It appears that an up to date unaltered /etc/mke2fs.conf file will look
like:
[defaults]
base_features = sparse_super,filetype,resize_inode,dir_index,ext_attr
blocksize = 4096
inode_size = 256
inode_ratio = 16384
[fs_types]
small = {
blocksize = 1024
inode_size = 128
inode_ratio = 4096
}
floppy = {
blocksize = 1024
inode_size = 128
inode_ratio = 8192
}
news = {
inode_ratio = 4096
}
largefile = {
inode_ratio = 1048576
}
largefile4 = {
inode_ratio = 4194304
}
But the default, inode_size = 256, is currently being ignored.
running:
mke2fs /dev/sdb1
will produce an ext2 file system with inode_size = 128
running:
mke2fs -j /dev/sdb1 (or mkfs.ext3 or mkfs -t ext3)
will produce an ext3 file system with inode_size = 128
How this happens is a puzzle.
Running:
mke2fs -I 256 /dev/sdb1 or mke2fs -j -I 256 /dev/sdb1 will produce ext2 or
ext3 file systems with inode_size=256.
The /dev/sbd1, inode_size=256, file system so produced can be mounted and
will function normally.
However if I try to install grub 0.97.4 on it, I will see:
umount /dev/sdb1
grub
Probing devices to guess BIOS drives. This may take a long time.
GNU GRUB version 0.97 (640K lower / 3072K upper memory)
[ Minimal BASH-like line editing is supported. For the first word, TAB
lists possible command completions. Anywhere else TAB lists the
possible
completions of a device/filename. ]
grub> root (hd1,0)
Filesystem type is ext2fs, partition type 0x83
grub> setup (hd1)
Checking if "/boot/grub/stage1" exists... no
Checking if "/grub/stage1" exists... no
Error 2: Bad file or directory type
To fix this and other bugs, grub 0.97.5 is coming currently masked ~amd64.
Installing grub 0.97.5 does in fact allow grub to setup inode_size=256
ext2/ext3 file systems. (Even though they seem not to be being written just
now.)
grub 0.97.5 comes with a warning:
* Messages for package sys-boot/grub-0.97-r5:
* *** IMPORTANT NOTE: you must run grub and install
* the new version's stage1 to your MBR. Until you do,
* stage1 and stage2 will still be the old version, but
* later stages will be the new version, which could
* cause problems such as an unbootable system.
This seemed exciting since I have not always read all the messages produced
by major updates. After I emerged grub 0.97.5, I tried not running grub and
not reinstalling stage 1 and 2 before rebooting. Nothing bad happened.
However it might be ell to put a grub reinstall on the to do list as marking
grub 0.97.5 stable is supposed to be imminent and the next emerge -uND world
may bring it on.
--
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