4

#89 2009-01-09 18:59:58

Re: Getting ready for ext4

#90 2009-01-11 20:34:53

Re: Getting ready for ext4

#91 2009-01-11 21:12:11

Re: Getting ready for ext4

#92 2009-01-16 17:40:46

Re: Getting ready for ext4

#93 2009-01-16 22:02:25

Re: Getting ready for ext4

#94 2009-01-16 23:46:18

Re: Getting ready for ext4

#95 2009-01-17 02:23:01

Re: Getting ready for ext4

#96 2009-01-17 15:10:19

Re: Getting ready for ext4

#97 2009-01-17 16:45:43

Re: Getting ready for ext4

#98 2009-01-17 18:15:33

Re: Getting ready for ext4

#99 2009-01-17 21:56:23

Re: Getting ready for ext4

#100 2009-01-17 22:34:35

Re: Getting ready for ext4

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