

Significant improvements coming in Linux 3.5 - Tsiolkovsky
http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/Significant-improvements-coming-in-Linux-3-5-1598702.html

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micro-ram
> The Ext4 filesystem can now add checksums to its metadata to help recognise
> data tampering.

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serverascode
That is really interesting. (And not just data tampering but possibly data
corruption.)

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ralfd
> many systems produced by Apple have had this kind of "FireWire target disk
> mode" for a while now.

Since 2000.

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seclorum
.. but unlike Linux, the Apple Firewire Target mode can't be used while Mac
OSX is running on the machine. In Apples' case, its implemented in EFI -
whereas with Linux, it will be possible to use the 'target mode' while the
machine is still running.

~~~
wmf
One complication in that scenario is that you can't mount a (normal)
filesystem while exposing it over SCSI target (because then it would be
mounted twice).

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sp332
Actually you can't mount anything from the target drive, because the whole
drive is exposed over the network as a SCSI device.

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seclorum
The point is I can now very easily build a Linux-based RAID stack that works
with my Macs over Firewire:

Kernel-Firewire-Target:0:1->/home/disks/image00.dd & image01.dd &image02.dd
&etc.

Build a big Linux box with much SSD and other slower disks, wire up a light
Mac farm to it with Firewire, point each node to a relevant loop file on some
path, and managed storage networks are a cinch.

~~~
wmf
That would have been awesome years ago; now I'd just use gigabit iSCSI.
Thunderbolt target mode OTOH...

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fserb
for some broad definition of "significant"

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darklajid
I expected something bigger as well. From the release mail of Linus:

    
    
      It's a pretty normal release - roughly 60% drivers, 20% arch updates,
      and 20% "all over" - filesystems, documentation, tools, you name it.
    
      Nothing hugely special springs to mind - there's some memory
      compaction issue that is still being discussed, but I don't think
      there's anything particularly scary or special that stands out over
      everything else in the -rc1.

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serverascode
Being able to act as a FC target could be pretty powerful as well. I wish I
could do that now on my linux boxes...could create a nice little storage
network.

