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Date: Fri, 7 Jan 2000 11:11:41 +0100 (MET)
From: Lenz Grimmer <grimmer@suse.de>
To: lwn@lwn.net
Subject: Press release "Journaling ReiserFilesystem" (fwd)


Journaling ReiserFilesystem for SuSE Linux


Nuremberg 7 January 2000 - The "second extended filesystem" (ext2) has
been established in Linux for many years now as the standard file system.
It is robust, well-tested and mature. However, if the computer is not shut
down properly and the file system not cleanly closed down, then the next
time the computer starts it must check the consistency of data structures
in the file system, to prevent possible data loss. This procedure is
insignificant for small files systems, but even with
disk sizes which today are standard, and especially for larger server
systems, this "file system check" can last a number of hours. 

The technical solution to this problem is the  "Journaling Filesystem".
Here, with the help of a journal, every change to the data structures of
the file system is carefully protocolled, and this very journal is written
to the hard drive _BEFORE_ 
any possible modifications to the actual data are made. 
Because of this, after a sudden system crash, for example through a power 
outage, a consistent system can be re-created within a few seconds at the
next system start. Instead of long waiting times, the computer is
immediately ready for use again. 

In close cooperation with SuSE, the developers' group under Hans Reiser
and Chris Mason have expanded the high-performance ReiserFS with a
corresponding Journaling functionality. The result for SuSE Linux 6.3 is
now ready to be downloaded at:

ftp.suse.com: /pub/suse/i386/update/6.3/reiserfs                   

This means that for the first time a file system with an acceptable
restart time is available, as far as large file systems in Linux are
concerned. Naturally the ReiserFS, when it is ready for use in production
and able to endure heavy loads, will be integrated into the next version
of SuSE Linux.
              
               
-------------------------------------
About SuSE 


SuSE, with a workforce of over 200 people, is one of the
leading Linux companies worldwide. SuSE Linux is
used by more than 50,000 business customers
worldwide due to its stability and high quality. 


For an efficient use of Linux in a business environment
SuSE offers an extensive range of qualified consulting
and support services, as well as commercial Linux
software and complete Linux systems. SuSE is
contributing considerably to the development of Linux
for projects such as the Linux kernel, glibc,
XFree86[tm], KDE, ISDN4Linux, ALSA (Advanced
Linux Sound Architecture) and USB (Universal Serial
Bus).




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Tel.: +49-(0)911-7405344      Fax: +49-(0)911-7417755 
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