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To: Chris Mason <mason@suse.com>
Cc: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org
Subject: Re: [ANNOUNCE] Ext3 vs Reiserfs benchmarks
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From: "Patrick J. LoPresti" <patl@curl.com>
Date: 15 Jul 2002 17:31:07 -0400
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Chris Mason <mason@suse.com> writes:

> Yes, most mtas do this for queue files, I'm not sure how many do it for
> the actual spool file.

Maybe the control files are small enough to fit in one disk block,
making the operations atomic in practice.  Or something.

> mail server authors are more than welcome to recommend the best
> safety/performance combo for their product, and to ask the FS guys
> which combinations are safe.

Yeah, but it's a shame if those combinations require performance hits
like "synchronous directory updates" or, worse, "fsync() == sync()".

I really wish MTA authors would just support Linux's "fsync the
directory" approach.  It is simple, reliable, and fast.  Yes, it does
require Linux-specific support in the application, but that's what
application authors should expect when there is a gap in the
standards.

 - Pat
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