[Mailman-Users] know to mkfs /var/spool with a higher inode

[Phil Stracchino]

On Mon, Jun 18, 2001 at 02:04:26PM -0400, Bob Puff at NLE wrote:
> > Which operating system?
> 
> Linux (Mandrake 7.x) on a i586.
> 
> I have no "newfs".  I do have a mke2fs.  What is a suggested value for "bytes per inode" to handle the mail stuff we have been discussing?  What is the default setting?


I quote again from 'man mke2fs':

       -i bytes-per-inode
              Specify  the  bytes/inode ratio.  mke2fs creates an
              inode for every bytes-per-inode bytes of  space  on
              the  disk.   The  larger the bytes-per-inode ratio,
              the fewer inodes will be created.  This value  gen-
              erally  shouldn't  be smaller than the blocksize of
              the filesystem, since then too many inodes will  be
              made.  [...]

Now, about a dozen lines prior to this, you'll find:

       -b block-size
              Specify the size of blocks in bytes.   Valid  block
              size values are 1024, 2048 and 4096 bytes per block.
              If omitted, mke2fs block-size is determined by  the
              file  system  size  and  the  expected usage of the
              filesystem (see the -T option).

So, your smallest allowed blocksize is 1024 bytes (1k), and the largest
legal number of inodes is one per block, which means the inode ratio and
blocksize resulting in the highest number of usable inodes is generated by
using -b 1024 -i 1024.

This is the setting I normally use for mail spools, news spools, /tmp,
etc -- anywhere you expect a large number of relatively small files to be
created.

You would do well to read through `man mke2fs` in detail and learn what
all the options do.  Knowing how your tools work is a good
thing.  Remember, always RTFM first.


-- 
 Linux Now!   ..........Because friends don't let friends use Microsoft.
 phil stracchino   --   the renaissance man   --   mystic zen biker geek
        alaric at babcom.com                halmayne at sourceforge.net
   2000 CBR929RR, 1991 VFR750F3 (foully murdered), 1986 VF500F (sold)