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Date: Thu, 6 Nov 1997 20:25:34 -1000
From: richard@pegasus.com (Richard Foulk)
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In-Reply-To: Ted Spradley <tsprad@metronet.com>
       "Re: Partitioning" (Nov  6, 11:18pm)
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Subject: Re: Partitioning
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} > 3) Don't hink ANY BSD can resize slice, but I know AIX could, even the
} > version 3.2.4 I used to admin.  No clue how, but maybe someone else knows?
} > Maybe, if it works, we should integrate it?
} > Dave?  (our AIX developer-on-call)  Back me up or knock me down?
} 
} AIX uses a journal file system, which is rather completely different from a 
} BSD unix file system.  I haven't figured out any of the details.  It may have 
} something in common with the Margo Seltzer log-structured file system, which 
} everyone seems to have lost interest in.
} 

They call it their Journalled file system.  I don't think that has
anything to do with it's ability to enlarge a partition on the fly.

Journalling, the keeping of an audit-trail of all disk writes, makes
for a more secure filesystem that can be cleaned up more thoroughly and
quickly after a crash.

Back to the main question;  I don't see any reason why the BSD file system
couldn't be extended to allow for on-the-fly expansion of partitions.
Toss in a pointer to the new space, when you feel like adding some,
initialize it and continue on.


Richard