From owner-freebsd-current@FreeBSD.ORG Fri Apr 8 05:40:16 2005 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-current@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.FreeBSD.org (mx1.freebsd.org [216.136.204.125]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id A82E016A4CE; Fri, 8 Apr 2005 05:40:16 +0000 (GMT) Received: from critter.freebsd.dk (f170.freebsd.dk [212.242.86.170]) by mx1.FreeBSD.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id DF26343D49; Fri, 8 Apr 2005 05:40:15 +0000 (GMT) (envelope-from phk@critter.freebsd.dk) Received: from critter.freebsd.dk (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by critter.freebsd.dk (8.13.3/8.13.1) with ESMTP id j385eFhF023941; Fri, 8 Apr 2005 07:40:15 +0200 (CEST) (envelope-from phk@critter.freebsd.dk) To: David Schultz From: "Poul-Henning Kamp" In-Reply-To: Your message of "Fri, 08 Apr 2005 00:00:35 EDT." <20050408040035.GA34844@VARK.MIT.EDU> Date: Fri, 08 Apr 2005 07:40:15 +0200 Message-ID: <23940.1112938815@critter.freebsd.dk> Sender: phk@critter.freebsd.dk cc: current@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: GEOM architecture and the (lack of) need for foot-shooting X-BeenThere: freebsd-current@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list List-Id: Discussions about the use of FreeBSD-current List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Fri, 08 Apr 2005 05:40:16 -0000 In message <20050408040035.GA34844@VARK.MIT.EDU>, David Schultz writes: >So I don't have time to implement an API for disk partition layout >changes. But before I read your message, I was looking into >getting sysinstall to issue a DIOCSMBR ioctl to the disk instead >of trying to write it directly. Would that suffice to allow users >to safely modify their partition tables, while preserving the >anti-foot-shooting mechanism? Of course, when someone has time >to implement a g_ctl() to do this as you suggest, it would be easy >to adapt sysinstall at that time. You need to implement whatever ioctl/gctl is used for all the kinds of partitioning sysinstall/libdisk know about that means at least mbr, bsdlabel and gpt. Maybe also maclabels. >FWIW, my complaint was not about what you did or didn't manage to >accomplish single-handedly. My complaint was that you turned on the >anti-footshooting knob by default before userland was ready for it. What you call "The anti-footshooting knob" is an integral part of geoms event driven design, it is not a feature added specifically to annoy people, it is a necessary behaviour for the proper discovery of on-disk metadata. > >> 1. Find out which partition format we migrate to instead of BSDlabel >> which runs out of steam around 2TB. GPT has been proposed but >> seems to be a rather dead end with Itanic sinking fast. > >Regardless of what happens to IA-64 and EFI, GPTs probably aren't >going away. Within a few years, Intel and Microsoft will be >forced to address the 2TB limit for run-of-the-mill desktops, and >I really can't see them inventing yet another format. But those >are just my two cents; you're right that this should be discussed >further. I will just add that the release our users will be running two years from now will be 5.x and 6.x. We _have_ to have this resolved for 7.x. Somebody [TM] should sit down and read the lastest pc hardware requirement from Microsoft to see what they say about it. -- Poul-Henning Kamp | UNIX since Zilog Zeus 3.20 phk@FreeBSD.ORG | TCP/IP since RFC 956 FreeBSD committer | BSD since 4.3-tahoe Never attribute to malice what can adequately be explained by incompetence.