Managing RAID on Linux

Creating a Filesystem

Like other filesystems, ReiserFS requires a set of tools to create and maintain filesystems. Download and install the most recent toolset from ftp://ftp.namesys.com/pub/reiserfsprogs.

# tar xzvf reiserfsprogs-3.6.2.tar.gz
# cd reiserfsprogs-3.6.2
# ./configure
# make && make install

An RPM is also available from the NAMESYS FTP server, if you prefer not to compile the tools yourself. Most distributors now provide a reiserfsprogs RPM as well. Debian users can simply enter:

# apt-get install reiserfsprogs

Use the mkreiserfs program to create a new filesystem on an unused partition. Remember that this process will destroy all existing data on the partition. The default options should be fine for most situations. To create a ReiserFS on /dev/sdb1, enter:

# mkreiserfs /dev/sdb1

mkreiserfs generates some output describing the filesystem that was created. The default block size of 4 KB is the only block size currently supported. Additional block sizes are planned for future releases.

r5 is the default algorithm (hash function) that ReiserFS uses to locate files on disk. While two other hash functions (rupasov and tea) are available, r5 is the most reliable and performs best. rupasov should never be used, and tea should be used only when r5 presents problems, because the performance of tea is not as good. For more information about the particulars of each algorithm, including information about when to use tea in lieu of r5, check http://www.namesys.com/mount-options.html ...