Gentoo Archives: gentoo-amd64

From: Nadav Horesh <nadavh@×××××××××××.com>
To: gentoo-amd64@l.g.o
Subject: RE: [gentoo-amd64] ext2, ext3, inodes, and grub
Date: Mon, 05 May 2008 03:14:36
Message-Id: 710F2847B0018641891D9A216027636029C133@ex3.envision.co.il
In Reply to: [gentoo-amd64] ext2, ext3, inodes, and grub by Drake Donahue
1 http://www.linuxtoday.com/security/2008050102226OSHWHL
2
3 Nadav
4
5
6 -----הודעה מקורית-----
7 מאת: Drake Donahue [mailto:donahue95@×××××××.net]
8 נשלח: א 04-מאי-08 23:51
9 אל: gentoo-amd64@l.g.o
10 נושא: [gentoo-amd64] ext2, ext3, inodes, and grub
11
12 It appears that an up to date unaltered /etc/mke2fs.conf file will look
13 like:
14
15 [defaults]
16 base_features = sparse_super,filetype,resize_inode,dir_index,ext_attr
17 blocksize = 4096
18 inode_size = 256
19 inode_ratio = 16384
20
21 [fs_types]
22 small = {
23 blocksize = 1024
24 inode_size = 128
25 inode_ratio = 4096
26 }
27 floppy = {
28 blocksize = 1024
29 inode_size = 128
30 inode_ratio = 8192
31 }
32 news = {
33 inode_ratio = 4096
34 }
35 largefile = {
36 inode_ratio = 1048576
37 }
38 largefile4 = {
39 inode_ratio = 4194304
40 }
41
42 But the default, inode_size = 256, is currently being ignored.
43 running:
44 mke2fs /dev/sdb1
45 will produce an ext2 file system with inode_size = 128
46
47 running:
48 mke2fs -j /dev/sdb1 (or mkfs.ext3 or mkfs -t ext3)
49 will produce an ext3 file system with inode_size = 128
50
51 How this happens is a puzzle.
52
53 Running:
54 mke2fs -I 256 /dev/sdb1 or mke2fs -j -I 256 /dev/sdb1 will produce ext2 or
55 ext3 file systems with inode_size=256.
56 The /dev/sbd1, inode_size=256, file system so produced can be mounted and
57 will function normally.
58 However if I try to install grub 0.97.4 on it, I will see:
59
60 umount /dev/sdb1
61
62 >grub
63 Probing devices to guess BIOS drives. This may take a long time.
64
65 GNU GRUB version 0.97 (640K lower / 3072K upper memory)
66
67 [ Minimal BASH-like line editing is supported. For the first word, TAB
68 lists possible command completions. Anywhere else TAB lists the
69 possible
70 completions of a device/filename. ]
71
72 grub> root (hd1,0)
73 Filesystem type is ext2fs, partition type 0x83
74
75 grub> setup (hd1)
76 Checking if "/boot/grub/stage1" exists... no
77 Checking if "/grub/stage1" exists... no
78
79 Error 2: Bad file or directory type
80
81 To fix this and other bugs, grub 0.97.5 is coming currently masked ~amd64.
82
83 Installing grub 0.97.5 does in fact allow grub to setup inode_size=256
84 ext2/ext3 file systems. (Even though they seem not to be being written just
85 now.)
86
87 grub 0.97.5 comes with a warning:
88
89 * Messages for package sys-boot/grub-0.97-r5:
90
91 * *** IMPORTANT NOTE: you must run grub and install
92 * the new version's stage1 to your MBR. Until you do,
93 * stage1 and stage2 will still be the old version, but
94 * later stages will be the new version, which could
95 * cause problems such as an unbootable system.
96
97 This seemed exciting since I have not always read all the messages produced
98 by major updates. After I emerged grub 0.97.5, I tried not running grub and
99 not reinstalling stage 1 and 2 before rebooting. Nothing bad happened.
100 However it might be ell to put a grub reinstall on the to do list as marking
101 grub 0.97.5 stable is supposed to be imminent and the next emerge -uND world
102 may bring it on.
103
104
105
106 --
107 gentoo-amd64@l.g.o mailing list

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